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Tag: telecom

  • Macquarie Telecom signs $34 million exclusive deal with Optus

    Macquarie Telecom signs $34 million exclusive deal with Optus

    The decision follows a comprehensive, strategic review of mobile solutions, and will see Macquarie offer numerous key services to Australian enterprises as the need for greater connectivity continues, including:

    • 5G Connectivity and Speeds: Providing flexibility, faster speeds, and greater capacity across multiple devices, fully managed and supported in Australia by Macquarie’s dedicated customer and engineering teams.
    • Wi-Fi Calling: Extends full coverage and network access across all Wi-Fi areas.
    • Voice over LTE (VoLTE): A network standard enabling businesses to use high-speed 4G data and voice in tandem on devices at any time.
    • Coverage: New tools to enable customers to make coverage decisions.

    Due to the increasing emphasis on mobility and 5G, Macquarie plans to expand its mobile business and hire new staff over the next three years. This continues the company’s unwavering commitment to only provide service from and hire in Australia.

    “2020 changed the way Australians work forever. By providing 5G connectivity along with business-grade NBN, we can ensure Australian businesses can work from more places than ever before,” said Luke Clifton, Group Executive, Macquarie Telecom.

    “The fact is that 5G is here. It is fast becoming a necessity and complimentary service to nbn for Australian businesses. This agreement will ensure we can continue to compete in a market that is still underserved and overcharged. These new mobile offerings will also enable the right tools, technologies and customer service to manage a mobile workforce.”

    Optus currently has more than 1,000 live 5G sites covering more than 830,000 households across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and Brisbane.

    With the agreement, Macquarie will end its wholesale mobile contract with Telstra. It chose Optus’ wholesale offering due to its focus on collaboration, rapidly evolving 5G network, and commitment to future technologies.

    “We’re backing a winner,” added Clifton. “This investment reflects our commitment to Australian businesses and providing the technologies they need today and into the future.

    “Based on our comprehensive review, Optus was the clear choice in terms of superior technology, flexibility to build the right solutions, and cooperation. It is leading Australia’s wholesale 5G market, offers incredibly fast 5G and continues to invest heavily in its 5G network. Crucially, it understands the value of partnership in Australia’s 5G future while others are actively inhibiting it.”

    “Macquarie has a great reputation for customer service and Optus is genuinely excited to be partnering with Macquarie to deliver mobility solutions that businesses need today more than ever.” says Ben White, Managing Director, Wholesale, Satellite and Strategy, Optus.

    The new agreement complements a series of partnerships and technology investments by Macquarie Telecom in recent months and years. This includes its mobile reseller agreement with Apple, a preferred networking agreement with the nbn, its first-to-market VeloCloud by VMware SD-WAN, and a complete core network upgrade and refresh with Juniper Networks.

    The mobile agreement is a multi-year agreement. Services will be available to all customers, with existing customers transitioning over the coming months. The process will be managed end-to-end by Macquarie’s dedicated and local mobile support team. 5G plans are available immediately to new and existing customers.

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  • Singapore offers best mobile experience in South East Asia

    Singapore offers best mobile experience in South East Asia

    At a country-level, Singapore won in all metrics tested, with the most important win being the highest Excellent Consistent Quality in South East Asia, with 84.5% of connections having a network experience suitable for use-cases like 1080p video streaming, real-time mobile gaming and HD video calling. Singapore also had the highest Core Consistent Quality in the region at 94.4%.

    Consistent Quality is a set of metrics that Tutela has developed to objectively evaluate when connections are (or are not) enabling users to do the things they want to on their mobile devices. There are two sets of thresholds, Excellent and Core. A connection that hits the Excellent threshold is sufficient for use-cases like 1080p video streaming, HD video calling, and multiplayer gaming, while a Core connection should be sufficient to stream standard-definition video or handle day-to-day activities like web browsing or uploading photos to social media. The percentages seen in this report represent the percentage of tests for subscribers on a given operator that was above the Excellent or Core thresholds.

    Singapore also had the fastest download speed at 26.2 Mbps, the fastest upload speed at 14.7 Mbps, and the most responsive network with a latency result of 9.0 ms. However, Vietnam was always very close behind, with second-place winnings for both Excellent Consistent Quality (72.3%) and Core Consistent Quality (86.1%).

