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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.

  • Small Cell Forum puts orchestration, SON on roadmap

    Small Cell Forum puts orchestration, SON on roadmap

    The work program for the Small Cell Forum for the coming year covers “every aspect of densification,” including policy improvements for siting and spectrum, 5G-enabling technologies and the next iteration of its enterprise action plan, according to SCF. One of the work items focuses on the edge computing landscape, which the forum describes as an excellent example of an area where a common framework will be essential to avoid fragmentation—but one where every operator will deploy differently to support different use cases.

    Indeed, the pushing of intelligence, processing and cloud services to the edge of the network is making the small cell into a “gold mine” by adding many more services to the connectivity, according to SCF. Technologies like ETSI’s Multi-access Edge Computing or the OpenFog initiative, which is now the basis of an IEEE standard, are ways to distribute cloud services widely and bring them close to the users, supported along with radios on small cells equipped with processors or in separate miniservers. The distributed topology reduces latency and backhaul costs and improves responsiveness and QoS for users, the forum notes.

    The forum has been bringing operators, vendors and other stakeholders together as part of “Densification Summits” that it has held in the US, China and India over the past 12 months, discussing how to map clear and cost-effective migration paths to dense, software-driven and automated 5G networks. As such, the forum says it has been able to gather a range of requirements from industry and enterprise as to what future networks should enable.

    Another important task for the forum is developing a full road map for orchestration and SON. “Unsurprisingly, on the eve of commercial 5G, many of the issues which operators highlighted relate to that new standard—for instance, how it will interwork with WiFi, and what a 5G small cell for massive IoT applications should look like,” the SCF stated. “And some of the Forum’s most important 4G technologies will be revisited to plot a 5G migration, including the nFAPI interface for virtualized small cell networks.”

    According to the forum, one of the most important foundations of the new work program is the Enterprise, which is based on a year of in-depth discussions within SCF’s Enterprise Advisory Council. It identifies requirements that are common to all sectors and can be addressed by a unified small cell platform, while also drilling down on the specific variations within individual markets such as hospitality, healthcare and commercial property.

    SCF says it has been increasingly engaged with spectrum regulators and national and municipal authorities to help them understand the benefits of densification and how it can be accelerated by the right rules. Activities in 2018-19 will take this work further, to remove more of the barriers that challenge at-scale deployment.

    Last month, the FCC voted to approve rules aimed at speeding up the deployment of small cells and other 5G network equipment by regulating in part the fees and timelines cities and states can impose on wireless network operators and other wireless players.

    US outdoor small cell antenna shipments increased 84% in 2017, according to a report from EJL Wireless Research. The firm is forecasting that US outdoor small cell antenna shipments will increase by 75% in 2018 due to increasing demand from all four US national mobile operators as well as neutral host operators.

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  • Nokia, STC to deploy LTE air-to-ground trial network

    Nokia, STC to deploy LTE air-to-ground trial network

    Nokia and Saudi Telecom Company subsidiary STC Business have teamed up to launch a pilot LTE-based air-to-ground network in Saudi Arabia. The agreement was signed at GITEX Technology Week 2018, and follows a successful trial of Nokia’s LTE-based air to ground solution on a flight from Riyadh to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Under the agreement, Nokia and STC will jointly work to build a commercial strategy for providing customers with in-flight connectivity, as well as on the network managed services and rollout of air-to-ground services across the STC Group.

    During the trial, Nokia provided a dedicated end-to-end network, including an air to ground RAN, core infrastructure and applications, while Nokia’s technology partner for aviation equipment Thales provided the onboard equipment.

    “The air-to-ground technology will enable STC to provide new and revolutionary services for their customers and add new revenue streams,” Nokia MEA head of end-to-end sales solutioning Mohamed Abdelrehim said.

    “With high-speed and low-latency broadband, airline passengers will be able to communicate with their loved ones or for business without any disruption because of air travel. Also, the airline crew will be able to improve operational efficiency because of better real-time communication between the flight crew and ground staff.”

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  • Satcom Direct to distribute Intelsat’s FlexExec service

    Satcom Direct to distribute Intelsat’s FlexExec service

    Satellite operator Intelsat has teamed up with business aviation connectivity provider Satcom Direct to provide in-flight broadband connectivity to business jets globally. Satcom Direct has become the first solution partner and master distributor for Inmarsat’s FlexExec service for the business aviation sector. The company will add FlexExec to its new SD Xperience portfolio.

