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Category: Telecom

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Telecom & Telco news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Airtel granted partial stay on $1.2b spectrum charge demand

    Airtel granted partial stay on $1.2b spectrum charge demand

    India’s Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has granted Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices on the 83 billion rupees ($1.19 billion) demand from the Department of Telecom as a condition of approving the merger between the two companies.

    The tribunal has directed Indian authorities to clear the merger subject to a stay on around 70 billion rupees in one-time spectrum charges.

    But Bharti Airtel has been asked to submit 50% of around 12.87 billion rupees in one-time spectrum charges related to a license in Chennai.

    The tribunal case is still ongoing, with the next hearing scheduled for July.

    Bharti Airtel arranged to acquire Tata Teleservices’ consumer mobile business in 20 as part of the wave of consolidation that swept the sector after the entry into the market of Reliance Jio Infocomm with an aggressive price promotion.

    The Department of Telecom approved the merger last month, but only on the condition that Airtel submits a bank guarantee covering the department’s spectrum charge demands. Airtel subsequently appealed the demand for this guarantee with the tribunal.

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  • Vodafone Idea taps Ericsson for cloud packet core

    Vodafone Idea taps Ericsson for cloud packet core

    India’s Vodafone Idea has contracted Ericsson to deploy a cloud packet core to enhance its existing core network.

    The deployment forms part of the operator’s ongoing network modernization program. It is aimed at enabling speedier introduction of new services and providing full-service continuity over the operator’s network.

    Under the agreement, Vodafone Idea will deploy Ericsson core network applications and network functions including the Ericsson virtual Evolved Packet Gateway (vEPG), Service Aware Policy Controller (vSAPC) and Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVi) solutions.

    The NFVi solution is designed to enable operators to deploy virtual telecom, OSS, BSS, IT and media applications at a low total cost of ownership.

    “Data consumption in India is growing rapidly and users are looking for new, richer experiences every day,” Vodafone Idea CTO Vishant Vara said.

    “At Vodafone Idea, we endeavor to stay ahead of the curve by investing in technologies and solutions to address the evolving demands of millions of our customers in India. We are confident that Ericsson’s vEPC solution will enable us to meet our strategic goals.”

    Ericsson head of digital services for SEA, Oceania and India Alvise Carlton added that the project is one of the vendor’s largest virtual evolved packet core deployments globally to date.

    “This will not only provide VIL the scale and reach to address the growing data traffic levels in India, but the advanced cloud infrastructure will also enable VIL to tap new revenue streams in SMEs and IoT.”

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  • Siemens helps Vietnam build smart infrastructure

    Siemens helps Vietnam build smart infrastructure

    The deal, inked by Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and a representative of Siemens AG, is part of the roadmap towards realizing the joint statement issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy last month.

    Smart infrastructure development for Vietnam is made based on the country’s economic, energy, and industrial production situation with a view to making Vietnam an industrialized economy that pursues sustainable development in the near future.

    It looks to ensure sufficient and sustainable energy, train high-quality human resources, and carry out the Green Growth Strategy and infrastructure development plan in the country.

    Before the signing ceremony, Minister Anh had a working session with German Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Atmaier and leaders of Siemens AG, during which they reviewed cooperation between the two sides under the joint statement, and urged the engagement of the German corporation in smart infrastructure building in Vietnam.

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  • Australia’s ACCC proposes to continue regulating MTAS

    Australia’s ACCC proposes to continue regulating MTAS

    Australian telecommunications regulator ACCC has proposed to continue regulating Australia’s domestic mobile terminating access service (MTAS) for voice services, including setting default mobile termination rates (MTRs).

    But the regulator has proposed to drop the price declaration of the MTAS for SMS services as a result of increased competition from OTT messaging apps such as iMessage and WhatsApp.

    The MTAS is a wholesale service for interconnecting calls and SMS between mobile networks. The ACCC’s regulation of the service includes a price declaration, which is the MTR that operators are required to offer in the absence of a commercial agreement with the terminating network provider.