    The report was released by Tutela Technologies, a global crowdsourced mobile data company, and evaluated over 55 million speed and latency tests, conducted on the smartphones of real-world users of national mobile operators within Common Coverage Areas, between August 1st and January 31st, 2021.

    Per country findings were as follows:

    Singapore:

    • By operator in Singapore, StarHub dominated in four of the seven metrics tested, including the highest Excellent Consistent Quality with 87.3% of users having a network experience suitable for 1080p video streaming or HD group video calling.
    • StarHub also had the highest Core Consistent Quality, Tutela’s measure of whether a connection is good enough for everyday uses, like email, social media, and SD video streaming, the fastest download speeds, and the most responsive network in the country.

    Indonesia:

    • Telkomsel won six out of the seven metrics tested, with Indosat Ooredoo being the only other operator to make it onto the leaderboard in Indonesia with the fastest median upload speed.
    • Telkomsel was in first place for Excellent Consistent Quality with 65.0%, and also in first for Core Consistent Quality with 83.5%. However, there was only a 3% difference between the operator and second-place Indosat Ooredoo.

    Malaysia:

    • In Malaysia, the leaderboard was shared by at least four operators, with U Mobile offering its users the best mobile experience in the country. The operator won the highest Excellent and Core Consistent Quality, and fastest upload speed.
    • Digi had the fastest median download speed in Common Coverage Areas across Malaysia with 10.6 Mbps but came third in the upload speed test with 6.2 Mbps. Maxis had the most responsive network in the country, while Celcom had both the best 5G/4G coverage and total coverage.

    Thailand:

    • By operator in Thailand, AIS won in four of the seven categories tested, including the highest Excellent Consistent Quality and most responsive network. However, TrueMove was also on the leaderboard in three of the seven categories including the highest Core Consistent Quality and both the fastest download and upload speeds.
    • With only two operators in the Philippines to compare, Smart outperformed Globe in six out of the seven categories tested, with Globe taking out one category with the best total coverage.

    Vietnam:

    • Viettel Mobile in Vietnam offered the best mobile experience to its users, winning in five categories and tying for first place with Vinaphone for fastest median download speeds.
    • MobiFone was on the leaderboard in one category with the highest Core Consistent Quality.
  • Reliance Jio increases spectrum footprint by 55% in India

    Reliance Jio increases spectrum footprint by 55% in India

    Through this acquisition, RJIL’s total owned spectrum footprint has increased significantly, by 55%, to 1,717 MHz (uplink+ downlink). RJIL has the highest amount of sub-GHz spectrum with 2X10 MHz contiguous spectrum in most circles. It also has at least 2X10 MHz in 1800 MHz band and 40 MHz in 2300 MHz band in each of the 22 circles. RJIL has achieved complete spectrum derisking, with an average life of owned spectrum of 15.5 years. RJIL’s spectrum has been acquired in the most cost-efficient manner with an effective cost of Rs 60.8 crore per MHz.

    With the enhanced spectrum footprint, especially contiguous spectrum, and pan-India infrastructure deployed, RJIL has enhanced network capacity to service its existing users as well as hundreds of millions of more subscribers on its network.

    The acquired spectrum can be utilized for the transition to 5G services at the appropriate time, where Jio has developed its own 5G stack.

    Sh. Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries, said, “Jio has revolutionized the digital landscape of India with the country becoming the fastest adopter of Digital Life. We want to ensure that we keep on enhancing experiences, not only for our existing customers, but also for the next 300 million users that will move to digital services. With our increased spectrum footprint, we are ready to further expand the digital footprint in India as well as get ourselves ready for the imminent 5G rollout.”

  • Here is where cities worldwide are hiding 5G towers

    Here is where cities worldwide are hiding 5G towers

    If you’re driving through some cities in Arizona, you might have noticed some large cactuses (or cacti) approximately 2-feet tall, along the sides of the road. But these are not real plants. They were constructed in order to cover up 4G LTE antennas; inside the fake cactuses you’ll find radio equipment. The idea is to make the gear blend in by disguising them with regionally-based plants and structures. Many think that cell towers look ugly and ruin the look of the environment (frankly, yours truly likes the look of cell towers but that puts me in the minority).

