Ofcom announces another 5G spectrum auction for the UK in spring 2020 Britain’s telecommunications regulator Ofcom has confirmed that it plans to hold an auction for low and mid band 5G spectrum in the spring of 2020. In a statement, Ofcom said that the auction will include companies bidding for spectrum in two different frequency bands: 80 MHz in the 700 MHz band and 120 MHz in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band. However, the UK telecoms watchdog has not yet confirmed when it will auction the high band, mmWave spectrum that will allow mobile operators to offer the truly transformative speeds of 1Gbps and above. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y6tx6ecz Microsoft furthers $5 billion IoT plan with new Azure features Microsoft launches new functionalities to simplify the customer journey and deliver highly secured IoT products over its Azure platforms. The company said that the expansion of IoT devices is enabling enterprises to bring cloud intelligence to…
Samsung’s next flagship phone chip, the Exynos 990, is 20% faster Samsung has released its new Exynos 990 flagship chipset together with the 5G-capable Exynos Modem 5123 that are expected to help the next generation of mobile devices make intensive use of video and artificial intelligence (AI) applications as well as 5G communications. The Korean electronics giant said that the Exynos 990 is 20 percent faster at executing ordinary processing tasks, 20 percent faster in graphics processing and twice as fast in software tuned for the chip’s AI acceleration scheme. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y2qmemq5 Nvidia and Ericsson announce the first GPU-powered 5G mobile network At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Los Angeles, California, Nvidia announced the partnership with Ericsson and Red Hat to help mobile network operators accelerate 5G deployment. The company has compared the power of its GPU-accelerated EGX hardware to traditional CPU-based servers and claims that a…
Here’s everything Google announced at the Pixel 4 event At its new smartphone launch event in New York, Google introduced Pixel 4 and Pixel 4XL that offer a new and improved version of Google Assistant, a new Motion Sense feature for gesture control, an upgraded camera, and a new Recorder app that also transcribes speech. The fourth-generation Pixel is priced from USD 799 for a 5.7-inch display and USD 899 for a 6.3-inch display. According to Google, the Pixel phones will be available with all US operators and major MVNOs. The new phones will ship on October 24th, globally. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y3xw2v7q Apple pushes for own 5G modem by 2022 Apple has set a rather ambitious goal to have its own 5G modem in iPhones by 2022. The tech giant is currently using Qualcomm modems as part of a long-term supply agreement, but with the takeover of Intel’s smartphone modem…
Global engineering and R&D services company Altran Technologies, SA, mainly operating in the fields of high technology and innovation consultancy, has announced a new advanced networking center in the United States to support customers seeking to accelerate their 5G transition and virtualization deployments. The opening of the company’s new office in Manhattan will involve the hiring of additional experts in the field of 5G and related technologies, as well as the development of new software platforms that will help deliver leading-edge products and services. Pascal Brier, Executive Vice President of Strategy, Technology and Innovation at Altran, said, “The rollout of 5G is a game changer requiring robust, cost-effective software frameworks and platforms to power the next generation of wireless solutions for IoT, mixed-reality and autonomous vehicle applications. Altran is uniquely positioned to provide the necessary consulting and integration services, and this investment will ensure we remain at the absolute…
Based in Waterloo, Ontario, the enterprise security software and services company BlackBerry Limited has announced the launch of BlackBerry Advanced Technology Development Labs (BlackBerry Labs). The company’s new business unit will be focusing on research and development (R&D) in the cybersecurity space, using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. According to a statement, BlackBerry chief technology officer (CTO) Charles Eagan will lead this initiative, which will include a team of over 120 software developers, researchers, system architects, product lead and security experts. These communications professionals will work together to identify, explore and create new technologies to ensure BlackBerry is on the cutting edge of security innovation. The company stated that the initial projects from BlackBerry Labs will focus on machine learning approaches to security, in partnership with BlackBerry’s existing Cylance, Enterprise and QNX business units. “The establishment of BlackBerry Labs is the latest in a series of strategic moves…
