Sigma Lithium, a leading producer of sustainable lithium, has enlisted Nokia and Alcon to establish what is touted as the inaugural private LTE wireless campus network in the Americas. This groundbreaking initiative aims to bolster lithium mining operations with enhanced connectivity and digitalization.
In a groundbreaking move, Türk Telekom in collaboration with ZTE, has successfully completed a 50G PON trial in Turkey, marking a significant stride in the evolution of networking technology. This trial not only showcased the ability to achieve downstream speeds surpassing 50 Gbps over a single fiber but also demonstrated compatibility with existing PON generations within Türk Telekom’s infrastructure, setting a precedent in Europe.
The radio access network (RAN) equipment market experienced a significant downturn last year, as highlighted by recent reports from Omdia and Dell’Oro. These reports, drawing from detailed market analysis, reveal a challenging period for the industry, with global RAN revenues dropping by 11% to just over $40 billion.
As Portugal’s telecom operator Nos marks two years of 5G services, it declares readiness to launch services on a new 5G standalone infrastructure. Despite the slower than expected progress, Nos’s move signifies a key contribution to the sector. Intriguingly, the viability and potential benefits of this new infrastructure remain a matter of debate. With collaborations with Nokia and Ericsson, Nos envisions a surge in ultra-low latency services.
Global mobile core network market’s slowest quarterly growth since 2017, according to Dell’Oro, is attributed to tough political and economic conditions and slower 5G network rollouts. Distinctively unstable trends mark the sector, with Huawei holding the lead in provider rankings for Q3.
Dell’Oro Group’s RAN 2030 Advanced Research Report hints at long-term growth in the RAN market, suggesting investments could surpass $40 billion by 2030. Despite challenges like short-term boosts due to new technologies, infrastructural opportunities in Fixed Wireless Access and private networks might augment growth. The report also anticipates macro RAN deployments leading the 6G era. However, the analysis remains mindful of potential obstacles clouding this optimistic outlook.
In collaboration with technology giants like HPE, Casa Systems, Mavenir and Dell Technologies, Orange Spain launches Open RAN nodes allied with a cloud-native 5G SA core network. This pilot project notches a triumph in network deployment within an hour, brandishing the power of automation in modern technologies. While this showcases POTENTIAL for end-to-end virtual networks management and elevates energy efficiency, a sense of guarded optimism is needed, given a drop in Open RAN and vRAN revenues in Q2 2023.
Amid growing inflation and swelling telecom budgets, the advent of 6G brings in costly implications tied to Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment. As these financial implications loom, The Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) Alliance proposes a different approach to 6G implementation that may spare existing 5G infrastructure from unnecessary renewal. They advocate an operator-driven decision process in refreshing the 5G RAN, maintaining that 6G upgrade should not compromise 5G user experience and should be software-upgradable on existing network elements. As 5G capex reaches its peak in markets like the U.S., NGMN’s stance could potentially redefine traditional strategies in introducing new generations of mobile technology.
Telecom equipment expenditure in North America experienced an unexpected downturn in the first half of this year. Despite global telecom hardware revenues remaining steady, North America’s marked decline significantly impacted the total number. In contrast, other markets, particularly Asia-Pacific, showed robust growth. The reasons behind North America’s decline extend to slowing 5G expenditure and reduced spending on broadband access equipment. Looking ahead, no major global alterations are anticipated, though the volatility of the telecom industry hints at potential changes.
Deutsche Telekom, in collaboration with AirHop, Juniper Networks, VIAVI Solutions, and VMware, has been testing the waters to leverage telecom technology bound by Open RAN specifications. Treading an intriguing path of innovation, they trialed Non-RT RIC technology by performing a RAN closed-loop optimization proof, embraced by ONAP and Open RAN standards. The journey unfolded two pivotal use case scenarios revolving around PCI optimization and energy-saving dynamics powered by AI and machine learning.
