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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.

  • Ericsson to supply gear for XL Axiata’s 5G transport network

    Ericsson to supply gear for XL Axiata’s 5G transport network

    Indonesia’s XL Axiata has awarded Ericsson a contract to contribute to the deployment of the operator’s planned 5G ready transport network. Under the expanded partnership, Ericsson will provide 5G ready routers for the rollout over the next three years, commencing in the second quarter. Ericsson will provide its Router 6000 for all sites selected to be modernized under the contract. The router is optimized for 10G/100G connectivity, as well as the low latency, high accuracy internal clock and IPsec security capabilities required in 5G backhaul networks.

    “We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with Ericsson with state of the art transmission equipment,” XL Axiata director Yessie D Yosetya said.

    “We believe this will increase our network capacity performance and also beneficial for our customers to deliver a good user experience. This is one of our initiatives into the 5G era.”

    XL Axiata announced during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that it has partnered with Huawei to construct Southeast Asia’s first 5G-ready simplified transport network covering all of Indonesia.

    Huawei is providing its Optical Networking 2.0 solution to help the operator simplify network architecture and build a simplified transport network.

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  • MWC2019 was a “reality check” for telcos

    MWC2019 was a “reality check” for telcos

    MWC 2019 demonstrated the mobile industry knows it needs to change and without that change and a massive recalibration of its fundamental business model and modus operandi, it will become obfuscated, according to ABI Research.

    “MWC 2019 could best be characterized as displaying an anxiety borne from an industry suffering from a combination of split personality disorder and ADHD,” wrote Stuart Carlaw, Chief Research Officer at ABI Research, in the firm’s post-conference whitepaper: A Reality Check from Mobile World Congress 2019.

    One half of the industry encompasses an emerging band of technology companies that are addressing some pressing industry-centric issues with real-world solutions based on direct vertical market customer need.

    “The other half of the industry is made up of a carrier community that is moving at the same pace as the Titanic attempting to turn and avoid the iceberg. Too slow and too late,” added Carlaw.

    ABI Research had seven analysts at MWC 2019, which was held in Barcelona, Spain, between Feb. 25-28, 2019. The analysts focused on the following compelling transformative technologies:

    • 5G & Mobile Network Infrastructure
    • Digital Security
    • M2M, IoT & IoE
    • Smart Cities & Smart Spaces
    • Smart Mobility and Automotive
    • Smartphones and Wearables

    Some of the analysts’ conclusions about 5G and mobile network infrastructure from the whitepaper include:

    • Mobile Service Providers (MSPs) are becoming more rational in discussing what 5G can and cannot do. And, are realizing that 5G will be a slow affair.
    • Telcos and their partners will first use 5G to target the consumer market as that is the area where telcos have the know-how, reach, and experience.
    • Private LTE is slowly getting momentum in a market where 5G takes all the headlines. MSPs and network vendors already have well-tested and reliable technologies that can be used to deliver solutions in the enterprise space.
    • A new trend is emerging in the convergence of MSPs and cloud giants as the two categories need each other. This is part of the wider discussion around edge computing, network cloudification, and the role of 5G in creating new applications and supporting the growth of vertical markets.
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  • CTG, Global Switch, Daily-Tech open Singapore data center

    CTG, Global Switch, Daily-Tech open Singapore data center

    China Telecom Global, Chinese data center infrastructure developer and operator Daily-Tech and the UK-based Global Switch have jointly open a data center in Singapore’s Woodlands district as part of their three-way partnership.

    The S$280 million ($206.4 million) Global Switch Singapore Woodlands data center spans 25,000 square meters and has been constructed to operate to Tier III+ standards.

    The Singapore data center is the second to be built under the three-way partnership after the HK$5 billion data center in Tseung Kwan O that opened in December 2017.

    The Singapore Woodlands data center is designed to a power usage efficiency of just 1.34, making it the most power efficient data center available to customers in Singapore. The data center services are powered by 30MVA of utility power supply capacity and backed by a 24/7 networks operations center.

    The data center will connect to China Telecom Global’s network of subsea and terrestrial cables as well as other data centers around the world. It is Global Switch’s 12th data center globally.

    “This is a milestone entry into the Southeast Asian countries’ market for Daily-Tech through our strategic business partnership,” Daily-Tech chairman Li Qiang said.

    “Customers in the region – particularly those looking to expand through China’s Belt and Road projects, will now find more convenient connections and access to well-managed services to support their business growth. This partnership offers customers commitment, a track record in servicing and bespoke services, and best practice management.”