    Under the agreement, Inmarsat will provide Satcom Direct with immediate access to Intelsat’s Ku-band satellite fleet including its high throughput satellites.

    FlexExec is designed to differentiate from the competition by not sharing capacity with commercial aviation or customer broadband customers to provide business jet owners with guaranteed provide seamless, on-demand connectivity.

    “We are delighted that Satcom Direct has chosen FlexExec to be a part of their SD Xperience platform,” Intelsat VP and GM for mobility Mark Rasmussen said.

    “The global footprint, resiliency, redundancy and flexibility of FlexExec’s seamless Ku-band platform will ensure that passengers can easily extend fast, high quality broadband connectivity from their office into the skies.”

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  • Zong 4G’s Nationwide Data Superiority

    Zong 4G’s Nationwide Data Superiority

    Pakistan’s Zong 4G is the first telecom operator in the country to enhance its world class network with the latest data technology and coverage features. With a rapid roll out of over a thousand cell sites in the past year alone and over 1,000 more sites to be set up by end of the year; Zong’s 4G footprint is and will continue to be twice as large compared to any other operator in the country. All customers with compatible devices can connect to the internet more quickly, more reliably and in more places than ever before. The new and improved network will also help businesses enhance productivity by enabling employees to work where they want to, whenever they want to.

    The upgraded 4G network will bring even faster internet speeds to customers; whilst the overall network improvements across the nation will ensure that Zong 4G’s subscribers enjoy stronger outdoor and indoor coverage. As a result, local businesses will also be able to react faster to the needs of customers and introduce remote working practices for staff which can help reduce costs and increase productivity.

    Zong 4G’s recent successful campaign associated with the patriotic blockbuster film “Parwaaz Hai Junoon” was also a reflection of what the brand intends to provide its patrons i.e. unbreakable coverage and unstoppable speed. As F-16 has always been the symbol of speed and agility; Zong 4G linked its 4G speeds with those of the F-16 and conveyed a strong message to everyone that whenever it comes to speed, Zong 4G is and will be irreplaceable. The campaign has been very successful with audience whose belief in Zong 4G has been further strengthened as Pakistan’s No.1 Data Network.

    Zong 4G has invested billions of USD in its network and services since its entry into the Pakistani market. With ever increasing investment on infrastructure and data services from China Mobile, Zong 4G will continue to cement its position as the true leader of data in network performance and coverage.

    Zong 4G is firmly focused on bringing world-class telecommunications and digital services to Pakistan and its people. Zong’s continued investments in infrastructure have produced a first-rate network and supported a decade long track-record of industry-defining innovation. Zong 4G aims to provide the very best network experience possible, predicated on super-fast internet speeds that connect customers to the people and things that matter to them the most. With largest 4G subscriber base, carrying the highest amount of data traffic and with a growing focus on data services, Zong 4G is steadily building towards an incredibly exciting and new future.

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  • 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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  • CSA, partners launch call for innovation on security threats

    CSA, partners launch call for innovation on security threats

    The  Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and partner TNB Ventures have launched a Cybersecurity Industry Call for Innovation inviting industry providers to develop solutions for specific cybersecurity challenges. The initiative is being conducted in collaboration with five participating organizations – Ascendas-Singbridge Group, PacificLight Power, Singapore LNG Corporation (SLNG), SMRT Corporation (SMRT) and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). The Call for Innovation consolidates and articulates the cybersecurity needs of these organizations into challenge statements that industry solution providers are invited to address through innovative solutions.

    There are two categories of challenge statements. The first category is “Advanced Protection and Detection” to help end-users avoid, defend against, and detect cyber attacks. This includes intelligent solutions that are able to detect intrusions into Operational Technology (OT) systems.

    The second category is “Advanced Security Operations” to help end-users reduce their vulnerabilities through better management of their systems. This includes solutions to increase the efficiency of patch management processes and management of Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Cloud systems.

    The submission period for the Call closes on 18 December 2018. Solution providers whose proposals are shortlisted will be invited to discuss their proposals in greater depth with the participating organizations for potential co-innovation, adoption and test-bedding.

