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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.

  • BSNL, Nokia to collaborate on public safety networking

    BSNL, Nokia to collaborate on public safety networking

    Nokia and Indian state-owned operator BSNL are expanding their relationship with an agreement to jointly explore opportunities in the public safety sector.

    Under the agreement, Nokia will become BSNL’s OEM technology partner for public safety projects in support of the government’s efforts to advance public safety standards in the country.

    The two companies will explore developing solutions for first responders based on Nokia‘s ViTrust line of critical communications products.

    This will include the Nokia Ultra Compact Network, a portable solution designed to allow the deployment of a mission critical LTE mobile broadband network within minutes of arrival.

    The companies will explore opportunities in industry segments including smart cities, border enforcement, and mines and quarries in remote areas, and will work with India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to augment public safety communications systems with LTE technology.

    “As a trusted telecom service provider, BSNL is committed to providing the best technology solutions for public safety professionals,” BSNL chairman and managing director Anuam Srivasta said.

    “Our technology partnership with Nokia is a crucial step in this direction. We have a longstanding working relationship with Nokia, and this project starts a new chapter in our journey. Nokia’s innovation and leadership in mission-critical communications will allow us to deliver a best-in-class public safety network.”

    Last week the two companies announced another collaboration aimed at using LTE technology to improve operational efficiency at Nokia’s Chennai manufacturing plant.

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  • SKT, Deutsche Telekom sign co-investment agreement

    SKT, Deutsche Telekom sign co-investment agreement

    SK Telecom and Germany’s Deutsche Telekom have signed a strategic cross-investment partnership aimed at strengthening their competitiveness in 5G.

    Under the agreement, SK Telecom will invest in MobiledgeX, a Deutsche Telekom subsidiary focused on edge computing technology.

    Deutsche Telekom will reciprocate by investing the same amount in ID Quantique, an SK Telecom strategic partner in quantum cryptography communication technology.

    The operators have made the cross-investment in a bid to ensure they are in a position to offer specilized 5G services in the upcoming 5G era, supporting the expected development of intelligent services such as connected vehicles, smart factories and wearable devices.

    As part of the collaboration, SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom are evaluating applying quantum cryptography communications technologies on their respective 5G trial networks.

    The companies are also reviewing using mobile edge computing technologies to reduce data transfer time, for applications such as enabling authorities to conduct on-site monitoring of disaster-affected areas or responding more quickly to traffic accidents.

    The collaboration will also cover initiatives in new business areas such as artificial and virtual reality. SK Telecom is pleased to enter into a cross-investment agreement with Deutsche Telekom as it will serve as a valuable opportunity for us to further solidify our 5G leadership in the global market and drive new growth,” SK Telecom president and CEO Park Jung-ho said.

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  • Construction begins on PEACE cable

    Construction begins on PEACE cable

    Huawei Marine Networks and the 12,000 kilometer PEACE Cable system have hit a new milestone. The project has now entered into the cable and material manufacturing stage, staying on schedule for an RFS date in the first quarter of 2020.

    PEACE stands for Pakistan & East Africa Connecting Europe, which tells you pretty succinctly the route they will be taking. With one end in Pakistan and the other in southern France, it will come ashore in Djibouti and Egypt along the way with an extension south to Somalia, Kenya, and the Sechelles.

    Further plans suggest extending that branch further down to South Africa.  The landing parties on either end will be Pakistan’s Cybernet and Djibouti Telecom, and the agreements for destinations in between are expected to follow in the next few weeks.

    The build promises the lowest latency route between Europe and China, although the materials I have don’t say exactly how they plan to do that – a terrestrial leg through Pakistan and western China perhaps?

    When complete, the PEACE cable promises 16Tbps per fiber pair. An earlier announcement suggested 5 fiber pairs for a total of 60Tbps, though I don’t know if plans have evolved since then.

  • Malaysia’s TM hires four new board members

    Malaysia’s TM hires four new board members

    Telekom Malaysia (TM) has appointed four new directors to the company’s board, following the resignation of David Benello as an independent non-executive director. The new directors are Dato’ Asri Hamidin @ Hamidon, Dato’ Mohd Naim Daruwish, Hisham Zainal Mokhtar and Saheran Suhendran.

