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Tag: telecom

  • Ooredoo Group Announces USD750 million Deal for Sale of More Than 4,200 Telecoms Towers in Indonesia

    Ooredoo Group Announces USD750 million Deal for Sale of More Than 4,200 Telecoms Towers in Indonesia

    Ooredoo  today announced that its Indonesian operating company, PT Indosat Tbk. (“Indosat Ooredoo”), has signed a sale and leaseback agreement with PT EPID Menara AssetCo (“Edge Point Indonesia”) for more than 4,200 telecommunications towers.

    PT EPID Menara AssetCo is an Indonesian subsidiary of Edge Point Singapore, which is wholly owned by Digital Colony, a leading global digital infrastructure investor with extensive experience owning and operating cellular towers.

    Indosat Ooredoo has agreed to sell this portfolio of towers in a transaction valued at USD 750 million, including a supplementary offer, making it one of the largest deals of its kind in Asia. The sale will unlock capital to create value for shareholders and continue to build Indosat Ooredoo’s strong growth momentum through improvements to network performance and the launch of innovative new digital solutions to enhance the customer experience.

    The sale is part of Ooredoo Group’s strategy to move to a more efficient and flexible asset light model and unlock the trapped value of its infrastructure portfolio. Prior to this deal, Ooredoo had a global portfolio of approximately 27,000 owned towers, representing an infrastructure portfolio of significant value for the Group. Monetising these assets to create more value for both shareholders and customers is a key focus of Ooredoo’s current strategy.

    Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Managing Director of Ooredoo Group, said: “Congratulations to Indosat Ooredoo on this sale and leaseback agreement with Edge Point Indonesia, which aligns perfectly with our new strategy and its focus on creating more value for shareholders and customers. This strategy incorporates a shift towards an asset-light model that will help us unlock significant capital and enable us to focus on our core mission of delivering outstanding digital and enterprise services to our customer base. I extend our gratitude to the Government of Indonesia for its progressive policies that leave a positive impact on the industry, its operators and its people.”

    Edge Point Indonesia was declared the winning bidder of a competitive tender process conducted by Indosat Ooredoo. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2021 subject to customary conditions, including shareholder approval by Indosat Ooredoo at an EGM, which is planned to be held on May 6th. Indosat Ooredoo will lease back space on the towers for a period of 10-years to meet its ongoing requirements.

    President Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indosat Ooredoo, Ahmad Al Neama, added: “I am delighted that Indosat Ooredoo has agreed this deal, which furthers our strategy to create more value from our infrastructure assets. The deal marks the third and final sale of assets from our high-quality tower portfolio and continues our transition into a leading digital telecoms company. We are confident the leaseback agreement, with its attractive terms, will continue to meet our ongoing tower needs, while the capital that we have unlocked will provide further fuel to power our growth momentum. Indosat Ooredoo and Edge Point Indonesia will work closely together going forward and build a strong and long-lasting strategic partnership.”

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  • Singtel and Hyundai Motor to develop Singapore’s smart manufacturing and mobility technologies

    Singtel and Hyundai Motor to develop Singapore’s smart manufacturing and mobility technologies

    Hyundai Motor Company and Singtel today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on a range of ventures to support smart manufacturing, connectivity for electric vehicle battery subscription service. The MOU follows Hyundai Motor Group’s announcement in October 2020 that it is setting up a new state-of-the-art Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre Singapore (HMGICS) to conduct studies on future mobility and explore innovative solutions, services and disruptive technologies to revolutionize commuters’ transport experience.

    Hyundai Motor will combine its expertise in developing innovative automotive and manufacturing solutions with Singtel’s capabilities in 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and next-generation info-communications technologies and solutions to develop Industry 4.0 advanced digital solutions to   transform the way vehicles are currently manufactured. The parties will develop and pilot a 5G-enabled smart factory use case for HMGICS’ intelligent manufacturing platform, and potentially scaling it up for deployment across Hyundai’s manufacturing plants globally.

    “Hyundai is delighted to work with Singtel, implementing next-generation communication solutions that will enhance mobility experiences for our customers,” said Hong Bum Jung, Senior Vice President of HMGICS at Hyundai Motor Company. “We also hope to explore future innovative solutions and business opportunities with Singtel to help realise Singapore’s Smart Nation vision.”

    Hyundai and Singtel will also work together on an IoT communications solution for the batteries powering Hyundai’s electric vehicles (EVs) in Singapore. The IoT system enables Hyundai to monitor the telemetry, or automatic data transmission, of the batteries’ real-time status and performance.

    The data-driven insights can enhance the EVs’ reliability, advancing Singapore’s EV ecosystem and Smart Nation vision of connected and sustainable mobility solutions.