GSMA creates largest IoT community in APAC The GSMA has announced the expansion of its Asia-Pacific IoT Partnership Programme to 31 mobile operators across 15 countries. According to GSMA Intelligence, the Asia Pacific region (APAC) has the largest IoT market in the world and is expected to reach 11 billion connections by 2025 and be worth $386 billion. The programme brings together operators and partners including developers, manufacturers and system integrators, to share best practice, discuss challenges and review progress on the development of IoT across APAC. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yyjsllya Nokia brings 5G lab to Europe Nokia has opened a new lab at its global headquarters in Espoo, Finland, that will help demonstrate the full range of its 5G equipment, software and services. The “5G Future X Lab” will enable telecom operators, enterprises and infrastructure providers “to learn and understand the techno-economic power of a 5G end-to-end network to…
LG Uplus launches preliminary 5G roaming services in China South Korean mobile carrier LG UPlus is rolling out its 5G roaming service in China in partnership with China Unicom, a state-run telecom operator. According to the statement, LG Uplus teamed up with China Unicom for the 5G roaming service in April and tested out own services in China from June. The preliminary service was launched after the two companies completed linking their networks on August 16. LG Uplus said its 5G roaming service is currently available only on the LG V50 ThinQ smartphone, but soon it will be expanded to Samsung Galaxy S10 and Note 10 users with software upgrades. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yyyhqm3v Oracle strikes deal to provide cloud support for VMware workloads Oracle and VMware have announced a deal resolving their bitter dispute over how Oracle provides technical support for VMware users. The deal will make it easier…
SES Networks, a provider of global connectivity and managed data services through the only multi-orbit satellite-enabled network and wide-ranging infrastructure on the ground, has announced that it will deliver dedicated, private network connectivity from any vessel, airplane, enterprise, energy or government site in the world to Microsoft Azure using its satellite systems. According to the announcement, SES is able to provide connectivity services across its global fleet of 50 Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and 20 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) satellites. The company’s 20 O3b MEO satellites are able to deliver MEF-certified data connectivity with low latency via Azure’s global gateway network and earth-bound network infrastructure, resulting in services that are suitable for edge computing. As the first Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute services partner with a cloud-scale satellite network, SES Networks will offer Azure customers the ability to leverage their satellite-enabled managed services to connect locations and sites in remote and…
Samsung Electronics has officially revealed the first 5G smartphone in its mid-range Galaxy A series. The announcement comes just a few weeks after launching the company’s flagship Galaxy S10 5G and Galaxy Note 10 5G devices. The new Galaxy A90 with 5G connectivity offers near flagship-grade hardware and includes some impressive features like Samsung DeX support, “Desktop Experience” software for mirroring the phone’s screen and apps on a PC or TV, and Game Booster for enhanced gaming performance. DJ Koh, President and CEO of IT and Mobile Communications Division at Samsung Electronics, said, “We’re excited about the success of the Galaxy A Series – a generation of smartphones built for the new Era of Live that focuses on essential features people want the most, including a high-quality camera, long-lasting battery and immersive display. Samsung has worked tirelessly with our partners in the 5G ecosystem to bring 5G to as…
Theatro, a Dallas based SaaS company, has announced that it has secured a strategic investment from Cisco Investments and Honeywell Ventures for its voice-controlled mobile platform that connects hourly employees to each other and to essential enterprise information. The world’s first voice-driven Intelligent Assistant platform is being offered as a ”hardware-enabled” software as a service solution, and is designed to provide deskless employees a “heads up and hands-free” connection to their corporate systems and management teams. Chris Todd, President and CEO of Theatro, said, “We are proud to have Cisco Investments and Honeywell Ventures join us in our journey as investors. Companies across a wide variety of industries are recognizing the significant customer experience and productivity benefits of a connected and engaged workforce. Our collaborations with Cisco and Honeywell ensure that Theatro will remain at the cutting edge of both networking and mobile standards and help us bring these…

