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Germany to retire its 3G network Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica Deutschland and Vodafone Germany have announced the dates of their 3G network service withdrawal. Deutsche Telekom announced that it will aim to shut down 3G networks by the summer of 2021, while the Vodafone Germany target date was announced to be a few months earlier. Similarly, Telefonica Deutschland has stated that it would like to switch off its 3G technology by the end of 2021. This means that Germany will be essentially dependent on LTE and 5G in just over a year. Deutsche Telekom says the coverage gaps left after the 3G shutdown will be filled by 4G. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y48ot9p5 Rogers Communications expanding 5G services On September 22, the Canadian communications and media company Rogers Communications announced the launch of 5G technology in five new cities. The Ericsson-powered operator has the largest 5G network in Canada. According to the…

Ribbon announces hybrid slicing for 5G Ribbon Communications, a provider of real time IP-based communications and software solutions, announced that it has partnered with Xilinx Inc. to develop a 5G hybrid slicing solution for next-generation networks. Slicing is important in 5G, as it enables the separate 5G integral service classes. Hard slicing is necessary to meet the strict requirements for availability, bandwidth and security of highly sensitive services, while soft slicing provides benign insulation for services with a lower critical limit value. Ribbon will highlight its 5G solutions, including hybrid slicing, during its 5G Perspectives virtual event on September 14, 2020. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y6tm8bqa Oi sells its mobile assets to Claro, Telefónica and TIM Three operators, Claro, Telefónica and TIM, formerly known as Telecom Italia, have won the bid for the Brazilian operator Oi’s mobile assets valued at more than $3 billion. In the past, these operators had a…

Pentagon will allow telecoms to use military airwaves for 5G networks On Monday, the Pentagon and the White House announced plans to issue a permit for telecommunication service providers to use air waves that were previously reserved for military radar, to build new high speed 5G networks. This initiative is in response to wireless service providers, who say they need more airwaves to support growing demand for 5G signals. Sales of the 3450-3550 megahertz bands are scheduled to begin in December of 2021. According to Dana Deasy, chief information officer for the Department of Defense, the Pentagon will continue to use this bandwidth for military purposes. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yy4k4nhb HMD gets $230 million funding from Google, Qualcomm and Nokia HMD Global, Nokia’s brand marketing agency, announced to have secured a $230 million investment from Google, Qualcomm, Nokia and other undisclosed investors. As stated by HMD Global, the funds will…

The American mobile chip making giant, Qualcomm, is trying to persuade the US government to allow them to sell its chips to Huawei for their 5G smartphones. According to reports, Qualcomm selling its 5G chips to the Chinese multinational technology company might end up helping American business. The US trade ban on Huawei has severely affected the manufacturer’s inventories. When the US increased sanctions against Huawei in May, it was immediately clear that it would be a huge blow to the Chinese seller, as the company would no longer be able to use components from US suppliers. In fact, the impact of sanctions quickly proved to be as expected. Just last week, Huawei announced that its latest flagship smartphone, Huawei Mate 40, would be the last model to use high-end Kirin processors manufactured by its subsidiary HiSilicon. The US trade ban on Huawei will not prevent the…

Microsoft to continue talks to buy TikTok from ByteDance Microsoft has announced that it is prepared to continue discussions for the acquisition of popular short-video app TikTok from Chinese internet giant ByteDance. In a statement, the company said that it is committed to acquiring TikTok “subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury.” Microsoft made the statement following a conversation between its CEO Satya Nadella and US President Donald Trump. The company said it would ensure that all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y69w8a4b Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 2 is official, comes with a ton of improvements Samsung has officially introduced a range of new premium mobile devices at its Unpacked 2020 event live streamed from Korea. Among others, the company is launching the Samsung Galaxy…