    Asri Hamidin is appointed as a non-independence non-executive director representing the special shareholder, Minister of Finance (Inc) on the board.

    Mohd Naim has been made a non-independent non-executive director representing the interests of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) which is a major shareholder of the Malaysian incumbent.

    Asri is currently the deputy secretary general (investment) at the Ministry of Finance, while Mohd Naim is currently the deputy chief executive (operations) of EPF.

    Hisham and Saheran were appointed as the independent non-executive directors.

    Hisham is currently a director in the group MD’s office at Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd, while Saheran is currently a consultant at Messrs Chua Associates.

    All the board appointment took effect on October 3.

    TM also announced that Farid Basir has joined the telco as its new chief human capital officer (CHCO). Farid, taking over the position previously covered by Suhaimi Sulong as the acting CHCO since early this year, assumed his new role on October 1.

    Prior to his appointment, Farid was the CHCO at Bank Rakyat for almost three years.

    Cisco names Herman Lam as MD for HK & Macau

    Cisco has appointed Herman Lam as managing director for Hong Kong and Macau.

    The company has also announced that Barbara Chiu, vice president of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, will retire by end of October.

    Cisco said Lam brings to the table over 25 years of experience in IT industry combined with a wealth of leadership and management experience gained with leading technology firms.

    Prior to joining Cisco, Lam’s previous stints include CEO of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, and general manager of Microsoft Hong Kong.

    Commenting on the appointment, Cisco Greater China chief executive officer Hera Siu said Lam’s “unique blend of experience and knowledge, complemented by extraordinary vision and operational expertise within large organizations,” will bring valuable insights to the company.

    “I also want to thank Barbara, who has had an immeasurable impact on Cisco’s success and express my utmost appreciation for her devotion and leadership during the past 12 years,” Siu noted.

    21Vianet appoints Wing-Dar Ker as DYXnet Group’s CEO

    Chinese carrier-neutral network service provider DYXnet Group has announced that Wing-Dar Ker has been appointed as the company’s new CEO.

    He takes over the position from company founder and CEO Lap Man, who will continue to serve the group as adviser.

    The appointment was made by 21Vianet Group, parent company of DYXnet Group and one of China’s carriers and cloud-neutral internet data center service providers.

    Wing is also president of Shanghai Blue Cloud Technologies Co Ltd, 21Vianet Group’s other wholly-owned subsidiary.

    The move is aimed at facilitating greater collaboration between DYXnet Group and Blue Cloud, while exploring and capitalizing on synergies, 21Vianet said.

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  • CITIC Telecom CTC opens cloud centers in London and Moscow

    CITIC Telecom CTC opens cloud centers in London and Moscow

    CITIC Telecom CPC, a subsidiary of CITIC Telecom International Holdings Limited, is launching new connected SmartCLOUD Services Center in Moscow and London. Stephen Ho, CEO of CITIC Telecom CPC, said the ‘Europe & Russia Cloud Ring’ will be crucial for European-based enterprises who are looking to invest in and explore the emerging market and business opportunities in mainland China.

    The two new sites will provide enterprise customers with scalable multi-cloud connectivity with full disaster recovery capability and intra-city, inter-city and cross-boundary redundancies. They will also provide round-the-clock professional support optimizing customers’ IT investment, achieving a faster response time and ensuring business continuity.

    The move follows the company’s recent debut of two cloud centers in Frankfurt, Germany, and Cape Town, South Africa. The company now has 18 cloud centers across Asia Pacific, America, South Africa, Europe and Russia.

    Mavenir creates open RAN ecosystem

    Mavenir has announced an Open RAN partner ecosystem that includes MTI, Tecore Networks, Baicells, NEC, AceAxis, KMW, Benetel, CommScope, Blue Danube Systems and Airrays.

    The move aims to provide more options and makes it easy for operators to deploy an innovative, flexible cloud-based Open RAN solution, the company said.

    Mavenir will act as the end-to-end systems integrator simplifying the engagement for operators and creating an offering that is on par with the traditional, hardware centric proprietary vendors.

