The global race for future technologies has accelerated even further, with the South Korean wireless carrier SK Telecom announcing that it is joining forces with network hardware providers Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung Electronics to carry out collaborative research and development projects to pave the way for 6G mobile network technologies. The partnership will also help to upgrade the already-advanced 5G technology, and expand its adoption in other areas, including self-driving cars and in-built solutions. Park Jin-Hyo, Chief technology officer and Head of ICT R&D Center of SK Telecom, said, “Through strengthened cooperation with Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung Electronics, SK Telecom will be able to secure the world’s best 5G quality and lead the way towards 6G mobile network communications.” In accordance with the terms of the signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs), SK Telecom will work closely with each company to promote the advancement of 5G network technologies. They…
The Philippines operator Globe Telecom has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ISOC Infrastructure Inc. and Malaysia-based tower company Edotco Group Sdn. Bhd., to support the common tower initiative of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). By entering this three-party agreement on the set-up of 150 mobile towers across the Philippines, Globe becomes the first telecommunications company to support the DICT initiative. According to Globe, unlike in most other countries, the information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure spending in the Philippines has been left solely to the private sector, leading to huge gaps in cell site and wired broadband coverage across the country. For example, Vietnam has 90000 cellular towers compared to 17850 cellular stations in the Philippines. Furthermore, according to the latest data reports from TowerXchange, there are 34300 cellular towers in Pakistan, and 30000 sites in Bangladesh. In a statement, Globe Telecom president and CEO…
The Japanese mobile operator NTT Docomo Inc. and a multinational cyber security and defense company Trend Micro Inc. have announced the launch of a service designed to protect Internet of Things (IoT) devices running on Docomo’s mobile network. The new Cloud Platform Network Security Service from Docomo, which uses Trend Micro’s security platform, will enable the “first-of-its-kind protection” for IoT networks. The provided user-friendly security shield will mainly target Docomo’s customers who are building infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) environments. Akihiko Omikawa, Executive vice president at Trend Micro, said, “The promise and potential of 5G has the world waiting but let me issue a warning for the need for extra protection. Smarter endpoints mean a greater cyber risk to manage. We’re delighted and proud that our technology meets the needs of this global mobile phone leader. Together our joint solution delivers cloud infrastructure capabilities integrated with IoT-ready security customized for modern data centers.”…
Global telecom operators AT&T, KPN, Orange and Swisscom have launched LTE-M roaming services across their respective IoT networks, thus enabling connected low power IoT devices to operate more efficiently on multiple networks in North America and Europe. This collaborative rollout of LTE-M networks is expected to accelerate the growth in the IoT market all over the world. In a statement, John Wojewoda, AVP of global connections management at AT&T, said, “More and more of our enterprise customers require global capabilities as they deploy IoT devices and applications. These LTE-M roaming agreements help meet that demand and make it easier for businesses around the world to benefit from the power of a globalized IoT.” Carolien Nijhuis, Director IoT at KPN, added, “The introduction of LTE-M creates many new possibilities for our partners, customers and prospects. Roaming with LTE-M has been one of the most requested features by our customers…
Juniper Network, a provider of high-performance networking and cybersecurity solutions, has been selected by the UK’s telecoms giant British Telecommunications (BT) to deliver its Network Cloud infrastructure initiative. This arrangement will help support the rollout of BT’s upcoming unified cloud networking platform, which will integrate the company’s networks, including 5G, Wi-Fi and fixed-line, into one virtualized service and enable more efficient infrastructure management and implementation. This new and more flexible network infrastructure will also generate a range of innovative applications that support services such as Internet access, TV and business network functions, improved voice and video delivery, and scalability. The Network Cloud platform will be built according to a common framework, and shared across BT’s offices throughout the UK and globally. “This move to a single cloud-driven network infrastructure will enable BT to offer a wider range of services, faster and more efficiently to customers in the UK…