    Selected solutions that fulfill the eligibility criteria may also be awarded with POC funding of up to S$500,000 ($363,000) under CSA’s Co-innovation and Development Proof-of-Concept Scheme.

    Teo Chin Hock, Deputy Chief Executive (Development), CSA said: “The cyber threat landscape is evolving rapidly. To build our cyber defenses and at the same time grow the industry, innovation is important. We are glad to have our partners on-board our first Cybersecurity Industry Call for Innovation. We hope to help them strengthen their cyber resilience, and at the same time, provide opportunities for solution providers to catalyze cutting-edge solutions here for commercial adoption.”

  • Australia launches fourth Mobile Black Spot round

    Australia launches fourth Mobile Black Spot round

    The Australian government has opened applications for the fourth round of the national Mobile Black Spot program, designed to improve mobile coverage in regional and remote Australia. Mobile network and infrastructure providers have been given until December 10 to submit their applications for taking part in the program to install mobile base stations at designated locations. Construction is expected to commence early next year. The government has allocated A$25 million ($17.8 million) in funding for the latest round of the program, which is designed to subsidize the deployment of base stations in unprofitable areas.

    The program has a focus on public interest premises, including economic centers, emergency services, health and educational facilities, local government facilities, as well as community and non-profit organizations.

    Co-funding is provided by state and local governments, the market’s mobile operators Optus, Telstra and Vodafone, businesses and local communities.

    Locations for the deployment were nominated by local and state governments and federal politicians, but local communities can still seek funding for locations not on the database.

    Under the first three rounds of the A$220 million federal government program, 867 new base stations are being delivered at a total cost of A$680 million.

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  • Softbank said to pick banks to lead $27b mobile IPO

    Softbank said to pick banks to lead $27b mobile IPO

    Japan’s Softbank has reportedly selected the banks that will serve as lead underwriters for the IPO of its domestic mobile business. The operator has picked banks including Nomura Holdings, Mizuho Financial, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank to underwite the offer for around 3 trillion yen ($26.82 billion) worth of shares, citing unnamed sources. This would make the IPO the largest ever, beating Alibaba Group’s $25 billion IPO from 2014.

    According to the sources, Softbank currently plans to start marketing the IPO next month and could list shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by mid-December, but this timing is subject to change.

    Softbank’s founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to squeeze value from its telecoms assets to raise funds for his Vision Fund, which aims to raise $100 billion from global investors every two to three years to invest in promising startups and emerging technologies.

    The operator is expected to market most of the shares on offer to Japanese investors.

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  • SK Telecom launches IoT-based cattle healthcare service

    SK Telecom launches IoT-based cattle healthcare service

    SK Telecom has developed a new IoT-based solution which allows farmers to monitor the health of their cattle in real-time using Semtech’s LoRa devices and wireless radio frequency technology (LoRa Technology). Dubbed “LiveCare”, the product is a LoRa-equipped biocapsule which is implanted into a cow’s gastrointestinal tract to monitor a variety of health indicators. The new service will see biocapsules packed with a communication module connected to the operator’s LoRA-based IoT network. The smart biocapsule is then injected into the stomach of a cow, monitoring body temperature and potential hydrogen levels, with data recorded and then sent to a central server as well as cattle farm owners via a smartphone or computer.

    Thus, ranchers can monitor the data transmitted from the devices for anomalies in a cow’s body temperature and other vitals to detect the onset of disease, estrus and to forecast delivery of calves.

    The LiveCare device is shielded from being tampered with by outside conditions due to its strategic position inside the cow itself. This solution is expected to drastically improve the quality of life for the cow and by extension the cattle as a whole on the dairy farm.

    “Our unique solution lets farmers know immediately when a cow’s health is compromised. It takes the guesswork out of farming and lets the rancher focus on preventing cattle disease,” said Taehee Moon, project leader for the small farm project group of SK Telecom. “Healthier cows mean more milk can be produced and dairy farms can focus more on growing their business.”

    According to SK Telecom, a trial run on a South Korean farm using the technology showed an increase in annual milk harvest of 1,200 liters per cow, an increase of $1,100 in income per cow for the farmer and an additional $400 in savings for each estrus successfully planned using the LiveCare solution.

    SK Telecom plans on extending its services to provide automatic notification to ranchers of contagious disease as well as location tracking in the near future.

