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Tag: telecom

  • 3 Hong Kong launches new global roaming packages

    3 Hong Kong launches new global roaming packages

    3 Hong Kong, the mobile arm of Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings (HTHKH), has launched today a new data roaming service, called Roam-in-Command, providing discounted data roaming plans for mobile subscribers traveling 21 countries in three continents.

    3 HK’s new Roam-in-Command service comes with four packages. Each pack provides customers with up to 14 days discounted data roaming service in six European countries and 10 countries throughout Asia Pacific. One package combines the US and Canada, while another pack targets travelers to three Greater China destinations – mainland China, Taiwan and Macau.

    The service offers four 200MB (at HK$78) or 1GB (HK$198) options  to serve customers roaming in Europe, Asia Pacific, the US, Canada and Greater China.

    Customers can also get an extra 1GB roaming data capacity if they subscribe to the 1GB service during the promotional period, from tomorrow to 30 September.

    Kenny Koo, 3 Hong Kong’s director of roaming and service development, said the company is drawing on its advantage of close ties with the 3 Group, NTT Docomo, the Conexus Mobile Alliance and Vodafone to tailor “value-for-money” roaming packages that offer extensive overseas coverage.

    “The upshot is our customers can wave goodbye to the hassle of changing SIM cards or carrying Wi-Fi devices just to stay connected with friends and family while abroad,” the executive said at a media briefing Thursday.

    The new service launch comes at a time when Hong Kong mobile carriers are seeing decline in roaming revenues, thanks to increasing competition from OTT messaging applications like Whatsapp, Line and Wechat.

    Hutchison Telecom reported HK$3.9 billion of mobile service revenue in 2016, down 3.9% from a year earlier, largely due to the decline in roaming revenue – which slumped 13% from HK$831 million in 2015 to HK$722 million last year. The company will report its 2017 interim financial results next week.

    Koo said the data roaming market is changing rapidly, and that he expects that the new service, together with other data roaming plans currently offered by the company, will help drive roaming traffic.

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  • The most promising 5G operators named

    The most promising 5G operators named

    Although 5G is still a few years from becoming a reality, Juniper Research has identified five mobile carriers as the “most promising 5G mobile network operators” – namely SK Telecom, NTT Docomo, KT Corp, China Mobile and AT&T Mobility.

    South Korean mobile carrier SK Telekom ranked No 1 for the extent of 5G trials over the past 24 months in the fields of millimetre wave spectrum, MIMO (Massive Input, Massive Output) transmission and network slicing.

    The ranking process included analysis of time in development, breadth and value of partnerships and progression of 5G network testing, Juniper Research says in its new report.

    Additionally, the research firm forecasts that 5G operator-billed service revenues will reach $269 billion by 2025, rising from $851 million in 2019 – achieving 161% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the first seven years of 5G services.

    Two thirds (66%) of all the revenues will come from North America and Far East & China by 2025.

    Meanwhile, as 5G spectrum auctions and infrastructure build-out costs would necessitate a diverse range of strategies to maximize operator return on investment, this need is compounded by the ongoing fall of average revenues per connection.

    As such, adoption of software-based network solutions will lower investment costs, enabling operators to begin realizing a return on investment as early as 2024, Juniper predicts.

    The research firm also emphasizes the importance of these technological solutions in addressing varying 5G use cases.

    “Network virtualization will become increasingly prominent as operators aim to lower expenditures,” notes research author Sam Barker. “Adoption of the technology is critical to the wide-ranging demands of future 5G networks.”

    Juniper says the research is based on the latest market data and takes into account the accelerated status of current operator and vendor developments, with network launches expected to occur during 2019, a year earlier than originally anticipated.

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  • Davao gains first Globe Telecom Gen3 store

    Davao gains first Globe Telecom Gen3 store

    Globe Telecom has opened its first Gen3 store for Davao City, at Gaisano Mall of Davao.

    It is described as “a new retail experience” by Irra Zarina Escandor, who owns GMI Global Ventures, the first Gen3 store owner in Davao City.