    In August, the ACCC launched a public inquiry into whether to continue the current regulation of voice and SMS MTAS, which has been regulated since 2014.

    After the inquiry the ACCC has provisionally concluded that while the voice declaration is still required, the SMS declaration is not.

    “Many consumers with smartphones are now using over-the-top messaging services such as iMessage and WhatsApp as alternatives to SMS. Importantly, we have also found that the majority of mobile plans now on offer in the market offer unlimited SMS,” ACCC chair Rod Sims said.

    “Our decision to regulate SMS appears to have had the desired effect. We are therefore proposing to remove regulation of MTAS for SMS services as we do not think continued regulation is necessary to promote competition.”

    But Sims said OTT voice services are not yet substitutes for mobile calls due to quality issues and the lack of access to services such as the 000 emergency hotline.

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  • Airtel, Vodafone may sell stakes in merged tower company

    Airtel, Vodafone may sell stakes in merged tower company

    India’s Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Group are reportedly in talks to sell more than half of their respective stakes in the tower company that will be created through the merger of Bharti Infratel and Indus Towers.

    Bharti Infratel is Bharti Airtel’s tower division, while Indus Towers is an independently managed tower company jointly owned by the Bharti Group and Vodafone Idea.

    The combined entity is expected to have a market valuation of $12 billion to $13 billion and have a portfolio of over 160,000 towers.

    According to a report, which cites unnamed sources, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Group are aiming to bring their stakes in the combined company down to around 13% each after the merger.

    The operators are looking to sell part of their stakes primarily to existing investor, global investment firm KKR, the sources said.

    KKR could eventually hold between 25% and 32% of the combined company, with minority stakes held by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and some other investors.

    The stake sales could be worth around $3.2 billion for Bharti Airtel and $2.1 billion for Vodafone Group, the report states.

    It also asserts that the Vodafone Group may plan to eventually exit its investment in the company, and that the merger is likely to close in June.

  • Hansen Technologies acquires Sigma Systems for $117m

    Hansen Technologies acquires Sigma Systems for $117m

    Australia’s Hansen Technologies has agreed to acquire catalog-driven software vendor Sigma Systems for C$157 million ($116.8 million).

    Found in 1996, Sigma provides enterprise catalog-driven software products to the communications, media and high-tech sectors.

    The Toronto-based BSS firm has over 70 customers in 40 markets, including  Tier 1 telcos such as Vodafone, Liberty Global, Telstra (Australia), Altice, Cox Communications (USA), Ziggo (Netherlands), Telkomsel (Indonesia), J:Com (Japan), Inmarsat (UK), Telmex (Mexico), Tiscali (Italy), Telus (Canada), Sky (UK), EWE TEL (Germany) and ViaSat (USA).

    It has 480 employees with offices located in Toronto, London and Wales (UK) and Pune, India.

    Andrew Hansen, chief executive officer of Hansen Technologies, said the acquisition is a strategic move to enhance the company’s proposition to the telecoms, pay TV and energy verticals.

    Hansen said the company has driven an exceptional growth strategy through acquisitions over the past 10 years, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 28% over the last four years.

    “Bringing Sigma Systems onboard further strengthens our ability to provide valuable solutions to our customer base and creates new expansion opportunities to cross-sell Sigma’s software solutions into our broad base of energy customers,” he said.

    In 2018, Sigma reported revenue of C$73.1 million and an EBITDA of C$18.8 million.

    Through the acquisition of Sigma, Hansen Technologies expects to “significantly” expand its scale and scope in the telecoms sector.

    “Sigma’s proprietary products sit within or adjacent to the company’s core business of billing and customer management, and are well designed to capture growth opportunities from the rollout of new telecommunications services such as 5G,” the company said.

    The acquisition is set to close on May 31. Hansen Technologies said the acquisition will increase its pro-forma basis share of revenue from the telecoms sector to 38% from a reported 17% in 2018.

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  • KT taps Samsung to expand PS-LTE coverage in South Korea

    KT taps Samsung to expand PS-LTE coverage in South Korea

    Samsung has signed an agreement with KT to help expand the telco’s public safety LTE (PS-LTE) network in South Korea, the vendor announced.