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  • Google Fi, the next carrier?

    Google Fi, the next carrier?

    If you are satisfied with your current phone but would prefer to switch carriers, hybrid MVNO Google Fi has a deal for you. First, some explanation. Google Fi uses two million Wi-Fi hot spots to bring you service. When you are out of Wi-Fi range, your phone checks to see which of the three 4G LTE networks that Fi supports (T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular) has the strongest signal at the moment, and connects you to it. Doing this allows Google to keep Fi’s prices down.

    Now, let’s talk about the free month of service that Google Fi is offering to those bringing their compatible phone and number to the MVNO from another wireless provider. The offer is available from now through March 24th, and a list of supported handsets can be found here. You must sign up for a full service plan (not just data) and the phone must remain activated on Fi for 30 consecutive days.

    A week after activating your phone on Fi, you will get an email confirming the credit, which will show up on the following invoice. The credit that Google gives you will cover “a single subscriber’s unlimited talk and text, data usage, and taxes and fees for one month.” The offer is limited to one per person, or six per group plan and requires Google Payments and Google Fi accounts.

    Something else to consider, is that you cannot change your phone while in the aforementioned 30-day period. One Fi subscriber had problems with the Samsung Galaxy phone he moved over to the MVNO and could not dial out about 90% of the time. He bought a Fi compatible LG handset, and while it worked without a hitch, Fi denied him the free month.

    Google Fi costs $20/month for unlimited domestic talk and text for one person ($15 additional for each added subscriber up to a total of six), unlimited international texts, and access to cellular coverage in over 200+ countries. High-speed data costs $10/GB each month, but once you hit 6GB, the rest of the month is free. This means that for an individual, the monthly bill cannot exceed $80 (before taxes and fees) or $205 for a family of four. But there is a catch. Once you consume more than 15GB of data in one month, your data speed is throttled until the next billing cycle begins. Or, you can decide to continue receiving high-speed data by paying $10/GB for any amount of high-speed data you use over 15GB in the same month.

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  • APAC mobile advertising market booming

    APAC mobile advertising market booming

    The Asia Pacific region is leading in mobile ad request with a growth of 44%. This is almost twice the average growth of the Americas and EMEA regions, both of which are pegged at 23%.

    This was the conclusion of the Global Trends in Mobile Advertising H2 2018 report by Smaato, which offers programmatic insights designed to help publishers and advertisers with their decision-making on ads.

    Among others, the report investigated in-app growth, advertising spending, mobile video and advertising fraud.

    The mobile ad market is healthy, according to Smaato, with significant growth across all key advertising metrics, including ad request volume and eCPMs. Demand and supply both increased year-over-year, as advertisers direct more money into mobile advertising.

    In the APAC, India stood out from the pack with a 425% growth in mobile ad requests. This was more than twice the growth rate of the fastest growing markets in EMEA and the Americas, which were led by Spain at 152% and the USA at 170% respectively.

    Smaato says India’s meteoric ad request growth is characteristic of an emerging mobile market in which the number of mobile device owners, their time spent on mobile, and overall app downloads all rise quickly.

    When it comes to the top countries for eCPM growth, Singapore (154%), Japan (125%), Australia (111%), Hong Kong (99%) and Indonesia (96%) topped the charts. As comparison, eCPMs increased in the United States by 79% and in Canada by 70%, while Switzerland (92%) and the United Kingdoms (66%) topped the chart in the EMEA.

    “The impressive ad request and eCPM growth in APAC are driven by app developers finding new ways to better monetize their content even as consumers are spending more time on apps. Advertisers from all verticals are realizing that apps are where consumers are — and they are directing more funds into this channel,” Smaato APAC managing director Alex Khan said.

    “With app usage increasing across the region, there will also be more monetization opportunities for mobile publishers.”

    The full report can be downloaded here (free registration).

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  • Singtel to invest a further $536m in Bharti Airtel

    Singtel to invest a further $536m in Bharti Airtel

    Singtel Group has revealed plans to subscribe to Bharti Airtel’s 250 billion rupee ($3.57 billion) right issue, taking up its full entitlement for its direct stake of 15%.

    Airtel will take up 170 million new shares at an issue price of 220 rupees per share for a total of 37.5 billion rupees ($535.7 million).