The Chinese telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology and equipment provider ZTE Corporation has launched its first domestic cybersecurity lab in Nanjing, China, thus confirming its commitment to the ICT industry to counter cybersecurity threats. The company is also planning to expand across the globe with similar facilities in the near future, with the first installations being in Italy and Belgium. According to a statement by ZTE, the opening of a new lab represents an important milestone for the company as it aims to increase transparency and enhance trust with third parties, including customers, global regulators and other stakeholders. This initiative is in direct response to the national security concerns that are prompting several countries to apply restrictions on the use of equipment from Chinese vendors in 5G rollouts. Zhong Hong, Chief Security Officer at ZTE, said, “The security lab is an open and cooperative platform for the industry.…
China’s Huawei Technologies has launched new database and storage products with the aim of redefining its data infrastructure and strengthening the global presence of its cloud business. The world’s first AI-native database GaussDB supports differentiated scenarios such as private and public clouds and data services in the finance, internet, logistics and automotive sectors. Huawei’s FusionStorage 8.0 is claimed to be the industry’s best-performing distributed storage solution for supporting enterprise applications. “Humanity is entering the age of an intelligent world,” said David Wang, Huawei Executive Director of the Board and President of ICT Strategy and Marketing. “Data is the new factor of production, and intelligence the new productivity. Heterogeneous, intelligent, and converged databases will become the key data infrastructure of the financial, government, and telecoms industries.” With this new database management product, the Shenzhen-based company marks its official entry into the database field and places itself in direct competition with…
Samsung Electronics is striving to remain at the forefront of technological innovations and is challenging the boundaries by making more powerful smartphone cameras – the company has introduced two new 0.8-micrometer (μm) pixel image sensors, the 64-megapixel (MP) Samsung Isocell Bright GW1 and 48 MP Isocell Bright GM2. These image sensors will expand Samsung’s 0.8μm image sensor lineup from the existing 20 MP to ultra-high 64 MP resolutions, thus bringing new standards of photography to smartphones. Yongin Park, executive vice president of the sensor business at Samsung Electronics, said: “Over the past few years, mobile phone cameras have become the main instrument for recording and sharing our everyday moments. With more pixels and advanced pixel technologies, Samsung Isocell Bright GW1 and GM2 will bring a new level of photography to today’s sleekest mobile devices that will enhance and help change the way we record our daily lives.” The…
Norwegian telco Telenor Group and Malaysia-based Axiata Group have announced their discussions regarding a prospective non-cash merger of their telecom and infrastructure assets in Asia, in which Telenor would take a majority stake. Telenor and Axiata’s jointly owned telecommunications giant MergeCo would combine the two companies’ operations in South and Southeast Asia, and in its headquarters in Malaysia would serve almost 300 million customers using approximately 60,000 communication towers located across Asia. Gunn Wærsted, Chair of Telenor Group, said: “Today we announce that Telenor and Axiata are in discussions on joining forces in Asia, one of the most dynamic and innovative regions in the world. Together, we aim to create a leading and well-diversified pan-Asian telecom and infrastructure company with substantial synergy potential and strong regional operations. It is Telenor’s strategy to develop and create value from our core telco assets in the Nordic and Asian region. This potential merger…
SSE Enterprise Telecoms, a UK-wide high capacity network and connectivity provider, has announced a new critical network contract with Jisc, a digital technology supplier for the education and research sector in the UK. The agreement includes the launch of the Janet South network and an extension of the UK Backbone network partnership, providing data-intensive research centres access to significant bandwidth and speeds of up to 100 Gbps. Colin Sempill, Managing Director, SSE Enterprise Telecoms, said: “Through utilising our expansive network and industry expertise, Jisc has been able to provide vital connectivity to some of the UK’s most critical education and research facilities. Thanks to our high capacity, low latency services these institutions can collaborate across the UK and the globe.” “We’re very excited to announce the launch of the Janet South Network partnership and further extension of the UK backbone network, which will keep vital institutions producing ground-breaking…