    Juniper Networks invests $2m in Corero

    Corero Networks said it has secured a $2 million investment from Juniper Networks.

    The investment follows the pair’s recently signed multi-year global resale partnership, under which Juniper will resell and support Corero’s SmartWall DDoS protection software products and services.

    ServiceNow taps NTT Com to launch two data centers in Japan

    ServiceNow is building two new data centers in Tokyo and Osaka through a partnership with NTT Communications to provide high-performing and high-availability cloud services to enterprises in Japan.

    The two data centers being built by NTT Com are expected to be ready in the first half of 2019.

    The new Japanese data centers are expected to enhance the ServiceNow Nonstop Cloud, which has been designed to support the availability and scalability of services and processes for global enterprises.

    The new data centers will add to ServiceNow’s existing nine data center pairs, which are set up across five continents to meet customers’ location and data sovereignty needs.

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  • Samsung buys Spanish AI firm Zhilabs in prep for 5G

    Samsung buys Spanish AI firm Zhilabs in prep for 5G

    Samsung Electronics announced that it has acquired Barcelona-based artificial intelligence startup Zhilabs in a bid to further enhance its 5G capabilities.

    Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

    Zhilabs will be fully owned by Samsung, but it will continue to operate independently under its own management, the South Korean vendor said in a statement.

    Zhilabs provides AI-based network and service analytics solutions and its products are used by telecoms carriers including Celcom, Maxis, NTT East, Telenor, O2, Vodafone, TIM, and Telefonica.

    Samsung said AI-based automation will play a central role in the introduction of new services driven by 5G, such as industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and connected cars, as carriers seek to implement new automated solutions and network virtualization features.

    “5G will enable unprecedented services that generate exponentially greater data traffic, for which automated and intelligent network analytics tools are vital,” said Youngky Kim, president and head of networks business at Samsung Electronics.

    “The acquisition of Zhilabs will enable Samsung to help carriers meet these demands to measure and ensure the quality of each subscriber’s service experience.”

    The acquisition of Zhilabs is also part of the company’s pledge, announced in August, to invest 25 trillion won ($22 billion) in AI, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals technologies.

  • Dialog Axiata to establish 5G innovation center

    Dialog Axiata to establish 5G innovation center

    Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata has teamed up with Ericsson to establish the market’s first 5G innovation center.

    The new center will seek to encourage Sri Lankans to develop innovative IoT and ICT technologies and solutions. It will engage in collaborative research with local universities and global institutions.

    Researchers and entrepreneurs will be able to use the center’s facilities to design and develop prototypes and conduct verification testing. Developers, academics and ecosystem partners will also be able to test 5G capabilities on-site.

    The center will be backed by investments of over 500 million rupees ($2.89 million) in connectivity, equipment and infrastructure, the two companies said.

    “The 5G Innovation Center is another milestone in Dialog’s Technology leadership as we prepare to commercially launch 5G, ahead of the rest of South Asia,” Dialog Axiata group CEO Supun Weerashinghe said.

    “5G sets a capable environment to help fast track IoT developments along with next generation video and robot/manufacturing automation. Advancing the transformational technology of 5G in Sri Lanka will enable exciting possibilities across education, health, agriculture and manufacturing and also harness entrepreneurship and provide a springboard for in-country talent.”

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  • Ericsson, LimeLight to collaborate on content delivery

    Ericsson, LimeLight to collaborate on content delivery

    Ericsson has announced an agreement with Limelight Networks to add content delivery capabilities to its new Ericsson Unified Delivery Network (UDN) platform.

    Ericsson aims to develop UDN as a webscale edge delivery network, and is using the agreement with Limelight Networks to add content delivery as the first application built on the platform.

    Edge computing promises to address rapid increasing demand for data by leveraging distributed infrastructure to support low laency applications such as IoT, gaming and virtual reality.

    “We are always looking for ways to improve the performance and reach of our network,” LimeLight Networks CEO Bob Lento said.

    “The strength of Ericsson’s partnerships with communications service providers through the UDN Network is a key component of this agreement that enable us to offer even better reach and performance for our customers. We are delighted to work with Ericsson on this initiative.”

