Nokia and China Mobile trial 5G RAN AI Nokia and China Mobile have announced that they have successfully tested Nokia’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) over China Mobile’s 5G network. As alluded to in the name of the Nokia product, the focus is less on RAN itself, but more on its automated control, thereby eliminating expensive human labor from the process. Pasi Toivanen, Head of Nokia’s Edge Cloud Platform, said: “We are excited to have worked with China Mobile on this project to advance RAN network intelligence.” Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yxu3komy Deutsche Telecom’s Access 4.0 FTTH is live Deutsche Telekom has introduced its Access 4.0 platform to the market, with the first customer using the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) line in Stuttgart, Germany. The transition to more cost-effective and flexible distributed networks has taken many years, but Deutsche Telekom’s deployment of Access 4.0 is proof that it is serious about implementing this…
Tele2 and Nokia to provide SA 5G core network Tele2 has partnered with Nokia to provide its domestic market with a standalone (SA) 5G core network prior to the country’s spectrum auction, which prohibits operators from using ZTE or Huawei infrastructure. Nokia’s triumph over Ericsson’s comes as the company undergoes a comprehensive restructuring in order to focus on key business areas and get back in the global 5G retail market. The operators stated that the contract also covers the installation of the SA 5G core and the facilities for the transmission of voice-over-5G in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The deployment of the infrastructure is expected to start later in 2021. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5pxfu4l Telefónica has agreed to sell its tower portfolio The Spanish telecommunication giant Telefónica has come to the decision to sell its tower portfolio in Europe and Latin America to passive infrastructure specialist American Tower for €7.7…
UK mobile providers pressured to provide free data during lockdown After the UK decided to close schools again, UK telecoms providers were urged to stop charging for data so that underprivileged children could access remote learning facilities. It is concerning that children in such families lack the technological resources to attend schools from home, where a computer and an Internet connection is required. Although it may be hard to imagine, there are many families that do not have access to the necessary services, especially broadband. The company, Three UK, wasted no time in rushing to announce that it will provide unrestricted data access to disadvantaged children so they could continue their education. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y46zylg2 T-Mobile reaches record connection gains in 2020 T-Mobile US announced that 2020 was the best year in their history for postpaid net additions, showing preliminary results that indicate a major win, despite the Covid-19…
TIM, Telefonica and Claro take over Brazil’s Oi mobile assets in $3.2 billion bid On Monday, TIM Participacoes, Telefonica Brasil SA and America Movil SAB de CV’s Claro won an auction to acquire the mobile operations of Brazil’s Oi SA with a joint bid of $3.23 billion. According to the announcement, TIM will be taking over 40% of Oi’s customers (around 14.5 million people), more than half of the company’s spectrum allocation (49 MHz), and 49% of its mobile sites (around 7,200 locations). As a result, it paid the largest portion of the bid, around $1.44 billion. For $1.08 billion, Telefonica is gaining 10.5 million customers, 43 MHz of spectrum, and 2,700 mobile sites. Claro’s $710 million gained the company around 11.6 million customers and 4,700 mobile sites, but no spectrum. TIM, Telefonica and Claro have also offered Oi a long-term contract to rent its telecom infrastructure. Read more at…
O2 UK to use OpenRAN to improve indoor connectivity O2 has tested Vilicom’s OpenRAN technology to make it cheaper for businesses to get 4G and 5G indoor coverage. Vilicom, together with cloud network provider Mavenir, offers the virtualized OpenRAN-based connectivity-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform. O2 said it was the first operator to test the platform and said it was doing so well, that they will connect the trial version to their live network next year. O2 is of the opinion that the virtualized platform would lower indoor cellular network costs and space needs, which it said would become very important to UK PLC after the coronavirus. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y4aepnko A peek into Microsoft’s edge compute ambitions Judson Althoff, Microsoft’s EVP of Worldwide Commercial Business, unveiled some of the company’s ambitions at a UBS Global TMT virtual conference. According to Althoff, Microsoft is increasingly introducing edge computing capabilities. Some of the uses…
Softbank invests $700m in Sinch The Japanese operator Softbank has invested heavily in the Swedish software company Sinch. According to Sinch, it will use the profit to finance further mergers and acquisitions. The Japanese company acquired a portion of the newly issued shares in Sinch, as well as some existing ones, from various major shareholders. The total share expenditure amounted to approximately $698.5 million. Sinch said that it will use the proceeds from the shares primarily for beef up its financial flexibility for undertaking new acquisitions. Sinch announced two takeovers, one of Brazil’s CRM Wavy for $119 million, as well as the SAP Digital Interconnect deal, which was a cash and debt-free transaction valued at approximately $270 million. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5wgysrb Telefónica recently deployed nodes in Seville, Spain Telefónica has for the third time deployed edge nodes in its home country of Spain, recently launching this infrastructure in Seville.…
Zoom and Lumen advance their partnership The telecommunications company Lumen is already a partner of Zoom, but Lumen has recently announced that it has advanced the partnership further to introduce Zoom delivered by Lumen. Zoom delivered by Lumen combines the embedded network security capabilities of Lumen with Zoom’s integrated security features to actively protect businesses using their combined services. Shaun Andrews, CMO at Lumen, said: “We’re happy to take this partnership a step further by combining our platforms and our strengths to create Zoom delivered by Lumen. Together, we will help keep families, businesses, schools and hospitals securely connected to the world, and thriving in the fourth industrial revolution.” Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y4luab48 BT to deploy their global network cloud next year BT has been working on their BT Network Cloud for some time now, since deciding to focus on this cloud-native platform. BT has Network Cloud nodes in the…
European Commission staying out of O2 UK and Virgin Media UK merger Typically, the European Commission, or one of the myriad other state-owned organizations that are a part of the EU, would be involved in the proposed merger between O2 UK and Virgin Media UK. However, in this case, these organizations are steering clear of this deal. The theory is this: because the UK will no longer be part of the EU from the beginning of next year, the EU will no longer be interested in what UK companies do. Even if the EU had not made this decision now, it is likely that they would have just waited until 2021, when its jurisdiction over UK matters comes to an end. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y2n84cgn Telia Carrier expands its connectivity in US Telia Carrier is expanding its coverage in the US, while increasing the diversity and range of its routes.…
Amdocs enters an agreement with Amazon Web Services Amdocs has announced a multi-year agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to offer integrated cloud-based business support systems (BSS) to communications service providers. Under the terms of the deal, AWS is now an Amdocs cloud provider for Amdocs’ internal IT transformation. Working together, Amdocs and AWS will offer telecom providers access to a portfolio of digital services that shortens the time it takes for service providers to enter the market and gives them more flexibility to meet the needs of their end customers. The companies are also collaborating to develop and promote a variety of services that will help Amdocs customers migrate and upgrade their systems using a range of cloud solutions. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y5q64mbe Apple’s new Macs powered by iPhone chips Apple is introducing new Macs that use the same type of chips that run iPhones and iPads. This step…
Vodafone UK going big on OpenRAN Vodafone UK has announced that they are deploying OpenRAN technology in rural base stations, as a key part of Huawei’s switching strategy. Approximately 2,600 sites in rural Wales and the south-west of England will be converted to OpenRAN by a deadline established by the government. This process will start in 2022 and, as yet, Vodafone has not identified any vendors to assist it in this initiative. The operator wants to be seen as an example of OpenRAN, which increasingly appears to be the most likely source of diversity for telecom providers since Huawei was blacklisted. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/yybbqu45 Deutsche Telekom partners with Zoom Deutsche Telekom has become the latest service provider to partner with Zoom Video Communications. Deutsche Telekom is now the official reseller of Zoom in Germany. The company offers personalized solutions and contracts to customers of different sizes, and is able…

