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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.

  • 5G to account for 57% of China tech spend in 2019

    5G to account for 57% of China tech spend in 2019

    Spending on 5G will account for the majority of China’s technology spending in 2019 as the nation continues to spend heavily to ensure it leads the global race to implement the mobile technology, Forrester Research predicts.

    China will spend a total of $256 billion on technology goods and services this year, with 5G spending to account for 57% of this, the research firm said in a new report.

    The nation is best positioned to win the global race to implement 5G after having outspent the US in this area by around $24 billion since 2015.

    Meanwhile China and Japan are set to dominate technology spending in Asia-Pacific, collectively accounting for 60% of the total market. India will be third with anticipated spending of $70 million, Forrester said.

    India, China and the US will also see the strongest growth amid a slowing global technology market. Total growth in spending is expected to slow to 4.5% in 2019, and to 3.8% in 2020.

    The report also found that Asia-Pacific still lags the US and Europe in terms of cloud adoption, because the infrastructure in most Asia-Pacific markets is not mature enough to support cloud solutions.

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  • Inmarsat receives $3.3b buyout bid

    Inmarsat receives $3.3b buyout bid

    Satellite operator Inmarsat is in talks to be acquired by a consortium of private equity investors in a deal worth $3.3 billion.

    UK-based Inmarsat is still negotiating with the consortium members over the possible takeover and a binding offer has not yet been received. But the preliminary offer involves cash payment of $7.21 per share.

    The consortium, which includes Apax Partners, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board and Warburg Pincus International, has until April 16 to submit a binding offer or decline to make one.

    The $3.3 billion offer price is only marginally higher than the price offered by US-based satellite provider EchoStar during its takeover bid for Inmarsat in July last year, which was then worth $3.25 billion.

    At the time, Inmarsat’s board rejected the offer on the ground that it “very significantly undervalued Inmarsat and its standalone prospects.”

    But Bloomberg notes that Inmarsat’s share price has been barely changed over the intervening time – until the price was lifted by takeover speculation – and UK-based stocks have been struggling recently due to public investors’ concerns over Brexit. The publication attributes these factors to Inmarsat’s decision to come to the negotiating table this time.

    The deal values Inmarsat at around $6 billion, and represents a 34% premium on the company’s average share price over the past three months.

  • Japan’s NETSTARS joins Singtel’s VIA alliance

    Japan’s NETSTARS joins Singtel’s VIA alliance

    Singtel‘s cross-border mobile payments alliance VIA has expanded into Japan through a partnership with Tokyo-bassed mobile payment technology NETSTARS.

    The addition of NETSTARS to the alliance will add 100,000 stores to the network’s current 1.6 million merchant partners in Asia.

    With the agreement, users of mobile wallets supported by VIA, including Singtel’s Dash and AIS Global Pay, will be able to use their respective wallets at merchants including airports, shopping malls, transportation modes and food and beverage outlets.

    Users will be able to pay instantly in their local currency with competitive foreign exchange rates in Japan.

    NETSTARS aims to grow its merchant base to 1 million stores throughout Japan by the end of next year

    As well as Dash and AIS Global Pay, Thailand’s Kasikornbank and Malaysia’s Boost will soon be adding their mobile wallets to the VIA alliance.

    Singtel Group plans to expand the VIA alliance to include other mobile regional associates including Airtel in India, Globe in the Philippines and Telkomsel in Indonesia, as well as more non-telco partners.

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  • RCom chief spared jail over debt to Ericsson

    RCom chief spared jail over debt to Ericsson

    Reliance Communications (RCom) has terminated a deal to sell its telecom assets to Reliance Jio Infocomm after failing to receive regulatory approval.

    But RCom’s founder Anil Ambani has been granted a last-minute reprieve from being imprisoned for failing to meet the company’s court-ordered repayment obligations to major creditor Ericsson after support from his older brother and founder of Reliance Jio Mukesh.

    In a stock exchange filing, RCom blamed its decision to terminate its asset sale plan to factors including a failure to receive the required permissions from the Department of Telecom.

    RCom also has not received notice of consent or objection from more than 40 of its foreign an Indian lenders regarding the proposed sale, despite holding over 45 meetings over a 15 month period, the company said.

    RCom has also decided to attempt fast track resolution of its overall debt through the National Company Law Tribunal, and the Tribunal has restrained the company from selling or transferring ay assets while the case is ongoing.