    Gmall Globe Gen3 store retail manager Ace Cabana says customers will experience lifestyle vignettes designed to catch attention. There will not be any queues as a tablet will be used to help customers.

    Cabana says the topography of the store is reconfigurable and interactive. Globe products and services will be showcased within different zones featuring video-on-demand providers, music providers, plan packages and gadgets.

    Designed by Tim Kobe, founder/CEO of Eight and designer of Apple Stores and Nike pop-ups, the Gen3 stores were first launched simultaneously in Mindanao’s Limketkai Mall in Cagayan de Oro City, and at SM North Edsa in Quezon City.

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  • Colt picks NEC, Netcracker for virtualization

    Colt picks NEC, Netcracker for virtualization

    Colt has selected NEC and Netcracker Technology to enable and support its large-scale OSS transformation and for support in the deployment of the next-generation of its infrastructure, including virtualization.

    Colt will leverage Netcracker’s future-proof, next-generation OSS and Service Orchestration solution, which is a part of NEC/Netcracker’s Agile Virtualization Platform and Practice (AVP).

    Colt is a global high-bandwidth connectivity provider that delivers services to metropolitan small, medium and large enterprises as well as wholesale carriers in nearly 30 countries, through its intelligent, purpose-built, cloud-integrated network known as the Colt IQ Network.

    Netcracker’s OSS and Service Orchestration solution, a component of NEC/Netcracker’s AVP’s Hybrid Operations Management solution, will enable Colt to optimize its physical network and quickly monetize new investments.

    Also, Netcracker’s solutions will also prepare Colt’s infrastructure for the use of both physical and virtualized environments.

    NEC/Netcracker’s Service Orchestration solution will give Colt the ability to enable new levels of provisioning automation. This will shorten the time it takes to deliver new services to customers, eliminate the risk of provisioning errors brought about by manual processes and give Colt more accurate views into the network in order to provide enhanced support.

    “Our customers continue to expect new services to be delivered to them faster, which requires us to optimize our intelligent network and pave the way for fast-growing bandwidth requirements,” said Rajiv Datta, CTO at Colt.

  • CellMining launches Network NPS to drive subscriber retention

    CellMining launches Network NPS to drive subscriber retention

    CellMining in Israel launched Virtual Network NPS, touted as the first technology able to predict network detractors across the entire mobile subscriber base without the need for an NPS survey.

    By correlating the responses of surveyed subscribers with key quality indicators (KQI) observed and analyzed by CellMining’s Subscriber Network Analytics – such as low-quality VoLTE calls, slow video streaming, or frequent dropped connections when traveling – CellMining’s embedded machine learning model can actively predict the detractors from the entire subscriber base for which it has analyzed KQIs.

    CellMining said this breakthrough gives the marketing team the power to identify both detractors for retention campaigns and promoters who can be nurtured. It also directly provides the network team with insights for automating network configuration changes, performance optimization, and enhanced prioritization for network tasks, based on subscriber data including NPS metrics.

    “The impact of network quality on the brand NPS score is a major concern for network operators today, and a technology to predict detractors will be a game changer for them,” said Greg (Giora) Snipper, CEO of CellMining.

    “CellMining’s Virtual Network NPS gives operators the power both to automate network performance optimization and to prioritize future investment based on NPS metrics, as well as the ability to use this insight to inform marketing campaigns and business decisions,” said Snipper.

    Virtual Network NPS integrates with CellMining’s Network CEM Solution, which provides marketing and customer experience teams with market-wide customer satisfaction metrics that correlate subscriber experience data with parameters that include device type, cells, technology, service, and quality.

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  • Smart targets 70% LTE coverage by year end

    Smart targets 70% LTE coverage by year end

    The Philippines’ Smart Communications aims to make LTE services available in 70% of the population by the end of the year.

    A recent study from JP Morgan estimates that Smart’s nationwide LTE coverage reached 51.5% by the end of May, Smart VP of network planning and engineering Mario Tamayo said in a statement.

    Smart, the wireless division of PLDT, said the findings show that Smart is on track to meet the targets the company stipulated in the three-year network rollout plan the operator to the National Telecommunications Commission in July last year.