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  • Telenor Pakistan and Telenor MicrofinanceBank join hands with BISP

    Telenor Pakistan and Telenor MicrofinanceBank join hands with BISP

    Continuing their pursuit to the shared mission of empowering the Pakistani society, Telenor Pakistan and Telenor Microfinance Bank have partnered with the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) to facilitate its beneficiaries across Pakistan in several ways that include creating business opportunities, granting microcredit, and extending support in education and health in the long run.

    As per the agreement, Telenor Pakistan and Telenor Microfinance Bank will select BISP beneficiaries as potential retailers for GSM & Financial products. Telenor Pakistan will give the chosen beneficiaries a unique opportunity to become retailers of its GSM products and services and thus improve their source of livelihood. Telenor Pakistan will pilot this initiative in Chakwal District among 20,000 beneficiaries, which will be later scaled to 34 Districts with a reach to 1.2 million people. Moreover, Telenor Pakistan will enlist BISP as a partner for its CSR contributions, be it in kind or cash, to help support beneficiaries in emergency situations or natural disasters.

    Through the partnership, Telenor Microfinance Bank will reach out to the beneficiaries identified by BISP to assess their credit worthiness and provide them with micro-loans. In the process, the Bank will also educate customers on the uses of m-Wallets, handling and repaying of the micro-loans, and graduating to higher loan amounts. Customers will also be offered a term-life insurance product with natural and accidental death cover of PKR 100,000 including pre-existing conditions.

    “We are pleased to have joined hands with Telenor Microfinance Bank and BISP to extend the best of our contributions to the deserving citizens,” said Haroon Bhatti, Chief Business Officer, Telenor Pakistan. “All three of the agreement partners including Telenor Pakistan, Telenor Microfinance Bank, and BISP share the vision of an empowered Pakistan where every citizen has access to opportunities and solutions to improve means of their livelihood and provide a better lifestyle to their family. The partnership also aims to fight unemployment as more people will be able to start their own business.”

    “This partnership is of great significance to us as it enables the underserved by providing them access to flexible micro-loans.” said Khurram Malik, Head of Branchless Banking, Telenor Microfinance Bank. “Driven by our mission of empowering societies, we will continue to lead in innovating financial solutions to the people of Pakistan and contributing to the country’s vision 2025.”

    “Running this unmatched poverty alleviation program in Pakistan since 2008, we have helped millions of deserving families fight inflation and enhance their purchasing power,” said Secretary, BISP Mr. Omer Hamid Khan. “We are pleased to partner with the country’s leading digital services and microfinance players to empower the BISP beneficiaries in more innovative ways. We are thankful to both parties for finding ways to help the deserving create their own sources of livelihood and gain access to formal financial solutions which will work to boost financial inclusion nationwide. We hope that the collaboration goes a long way and yields results that beat expectations.”

    In the long run, the partnership may also cover Telenor Pakistan’s Safe Internet Program as well as the e-Education project. In the Safe Internet Program, Telenor educates girls and boys on using Information Communication Technology (ICT) and the Internet responsibly in a safe manner. In the e-Education project, Telenor provides free-of-cost international-standard digital educational content to primary schools in order to improve conceptual understanding of science and other subjects.

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  • Zong 4G partners with Instagram

    Zong 4G partners with Instagram

    Pakistan’s No. 1 Data Network Zong 4G and the World’s Leading Photo Sharing Network Instagram, announced the availability of an integration between the two digital service providers. Zong 4G’s prepaid subscribers who sign up on Instagram for the first time will be able to enjoy picture viewing for free in the first 3 days. Followed by WhatsApp, IMO, and free Facebook service, Zong 4G once again has risen up as the first telecom operator partnering with another social media giant, Instagram. The one of kind and exclusive offer by Pakistan’s fastest 4G network, Zong 4G for its customers is unmatched offer, which no other telecom service provider in Pakistan is offering.

    This is a new highpoint for the Pakistani customers. Their connected journeys across both the digital service providers allows for a superior experience that is unmatched in the telecom sphere. Subscribers can get to experience the fastest 4G service, wherever and whenever over free picture viewing. To add to their convenience, Zong 4G has ensured that subscribers get a seamless 4G experience as they do not need to activate the offer via a code. All they have to do is sign up on Instagram and enjoy this offer.