    4G towers are disguised as palm trees down south, evergreens in the Northeast, and cactuses in the West. Some 4G sites are disguised as church bell towers, historic landmarks, and water towers. CNN says that with the use of 5G towers, cities have to find another method of subterfuge. That’s because high-band mmWave 5G signals, as you’ve often seen us write, are easily blocked by structures. Wooden objects, certain materials, and yes-even leaves (T-Mobile wasn’t kidding) can block the progress of high-band mmWave 5G signals. And since high-band 5G signals can only travel short distances (something else we’ve mentioned often), 5G towers must be placed a couple hundred feet apart and even closer. And the antennas have to be exposed for 5G signals to be accessed by the public. With this in mind, some of the illusions used, like the cactuses, won’t be as effective. So for 5G sites, some cities are hiding the gear in street lights. Keith Niederer, telecom policy coordinator for Scottsdale says, “Design will be just as important moving forward with the 5G installations, but we will have a greater focus on street lights than the cacti. In Scottsdale, aesthetics are pretty important. Every street has a different theme and streetlights vary. We want them to blend in as much as possible and not stand out.” With 5G, the technology needs to be out in the open as opposed to 4G LTE.

    A company named Valmont Industries is one of the leading firms in the business of hiding 4G and 5G equipment. It recently finished delivering street lights to San Antonia, Texas that contain 5G gear. The outfit’s general manager of communication concealment, Mark Schmidt, said, “There’s no form factor we won’t consider using. Our goal is to bridge the gap between the aesthetics in a community, what a jurisdiction would like to see and what the wireless carrier requires as a form factor. … But the most natural fit here will be traffic lights and street lights.” With street lights sporting access to a power supply, and with a decent elevation, they can be used to house multiple technologies. Besides trying to hide the looks of a 5G tower, there is a security factor as well. You might recall that last April, thugs believing a conspiracy theory that 5G towers were the cause of coronavirus tried to knock down these towers in the U.K. and China.

    Tom Kuklo, a global product manager for Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), a firm that makes components for smart street lights, says that these lights are already rolling out in some areas. He states, “We’re already seeing this in China and some other locations where smart poles are very predominant. They’re becoming part of the landscaping; you walk right past them and don’t even know that’s what’s giving you a 5G signal unless you’re looking for it.”

    5G is expected to bring $17 trillion to economic growth by 2035 based on data from ABI Research. Eventually, data speeds will be 10 to 100 times 4G data speeds bringing a number of new technologies like self-driving cars to the public. Remote operations performed with the surgeon hundreds of miles away from the patient will be performed. Right now though, we are very early in the 5G era and many more towers need to be constructed throughout the world.

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  • Nokia partners University of Technology Sydney for 5G innovation facility

    Nokia partners University of Technology Sydney for 5G innovation facility

    The 5G Innovation Lab will enable Nokia, UTS and their partners to push the boundaries of 5G technology by testing exciting new 5G use cases with real world applications, including Industry 4.0, IoT and smart cities. While providing a live 5G test bed for commercial partners, the 5G Innovation Lab will also serve as an environment for new research opportunities within the ICT sector.

    This multi-year, multi-million-dollar investment by Nokia reflects the company’s commitment to Australian innovation and the essential role telecommunication plays in both securing critical infrastructure and fostering economic growth.

    Researchers and commercial partners will undertake projects to explore the capabilities of 5G and 6G technologies for Industry 4.0 applications such as industrial automation, agriculture and human-robot interactions, as well as ‘Internet of Things’ capabilities for Internet of Energy applications in smart grid, energy storage and management and wireless power transfer.

    The facility will include a 5G lab and a 5G use case demonstration area, with campus-wide 5G coverage planned to allow for the development & testing of potential 5G use cases in both the lab and the field. The new lab will also connect directly into the university’s anechoic radio frequency test chamber – the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere – allowing researchers to test the potential of Nokia’s Massive MIMO and other innovative antenna technologies.