    Andrew Lim, Managing Director, Government and Large Enterprise, Group Enterprise at Singtel said, “Our collaboration with Hyundai Motor is timely given the Singapore Government’s decision to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040 and the recent Budget announcement on new policies to encourage more Singaporeans to switch to driving electric vehicles. By pushing the boundaries of what is possible with 5G, IoT and other advanced technologies, we also want to build up Singapore’s smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 capabilities and strengthen its innovation ecosystem.”

  • Nokia deploys first 5G standalone RAN in Southeast Asia to M1-Starhub JV in Singapore

    Nokia deploys first 5G standalone RAN in Southeast Asia to M1-Starhub JV in Singapore

    Nokia announced the first 5G standalone (“SA”) Radio Access Network (“RAN”) Sharing network in South East Asia. The company has been selected by Antina Pte. Ltd. (“Antina”), a joint venture formed by mobile network operators M1 and StarHub, following a competitive tender process, to deploy 5G SA networks across Singapore. The commercial deployment of a 5G SA network will introduce compelling new use cases and cater for the growing data demand in the country, putting Singapore at the forefront of 5G standalone technology in the region.

    The partnership will enable Antina’s customers – M1, StarHub and other mobile service providers on wholesale arrangements – to benefit from a game-changing ultra-high speed, low-latency and highly secure 5G SA network that will reduce complexity and increase cost efficiencies. It will also enable new use cases across entertainment, cloud gaming, transportation, education and healthcare.

    Nokia will provide equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio and CloudRAN solution to build the Radio Access Network (RAN) for the 5G SA infrastructure, utilizing the 3.5GHz spectrum band. Nokia will supply 5G base stations and its small cells solution for indoor coverage, as well as other radio access products. Nokia’s 5G SA technology will provide Singaporean enterprises with the opportunity to explore multiple new use cases due to the network’s higher bandwidth, higher uplink speeds and lower-latency.

    Nokia CloudRAN solution is designed to enable Antina to build a more agile business, meet new traffic demands, make better use of spectrum as well as optimize performance and mitigate costs. Nokia’s CloudRAN technology is expected to provide Antina with the flexibility to meet customer demands in the evolving 5G era. Nokia’s NetAct network management, CloudBand Application Manager and CloudBand Infrastructure Software will streamline operations and securely manage Antina’s networks.

    The commercial launch of this 5G SA network in Singapore will underpin the infrastructure for a vibrant 5G ecosystem.

    Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia, said: “This is an important win for Nokia that demonstrates our leadership in commercial-grade Cloud RAN as well as mobile operators’ trust in our capabilities for rapidly transitioning to 5G standalone networks. We look forward to supporting Antina in the deployment of a successful rollout of the 5G SA network in Singapore which aligns with the country’s vision of creating a world-class 5G infrastructure. We hope other global markets considering making the move to 5G SA will take note of Antina’s success.”

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  • SK Telecom, Shinsegae Group among bidders for eBay’s Korean business

    SK Telecom, Shinsegae Group among bidders for eBay’s Korean business

    South Korea’s SK Telecom, retailer Shinsegae Group and private equity firm MBK Partners were among those that entered non-binding, preliminary bids for the sale of eBay Inc’s South Korean business, the telecom company, and two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.

    EBay Korea operates open market e-commerce platforms Gmarket, Auction and G9, and was South Korea’s third-largest e-commerce firm in 2020 with 12.8% market share, according to Euromonitor.

    The sources declined to be identified as not authorized to talk to the media. MBK Partners, Shinsegae Group, and eBay Korea declined to comment.

    Seoul-based analysts said that eBay hopes to fetch up to 5 trillion won (S4.42 billion) with the sale.

    However, they said the actual sale price may be lower, due to its recent drop in market share compared to rivals such as Korea’s No. 1 e-commerce firm Coupang, and disadvantages of the unit’s traditional “open market” form of e-commerce which simply connects sellers with buyers.

    EBay Korea’s market share has been overtaken in recent years by Coupang, which directly handles inventory, differentiated itself with speedy delivery and raised around $4.6 billion in a blockbuster New York listing earlier this month, as well as Naver Corp, which operates South Korea’s dominant online search portal.

    EBay Korea’s 2020 revenue was estimated to be about 1.3 trillion won, with a 5.3% on-year increase in transactions, compared to a 19% growth in South Korean e-commerce market, KTB Investment & Securities analyst Kim Jin-woo said.

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  • ZTE joins China Mobile in Xinfengming Group’s 5G intelligent manufacturing upgrade

    ZTE joins China Mobile in Xinfengming Group’s 5G intelligent manufacturing upgrade

    ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, in partnership with China Mobile, has upgraded Xinfengming Group’s 5G intelligent manufacturing, following the completion of the test and verification of the “i – wireless 5G intelligent and one-stop local network” project.