    According to Frost and Sullivan principal analyst Dan Rayburn, edge computing and content delivery are a powerful combination.

    “Combining content delivery technologies with an edge cloud platform that’s distributed inside ISPs is one of the best ways to guarantee optimal performance and allow application providers to use edge services to improve the end-user experience,” he said.

  • India allocates license-free 5-GHz spectrum

    India allocates license-free 5-GHz spectrum

    The Indian government has freed up spectrum in the 5-GHz frequency band for use in the provision of license free Wi-Fi and short range 5G services.

    The government has issued a notification stating that no license will be required to establish or operate wireless equipment for the provision of low power wireless systems including radio local area networks, in parts of the 5-GHz band.

    The directive covers spectrum in the range of 5150-MHz to 5250-MHz; 5250-MHz to 5350-MHz; 5470-MHz to 5725-MHz; and 5725-MHz to 5875-MHz, and is designed to support short range communications such as for providing coverage for apartment buildings or shopping centers.

    This frequency range is used for the provision of Wi-Fi services worldwide, and can also be used to augment capacity for 5G services, according to SN Gupta, secretary general of the ITU’s APT foundation of India.

    It will support the government’s goal of improving Wi-Fi coverage nationwide. Under the Bharat Net program, the government plans to roll out 10 million Wi-Fi hotspots across the country in rural areas, and is in discussions with the market’s telecoms operators to augment Wi-Fi coverage in urban areas.

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  • Dialog Axiata launches VoWiFi

    Dialog Axiata launches VoWiFi

    Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata has launched what it says is the nation’s first voice over Wi-Fi calling service. The operator’s VoWiFi service does not require a third party app to be installed and allows calls to be received over Wi-Fi as if they were standard incoming calls.

    Dialog Axiata is offering five Huawei smartphones that support the VoWiFi service, and plans to extend it to other VoWiFi supported handsets from Samsung, Apple and other vendors in the near future.

    “Dialog is committed to delivering the latest in technology and connectivity to all Sri Lankans, and VoWiFi is another key step in offering next generation solutions to our customers,” Dialog Axiata CTO Pradeep De Almeida said.

    “We started this journey by enhancing the infrastructure in our network and migrating to a new state-of-the-art core network. For our customers, this means a better experience through greater agility and flexibility.”

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  • Converge ICT Solutions launches all fiber network

    Converge ICT Solutions launches all fiber network

    Huawei has provided its Agile WAN Solution to the Philippines’ Converge ICT Solutions to support the operator’s goal of rolling out the Philippines’ first pure end-to-end fiber network.

    Converge, which started as a HFC-based cable TV operator, has deployed an extensive all fiber network covering Central Luzon, the Philippines’ Capital Region and South Luzon.

    The company has licenses to operate fixed networks, fiber optics, cable TV, enterprise private lines, fixed broadband, and wireless broadband services.

    The company is expanding on its MAN service market in Metro Manila with high speed optical services, and has been seeking a solution to deliver a reliable, high capacity and elastic network.

    Huawei recommended its Agile WAN Solution for the deployment. Huawei has mostly built Converge’s entire network, from its DWDM backbone and MPLS core through to the MAN and down to the access network.

    Converge COO Jesus Romero said the network upgrade will support the company’s future plans to expand into services such as FTTH, enterprise data services, data center services, cloud services, and smart city services nationwide.

    “Early on we felt we needed a network that was reliable, scalable, cost-effective, and allowed us to easily implement new products and services, and we are very pleased that we were able to, in fact, get that with Huawei,” he said.

    “Huawei has been responsive in terms of support. In terms of pricing, they remain competitive, and they help us a lot with strategy planning, what to do next, and where to go – which is one key area where we feel we should continue and expand cooperation.”

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  • OnApp launches upgraded cloud management platform

    OnApp launches upgraded cloud management platform

    UK-based cloud platform software company OnApp has launched version 6.0 of its OnApp cloud management platform for telcos and MSPs.

    OnApp 6.0 includes a new version of OnApp accelerator, which boasts an up to 100% performance improvement for websites hosted in OnApp clouds.