    Nokia and UTS are very excited to be partnering together to lead the way for 5G innovation in Australia.

    Ray Kirby, Associate Professor, Director of UTS Tech Lab said: “UTS Tech Lab is a unique facility that supports collaboration with industry on research and development projects, such as this partnership with Nokia, which will drive innovation and growth in 5G and 6G network infrastructure. Our cutting-edge equipment and world-class research talent combined with Nokia’s commitment to innovation and technology leadership, is a strong partnership to facilitate the development of new applications to unlock the huge potential of 5G and 6G.”

    Robert Joyce, Chief Technology Officer at Nokia Oceania, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with UTS on this exciting 5G adventure. This partnership builds upon the existing innovative facilities at the university’s Tech Lab and will enable researchers to develop, test and demonstrate innovative uses of 5G here in Australia. We are already exploring some exciting 5G use cases unique to Australia and look forward to demonstrating these soon.”

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  • Vodafone Idea acquires spectrums in five telecom circles to enhance 4G capacity

    Vodafone Idea acquires spectrums in five telecom circles to enhance 4G capacity

    Being India’s third-largest telecom operator in the 4G spectrum auctions, Vodafone Idea entered with the largest quantum of spectrum with a very small fraction. “This was administratively allocated and used for GSM services, coming up for renewal,” the company said.

    With the telecom industry gearing up for the 5G revolution, VI hopes that a large quantum of spectrum would be made available for all operators in the future at fair prices. The operator had reportedly submitted an earnest money deposit of Rs 475 crore. Yet, the company did not disclose the exact quantity of spectrum bought.

    In line with the government’s effort to innovate the country’s telecom sector, Vodafone Idea claimed that the Indian telecom segment is well-positioned to drive the Digital India agenda, as long as sufficient spectrum availability and an adequate number of market players are involved.

    Broadly speaking, India has 22 telecom circles. All major telecom operators — Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, and Vodafone Idea — participated in the auction. According to the department of telecommunication (DoT), they put on the block 2,308.8MHz of spectrum at a base price of ₹3.92 trillion in the auction. Moreover, spectrum in the 700MHz, 800MHz, 900MHz, 1,800MHz, 2,100MHz, 2,300MHz, and 2,500MHz bands were put up for sale.

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  • Huawei launches 5GtoB solution to facilitate industry digitalisation

    Huawei launches 5GtoB solution to facilitate industry digitalisation

    The 5G industry has been developing faster than expected, with operators already seeing commercial returns from the first wave of 5G rollouts. The 5G user base and the number of 5G devices in commercial use have exploded since 2019. By the end of 2020, 380 5G devices had hit the market, 8 times more than there were the year before. The mobile 5G user base had also reached 220 million and wireless home broadband connections reached 1.05 million, a 17 and 21 times YoY increase, respectively. Ding claims these numbers will triple in 2021.

    The prices of 5G phones are also dropping rapidly. There are already multiple units on the market priced at under US$150 and about 30 mid-range and low-end phones priced below US$300. According to Ding, the 5G mobile phone ecosystem will become as mature as 4G over the next one to two years as network rollouts continue and the user base keeps growing.

    In the markets that deployed 5G first, operators have already begun reaping commercial returns. In China and South Korea, operator revenue continued to increase as their 5G user base grew faster than in other countries. Finnish operator DNA and Saudi operator Zain also achieved impressive financial results in the early phases of their commercial 5G deployment.

    At the event, Huawei also officially released its 5GtoB solution which is aimed at creating new value for every player across the industry value chain. Ding stated that building on its experience in connectivity, computing, and industry digitalization, Huawei has worked with operators and other industry partners to develop a one-stop solution that covers sales, operations, and services – the 5GtoB solution. This solution will simplify transactions for enterprise users, help operators monetize their network capabilities, and allow partners to innovate more efficiently, creating new value for every player involved.

    The Huawei 5GtoB Solution includes four parts: 5GtoB Network, 5GtoB NaaS, 5GtoB App Engine, and 5GtoB Marketplace. With 5GtoB Network serving as the infrastructure of the 5G solution, Huawei will continue building its capabilities in providing scenario-based 5GtoB services, including network planning, construction, maintenance, and optimization.