As 5G technology continues to mature, leading global wireless carriers are competing to be the first to advance from the non-standalone (NSA) mode of 5G, in which a 4G LTE core is combined with 5G capabilities, to a standalone architecture (SA) 5G network. T-Mobile US, one of the largest carriers providing wireless voice, messaging and data services in the United States, has announced the launch of its SA 5G network. The operator claims to be the first in the world with nationwide coverage using this next-generation wireless technology. In a news release, T-Mobile said that the launch expands its 5G coverage by 30 percent and will cover nearly 250 million people in more than 7,500 cities and towns throughout the US. With faster speeds, lower latency and huge connectivity capabilities, SA 5G signifies the launch of a 5G core network, ending the reliance on legacy LTE architecture. T-Mobile said SA…

Qualcomm invests $97 million in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms Qualcomm has become the latest high ranking sponsor of the four-year-old Indian company, Reliance Jio Platforms. On Sunday evening, Qualcomm Ventures revealed their plans to invest $97 million in Reliance Jio Platforms and to assist that company launch advanced 5G infrastructure and services for their local customers. Furthermore, Reliance Jio Platforms has introduced cut-rate voice and data plans into the Indian telecommunications market, attracting almost 400 million subscribers. This rapid growth has resulted in the company becoming the most successful operator in the world’s second largest market in less than four years since its establishment. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y9hponyd Deutsche Telekom explores quantum tech with OPENQKD The German operator Deutsche Telekom, in partnership with the OPENQKD (Open European Quantum Key Distribution) consortium, are preparing to research quantum key distribution (QKD) technologies in order to develop quantum-safe data transmission. In spite of the…

The Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel has selected Nokia’s CloudBand-based software products to power its Voice over LTE (VoLTE) network. Nokia stated that this network supports more than 110 million customers, making it the largest cloud-based VoLTE network in India and the world’s largest VoLTE service managed by Nokia. According to the Finnish telecom gear maker, the deployment of cloud-based VoLTE will enable Airtel to provide its mobile customers with faster, more reliable and cost-effective call connectivity. Nokia’s solution, which has been deployed to cover all 22 telecom service areas in India, uses commercial, off-the-shelf IT hardware with cloud-based Virtual Network Functions (VNFs). Nokia noted that cloud-native VNFs consume far less power and space compared to traditional 2G or 3G circuit-switched legacy cores. With Nokia’s VoLTE platform, Airtel will be able to reduce its 3G network traffic and use the freed-up spectrum to deploy 4G / LTE services for higher speeds…

European telcos: We’re ready to “lift the continent out of this recession” The European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association (ETNO) has released a joint statement calling on EU institutions and national governments to support 5G and fiber rollout, stimulate the uptake of technology, fight misinformation, and focus on digital skills and education. According to ETNO, a new approach is needed to ensure that spectrum auctions are timely and conditions for spectrum assignment support network deployment. Sharing agreements for Radio Access Network (RAN) should be supported and incentivized, as well as all fiber investment models should be adequately encouraged. Moreover, future EU initiatives should dramatically reduce roll-out costs for both mobile and fixed networks. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/yadrfxfg Microsoft’s new Teams features fight video conferencing fatigue Microsoft Team’s brand seeks to fight “Zoom fatigue” and exhaustion of physical isolation with its new updates and features. The news includes a shared background to make participants…

Ireland’s GoMo goes for more as it hits 200,000 customers Virtual network operator GoMo, the budget mobile brand of Irish telco Eir, has reached 200,000 customers, since launching only eight months ago. The company exists entirely as a digital brand, requiring customers to sign up online to be mailed a SIM card. This “digital-first” approach even extends to customer service, which is available only through online chat, without accessible call centers. GoMo uses Eir’s network and offers 99 percent population coverage and over 97 percent 4G coverage. Since its launch, GoMo has gradually increased its customer base, with figures from the Irish regulator suggesting that the majority are migrating from rivals Three and Vodafone. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/y7uwytwt JSonar raises $50 million for AI-powered database security products Database security startup jSonar has secured USD 50 million, which it plans to put toward R&D and go-to-market efforts. The company said that its AI-powered solutions help users…