    Airtel major shareholder Bharti Group has also committed to taking its full entitlement under the issue, while fellow major shareholder Bharti Telecom has renounced part of its entitlement in favor of Singapore sovereign investment fund GIC Singapore, which will invest around 50 billion rupees.

    The major shareholders and GIC have together committed a total of 67% of the rights issue. The renunciation to GIC will take Singtel’s effective interest in Airtel to 35.2%, with the operator maintaining its position as Airtel’s largest shareholder.

    “Our participation in this rights offering with our partners and a leading investor such as GIC reflects our long-standing commitment to Airtel and the confidence in the future of the Indian market,” Singtel International CEO Arthur Lang said.

    “Airtel has performed well despite business headwinds and is consolidating its position in a more sustainable market. Our partnership with Airtel spans some two decades and we continue to take a long-term view of India, having recently invested in Bharti Telecom and Airtel Africa.”

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  • India has world’s cheapest mobile data

    India has world’s cheapest mobile data

    India is the cheapest country in the world for mobile data, while 10 of the top 20 cheapest countries are in continental Asia, according to analysis from broadband price comparison site cable.co.uk.

    Analysis of mobile data plans in the 230 countries with mobile broadband availability found that Indian operators offer an average price per 1GB of data of $0.26 – well below the global average of $8.53.

    The analysis also shows that Asian countries made up half of the top 20 cheapest markets in the world, with the average price of 1GB of data being well over $1 in Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

    Malaysia ($1.18 per 1GB), Indonesia ($1.21), Bhutan ($1.25), Iran ($1.28) and Vietnam ($1.31) also made the top 20 list, and only three Asian countries are more expensive than the global average – Taiwan ($9.49), China ($9.89), and South Korea ($15.12).

    The analysis did not include countries in the Oceania/Pacific region. Australia is by far the cheapest country in the region with average prices of $2.47 per 1GB. The most expensive market in the region is Samoa at $30.09.

    “Many of the cheapest countries in which to buy mobile data fall roughly into one of two categories,” Cable.co.uk consumer telecoms analyst Dan Howdle said.

    “Some have excellent mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure and so providers are able to offer large amounts of data, which brings down the price per gigabyte. Others with less advanced broadband networks are heavily reliant on mobile data and the economy dictates that prices must be low, as that’s what people can afford.”

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  • VinaPhone launches eSIM technology in Vietnam

    VinaPhone launches eSIM technology in Vietnam

    Vietnam has today officially become the 25th nation in the world to launch eSIM technology.

    VinaPhone, the mobile subsidiary of state-owned operator VNPT, has held the official mass market launch of eSIM technology, Vietnamese state news agency SGGP reported.

    VinaPhone has already distributed nearly 5,000 eSIM preorders to customers.

    The company is also offering customers the ability to change to an eSIM by entering their EMEI and a one-time password, and then scanning a QR code sent from the system, and has revealed it received more than 7,000 eSIM registration requests in less than a month.

    VinaPhone deputy general director Nguyen Truong Giang told the publication the operator is now developing applications designed specifically to be integrated into eSIMs and introduce more features and utilities for users.

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  • China Telecom chief moves to China Mobile

    China Telecom chief moves to China Mobile

    China Telecom announced that Yang Jie (pictured) has resigned from his role as chairman of parent company China Telecom Corporation, and has been re-designated as chairman of China Mobile Communications Group.

    Yang has also resigned from his positions as executive director, chairman and CEO of Hong Kong-listed China Telecom Limited, due to the change in work arrangement, according to a company announcement released last week [pdf].

    He replaces Shang Bing, who is stepping down as chairman of China Mobile upon reaching retirement age.

    Shang, a former vice minister of the telecom watchdog, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), was appointed the chairman of China Mobile in September 2015 when the Beijing government reshuffled the heads of the country’s three state-owned telecom carriers.

    In a statement, China Mobile acknowledged Shang’s outstanding contributions to the company with “the highest regard and deepest gratitude”.

    The changes take effect on March 4, 2019.

    Yang was chairman and CEO of China Telecom since May 2016 and previously served as the company’s president and COO. China Telecom hasn’t yet made any announcement on Yang’s replacement at the company.

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  • SK Telecom, IT&E to deploy 5G network in Guam and Saipan

    SK Telecom, IT&E to deploy 5G network in Guam and Saipan

    South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom announced that it is in discussion with Citadel and IT&E to deploy a 5G network in Guam and Saipan. In a statement, SKT and IT&E will work together to commercialize the 5G network with fixed wireless access (FWA) offering in Guam and Saipan in the second half of 2019.