    With 5GtoB NaaS, network capabilities can be orchestrated into offerings before they are released, making it easier for enterprise users and application developers to use 5G networks and enabling enterprise users to manage 5G campus networks themselves.

    The 5GtoB App Engine is an application innovation center, where application developers and system integrators can access operators’ 5G network capabilities. It makes 5GtoB application development more efficient and application integration easier. It also serves as a bridge between 5G network capabilities and 5GtoB applications, enabling agile service development and launch.

    The 5GtoB Marketplace is an all-in-one digital supermarket on the cloud, where enterprise users can purchase the industrial 5G solutions they need.

    Ding said that Huawei has worked with operators, partners, and enterprise users to apply the 5GtoB solution first in the steel industry. With their capabilities and experience embedded into this platform, industrial 5G solutions like automated billet rotation, AR-assisted remote assembly, and steel surface quality inspection, can be standardized and rapidly replicated.

    At the end of his speech, Ding emphasized that industry digitalization will be a huge market, but that digital infrastructure developments vary greatly across industries and application scenarios also vary. In addition, related digital standards are not in place yet. As such, he called on all industry players to work together to establish comprehensive 5GtoB standards and ecosystem to drive further industry digitalization. He closed his speech by reiterating Huawei’s commitment to investing in the ecosystem and standards and supporting industry digitalization.

  • Indosat Ooredoo earns 11.6% cellular revenue growth in 2020

    Indosat Ooredoo earns 11.6% cellular revenue growth in 2020

    President Director and CEO Indosat Ooredoo, Ahmad Al-Neama said: “Despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and pricing pressure, Indosat Ooredoo has continued to deliver on our three-year strategy and maintained growth momentum. We are grateful for the on-going support of our loyal subscribers that have encourage us to continue to invest in our 4G network and launch innovative new digital offerings to ensure that our customers have the best mobile experience possible.

    Our commitment to our customers and to provide simple and relevant products has contributed to an increase in our subscriber base and data traffic volume. This growth has translated into an above market increase in cellular revenue and a significant and accelerating gain in market share.”

    “Looking ahead, we anticipate that the shift to online lifestyles and remote working and learning, which have increased sharply by the pandemic, are here to stay. Indosat Ooredoo is fully committed to supporting our cellular and business customers adapt to the new normal by continuing to improve network performance to meet growing demand for data. We believe our new digital solutions will enrich and enable our customer’s digital lives. Through these initiatives we will support Indonesia’s digital transformation agenda and create value for all our stakeholders.”

    Indosat Ooredoo has recorded solid performance for the full year ended 31 December 2020, with total revenue increasing by 6.9% YoY to IDR 27.9 trillion, cellular revenue increasing by 11.6% YoY to IDR 23.1 trillion.

    EBITDA reaching IDR 11.4 trillion, an increase of 16% YoY due to resilient revenue growth and a focus on operational efficiencies. EBITDA margin increased by 3.2 ppt to 40.9%.

    Cellular subscriber numbers grew by 1.7% to 60.3 million by end of 2020, and Average Revenue per User (ARPU) increased to IDR 31.9 thousand from previously IDR 27.9 thousand, driven mainly by a substantial data traffic increase of 52.8% YoY.

    Indosat Ooredoo also delivered strong operational performance, including improving our video experienced by 55.8% YoY, doubling our 4G download speed, and significantly improving our upload speed by 88.4% YoY.

    During the year Indosat Ooredoo has successfully partnered with global digital players like Facebook, Google, Cisco and Ericsson to bring advanced technologies and capabilities to fast-track digitalization of the customer experience and deliver network improvements to Indonesia.

    We have continued to introduce new innovative products to help customers stay connected as well as business and education to continue to operate during the pandemic. Through IM3 Ooredoo we launched a new IMPreneur package, a business package specially designed for SMEs and through Indosat Ooredoo Business, we recently introduced the “iDo Voice” solution, which consists of 3 new voice services for corporate customers.