    But due to last minute intervention from Mukesh Ambani, RCom revealed in a second statement that the company has managed to make the required 5.5 billion rupee ($80.1 million) payment to Ericsson before the deadline for him to be jailed.

    Ambani was last month found to be in contempt of court over a failure to make the 5.5 billion rupee payment RCom had promised to make to Ericsson in September. He was given four weeks to make the payment or face being jailed for three months.

    “My sincere and heartfelt thanks to my respected elder brother, Mukesh, and Nita, for standing by me during these trying times, and demonstrating the importance of staying true to our strong family values by extending this timely support,” Anil Ambani said in a statement.

    “I and my family are grateful we have moved beyond the past, and are deeply grateful and touched with this gesture.”

    Ambani was referring to the fallout the two brothers had over the inheritance of Reliance Industries from their father Dhirubhai Ambani following his death in 2002. The brothers have since reconciled.

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  • Huawei adopts Open Rack for cloud data centers

    Huawei adopts Open Rack for cloud data centers

    Huawei has revealed plans to adopt the Open Compute Project’s (OCP) Open Rack standard for rack and power delivery architecture for its new public cloud data centers worldwide.

    The Open Rack initiative seeks to redefine the data center rack to significantly reduce energy consumption, while driving operational efficiency by reducing the time it takes to install and maintain racks.

    Huawei will be joining major hyperscale internet companies such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft in adopting the Open Rack standard, which is designed to integrate the rack into data center infrastructure.

    This marks the first OCP standard adopted by Huawei since the Chinese vendor joined the project last year. The vendor is also contributing to a number of OCP projects including rack and power, system management and server projects, and has developed an OCP-based compute module.

    “Huawei’s strategic investment and commitment to OCP is a win-win,” commented Kenneth Zhang, general manager of FusionServer within the Huawei Intelligent Computing Business Department.

    “Combining Huawei’s extensive experience in Telco and Cloud deployments together with the knowledge of the vast OCP community will help Huawei to provide cutting edge, flexible and open solutions to its global customers. In turn, Huawei can leverage its market leadership and global datacenter infrastructure to help introduce OCP to new geographies and new market segments worldwide.”

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  • ADLINK, Charles Industries demo mobile edge AI/ML solution

    ADLINK, Charles Industries demo mobile edge AI/ML solution

    Test and measurement company ADLINK Technology and telecoms, marine and industrial manufacturer Charles Industries have developed the industry’s first pole-mounted multi-access Edge AI and machine learning solution.

    The solution, a complete micro-edge low latency AI, machine and deep learning solution can be co-located on LTE small cell poles or 5G radios, is specifically designed for outdoor telecoms use cases.

    The solution, which can be either pole or wall mounted, integrates ADLINK’s latest AI Edge Server with a Charles Industries Mico Edge Enclosure.

    According to the companies, the solution has the potential to enable a range of new and advanced services, including autonomous vehicles/pods, virtual and augmented reality applications, and vision analytics.

    ADLINK’s mobile edge computing platform has been designed to fully comply with the Open Data Center Committee’s Open Telecom IT Infrastructure standard to meet the 5G requirements of ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and real-time access to the radio network.

    The companies are showcasing the solution at the NVIDIA GPU Technology Conference in San Jose in the US this week.

  • Vodafone Idea contracts Nokia for LTE expansion

    Vodafone Idea contracts Nokia for LTE expansion

    India’s Vodafone Idea has awarded Nokia a contract to improve the operator’s LTE coverage and capacity.

    Under the contract, Nokia will provide Single RAN Advanced, massive MIMO and small cell technology across multiple Indian telecoms circles to support the operator’s network consolidation and modernization program.

    The small cell deployment will help improve both indoor and outdoor coverage and capacity in the circles. Vodafone Idea will also adopt dynamic spectrum sharing technology to make the most productive use of the converged company’s spectrum.

    “Vodafone Idea is undertaking the world’s biggest telecom network integration in India [following the merger between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular], and creating India’s most advanced, secure and cost-efficient network,” Vodafone Idea CTO Vishant Vora said.

    “Extensive use of UBRs, dynamic spectrum sharing, massive MIMO and HetNets are key to our plan in this integration exercise, and we are very happy to partner with Nokia to deploy these futuristic, next generation technologies to prepare a future-proof network for the digital era.”

    Last month Vodafone Idea also contracted Ericsson to deploy LTE equipment for the network integration program, including radio systems and transport equipment from Ericsson’s 5G-ready Ericsson Radio System portfolio.