    Leveraging ZTE’s NodeEngine solution, this Xinfengming 5G manufacturing platform has been upgraded to accelerate the comprehensive digital transformation. This is the first commercial deployment of NodeEngine solution by ZTE and China Mobile.

    Aiming to better serve manufacturing with 5G technologies and to offer enterprises with flexible and fast local services, ZTE, China Mobile Research Institute and the Zhejiang Branch of China Mobile have teamed up to provide industrial parks with the innovative solution, featuring functions of PRB resources reserved hard slicing, intelligent and simple local distribution, EdgeQoS service management and control, and enterprise self-service portal and more, based on the concept of i- wireless 5G intelligence and simplification. The NodeEngine solution is simple to deploy, quick to the commission, and excellent in performance and cost-effectiveness.

    In the 5G network of Xinfengming Group, most of the production equipment is dedicated to Xinfengming, such as AGV trucks, visual detection devices, and automatic assembly devices. PRB resources reserved hard slicing and local traffic offloading provide Xinfengming the 5G private network capability in a short time, enabling the access of this dedicated equipment and the local traffic offloading and clearly separating common mobile users from businesses, which ensures the access and network performance of different types of terminals. Compared with the existing solutions, this solution enables time delay improvement by 20%.

    ZTE’s NodeEngine solution also serves as an exclusive local O&M portal for enterprises, with which, the network can be dynamically adjusted to satisfy different application requirements. Meanwhile, the network performance can be viewed in real-time, thereby ensuring flexible management and control.

    In addition, ZTE’s NodeEngine solution provides sophisticated EdgeQoS management and control. With this, the QoS requirements of local services, on the one hand, can be intelligently identified and distributed through edge AI to trigger network adjustment parameters to match service requirements. On the other hand, according to the service model, the resources such as bandwidth, latency and reliability are dynamically scheduled to match and guarantee real-time requirements, thus realizing differentiated local network services.

    Through the sophisticated management and control of EdgeQoS, networks can truly be flexibly adjusted according to services, greatly improving the perception of private network services and the efficiency of network resources.

    Committed to empowering traditional industries with 5G, ZTE has made remarkable achievements in 5G industrial manufacturing. Besides the Xinfengming Group digital transformation, the Nanjing Binjiang Smart Manufacturing Base and Changsha Smart Factory, developed by ZTE also, have become the models in the industry. In addition, ZTE has built typical 5G applications together with leading manufacturers such as SANY Group and SUPCON.

    Moving forward, ZTE will be committed to helping industrial manufacturing develop towards a green ,low-carbon, digital, and intelligent future.

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  • Huawei launches “Make any room a data center” products

    Huawei launches “Make any room a data center” products

    In his opening remarks, Brandon Wu, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Huawei’s Asia Pacific Enterprise Business Unit, emphasized the need to ensure enhanced resiliency across all industries, given the impact of the global pandemic.

    Wu explored the key trends emerging in edge computing, namely: better-connected infrastructure, increased resiliency through the use of edge computing, and enhanced reliability through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

    According to the estimation by Gartner, within four years, 75% of data generated by enterprises will be processed at the edge. Demand for real-time interaction is driving businesses to bring computing power closer to end-users.

    • Small and edge data center are therefore making an appearance in several industries and scenarios:Retail: Small and edge data centers can exist within retail outlets as retailers close the gap between online and offline sales.
    • Manufacturing: Edge data centers deployed in distribution warehouses are capable of managing growing volumes of inventory and shipping data; in factories, such data centers manage data generated from sensors as well as communications between equipment, contributing to a growing IIoT.
    • Telecoms: Central offices of telco companies are being converted to computing rooms and used as edge data centers to make networks more dynamic.

    Mahesh Choudhary, Solution Architect for the Huawei Digital Power Line, launched the new solution directly from the Huawei Digital Power Innovation Experience Center, offering a real-life demonstration for event attendees. Changing the game with SmartLi inside —Huawei’s smart lithium battery Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) —now any room can be made into a data center.

    With far lower requirements placed on ceiling height, the Huawei Modular Data Center Solution has no need for a traditional raised floor design. Instead, air conditioner pipes and strong-and weak-current cables are routed from top-down, meaning that equipment can be accommodated in ceiling heights as low as 2.6 m, far below the 3 m minimum height required for a traditional data center.

    At the Smart Modular Data Center Product Launch, Huawei’s partner — NetCraft Information Technology (Macau) Co., Ltd. — shared its experiences cooperating with Huawei. Benjiman Wong, the company’s Sales Director, said: “With the Huawei Modular Data Center Solution, all required components are modular. An easy way for customers to understand this solution is to consider that each component is like a building block: you can build up your castle by adding different blocks together, so you can add more blocks in the future when needed.”

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  • 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.