    The strategic partnership is a natural one, given the existing partnership between Zong 4G and Facebook. Facebook is a social networking service that also owns Instagram and WhatsApp. Apart from this, Zong 4G has created ripples across Pakistan’s telecom spectrum in recent months with its technological supremacy by launching state of the art e-commerce applications. Since inception, Zong’s three E-commerce channels: E-Care, Online Recharge and Online Shop have hit the telecom world with a bang – to facilitate its subscribers that have exceed the massive 8 million mark in the shortest possible time.

    With diverse lifestyle choices of its customers, Zong, Pakistan’s largest 4G service provider, promises to continue to play a significant and impactful role towards faster, smarter and better services towards user data experience in its own aspiring style.

  • Singtel, StarHub and M1 must keep innovating to stay in the game

    Singtel, StarHub and M1 must keep innovating to stay in the game

    Signs have not been good lately for Singtel, StarHub and M1, the country’s three large telecommunications companies. Technological innovations, as well as changes in regulations, have sent shock waves through the big three companies, and virtual mobile telcos such as MyRepublic, Zero1 and Circles.Life have also posed a threat to the larger players.

    But with new kid on the block, TPG Telcom, set to launch later this year, the question remains whether there is still a place for one more large telecommunications company in an already crowded market.

    The existing telcos say that since the country is small and has a mature mobile market with very high rates of penetration, perhaps three’s a company, but four would be a crowd.

    In other places such as Germany, Denmark and the UK there is consolidation of only three mobile network operator (MNO) providers. Indonesia, whose population of 250 million is huge, compared to Singapore’s 5 million, is also leaning toward consolidation.

    Three years ago, the  Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) asked whether expanding mobile services in the country is a viable option. Today, opinions still are divided as to whether or not there is room in Singapore for a fourth telco.

    One concern is that tougher competition will lead to fewer revenues in the mobile sector, which would in turn discourage service innovation, and even investments as well.

    On the opposite side is the IDA, which has evolved into the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), says that there is space for telcos to innovate their services, as well as room for more competition in the market.

    When a new MNO enters the market, this may also spur existing ones to further invest in innovating their networks in order to stay competitive.

    TPG Telecom, which is based in Australia, is already making quite a splash in Singapore, with a special offer for seniors, an audience not often catered to by telcos. TPG is giving a fee mobile plan for people aged 65 and above, complete with a SIM card, 3GB of data and unlimited mobile calls.

    Other telcos are greeting TPG’s launch as a splash of cold water on their faces, to get them to innovate their strategies. The telco industry is marked by both competition and innovation, and companies have to work hard to keep up. Their strategies must remain both quick and agile to remain enticing to existing customers as they attract others.

    For example, telcos have been threatened by over the top (OTT) voice, text and messaging options that only require WiFi for consumers to make calls and send messages. This has meant that telcos can no longer rely on old revenue streams that depended on subscription plans, infrastructure and bandwidth, as consumers ceased to need them as much.

    Big players in the tech market such as Apple, Amazon and Google offer such OTT services merely using data connections, which removes the need for additional infrastructure.

    Industry experts predict that WhatsApp, Skype and different OTT applications will cause telcos the loss of around US$400 billion in revenue for this year alone.

    How then can telcos, which have invested millions on infrastructure, secure their future despite fewer returns on those investments, or else, face the possibility of growing redundant in the industry.

    Perhaps the bigger question here is not whether there is room in the country for yet another mobile telecommunications company, but to ask whether the existing companies are doing enough to innovate in order to maintain relevance in a quickly evolving industry.

  • Indian telco sector facing three more quarters of losses

    Indian telco sector facing three more quarters of losses

    India’s telecoms sector is facing at least three more quarters of losses due to the ongoing price war, according to industry body the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI).

    The Indian GSM industry body’s director general Rajan Mathews told that he believes the market’s current tariffs are unsustainable in the long term.

    The industry’s woes are being added to by high license fee and spectrum charges, including high upfront payments, which has guaranteed that the current fiscal year will be tough for the industry.

    The current situation commenced in 2016 when disruptive new entrant Reliance Jio Infocomm entered the market with entirely free services during an extended promotion period. The operator continues to charge only for data, at low rates.