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  • Cambodia’s SINET to expand into residential market

    Cambodia’s SINET to expand into residential market

    Cambodia’s largest enterprise-focused ISP SINET has selected Nokia to support its expansion into the residential market with FTTH services.

    Under the agreement, Nokia will roll out a nationwide access network starting in major housing apartments and gated communities – known as borey – in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

    SINET plans to deliver broadband services targeted at residents living in newly built gated areas and apartment buildings using Nokia’s Gigabit capable GPON Mini optical line terminal solution.

    SINET CEO Meta Sy said the company plans to use the high speeds and qualities available with GPON technologies to stand out from the crowd and gain a competitive foothold in the residential market.

    “The Cambodia market is crowded with low-quality residential broadband services available at low prices using many off-the-shelf access equipment with little consideration to long term quality and reliability,” he said.

    “When we decided to deploy GPON in borey and housing apartments, we wanted a quality-based and future-proof offering that would set us apart from the competitions. That means the service has to be on-par with international broadband standard in terms of speed, reliability, efficiency and ease of troubleshooting which are key criteria why we selected Nokia.”

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  • Ooredoo launches global blockchain initiative

    Ooredoo launches global blockchain initiative

    Blockchain is a fast-growing digital enabler, with safe, secure, and reliable “distributed ledger” technology providing a permanent digital record of ownership that allows every part of a transaction to be verified.

    While many organizations may know blockchain powering cryptocurrency, there are wider applications of blockchain empowering solutions that can save time and money, and can enhance information security and privacy.

    According to a recent report by IDC, global blockchain spend will grow over 10-fold from $1.5 billion in 2018 to $11.7 billion by 2022.

    As a digital enabler, Ooredoo Group already works closely with public, private and academic sectors in its global footprint to develop blockchain solutions that can create new value in the digital space and enrich people’s digital lives.

    Ooredoo Group’s new blockchain initiative is an open call for innovators to develop blockchain partnerships, solutions, and protocols across business-to-business and business-to-consumer sectors.

    Sheikh Saud Bin Nasser Al-Thani, group chief executive officer, Ooredoo, said: “Blockchain will facilitate new digital business models and revenue in the next five years – helping organisations to run better and to transform people’s daily lives. Using blockchain, organisations and their customers can optimise costs, find new levels of efficiency, transparency, and trust, and enable secure digital payments.”

    For example, property developers can provide smart contracts for ensuring titles, deeds, and facilities management are accurate and secure. Banks can better track cross-border payments, and logistics companies can track and trace products. Healthcare providers can enable digital patient records to optimise treatment. Mega-event organizers can introduce virtual digital payment tokens for merchandise and food and beverage. Sports teams can have real-time athlete health and performance metrics and also manage fan loyalty programs.

    With Ooredoo Group’s Blockchain Initiative, Ooredoo aims to leverage its experience and industry-leading solutions in blockchain combined with 5G, cloud, and the Internet of Things to deliver the biggest benefits to organisations and to customers.

    The Initiative is also bringing together subject matter experts from across the company’s global footprint and business units, including small- and medium-sized businesses, commercial, digital, and legal.

    Sheikh Saud said: “Our Blockchain Initiative aims to open the blockchain floodgates, leveraging global best practices to deliver localised innovation across many of the world’s fastest-growing markets. Our open call to blockchain innovators will also explore integrating blockchain with artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud, and the Internet of Things.”

  • SK Telecom using quantum cryptography for 5G security

    SK Telecom using quantum cryptography for 5G security

    South Korean mobile carrier SK Telecom said it will use quantum cryptography technology to ensure security of its 5G mobile networks.

    The mobile carrier said Monday it has completed applying Quantum Random Number Generator (QRNG) technology of ID Quantique (IDQ), to its 5G subscriber authentication center. The move is designed to prevent hacking and ensure quantum-safe security.

    “The subscriber authentication process is the first and essential step in verifying a mobile device user before he/she is granted access to any voice and video data service, SMS, etc,” SK Telecom said in a statement.

    “Security in this process is crucial since the leakage of authentication key value can lead to serious crimes such as eavesdropping and hacking.”

    In February 2018, SK Telecom invested $65 million into IDQ to accelerate development of quantum technologies for the IoT and telecoms markets.

    SKT plans to expand the use of QRNG in its long-term evolution (LTE) networks in April.

    The mobile carrier will also strengthen security further by applying IDQ’s quantum key distribution (QKD) technology to its 5G and LTE networks between Seoul and Daejeon – the area which has highest mobile data traffic in the country- next month.

