Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Ericsson asks what consumers want from 5G
Enterprise and industrial use cases for 5G are fairly well-established and in line with increasing demand for capacity and latency to support things like automated robotics, drone-based services and instantaneous access to cloud services. But beyond just faster access to cat videos, what do consumers want from 5G? Ericsson Consumer and Industry labs analyzed that question in a recent report titled “Towards a 5G consumer future.” The infrastructure vendor’s goal is to use consumer research to help operators plan and deploy next-generation networks. In terms of methodology, the findings are based on a survey of 14,000 iPhone and Android users between the ages of 15 and 65 and located in Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom and United States. “Our latest study does not look at a consumer view on 5G in isolation, but rather uncovers unmet consumer needs that must be fulfilled by operators on the way to 5G,” Jasmeet Sethi, Senior Advisor, Ericsson Consumer and Industry Lab, said in a statement. … Read more
Ofcom sets 5G spectrum timetable
U.K. telecommunications regulator Ofcom has updated the timetable for setting the regulations that will apply to the forthcoming auction of spectrum in the 2.3 GHz and 3.4 GHz bands designed to support 5G deployment efforts. “Ofcom believes it is in the public interest for the auction to take place as soon as possible in light of the significant and strong demand for access to the spectrum, and the immediate and direct benefits to consumers of faster, higher quality mobile data services that can be offered using the spectrum,” the regulator said in a statement. Ofcom said that part of the spectrum to be auctioned – the 2.3 GHz band – can be used by mobile carriers immediately to improve services, while the 3.4 GHz spectrum band can be used for future 5G mobile services. The regulator said 40 megahertz of spectrum will be auctioned in the 2.3 GHz band and 150 megahertz of spectrum will be auctioned in the 3.4GHz band. Ofcom had initially planned to hold the 5G spectrum auction last year, but it has been delayed by litigation brought by local carriers Three and BT/EE. … Read more
Verizon joins ONAP
Verizon announced it has joined the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) project as a platinum member, underscoring the service providers efforts to propel network virtualization and automation. ONAP is an open source community consisting of global carriers and vendors focused on the lifecycle management of virtual network functions (VNFs). The project is a collaboration between AT&T’s Open ECOMP and the Linux Foundation’s Open-O, which merged together in 2017. With Verizon jumping on board the ONAP bandwagon with an estimated 110 million mobile subscribers, the project enables almost 60% of the world’s mobile subscribers. Verizon is one among many service providers that have made strives toward virtualizing its network. In 2016, for example, the company delivered on its SDN and NFV strategy with the launch of its Virtual Network Services. … Read more
Qualcomm fends off Broadcom hostile takeover
ualcomm leaders are reaching out to shareholders ahead of a March 6 annual meeting to make the case for keeping the existing board of directors in place. Last year Broadcom made an unsolicited, $130 billion buyout bid for Qualcomm, which was rejected by Qualcomm’s board. After that Broadcom signaled its intention to nominate 11 new directors, replacing the current board, at the March shareholders session. In a Jan. 16 letter to shareholders, Qualcomm’s board made the case for rejecting the Broadcom bid, which was characterized as a “transfer to a hostile acquirer the considerable near- and long-term value creation Qualcomm has in front of it. [Broadcom] is attempting to acquire Qualcomm at an opportunistic, inferior price by installing a slate of conflicted Broadcom/Silver Lake nominees with minimal relevant experience.” Qualcomm laid out what it sees as five key problems with the proposed takeover … Read more
After FCC repeal of net neutrality, states take up the fight
In the aftermath of the U.S. Federal Communication Commission’s controversial repeal of Obama-era net neutrality protections, state-level politicians are taking up the cause of a free and open internet. According to publish reports, officials in California, Washington, New York, Rhode Island, Nebraska and Massachusetts have begun consideration of rules that mirror what the Republican majority FCC repealed last month. San Francisco Democrat Scott Weiner is among those leading the charge in California. In a Jan. 3 statement he called net neutrality “essential to our 21st century democracy. We won’t let the Trump-led FCC dismantle our right to a free and open internet, and we won’t let them create a system where internet providers can favor web sites and services based on who pays more money. It’s terrible for consumers, for small businesses, for innovation, and for the free flow of information in our country.” There is a problem with this state-level approach. … Read more
Sussing out the status of gigabit LTE deployments
The combined features that deliver gigabit LTE were enhanced and adopted by standards-setting body 3GPP in October 2015 with the group’s Release 13. The primary building blocks of gigabit LTE are: 4X4 multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO), which uses four antenna ports at the transmitter and receiver to multiply the capacity of an RF link. With compatible user equipment, 4X4 MIMO can transmit four simultaneous delivering faster mobile data speeds. Carrier aggregation effectively joins together non-contiguous bits of radio spectrum, both licensed and unlicensed, into a wider channel. Compatible with both TDD and FDD LTE networks, intra- and inter-band carrier aggregation in combinations of up to five component carriers of up to a 20 megahertz channel width. 256 quadature amplitude modulation (QAM) manipulates phase and amplitude of waveform to allow a higher bit rate per megahertz. The higher the order of modulation, the more bits per modulation symbol are transmitted. In August 2017, Verizon conducted a “commercial network deployment” using Ericsson’s LAA-compatible Radio 2205 and a test device using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 mobile platform and X16 modem. … Read more
SK Telecom sets up a 5G task force
Korean telecommunications operator SK Telecom has formed a 200-member task force in order to speed up the process to launch commercial 5G services in the Asian country. SK Telecom said the task force is making all the necessary efforts to launch this technology as soon as possible. The telco said the 5G task force is led by Suh Sung-won, head of the mobile network operation (MNO) division and includes staff from four major divisions ― MNO, media, internet of things (IoT)/data and service platforms. The task force also comprises staff from the company’s ICT infrastructure institute. “SK Telecom has put a considerable amount of manpower related to autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI) and the IoT into the task force to develop next-generation services that will provide our customers with the greatest convenience,” the company said in a release. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