    SKT said IT&E has already secured 1150MHz bandwidth in the 28-GHz frequency band for 5G communications and aims to become the first operator to launch commercial service in the region.

    The 5G network will initially cover dense central areas of cities, local business customers, and areas that lacked fixed broadband infrastructure. This will be expanded gradually to wider areas.

    According to SKT, the decision to deploy 5G FWA initially came as a result of an analysis of the region’s fixed broadband infrastructure, topographic features and the needs of residential and enterprise customers. FWA provides IT&E with a more cost-effective and efficient alternative to offer broadband services in areas with limited access to fixed broadband infrastructure.

    As part of the collaboration, SKT will help IT&E design a 5G network optimized for the local environment, support network deployment and perform field trials and network optimization.

    SKT said the pair have also discussed cooperation in other areas, such as deploying SK Telecom’s security solutions to IT&E’s 5G network, and adopting mobile edge computing and quantum cryptography technologies to enable faster and safer 5G services.

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  • Half of PaaS services now cloud-only

    Half of PaaS services now cloud-only

    A new Gartner report, “Platform as a Service: Definition, Taxonomy and Vendor Landscape, 2019” revealed that 48% of 550 PaaS offerings are cloud-only. Not a single vendor has a foothold across all 21 segments, and 90% of them only operate within a single PaaS market segment.

    “Business and technology leaders are shifting to strategic investment in cloud computing,” said Yefim Natis, research vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “Cloud computing is one of the key disruptive forces in IT markets that is gaining mainstream trust.”

    Natis commented that although many organizations anticipate long-term retention of on-premises computing, the vendors of nearly half of the cloud platform offerings bet on the prevailing growth of cloud deployments and chose the more modern and more efficient cloud-only delivery of their capabilities.

    Gartner predicts that enterprise IT spending for cloud-based offerings will surpass spending on non-cloud IT offerings by 2022. The analyst forecasts total PaaS market revenue to reach $20 billion in 2019, and to exceed $34 billion in 2022.

    In this shift to the cloud, database and application platform services represent the largest market segments, with blockchain, digital experience, serverless and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) platform services as the newest.

  • Executives blind to disruptive nature of 5G

    Executives blind to disruptive nature of 5G

    Accenture says business and technology executives underestimate the disruptive potential of 5G technology. Fifty-three percent of respondents in a global survey of 1,800 executives in 10 countries believe there are “very few” things that 5G will enable them to do that they cannot already do with 4G networks. Only 37% expect 5G to bring a “revolutionary” shift in speed and capacity.

    Competitive advantage

    5G is believed to have important competitive implications. Up to 60% of surveyed executives believe 5G will cover nearly all the population by the year 2022, and 70% believe that 5G applications will give them a competitive edge with customers. Speed will be a key advantage according to 46% of respondents while 42% cite its capacity.

    “The reality is that 5G will bring a major wave of connectivity that opens new dimensions for innovation and commercial and economic development,” said George Nazi, Accenture’s Network practice global lead. “Breakthroughs in three-dimensional video, immersive television, autonomous cars, and smart-city infrastructure will unleash opportunities that are difficult to imagine today but will soon be transformative. Telecommunications companies will play a pivotal role in bringing these prospects to light.”

    Role of carriers

    Up to 72% of executives said they need help to imagine future possibilities and use cases of 5G. These see telcos as just the right partner on their 5G journeys, cited by 40% of respondents. Hampering this partnership is the recognition by 60% of respondents who cite telcos’ lack of industry knowledge as a key challenge.

    Other barriers include the need for upfront investment (36%), security (32%) and employee buy-in (29%). While 78% of executives believe that using 5G in the workplace will make their business more secure, 32% have concerns about the security of the new connectivity standard.

    Anders Lindblad, Accenture’s Communications & Media industry lead for Europe, said, “Despite the knowledge gap, there is excitement among business leaders about the value that 5G can bring to enterprises. This value is currently trapped within the perceived risks and uncertainty around 5G, which can be unlocked by organizations that understand customer needs, can overcome barriers to adoption and can drive collaboration among service providers.”

  • Indosat Ooredoo picks Nokia for IP/MPLS upgrade

    Indosat Ooredoo picks Nokia for IP/MPLS upgrade

    Indosat Ooredoo has contracted Nokia to upgrade the Indonesian operator’s IP/MPLS network to meet fast-growing demand for fixed and mobile broadband services.