    Jio’s strategy prompted established operators to cut prices to compete, and prompted a wave of consolidation that has seen the market reduced to just three private operators – Jio, Bharti Airtel and the combined Vodafone India and Idea Cellular (now Vodafone Idea).

    Mathews said that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and clarity I expected to emerge in the fiscal year 2019-2020, which begins in April next year.

    But he warned that if tariffs continue to decline it will be detrimental to the health of the industry as it will threaten operators’ ability to invest in emerging technologies and in expanding coverage.

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  • Optus Business expands managed solutions portfolio

    Optus Business expands managed solutions portfolio

    Australia’s Optus, through subsidiary Optus Business, has expanded its line-up of fully managed ICT solutions for enterprises.

    The operator has added contact center, security and storage solutions to its Optus GO portfolio of managed services.

    Optus GO Contact Centre provides cloud based contact center capabilities including management of inbound and outbound calls, chat and email. Optus GO Security includes email and web protection based on cloud security architecture, and Optus GO Storage provides as-a-service flash storage for data centers.

    The Optus GO managed ICT solutions suite, which launched in February, already included connectivity, collaboration and cloud services for businesses of all sizes.

    “The Optus GO solutions were created in response to our customers who are looking for the benefits of ICT solutions without the cost or burden of ownership and management,” Optus Business managing director John Paitaridis said.

    “We designed Optus GO to save our customers time and money by simplifying technology, delivering connectivity and ICT as an end to end solution in a secure and managed environment.”

    He said Optus GO aims to provide enterprise customers with the core computing foundations to support the business opportunities that will be afforded by emerging technologies including IoT, advanced analytics, AI and 5G.

    Optus is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore’s Singtel Group.

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  • Ericsson CEO talks 5G with US FCC

    Ericsson CEO talks 5G with US FCC

    Ericsson president and CEO  Börje Ekholm recently met with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to talk about how the US is making more millimeter wave spectrum available for 5G, its progress in reducing the time involved in tower siting and clearing the way for network slicing, a key component of 5G.

    Ekholm applauded the FCC’s recent order removing barriers to infrastructure investment and expressed appreciation for the chairman’s focus on releasing spectrum, particularly millimeter wave spectrum, to help fuel increased innovation and investment in 5G. Ekholm also noted that the Internet Freedom order clears away a cloud of uncertainty over network slicing, according to an ex parte filing(PDF).

    Also present during the October 3 meeting were Niklas Heuveldop, president and CEO of Ericsson North America; Lynn Starr, senior director for Ericsson Government Affairs; Jared Carlson, vice president for Ericsson Government Affairs; and Rachael Bender, Chairman Pai’s wireless and international legal adviser.

    Importantly, Heuveldop covered some of the investments Ericsson is making in the US, including Ericsson’s decision to begin manufacturing in the US in the fourth quarter of this year. The Swedish vendor plans on providing volume production of next-generation radios in order to introduce products into the US market faster.

    Ericsson is also opening a new software development center with a baseband focus in 2018, eventually employing more than 200 software engineers when it’s fully operational.

    In addition, Ericsson said it will increase its investment in artificial intelligence and automation, employing about 100 specialists in North America by the end of this year. The team will work on using AI technologies to accelerate automation, examine product road maps and explore new business opportunities.

    It’s worth noting that Heuveldop joined a chorus of other industry leaders in urging the FCC to move forward with plans to make more midband spectrum available for 5G. He also stressed that the US mobile industry will need significantly more than 100 MHz in the 3.7-GHz to 4.2-GHz band for operators to offer the combination of speed and coverage they need for 5G.

    Midband spectrum also is of great interest to Ericsson’s rival Nokia, whose CEO Rajeev Suri met with Chairman Pai earlier this year. Suri and other Nokia executives stressed the urgency of making spectrum available in the 3.7-GHz to 4.2-GHz band as the centerpiece for nationwide 5G deployment in the U.S.

    This past summer, the FCC adopted an Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that identifies new opportunities for flexible use in up to 500 megahertz of midband spectrum between 3.7-GHz and 4.2-GHz. The notice proposes to add a mobile allocation to all 500 megahertz in the band and seeks comment on various proposals for transitioning part or all of the band for flexible use, including market-based, auction and alternative mechanisms.

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