    The expansion deal will see Samsung provide KT with LTE network solutions based on 3GPP Release 13 in 10 major metropolitan regions in South Korea including Seoul by 2020.

    The expanded deal will also see the pair deliver what they say is the world’s first narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) service over the PS-LTE network to help prevent and respond to natural disasters such as fires and people stranded in remote, mountainous areas.

    In addition to LTE radio base stations that support 700-MHz, Samsung is providing KT with a virtualized core and features such as MCPTT solutions, RAN sharing, evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS), Isolated eUTRAN Operation for Public Safety (IOPS), and device to device (D2D) network solutions.

    For instance, D2D allows direct and undisrupted communications between any two devices without traversing radio base stations or core networks, even in areas where bases stations are not provided.

    Samsung said D2D and NB-IoT technologies will play crucial roles in public safety network by ensuring stable, seamless, and reliable network in unfavorable environments.

    “By acquiring innovative wireless communications from Samsung, we are able to aid in life-threatening situations where data traffic is severely congested or connection is completely out of reach,” said Yoon-Young Park, senior executive vice president and head of enterprise business group at KT. “These first-of their-kind networks help responders connect with those in need.”

    KT and Samsung have been collaborated since 2016. The pair deployed the first PS-LTE network in 2016 throughout Gangwon (Pyeongchang) province of South Korea.

    In 2017, the companies delivered LTE-railway service on a high-speed train traveling at up to 250 km/hour (155 mph) using MCPTT solutions.

    The two companies are now aiming to expand the PS-LTE network further into the metropolitan areas around the country, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Jeolla, Gyeongbuk and Chungnam provinces.

    South Korea’s three major carriers-KT, SK Telecom and LG Uplus- launched full-fledged commercial 5G services in early April and racked up over 260,000 5G subscribers that month.

  • Global smartphone sales still in freefall

    Global smartphone sales still in freefall

    The global smartphone market remains in “freefall”, having experienced its sixth consecutive quarter of declining shipments during the first quarter, according to Canalys.

    Total unit shipments fell 6.8% year-on-year to 313.9 million during the quarter, the lowest result in nearly five years, the research firm said.

    Apple was the hardest hit of the big smartphone vendors, with iPhone shipments dropping 23.2% year-on-year to 40.2 million units, which marked the largest single quarter decline in the history of the iPhone.

    But market leader Samsung also experienced a 10% decline in shipments to 71.5 million.

    By contrast, Huawei had a strong performance during the quarter, with shipments growing 50.2% during the first quarter to 59.1 million.

    Huawei has publicly set its sights on overtaking Samsung as the world’s top smartphone vendor by unit shipments by 2020, but it will not be an easy battle, the research firm said, with its chance of success hinging on its ability to take customers in the low to midrange price bands.

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  • South Korea already has 260,000 5G subs

    South Korea already has 260,000 5G subs

    South Korea’s mobile operators have already racked up over 260,000 5G subscribers since launching full-fledged services on April 3, government figures indicate. SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus have been rapidly adding 5G customers during the first month of commercial 5G operations.

    Meanwhile the number of 5G base stations in the market has increased to over 54,200, up 7% from April 22. But coverage remains restricted to urban and dense population areas in capital city Seoul.

    But South Korean operators’ haste to be first to market with 5G for smartphones has led to some initial complaints over the coverage and speed of the 5G networks.

    According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, many of these initial complaints are being addressed, but more are expected to come to light as more people start using the networks.

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  • NOW Telecom details “NVNO” model

    NOW Telecom details “NVNO” model

    The Philippines’ NOW Telecom has introduced a new model aimed at partnering with small and medium sized businesses to deliver wireless broadband services to individual areas.

    The company’s new NOW Virtual Network Operator (NVNO) model will see the operator partner with SMEs and even individuals to bring NOW’s fixed wireless broadband technology to a particular area.

    The SMEs will be given exclusive distributorship rights over the broadband services in the given areas, which could be an office building or a local village area.