    Indosat Ooredoo is deploying a 100GbE IP/MPLS network as part of a three-year network transformation program.

    Nokia will provide a solution that includes its Nokia IP Anyhaul for Indosat’s mobile transport network, paving the way for its upgrade to 5G. The network will also carry services including metro Ethernet for consumer broadband and enterprise data services.

    The first year of the network upgrade project will concentrate on Jakarta, Jabodetabek and the rest of Java.

    “Indosat Ooredoo started an ambitious three-year program to transform our network to achieve the best customer experience, which will provide video-grade 4G coverage to more than 90% of Indonesia’s population,” Indosat Ooredoo CTIO Dejan Kastelic said.

    “The IP/MPLS network upgrade that we are undertaking with Nokia is aimed at providing a solid foundation for the network transformation, particularly in the most densely populated area of the country.”

    He said upgrading the company’s existing IP/MPLS network with a new Nokia network processor will help the operator both meet the growth in subscriber demand, while keeping capex costs down by extending the life of existing assets.

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  • Celcom Axiata enters partnership with ZEE5

    Celcom Axiata enters partnership with ZEE5

    Malaysia’s Celcom Axiata has formed a partnership with Indian video content provider ZEE5 and telco API ecosystem provider Apigate to offer access to the ZEE5 content portfolio to its subscribers.

    Under the three-way agreement, Celcom will use Apigate’s Direct Carrier Billing API to provide customers with a secure payment mode to subscribe to ZEE5’s portfolio.

    ZEE5, a subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, offers around 100,000 hours of Indian movies, TV shows, news and original content across 11 Indian languages and English.

    ZEE International CEO Amit Goenka said securing partnerships like the one with Celcom is a key component of the company’s aggressive global rollout plan for the next fiscal year.

    “Malaysia is a high focus market for us, given its huge affinity for Indian and South Asian content and growing appetite for online video content,” he said.

    “We will soon be launching content in international languages too including Malay, and we are extremely glad to partner with a key local operator like Celcom to jointly grow the opportunity in this market.”

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  • Public safety applications among early use of 5G sUAVs

    Public safety applications among early use of 5G sUAVs

    Public safety agencies in big markets have started to deploy mobile broadband communication networks to replace their existing narrowband technology, such as FirstNet in the United States and the Emergency Services Network in the United Kingdom.

    The transition to 5G New Radio will unlock a myriad of civil use cases for small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs), said ABI Research.

    As compared to a few years ago, sUAVs have been widely deployed in various public safety applications. This includes asset surveillance and monitoring, traffic management, crowd surveillance, and control, as well as search and rescue.

    However, all these applications are performed using remote control and within visual line of sight. Existing communication technologies, such as LTE, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and unlicensed spectrum, all have their limitations and restrictions.

    “The biggest strengths of 5G are high throughput and low latency,” said Lian Jye Su, a principal analyst at ABI Research. “The high throughput enables the seamless transmission of high-resolution images and videos that are critical for search and rescue missions. Low latency, on the other hand, allows sUAVs to be controlled by a centralized command and control in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight. Path and route information, sensor information, geospatial, and telemetry data can be exchanged with the command and control almost instantaneously.”

    With the increasing number of sUAVs sharing the airspace, public safety agencies will need UAV Traffic Management (UTM) system to control and manage national airspace. Each sUAV that is connected to the network will have a unique identifier which allows tracking and tracing across all kinds of terrains and environments. This will help public safety agencies track down rogue sUAVs and preserve the safety and security of the airspace.

    In addition, 5G also enhances existing geo-positioning technology. Currently, satellite communications such as GPS and GLONASS are used for sUAV tracking, but satellite signals face a canyoning effect in dense urban landscapes and are subjected to interruption by buildings and natural landscapes. In indoor environments, sUAVs rely on optical flow and ultrasonic sensors for positioning and navigation, but this system is limited to the hardware available on the sUAVs. Cellular technology can augment satellite by using a radio fingerprinting technique, which matches cellular signal measurements against a central calibrated database and does not require an extra device or upgrade to the public safety network.

    “The mission critical nature of public safety use cases demands a high level of reliability, scalability, and redundancy. Despite still being in the early stage of deployment, 5G has strong potential to solve the pain-points of public safety use cases. The telecommunications industry will start to roll out 5G equipment and devices in 2019 and it is just a matter of time before we start to see 5G sUAVs being deployed by public safety agencies,” concluded Su.

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