    The plan stated that the operator is targeting making LTE available to 95% of the company’s cities and municipalities by the end of 2018.

    The report also estimated Smart’s average broadband speeds at 11.1Mbps on a nationwide basis, ahead of rival Globe Telecom.

    Smart said it is currently re-equipping its cell sites to use low-frequency bands such as 700 MHz and 850 MHz to provide better indoor coverage, while simultaneously deploying high-frequency bands like 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz to increase the cell sites’ capacity.

    “We are asking for people’s patience and understanding as we are upgrading our network facilities. We assure you that we are taking steps to minimize the impact of these activities on our subscribers,” Tamayo said.

    “In the end, our commitment to all our subscribers is that they will enjoy progressively better mobile data services in the next few months, particularly for those using LTE devices.”

    To promote adoption of its LTE network the company has launched a new data package offer, Video Prime 99, that comes with 2GB of data and a subscription to the iflix and iWant TV streaming services. The offer is valid for seven days.

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  • Bharti Airtel eyes Tata’s assets

    Bharti Airtel eyes Tata’s assets

    India may see a mega merger this year, if reports out of the region are correct. Tata Group has long been seeking a way to reconfigure its capital structure and relieve the pressure of its debt, and they may have found a way to do it with the help of the rival Bharti Enterprises group.

    The two companies are talking about some sort of merger of Bharti Airtel with Tata Teleservices, Tata Communications, and Tata Sky. Now, this would obviously have huge repercussions in the Indian market itself, and the prospect of Tata Communications and its global network infrastructure, top 6 internet backbone, and wholesale/enterprise customer base changing hands is another matter.

    Tata Communications has been a player global consolidation of telecommunications assets on both sides of the table over the years. They have been fixture in the submarine cable business ever since buying the Tyco Global Network and Teleglobe back in 2005. They also bought BitGravity to enter the CDN space back in 2011.

    More recently, the company has been monetizing assets to help with that debt load. Tata sold its South African unit Neotel to Liquid Telecom after a similar deal to sell to Vodacom collapsed. And they sold a majority stake in the company’s data center business to ST Telemedia last year.

    Should a deal happen and these assets land in the hands of Bharti Airtel, it might be that the winds of consolidation shift further. But in which direction is not that clear.

    That being said, it’s still just talk right now and in all likelihood will never be anything else. Until it is, of course.

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  • DoCoMo to deploy Ericsson’s UDN

    DoCoMo to deploy Ericsson’s UDN

    Japan’s NTT DoCoMo has contracted Ericsson to provide the vendor’s Unified Delivery Network (UDN) global content delivery network solution for the DoCoMo mobile network.

    The contract marks Ericsson’s first deployment of its UDN in Japan. DoCoMo will initially use the platform to roll out content distribution services, and will follow this up by introducing future value added services including toll-free data for certain content.

    Ericsson’s UDN is designed to connect content providers worldwide with the last mile reach network operators can offer.

    It is designed to aggregate network capabilities to allow services to be optimized and monetized in new ways, while offering operators the ability to efficiently scale the delivery of OTT services and high-quality video content.

    “For future services, NTT DoCoMo foresees that consumption of 4K video, virtual reality and augmented reality content will increase and believes a platform like a UDN adds value in the high-speed 5G era,” the operator’s GM of service design Takaaki Sato said.

    Ericsson head of UDN service provider partnerships Cillilan Maher said its UDN ecosystem now encompasses 55 content providers and 40 operators worldwide.

    “As part of [this ecosystem], DoCoMo will be able to significantly advance the traditional content delivery network model,” he said.

    “As a service provider partner, they will be able to garner incremental revenue and can participate as a content provider, driving traffic through both their own network and the UDN ecosystem.”

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  • Taiwan cellcos switch off 2G networks

    Taiwan cellcos switch off 2G networks

    Taiwan’s mobile operators have completed the switch-off of their respective 2G networks.

    The switch-off on Saturday has left the nation’s remaining 2G holdouts unable to place any calls except for emergency calls, or send or receive text messages or use data serices.