    NOW plans to enter five year business partnerships under a revenue sharing model. The business partner would be responsible for selecting the area, selling the product, marketing and installing the service and ensuring payment by subscribers.

    NOW’s Fiber in the Air service is a fixed wireless broadband internet service that provides guaranteed broadband internet for enterprises with a capacity of 2.4Gbps.

    To be selected, business partners will have a local business in the area and a strong local influence.

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  • Unicom, Ericsson to collaborate on 5G development

    Unicom, Ericsson to collaborate on 5G development

    China Unicom and Ericsson have signed an agreement to accelerate the development of commercial 5G technology.

    The agreement signed at China Unicom’s 5G Innovation and Cooperation Conference in Shenzhen involves further co-operation on a 5G test network.

    The companies have already completed innovative 5G projects, such as the live 4K HD broadcast of a marathon; live 8K HD broadcast of the Women’s World Club Volleyball Championship; 360 degree panoramic live broadcasting, and driving demos.

    Meanwhile China Telecom and Ericsson announced they are collaborating to provide an end-to-end 5G network for the Beijing Expo 2019 horticultural exhibition in Beijing’s Yanqin district.

    The two companies are providing an end-to-end 5G network for the expo offering a combination of garden art and 5G mobile edge computing (MEC) technology to provide visitors with 360-degree panoramic UHD video VR live broadcasting, 5G+VR live broadcasting, and 5G cloud gaming services.

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  • CMR says most smartphones in India go for below industry ASP

    CMR says most smartphones in India go for below industry ASP

    The CyberMedia Research (CMR) report, “CMR India Mobile Pricing Index 2018”, revealed that 80% of smartphone brands are selling their handset below the average price of smartphones in India.

    Consumers want sleeker and cheaper devices, even as they demand overall better user experience, all contributing to increased average sales value of smartphones. CMR says in CY2018 India was one of the few major smartphone markets that grew by around 10%. It expects 2019 to be no different.

    According to Narinder Kumar, lead analyst -IIG CMR, “CY2018 witnessed growth in average sales value (ASV of smartphones largely due to upgradation. A majority of the current smartphone shipments are essentially upgrades, driven by consumers seeking more from their smartphones.”

    Indian and Chinese brands contributed the most to below industry average ASV, whereas 60% of brands in above ASV segment were global brands, including Apple, Google and Samsung.

    “The decline in above ASV percentage can be attributed to increasing market consolidation. There was around 10% decline in numbers of brands operating in the 4G Smartphone space. With top 10 players contributing 80% – 85% of market, there is stiff competition for rest of brands,” stated Narinder.

    CMR anticipates growth in ASV in CY2019, driven primarily by increasing consumer demand.

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  • Vodafone’s reveal keeps the pressure on Huawei

    Vodafone’s reveal keeps the pressure on Huawei

    In this week’s news is yet another story about Huawei and security as European telecommunications operator and regulators continue to scrutinize the gear in advance of 5G deployments. This one is historical though. Apparently Vodafone found security flaws in Huawei gear its Italian unit bought back in 2011 and 2012.

    In the technical sense, this is hardly a surprise. Vulnerabilities and patches are an ongoing part of pretty much all software development, and in this case the problem came with the telnet protocol. There was a day when telnet was a thing for everyone, but these days it’s more a diagnostic thing. According to Vodafone, the flaw would not have been accessible via the internet and was quickly patched. All vendors have processes to handle exactly this sort of thing, and all have done so many times. So the fact that it happened eight years ago in this case is news today only because it was Huawei.

    But the pressure to block Huawei from 5G deployments continues unabated. The contention is that because China requires all its companies to help its national security apparatus and Huawei (like every major Chinese company) has deep ties to that apparatus. On the one hand, it’s easy to envision spies doing this sort of thing. On the other hand, it’s very hard to imagine such deliberate vulnerabilities remaining undetected for long in a suspicious world.