    Indosat Ooredoo’s investment in 4G network infrastructure and commitment to our customers continued to be recognized by prestigious international business awards. At the Opensignal Global Mobile Network Experience Awards 2020, we received the “Global Rising Star” award in Video Experience. We have also recently won the Corporate Excellence category in Telecommunications & ICT Industry at the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards (APEA) 2020 Regional Edition.

    In 2021, Indosat Ooredoo will continue the upgrade and expansion of our network, focusing on 4G/LTE and the Video Grade Network capable of providing improved internet services to customers. Our networks enhancement is part of our effort to enable digital transformation of Indonesia, in-line with the digital economy plan of Indonesian government and to accelerate national economy recovery.

    “We are confident for our growth momentum to continue in 2021. However, due to uncertainties associated with the economic recovery from the pandemic, we are cautiously optimistic in guiding revenue growth to be in-line with the industry, EBITDA margin to be in the low 40s, and Capex at approximately IDR 8 trillion.”

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  • Viettel leaps 32 places in global brand ranking

    Viettel leaps 32 places in global brand ranking

    Vietnam’s largest telecommunication service provider Viettel has climbed 32 positions to rank 325th most valuable brand in the world in 2021.

    Currently valued at $6.01 billion, up 3.4 percent from the previous year, Viettel is the only telecom brand in Southeast Asia to break into the global ranking compiled by Brand Finance, a London-based branded business valuation consultancy.

    The military-owned firm reported revenues of VND264 trillion ($11.47 billion) last year, up 4.4 percent from 2019, and a pre-tax profit of VND39.8 trillion, up 4.1 percent.

    Viettel attributed the results to digital transformation and its switch from being a telecom services provider to a digital services provider. In 2020, the platforms it developed included digital infrastructure, solutions, content, finance, and cybersecurity.

    By manufacturing 5G equipment and trialing 5G services, the company made Vietnam one of only six countries in the world to master the technology.

    The Brand Finance Global 500 list covers 20 sectors in 29 markets, using a sample size of 55,000 adults over 18 years old.

    There are just 34 telecom companies in the 2021 listing of the world’s top 500 brands by value. Most of them saw their values fall last year.

  • Nepal selects frequency to embark on 5G services

    Nepal selects frequency to embark on 5G services

    Nepal’s National Telecommunication Authority (NTA) has determined its 5G frequency as the country prepares to deploy 5G service. NTA will follow the recommendations set out by the National Frequency Management Forum, a body initiated by the NTA, the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology (MoCIT) and telecommunications operators.

    According to NTA’s spokesperson, Meen Prasad Aryal, the National Radio Frequency Policy Determination Committee has received a proposal with recommendations using 700 MHz, 900 MHz, 2300 MHz and 2600 MHz for the low-band spectrum, 3300 MHz, 3400 MHz, 3600 MHz and 4100 MHz for the mid-band spectrum, and 26 GHz for the high-band spectrum.

    Established to manage existing and new spectrums, the National Frequency Management Forum performed studies for 5G spectrums before recommending a suitable spectrum for allocation. The National Radio Frequency Policy Determination Committee must now approve NTA’s proposed frequencies before spectrums will be allocated to operators.

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  • Chinese Telcom Giants Review New York Delisting

    Chinese Telcom Giants Review New York Delisting

    In the latest on U.S. delistings of Chinese firms, the three largest mainland telecommunications firms have requested for a review of the New York Stock Exchange’s decision to remove their shares from the bourse.

    In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange yesterday where they are also listed, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom said that written requests have been filed with NYSE. The three telecom giants said they also asked for trading suspensions to be maintained during the review.

    The review will be scheduled at least 25 days from when the request was filed, the statement added, with no assurance for success.

    Near the end of the Trump administration, the New York bourse had already once reversed a decision to delist the stocks, deemed by the U.S. to be linked to China’s military, only to ultimately comply following an alleged phone call from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

    But now, the three telecom giants will seek to push for a second reversal under a Joe Biden administration. Biden recently nominated ex-Fed chair Janet Yellen as the new incoming Treasury secretary.