    QKD provides cryptographic security based on the laws of quantum mechanics. It enables two parties to produce a shared random secret key known only to them, which can then be used to encrypt and decrypt messages, the mobile carrier noted.

    “As security emerges as one of the most important issues in the 5G era, SK Telecom is determined to provide the most secure 5G network and focus on expanding the ecosystem by developing quantum cryptography technologies,” SK Telecom CTO Park Jin-hyo said.

    SKT will further enhance the safety and security of its mobile networks by expanding the application of quantum cryptography technologies by stages, Park added.

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  • Konnectivity to buy out remaining shares of M1

    Konnectivity to buy out remaining shares of M1

    Konnectivity, the joint venture buying out Singapore’s M1, has revealed plans to embark on a multi-year transformation of the operator to enhance its competitiveness in the market. The venture revealed it will compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in M1 after securing a 94.55% stake.

    Konnectivity, which is jointly owned by Keppel Corporation and Singapore Press Holdings, announced it will exercise its rights to acquire all remaining M1 shares at the offer price of S$2.06 ($1.52) per share, and then take the company private.

    After the compulsory acquisition, Konnectivity will own 80.69% in M1, while Keppel Corp subsidiary Keppel Telecommunications and Transportation will own the remainder.

    After the acquisition closes, Keppel Corporation and SPH plan to work with M1 on a transformation strategy focused on the three prongs of innovation, technology adoption, and digitalization to help Singapore’s smallest operator better compete with larger rivals Singtel and StarHub.

    “As a member of the Keppel Group, M1 looks forward to working closely with the Keppel Group and with SPH to accelerate the changes needed to deliver even more innovative and compelling products and services, to stay ahead of the competition,” M1 CEO Manjot Singh Mann said.

    “M1 shall endeavour to transform to be at the heart of convergence of various digital services and technologies that present day consumers and enterprises demand. Keppel and SPH bring with them their organisational strengths and stability, which will help us chart our growth plans aggressively, while seeking significant opportunities of synergy with them.”

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  • Telenor Pakistan and National Defence University exchange Ideas to Leverage Technology for Development

    Telenor Pakistan and National Defence University exchange Ideas to Leverage Technology for Development

    Telenor Pakistan recently hosted a dinner for a delegation from National Defence University (NDU) Islamabad at its 345 Campus comprising of management of two organizations and participants of International Workshop on Leadership and Security (IWLS).The purpose of the event was to engage in a dialogue on how technology can play a vital role towards national development and empowering societies and to highlight to the international delegates some of the successful and impactful digital initiatives of Telenor Pakistan.

    The high level event was hosted by Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan along with his management team and attended by the faculty and participants of IWLS-1 including delegates from China, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Myanmar, Tunisia, South Africa, Argentina, Portugal, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Finland, Romania, UAE, Syria and The UK. The delegates were given a walkthrough of the latest digital innovations at Telenor Pakistan followed by the tour of the Telenor 345 Campus.

    Mr. Irfan Wahab Khan, CEO Telenor Pakistan opened the event and said that access to technology can have important ancillary benefits and it can help empower people, increase productive investment and consumption and raise productivity and income. “As Pakistan’s leading digital services provider with a strong rural presence, and movers of many industry-first initiatives, we at Telenor Pakistan are fully geared to impact and transform various sectors of Pakistan’s economy through smart connectivity, digitalization of services and platforms and greater financial inclusion of the people of Pakistan. As a forward-looking growth organization, Telenor Pakistan is driven by its ambition to provide intelligent technologies to create better national outcomes through our innovation focus involving the use of Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Blockchain. This model is aligned with our purpose to provide the Government, businesses and people of Pakistan to what matters most to them and allows us to be their partner of choice in their digital transformation.” he added.

    Telenor is leading the ICT-powered digital revolution in Pakistan with a number of innovative products and industry first solutions. The company is firmly focused on digitalization for the masses and has pioneered financial services aimed at higher financial inclusion.

    The participants of the International Workshop being held at NDU appreciated Telenor Pakistan’s ambitions for digital development which are well aligned with the Government’s ambition of a Digital Pakistan. “It’s imperative that we know what developments have taken place in the recent past and what technology holds in store for our future, in order to harvest the benefits. Our findings show that responsible tech is on the rise, even in the midst of technology’s rapid leaps. Technology used in the efficient way will contribute to a sustainable tomorrow.” they added.