    The most recent development came a few days ago when KPN decided Huawei gear was fine for radios and antennas, but not when it comes to the gear in its core 5G network. They’ve got a deal in place, but with an exit clause in case regulators or lawmakers act to ban Huawei entirely. That seems to have emerged as the consensus response of European telcos to all this pressure, a way to keep Huawei in the mix while still mollifying critics and covering themselves legally.

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  • Mobile phone sales drive wireless power market

    Mobile phone sales drive wireless power market

    It used to be that wireless charging was a nice-to-have but not got-to-have feature. These days, however, high-end smartphones have started to pick up on the interest and including this as standard feature.

    So when IHS Markit made its forecasts of the wireless power market, the analyst made it clear that mobile phones were an important factor driving the growth in this segment in 2018, comprising 71% of all receiver units shipped.

    The latest IHS Markit Wireless Power Market Tracker report put annual unit shipments of wirelessly charged mobile phones up by nearly 40% in 2018, reaching 300 million units, mainly driven by flagship models. The growth is expected to build in the mid-range smartphone category, as mobile phone companies plan to extend the adoption of wireless charging in that price band.

    Fortified by the growth in the sales of wirelessly charged mobile phones, global shipments of wireless power receivers and transmitters across all applications and product segments grew by 37% in 2018 to 600 million units, compared to the previous year. Global shipments will continue to grow to approximately 2.1 billion units in 2023, according to HIS Markit.

    “Wireless power technology continues to evolve rapidly, with reach expanding beyond smartphones to wider applications and product segments,” said Dinesh Kithany, wireless power and power supplies analyst, IHS Markit. “Wireless power technology is also undergoing further sub-segmentation, with regard to wider power levels and distance range.”

    He noted that wireless charging feature is used as a market differentiator to promote flagship models. “For example, Huawei and Samsung both included some cool innovations in their smartphones, with features like reverse-charging, wireless power-sharing, multi-device charging and the introduction of NFC wireless charging,” Kithany said.

    Opportunity outside mobile

    Beyond the mobile ecosystem – which also includes smartwatches, wireless earphones, and wearables – wireless charging is expanding into computing devices, smart home devices, IoT sensors, medical devices, small home appliances, power tools, robots and drones, augmented reality and virtual reality devices, gaming applications, industrial sector, 5G applications, electric vehicles and public infrastructure.

    “This wireless charging expansion creates opportunities for emerging wireless power solutions such as high-frequency-based resonant and radio-frequency, infrared and other uncoupled solutions to gain entry into the overall wireless power market,” Kithany said.

    According to IHS Markit, the smart home devices market is an especially promising segment for wireless power, because of the opportunities it presents to manufacturers and the benefits that accrue to consumers. Led by smart speakers, the wireless charging enabled smart home market is expected to grow to more than 100 million units in 2028.

    “Smart thermostats, air-control devices, electronic door locks, garage-door systems, intruder alarms, video cameras, video doorbells and other smart home devices will follow,” Kithany said. “The IoT sensors market alone is expected to add more than one billion wireless charging devices to this market in the next five years.”

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  • 5G spending undeterred by economic downturn

    5G spending undeterred by economic downturn

    Fitch Ratings says telecom operators will continue putting money and resources on 5G investments over the intermediate term, even though revenue may materialize gradually.

    The agency attributes this to “fairly resilient top lines and the flexibility to reduce operating costs, or even dividends before capex, if necessary. This should not have negative credit implications due to substantial cash flow and balanced capital allocation for most issuers.”

    Wireless investment, particularly related to the densification of the network, continues to be an area of emphasis for telecom companies due to the strong demand for 4G LTE capacity for rapidly growing data services and to position networks for 5G’s arrival.

    5G is a strategic priority for the sector due to the internet of things growth and the highly competitive and evolving competitor landscape.

    Upgrades to networks are required to support increased speed and connectivity, and to maintain and grow market share.

    Fitch said the company anticipates that the path for 5G adoption will be more evolutionary than revolutionary. Network deployment must be completed and customers will need to assess the added benefit and cost of next generation technology.

    The ratings agency anticipates over 4 billion 5G subscriptions globally by 2028, representing around 45% of the global total.