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…
The American chipset manufacturer Nvidia is rolling out its EGX platform to bring real-time artificial intelligence (AI) to the edge of the network. Nvidia EGX is an accelerated computing platform, which boasts low-latency AI that enables companies to perceive, understand and act in real time on continuous streaming data between 5G base stations, warehouses, retail stores, factories and beyond. AI computing will occur at the edge of the network, where sensors collect data before it is sent to cloud-connected data centers. This platform is expected to satisfy the increasing demand for AI applications to assist numerous devices streaming continuous raw sensor data and is designed for high-throughput AI at the edge where data is primarily sourced to achieve instantaneous and guaranteed response times while reducing bandwidth to the cloud. According to the company, by 2025, there could be up to 150 billion machine sensors and the Internet of Things (IoT) devices streaming…
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…
Global satellite operator Telesat, the Vodafone Group and the University of Surrey in the UK, have successfully accomplished the world’s first 5G backhaul demonstration deploying a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) communications satellite. This successful trial demonstrates that LEO satellites are able to provide efficient backhaul transport channels for mobile network operators (MNOs), including for 5G advanced services. During the live test conducted by these partners in April, Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite was connected to the University of Surrey’s 5G testbed network, with the support of specialist Vodafone engineers. Vodafone also provided some funding and arranged licensing for the demonstration system. John Miller, Head of Satellite Engineering at Vodafone, said: “The use of LEO satellites provides an additional mobile backhaul option and can be an important part of the delivery system particularly to customers in our markets who live in rural areas.” Professor Barry Evans, University of Surrey, said: “The University of Surrey is very…
In 2020, Apple is anticipated to release its first 5G-enabled iPhone powered by chipsets from Qualcomm and Samsung, according to a report from reliable supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities. Following Intel’s announcement earlier this month about exiting the 5G modem chip market for iPhones, Apple had to turn to Qualcomm to ensure the supply of a 5G modem chip. The tech-giant is also looking for a second supplier and, in all probability, this will be Samsung. “We expect Apple will likely adopt 5G baseband chips made by Qualcomm (focus on mmWave markets) and Samsung (focus on Sub-6GHz markets) for lowering supply risk, reducing costs and having better bargaining power,” said the analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo believes that the introduction of a 5G-enabled iPhone could create a wave of upgrades and purchases, especially for the high-end models. “We are positive on the high-end iPhone models’ replacement…
Huawei and its VR OpenLab business partners introduced the Dual-G Cloud VR Initiative at the 16th Huawei Global Analyst Summit (HAS). The companies contributing to this initiative include Nvidia, BOE, Cyber Cloud, Letin VR, Skyworth VR, Pico, DPVR, iQIY, and Growlib, and together they will promote continuous innovation in the industry and accelerate the large-scale commercial use of Cloud VR. Under this initiative, Huawei’s iLab and X Labs will function as incubation centers to cooperate with platform, content, and terminal service providers, as well as chip and screen vendors. The participants will have the opportunity to build Gigaband and 5G Cloud VR business products and explore possibilities regarding gigabit home broadband and 5G. Richard Jin, President of the Huawei Transmission and Access Product Line, said, “With joint promotion by industry partners and global operators, the Cloud VR industry is booming. Thanks to the extensive collaboration of all parties…