    Telenor Pakistan believes there are immense opportunities through technology with a stronger focus on value creation, innovation, enterprise solutions, customer experience and strategic partnerships which are aligned with the company’s promise to deliver on its vision of empowering societies and connecting people to what matters most.

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  • Vodafone Fiji to spend $97m to expand 4G coverage

    Vodafone Fiji to spend $97m to expand 4G coverage

    Vodafone Fiji is investing $207 million Fijian dollars ($96.9 million) to expand its LTE-Advanced coverage to around 96% of the population, from the current 60%. The operator has announced plans to expand the coverage of its “4G plus” network to almost all of Vanualevu, Tavueni, Rabi and the Laucala Island. The 5G-ready upgrade will also cover expanding capacity to meet demand for high speed mobile broadband coverage in the uva-Nausori-Lami Corridor, and the Western Division areas.

    The phased rollout program will involve expanding the number of base stations from 390 to more than 600, almost all of which will support LTE-Advanced. In addition, 100 existing 3G base station will be converted to 4G+ and pre-5G base stations.

    Announcing the investment, Vodafone Fiji regional CEO Pradeep Lal said data usage on the company’s network has surged from 10 petabytes to 400 petabytes over the past two years.

    “Globally, for network technology providers like us, the demand for data is driven largely by Internet of Things (IoT) and the need for access to data at any time anywhere,” he said.

    “It has therefore become a business imperative for network technology providers like Vodafone to provide ubiquitous access to data 24/7. Every electronic gadget that now gets produced in the world, comes with the option to be connected to the internet either through a SIM card or WIFI.”

    Fiji’s smartphone penetration has meanwhile grown to 78%, ahead of the global average of 75%, while the number of active connections to the Vodafone Fiji network now exceeds 1 million.

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  • Mislatel postpones launch date to early 2021

    Mislatel postpones launch date to early 2021

    The Philippines’ Mislatel has postponed the expected start date of its commercial operations to early 2021 as a result of delays receiving a key certificate that will allow it to operate.

    Mislatel, the joint venture established and selected to become the Philippines’ third operator, has moved the start date from its initial target of late 2020.

    Mislatel is jointly owned by China Telecom and local businesses owned by tycoon Dennis Uy.

    The company is still waiting on the issuance of a certificate of public convenience, but the Department of ICT is still waiting on a ratified Congressional resolution on the validity of Mislatel’s operating franchise before this certificate can be issued.

    If the certificate is still not issued this month as anticipated, the commencement date could potentially be delayed further.

    Last month the Senate approved a change in ownership of the franchise Mislatel intends to operate under to the consortium, in order to circumvent issues surrounding the validity of the franchise as a result of former non-compliance with its terms.

    The franchise, which had been held by a company owned by Uy that was also known as Mislatel, had required the commencement of operators within a year of its issuance. This requirement had not been fulfilled, leading to concerns that the franchise was null and void. The Mislatel consortium had also failed to notify the government about a change in ownership of the franchise.

    But the Senate overwhelmingly voted for a resolution to approve the change of ownership to maintain the validity of the franchise.

  • Silent roamers in decline as “roam like at home” goes global

    Silent roamers in decline as “roam like at home” goes global

    A Juniper Research study revealed that operator revenues from international mobile roaming are expected to recover slightly, following a decline in 2017 after the introduction of RLAH (Roam Like at Home) in Europe and other markets.

    But overall roaming revenues are expected to stay flat over the next 4 years, representing around 6% of total operator billed revenues and $51 billion in value.

    RLAH enables mobile users to use their monthly voice, data and messaging allowance while roaming without incurring additional charges.

    RLAH going global

    The new research, Mobile Roaming: Regulations, Opportunities & Emerging Sectors 2019-2023, found that, driven by the introduction of RLAH packages in EU and other regions such as North America and Asia-Pacific, the roaming market witnessed a significant rise in data usage and traffic.

    In 2017, Juniper estimates that data traffic grew by 200% globally and by 260% in West Europe.

    Research author Nitin Bhas added: “While the overall proportion of silent roamers continues to fall in many markets, driven by RLAH and cheaper bundles, the market also witnessed operators extending RLAH to more countries over the past 12-18 months. Additionally, a number of neighboring countries are announcing roam-free intra-regional agreements, similar to the EU.”

    Juniper estimated that the proportion of silent roamers not using any data roaming services in 2018 accounted for 51% of total data roamers globally, down from 72% in 2013.

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