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  • Trump takes one last shot at maiming Huawei before he leaves the White House this week

    Trump takes one last shot at maiming Huawei before he leaves the White House this week

    Even though President Donald Trump will be leaving the White House this coming Wednesday, he took the time to spank the Chinese phone and networking equipment manufacturer Huawei one last time. In May 2019, Trump cited security issues for his decision to put Huawei on the Entity List. This move prevented the firm from accessing its U.S. suppliers without permission from the Commerce Department. Despite this move which resulted in the loss of Google as a supplier, Huawei persevered; for a brief period of time this year, it was the top phone manufacturer on the planet in terms of shipments.

    Exactly one year to the day that it was placed on the Entity List, Huawei received another big blow from the Trump administration. Starting last September, any foundry manufacturing chips using American-sourced technology needs a license from the U.S. to ship to Huawei. The latter was the second-largest customer of the world’s largest foundry, TSMC, and was blocked from receiving cutting-edge chips that it had designed itself. The U.S. also browbeat its allies over the last few years in an attempt to prevent them from using Huawei’s networking equipment on their 5G networks.

    American lawmakers were quick to call Huawei a national security risk because of the company’s alleged tie to the Communist Chinese government. Concerns that Huawei’s phones and base stations contain backdoors used to spy on U.S. consumers and corporations have never been proven. The U.S. also banned rural carriers from using the Universal Service Fund (managed by the FCC) to purchase networking gear from Huawei and is forcing these firms to remove any Huawei equipment used in their networks.

    In the final days of the Trump administration, licenses allowing U.S. firms to sell to the Chinese manufacturer are being revoked and applications from U.S. suppliers to obtain such licenses are being rejected. Reuters has seen an email sent from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) that documents the Commerce Department’s recent actions. In the email, the SIA notes that the Commerce Department had released “intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license.” The SIA email stated that a broad range of products was included in the latest action and many U.S. companies have been waiting months to hear whether they would be allowed to sell to Huawei. More than 150 license requests were pending amounting to $120 billion worth of goods and technology.

    Just last week, the Trump administration blacklisted Chinese phone manufacturer Xiaomi by demanding that U.S. investors divest themselves from any investments made in the company by November 11th, 2021.

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  • FCC sets record with auction of key spectrum for 5G use

    FCC sets record with auction of key spectrum for 5G use

    During 2021, U.S. carriers will take another huge step toward completing the build-out of their 5G networks. The FCC last week wrapped up an auction of mid-band spectrum in the C-band. These airwaves lie in the range of 3.7GHz-3.98GHz and heavy demand for the rare mid-band spectrum helped generate a record $80.9 billion in proceeds related to the auction. There were 57 bidders vying for a total of 5,684 licenses. Mid-band spectrum is very much in demand by U.S. carriers and T-Mobile has made these airwaves the key part of its layer-cake approach to 5G. The previous record for money generated by an FCC auction for spectrum was the $44.9 billion generated by the FCC’s 2014 AWS-3 auction.

    T-Mobile, the first U.S. carrier to launch nationwide 5G in the states, used its 600MHz low-band spectrum as the foundation for its nationwide 5G service. These signals travel great distances making them the perfect foundation for its network. But what they don’t do is deliver download data speeds much faster than 4G LTE. High-band spectrum can only travel short distances making them perfect for urban areas where the population is densely packed. While these signals do not easily penetrate buildings, they do deliver fast 5G download data speeds often hitting 1Gbps and faster.

    In between the two extremes is mid-band spectrum. Sprint’s mid-band holdings were exactly what T-Mobile was targeting when it offered $26.5 billion to buy its fellow wireless provider back in April 2018. The deal closed this past April giving T-Mobile control over Sprint’s 2.5GHz mid-band spectrum. These signals travel further than those of the high-band variety and are faster than low-band 5G. Many analysts expect T-Mobile to become the fastest 5G provider in the states thanks to its mid-band holdings once all the work is done.

    Other carriers wanted the opportunity to purchase mid-band spectrum for themselves. In November 2019, U.S. Cellular, Verizon, AT&T, Bluegrass Cellular, Pine Belt Wireless and the C-Band Alliance sent an electronic letter to the FCC requesting an auction of mid-band airwaves in the C-Band (3.7GHz-4.2GHz). At the time, U.S. Cellular President and CEO Ken Meyers says that it is “critical” for U.S. carriers to obtain as much mid-band spectrum as they can find. The executive made it clear that the FCC had to take action ASAP to make sure that there would be enough mid-band spectrum to go around.

    FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who is leaving the regulatory agency this Wednesday afternoon when the transition to the Biden administration takes place, said, “These results represent a strong endorsement by the private sector of the service rules and transition plan put in place by the FCC to quickly make the C-band a critical part of 5G rollout in the United States. And they vindicate the hard choices the FCC made during the C-band proceeding—and that we made them. The FCC confronted a host of technical, legal, practical, and political challenges in structuring this auction. It would have been easy to delay. But we rightly pushed ahead and overcame every one of those obstacles. As a result, we significantly advanced United States leadership in 5G and have enabled America’s wireless consumers to more quickly benefit from 5G services.”

    Satellite owners who are giving up their spectrum in the auction are being transitioned to the upper 4.0-4.2 GHz range. To prevent interference from the satellite transmissions to impact the wireless providers, a 20MHz band will be used as a “guard band.”

    The next step in the process requires the auction winners to bid for licenses related to specific frequencies. The FCC will release a notice to the public containing the date and time when this assignment phase will take place.

  • Viettel profits grow despite pandemic

    Viettel profits grow despite pandemic

    Telecom giant Viettel managed to shrug off the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and achieve its revenue and profit targets in 2020.

    The military-owned firm reported revenues of VND264 trillion ($11.47 billion), up 4.4 percent from 2019, and pre-tax profit of VND39.8 trillion, up 4.1 percent.

    Viettel attributed the results to its digital transformation and switch from being a telecom services provider to a digital services provider. In 2020, the platforms it developed included digital infrastructure, solutions, content, and finance, and cybersecurity.

    Its 10 overseas markets reported a 25 percent increase in profits to VND5.6 trillion in the first nine months of 2020, while at home it remained the leader in mobile services and fixed broadband with a 54.2 percent market share.

    By manufacturing 5G equipment and trialing 5G services, the company made Vietnam one of only six countries in the world to master the technology.

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  • Viettel revamps as it eyes to enter Cuba

    Viettel revamps as it eyes to enter Cuba

    Viettel Group, Vietnam’s largest mobile network operator, which is wholly owned and operated by the Ministry of Defense, has plans to expand to sister socialist countries Cuba and North Korea, both of which are in the early stages of building up mobile phone networks. Earlier plans to expand to Venezuela have been put on hold owing to the dismal economic state of the latter nation.

    According to Viettel executives, the company is seeking to hold negotiations with the two countries in order to gain a foothold in their underdeveloped wireless markets.

    In Cuba, the company is waiting for a decision by Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba, the state-owned telecom provider and operator of the sole mobile network Cubacel whether it would grant Viettel a license.

    In North Korea, where Koryolink, a joint venture between the North Korean state and Egypt’s Orascom Investment Holdings, has reached millions of subscribers since its 2008 launch, Viettel had sought permission to build a mobile network as early as in 2010 but is still waiting for sanctions to be lifted and for the country to open its market to foreign investors.

    Viettel in its international expansion has set sights on a number of otherwise overlooked destinations. It began its global expansion by setting up a joint venture in Laos in 2008 and became the largest mobile phone operator in Cambodia after launching operations there in 2009. Since that time Viettel has expanded its operations to Burundi, Cameroon, East Timor, Haiti, Mozambique, Peru, Tanzania and eventually Myanmar.

    Between 2015 and 2017, the company invested over $2.23 billion or its foreign expansion strategy and by 2017, Viettel’s international operations covered an area of more 350 million potential subscribers. The company has invested in heavily in infrastructure in Myanmar where it is seeking to double its five million-subscriber base by the end of this year.

    The company has said that it will stop investment in the African market where the company has struggled to make a profit due to poor economic growth. According to telecommunications industry insiders, Viettel is in talks to buy stakes in existing telecommunication firms in Indonesia and Malaysia and a 20% stake in an unnamed European mobile carrier. Plans are to expand further in Bangladesh, Nepal, Belarus and Ukraine in the near future.

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