    At the time of the shutdown there were an estimated 60,000 2G holdouts on Chunghwa Telecom, 20,000 on Taiwan Mobile and 8,000 on Far EasTone, the report states.

    Remaining 2G customers’ numbers will be reserved until the end of December if they choose to upgrade to 4G.

    Taiwan Mobile is meanwhile redirecting customers attempting to place a call to a customer service center and will agree to temporary restart phone services if customers commit to upgrading to 4G. This redirection will last until July 7.

    With the move, Taiwan has become the latest APAC nation to transition away from 2G services to free up spectrum for 4G and other mobile services. The shutdown was prompted by the expiration of all existing 2G licenses.

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  • 5G connections in China to reach 428m by 2025: GSMA

    5G connections in China to reach 428m by 2025: GSMA

    Chinese operators are on track to launch commercial 5G networks by 2020 and are expected to establish the nation as the world’s largest 5G market by 2025, Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA, said during a keynote at the Mobile World Congress Shanghai.

    5G connections in China will reach 428 million by 2025, accounting for 39% of the 1.1 billion global 5G connections expected by that point, Granryd said, citing a new study by GSMA Intelligence and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) released Wednesday.

    “In its early phase, 5G will offer an enhanced mobile broadband experience that will enable next-generation consumer services such as augmented and virtual reality, while at the same supporting mission-critical applications across a range of industry verticals,” the executive said.

    Granryd said mobile operators – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom- in China plan to run a phased testing period for 5G networks from 2017 to 2019 before launching commercially in 2020.

    The trio is expected to deploy ‘standalone’ 5G networks, which will require the construction of new base stations to site 5G equipment, backhaul links and a core network.

    Yet, some mobile operators in Asia are considering to deploy ‘non-standalone’ 5G networks that would run on existing infrastructure supplemented by targeted small cell deployment in areas of high density, allowing 4G and 5G services to run in parallel, the report noted.

    Granryd said 4G penetration is China has increased fivefold to 61% over the two-year period to March 2017 and there remains significant headroom for 4G growth.

    That said, 4G and 5G networks are expected to co-exist in China for a considerable period of time. The rate of 5G network rollout and adoption in China is also expected to be slower than it was for 4G, which Chinese operators were able to deploy rapidly earlier this decade within a mature 4G ecosystem.

    Granryd added that 5G investment in China will follow a more gradual path and over a longer timeframe than 4G, roughly seven years, from 2018 to 2025 – with capex not expected to account for more than 25% of operator revenue prior to commercial launch.

    In their early phase, 5G networks will concentrate on boosting the capacity of 4G networks to support rising cellular data traffic demands.

    Meanwhile 5G will also enable enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services such as 4K/8K Ultra-HD video and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications.

    Though some services will require devices with new form factors, the smartphone is expected to remain the principal 5G interface at launch. The first 5G smartphones are likely to be priced at a premium to 4G models, as they will require an enhanced chipset and RF module supporting multiple sub-6 GHz, and possibly extremely high frequency bands (mmWave), as well as, potentially, a 4K or 8K screen.

    Enterprise is considered to offer operators the largest incremental revenue opportunity. Key vertical markets for 5G applications include automotive and transport, logistics, energy and utilities monitoring, security, finance, healthcare, industrial and agriculture.

  • China Telecom to expand JV with AT&T

    China Telecom to expand JV with AT&T

    China Telecom has agreed to extend its partnership with AT&T to cover the development of more advanced network services for multinational companies operating in China.

    The operators have signed a framework agreement to explore ways to develop new IoT, cloud-based big data, VoLTE roaming and SDN based services.

    AT&T, China Telecom and Shanghai Information Investments entered a joint venture in 2000, Shanghai Symphony Telecommunications (SST). The companies now plan to expand the scope of SST as well as the locations it serves.

    Under the agreement, China Telecom and AT&T aim to help establish industry standards for SDN, explore ways to collaborate on IoT platforms and solutions, launch bilateral roaming tests and explore the potential of VoLTE roaming.

    “Working with AT&T, China Telecom is creating future business solutions that use enterprise mobility, cloud, IoT and other technologies,” China Telecom executive director and EVP Gao Tongqing commented.