    The new version also introduces buckets,  a combined role-based access control and billing engine designed to give cloud service providers flexibility in how they package and price cloud services.

    Other features include new SDN capabilities, enhanced cloud workload import, notification and automation features and support for the VMware vCenter suite.

    “OnApp makes cloud easy for telcos, MSPs and other service providers who have struggled to make cloud profitable – either because of the cost and complexity of building and managing their own open source clouds, or because of the commercial limitations of reselling hyperscale clouds like AWS,” OnApp chief commercial officer Tim Meredith said.

    “The new version of OnApp makes it even easier to build a cloud with OnApp, integrate cloud billing models with your existing billing systems and processes, and get to market fast with your own accelerated cloud services.”

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  • KT secures $26.5m smart meter project in Uzbekistan

    KT secures $26.5m smart meter project in Uzbekistan

    South Korean telco KT has signed a 30 billion won ($26.5 million) contract with state-run power electricity supplier Uzbekenergo to install smart meters in Uzbekistan. Under the deal, KT will install smart meters in 360,000 households throughout the central Asian country over the next two years. KT has made its foray into Uzbekistan’s energy sector since it secured a 120 billion won deal ($106 million) with Uzbekenergo to provide its smart energy meters in 2015.

    The company so far installed its smart meters in 1 million Uzbek households throughout the three provinces of Samarkand, Jizzakh and Bukhara as a result of the first contract.

    Smart meters are electronic devices that record electricity consumption and have a two-way, real-time communication feature between the power company and its customers.

    With the smart energy meters, Uzbek households can monitor their real-time power usage and view online billing, enabling them to use electricity in a more efficient and effective way, KT said in a statement.

    Following the deal with Uzbekenergo, KT said it hopes to expand its smart meter business to the energy sectors in other Eurasian countries.

    “This project shows KT’s success in building trust in Uzbekistan with our technological excellence,” said Yoon Kyoung-Lim, head of KT’s global business office.

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  • China Unicom more than doubles nine-month profit

    China Unicom more than doubles nine-month profit

    China Unicom has revealed it expects to report a more than doubling of its profit for the first nine months of the year, despite facing significant pressure on mobile service revenues. The operator’s unaudited results show a 116.6% increase in net profit for the first three quarters of 2018 to 8.87 billion yuan ($1.28 billion).

    Mobile service revenue grew an estimated 7.2% year-on-year to 125.42 billion yuan, despite the company’s ongoing implementation of a national policy requiring operators to upgrade network speeds while reducing tariffs for customers.

    The nation’s operators have agreed to reduce the cost of mobile data services by at least 30% by the end of the year.

    China Unicom also stopped charging domestic data roaming fees from July in response to another government directive. Roaming fees for domestic long distance calls were abolished last year.

    In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, China Unicom said it was able to mitigate these pressures on its mobile revenues by optimizing tariff packages and more heavily promoting large data bundles to its customers.

    Fixed line revenues are meanwhile expected to have grown 5.2% year-on-year to 73.22 billion yuan.

    China Unicom’s profit for the nine month period also includes a 1.47 billion yuan influx resulting from an increase in its share of the profit from tower infrastructure joint venture China Tower following its public listing and new share issuance.

    The company added that it is anticipating a seasonal increase in competition during the fourth quarter, but it has strategic plans in place to cope with any challenges.

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  • Dialog Axiata launches VoWiFi

    Dialog Axiata launches VoWiFi

    Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata has launched what it says is the nation’s first voice over Wi-Fi calling service. The operator’s VoWiFi service does not require a third party app to be installed and allows calls to be received over Wi-Fi as if they were standard incoming calls. Dialog Axiata is offering five Huawei smartphones that support the VoWiFi service, and plans to extend it to other VoWiFi supported handsets from Samsung, Apple and other vendors in the near future.

    “Dialog is committed to delivering the latest in technology and connectivity to all Sri Lankans, and VoWiFi is another key step in offering next generation solutions to our customers,” Dialog Axiata CTO Pradeep De Almeida said.

    “We started this journey by enhancing the infrastructure in our network and migrating to a new state-of-the-art core network. For our customers, this means a better experience through greater agility and flexibility.”

    Lees ook: