The South Korean tech giant, Samsung Electronics, has announced an effective demonstration of what it terms the world’s first video call on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform using Mission Critical Push-to-Talk, Data and Video (MCPTX, also known as Mission Critical Communications), the communications functionality designed specifically for first responders. Based on 3GPP Release 14 specifications, this implementation was enabled by the successful onboarding, integration and deployment on AWS cloud. Wonil Roh, Senior Vice President and Head of Product Strategy, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “This demonstration showcases how Samsung’s Mission Critical Communications solutions can manage public crises and be readily deployed on public cloud platforms. It also enables us to learn and adapt to the evolving needs of service providers and end-users alike. This brings a new level of broad coverage, scalability and reliability to mission critical service deployments, and we look forward to continuing our journey…
A towering success: Cellnex revenue tops €1bn Cellnex Telecom’s revenue for 2019 exceeded EUR 1 billion with 67.5 percent of total income coming from infrastructure services it provides to operators. The Spanish wireless infrastructure operator currently owns 36,471 operative sites in eight European countries and plans to add 28,000 more as a result of ongoing acquisition deals pending completion. Cellnex has also announced a partnership with Bouygues Telecom to help them deploy their 5G network. The two companies have agreed to create a joint venture (51 percent Cellnex and 49 percent Bouygues Telecom) that will deploy and operate a fiber network connecting infrastructure equipment across France. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/s6fmz4h Google plans to invest $10 billion in US offices and data centers in 2020 Google has unveiled its plans to invest more than USD 10 billion in offices and data centers across the United States in 2020. Google and Alphabet…
Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica and Orange test blockchain technology Deutsche Telecom is testing a blockchain solution that can be used to generate and sign secure inter-operator roaming discount agreements. T-Mobile US, Telefonica, Orange and the GSMA are collaborating to test the software that will reduce the complexity of the current process, which usually involves drafting, signing and manually implementing the contracts. Deutsche Telecom said that this is the first time operators are able to jointly test blockchain as a solution that also incorporates a corresponding legal framework, governance model, and integration into corporate IT infrastructures. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/rpwsegx The world’s biggest phone show has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns The GSM Association (GSMA) has canceled the world’s largest mobile phone show, Mobile World Congress (MWC), in Barcelona due to concerns related to the growing coronavirus pandemic. The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide uniting more than 1,200…
Ribbon launches Next Generation Intelligent Edge portfolio to accelerate enterprise migration to cloud services The US technology company Ribbon Communications has introduced its Next Generation Intelligent Edge portfolio that includes the new EdgeMarc 6000, the latest iteration of Ribbon’s modular platform for voice and data functions. The cloud solutions provider said that its products portfolio securely connects and enhances enterprise voice and data applications, including Microsoft Teams, while delivering service assurance, advanced analytics, security, policy and routing capabilities for cloud communications applications. Ribbon’s Next Generation Intelligent Edge portfolio delivers a comprehensive enterprise edge offering to service providers and enterprises. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/uz95gdj Early 5G smartphone market all about Samsung and Huawei According to the latest Strategy Analytics (SA) report, the demand for 5G smartphones turned out to be much higher than expected and reached 19 million units sold in 2019. Almost three-quarters of such deliveries were made by Huawei and…
Samsung Electronics has completed an agreement to acquire network services provider TeleWorld Solutions (TWS). Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, TWS provides network design, testing and optimization services to mobile service and cable operators, equipment OEMs and other companies in the United States. This acquisition is expected to help Samsung address the need for end-to-end support in delivering network solutions aimed at upgrading the 5G and 4G LTE networks, and providing connectivity service advancements in the US. Paul Kyungwhoon Cheun, Executive Vice President and Head of Networks Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “The acquisition of TWS will enable us to meet mobile carriers’ growing needs for improving their 4G and 5G networks, and eventually create new opportunities to enhance our service capabilities to our customers. Samsung will continue to drive innovation in communications technology, while providing optimization services for network deployments that accelerate US 5G network expansion.” Under the agreement,…
Telefonica piloting blockchain across 8,000 companies Telecoms multinational Telefonica has teamed up with the Association of Science and Technology Parks (APTE) to provide approximately 8,000 companies in Spain with access to a secure, decentralised blockchain network. Telefonica plans to launch a three-month pilot project that will encourage companies to develop their own decentralised applications on the blockchain at no extra cost, and will also allow them to experiment with their own digital tokens. Blockchain is being widely adopted in a variety of industries, especially in the field of IoT, where 75 percent of IoT technology users in the US already use blockchain or plan to do so by the end of 2020. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/t8z8p9d Samsung Galaxy Fold sales figures revealed, and they’re worse than earlier reports Samsung Electronics sold close to half a million of its Galaxy Fold smartphones last year. Speaking to the Yonhap News Agency at CES 2020,…
Telefonica Deutschland picks Nokia and Huawei for 5G network Mobile network provider Telefonica Deutschland has chosen Nokia and Huawei to build its 5G network in Germany. The company, also known under the O2 brand, plans to start building its 5G network in early 2020 and will use equipment from both vendors to power its next generation mobile networks. In a press release, Telefonica Deutschland said it expects to have 5G up and running in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne and Frankfurt by the end of 2021. A year later, 30 cities with a population of 16 million would be covered. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/wczpm54 Xiaomi Redmi K30 launched in China to become the cheapest 5G smartphone Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has unveiled its first 5G handset under its budget brand Redmi. The Redmi K30 5G is powered by the latest Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 756G processor and provides integrated SA/NSA dual-mode 5G with the latest 7nm EUV and an integrated low-power consumption solution. Xiaomi…
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…
Microsoft surprises with new foldable Surface Duo phone running Android Microsoft has unveiled a new dual-screen Android smartphone, the Surface Duo. The folding phone features two 5.6-inch displays that can rotate 360 degrees, which allows it to be fully unfolded as a miniature 8.3-inch tablet. The Surface Duo can run two different apps at the same time, and one of the displays can be used as a game controller or keyboard. Microsoft has incorporated elements of Windows 10X, a new operating system meant for hybrid devices. The company said that the Surface Duo will launch in late 2020, in time for the holiday season. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y66mjttm Telefonica Deutschland deploys Infinera DRX for 5G network modernisation Telefonica Deutschland has chosen the Infinera DRX Series to upgrade its national mobile transport network. The Infinera DRX Series is a portfolio of disaggregated routers that combines a carrier-class white box portfolio with Infinera…
iPhone 11: Apple launches new Pro smartphones with better cameras Apple has unveiled a new line of iPhones – iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max – featuring faster processors, improved screens, and new camera systems. All three devices look similar to their predecessors, but the company has upgraded their respective camera systems to enable wide-angle photos and made improvements that result in a longer battery life and faster performance than before. There is also a variety of new colours available, with a new matte finish on the back of the iPhone 11 Pro. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y3ery8a6 Huawei wants to sell its 5G tech to rivals – report The Chinese tech giant is prepared to help create a competitor on the market by selling a perpetual licence to its 5G technology. Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has made a remarkable claim that for a one-time fee,…