    “Global businesses have to be innovative and agile to succeed today. Growing our relationship with China Telecom, AT&T is helping multinational customers have consistent access to the advanced solutions they need in China,” added Thaddeus Arroyo, CEO of AT&T Business Solutions and International segment.

  • UnaBiz secures IoT license in Taiwan

    UnaBiz secures IoT license in Taiwan

    IoT-dedicated network operator UnaBiz has secured a license to operate an IoT network in Taiwan from the National Communication Commission (NCC).

    As the first of its kind to receive an IoT network operator license from the NCC since Taiwan’s announcement of the use of the unlicensed spectrum, UnaBiz is on track to become a nationwide network operator in Taiwan.

    As a provider of a dedicated communications service for the IotT, the Sigfox low power wide-area network (LPWAN) is currently present in 32 countries worldwide and target to reach 60 countries by 2018. The roll out of the commercial grade global network is in line with Taiwan’s “Asian Silicon Valley” initiative, a vision to transform Taiwan from an ICT specialist to an IoT specialist.

    UnaBiz’s vision is to empower massive IoT in Asia. The network operator will actively engage and collaborate with industry partners, academic institutions and government agencies to help Taiwan address the global IoT market potential.

    “This is a milestone for UnaBiz but also for Taiwan industry which henceforth can boldly step into the Sigfox global IoT market and ecosystem,” UnaBiz MD and co-founder Philippe Chiu said.

    In 2017, UnaBiz will focus on deploying the IoT network in the six main municipalities – Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung – effectively bringing Sigfox service coverage to more than 80% of the population in Taiwan.

    The deployment will cover both urban and rural areas, and the LPWAN network will be extended to cover 95% of the population in Taiwan in 2018.

    Along with the fast-paced deployment of the network across Taiwan, the local IoT ecosystem and stakeholders can already evaluate and start developing products and solutions using the royalties-free Sigfox technology. This happens at an excellent timing for Taiwan’s industry looking for transformation and new business opportunities, especially at a global scale.

    The global IoT sensors market is expected to reach $17.81 billion by 2020, and although Taiwan is big in semiconductor manufacturing (60% of global market), it only accounts for 15% of the global sensor manufacturing. Given the predominant impact of Taiwan in the conception, production and integration of smart sensors into electronic hardware in the global IoT market, Taiwan joining the Sigfox ecosystem represents a significant milestone.

    Chiu notes, “To significantly build up the IoT industry, we need a sound ecosystem of highly-engaged players from semiconductors to device manufacturers and all the way up to cloud platforms. That is why, on top of providing Sigfox communication service, UnaBiz is also acting to catalyze IoT opportunities by establishing partnerships and providing keys to address the Sigfox global IoT market.”

    “According to studies, the explosion of the global IoT market will create the largest device market in the world,” UnaBiz CEO and co-founder Henri Bong said.

    “The number will double of that of the current market of personal PC, tablets and wearable technology combined. The growth of this ecosystem not only creates more jobs in Taiwan’s manufacturing industry but will eventually spur a paradigm shift in Taiwan’s entire workforce to that of a more innovative and creative economy, one that engages higher skilled and hence higher-paying workers.”

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  • Workz launches new eSIM operating system

    Workz launches new eSIM operating system

    UAE-based mobile solutions vendor Workz Group has entered into a value-added reseller agreement with UK telecoms software company Simulty Labs covering the provision of commercial and technical support for Workz’s eSIM operating system and remote provisioning server.

    The agreement will pave the way for distribution of eSIM across the MEA and Southeast Asia, the companies said.

    With the agreement, Workz will be able to provide regional customers with remote management capabilities of mobile connected devices through eSIM technology.

    The company is targeting the product at device manufacturers, technology enablers, mobile network operators and other businesses in the M2M, automotive, mobile devices and medical fields.

    “Our eSIM, OTA, and remote provisioning solutions allow customers to realize their IoT development strategy whether it be competitively-priced multi-IMSI SIMs, roaming data, device management, big data management or automation,” Workz CEO Brad Taylor said.

    “For rapid deployment and cost-savings, we will provide a fully secure online SaaS connected management solution. We are currently in the final stage of becoming certified under the GSMA Security Accreditation Scheme for traditional UICC SIM cards and will shortly be applying for its eSIM (embedded SIM) counterpart, in order, to give customers full confidence in our secure data management systems.”

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  • South Korea to raise subscription discount to 25%

    South Korea to raise subscription discount to 25%

    The South Korean government plans to increase the mandated monthly telecoms subscription fee discount to 25% from 20% as part of a plan to reduce total household expenses by 4.6 trillion won ($4.03 billion) annually.

    Customers signing up for one or two year subscriptions will be able to choose to apply the discount as either a monthly rte cut or a one-time discount on a new smartphone purchase.

    The market’s operators will also be required to provide an extra 11,000 won discount on monthly fees for elderly and low-income Koreans.

    A plan unveiled by the government will also involve the establishment of more Wi-Fi access points at schools, public buildings and public transport lines.

    But the plan has excluded an earlier proposal to abolish the 11,000 won basic mobile service fee to further reduce costs for consumers, due to strong opposition to the plan from the industry.

    According to the report, the economic committee of the nation’s State Affairs Planning Advisory Committee believes that increasing the discount rate for subscription services and low-income customers has the same effect as the proposed abolition of the fee.

    The mandated increased discount rate is expected be introduced in September, but could face legal and other challenges from operators.

    The government reportedly also intends to reduce mobile network lease rates for MVNOs and abolish the current cap on handset subsidies to make purchasing smartphones more affordable.

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  • Mobile users cringe at new photo ID requirements in Vietnam

    Mobile users cringe at new photo ID requirements in Vietnam

    Many subscribers say they have already provided copies of their ID cards, so why is the new regulation necessary? Mobile subscribers in Vietnam are objecting to a government regulation which requires them to provide a portrait photo of themselves when they register with a provider to clarify their personal information in an effort to get rid of spam messages.

    Under the amended telecommunications law, existing subscribers will have until next April to furnish network providers with photos.

    After the deadline, networks will be fined if they are caught offering services to users who provide false information.

    MobiFone and VinaPhone, two of the biggest mobile service providers in Vietnam, have already started taking photos of new subscribers. Viettel, the country’s largest provider, said it will start taking photos of new users from next month.

    A VinaPhone representative told that the company has faced strong opposition from customers, with many refusing to provide a photo.

    A MobileFone staff member in Hanoi also said that customers simply don’t want to sit down for a photo.

    Registering new customers is already a headache, and obtaining photos from existing users will be a much bigger problem.

    VinaPhone said it is planning to offer incentives to current customers who provide the company with photos, while Viettel said it is still working on a solution to deal with existing customers.

    Last week, Duong, the owner of a mobile subscription service run by MobiFone in Hanoi, received a text from the company asking her for a photo.

    Duong said she was surprised as she has been using MobiFone for nearly 20 years and has already provided the company with her personal information.

    “I have already submitted a copy of my ID with a photo on it but the staff at MobiFone said the photo isn’t clear enough and they need a new one,” she said.

    When she learned that operators will bar outgoing calls after 15 days and disconnect after 30 days if subscribers refuse to submit their photos, Duong’s first reaction was that it could be a breach of contract. She was also concerned about the security of her personal information.

    Many people echo Duong’s opinion.

    Others simply said the whole idea is a waste of time, and questioned whether mobile operators will be able to protect their personal information.

    The regulation, which is aimed at eliminating spam messages, states that telecom companies will be fined VND30 million ($1.320) to VND50 million for leaking customers’ personal information, and VND50-70 million for trading that information, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

    Nguyen Chien, vice chairman of the Vietnam Bar Association, said the regulation risking breaking contracts signed by existing subscribers if they are cut off for not providing a photo.

    This requirement should only be applied for new subscribers and existing subscribers who have not provided enough personal information, he suggested.

    Official data show millions of spam messages are sent in Vietnam every day. Most of them come from prepaid phone accounts that are unregistered or registered with false information.

    The messages are not only annoying but dangerous as they can be used by criminals and terrorists, according to the ministry.

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