Month: September 2018
Juniper Research: Japan & South Korea lead in 5G; NTT Docomo most promising 5G operator
Mobile carriers in Japan and South Korea are way ahead of wireless telcos in US and China in near future “5G deployments, according a new study from Juniper Research. In its new report, 5G Market Strategies: Consumer & Enterprise Opportunities & Forecasts 2018-2025, the research firm ranked NTT Docomo, SK Telecom, LG U+, KTand SoftBank as the world’s top five “most promising 5G network operators.”
Comment: What’s so interesting about Juniper’s ranking is that there is no standard for 5G radio access network/radio interface technologies and there won’t be till the end of 2020 when IMT 2020 will be completed.
Japan’s NTT Docomo topped the list as No. 1, overtaking the top spot from SKT, which was the leader in the same study last year. SKT slipped into second place in 2018.
Following the top 5 players are AT&T and China Mobile, which were in the top five spots last year.
The research firm said it assessed over 50 global operators for the study and evaluated them based on results of 5G testing and trials, the extent and range of partnerships in the ecosystem and the level of technology innovation.
Japan, South Korea will account for 43% of 5G connections in 2019:
Japan and South Korea have established themselves as clear leaders in the development of 5G, says Juniper Research. In a white paper, Operators Need to Secure 5G ROI ~ Here’s How, accompanying the study, the research firm predicts that 43% of global 5G connections in 2019 will be in Japan and South Korea.
Juniper Research also forecasts that first commercial 5G network launches are expected in 2019 and that the first networks with 5G services will be in the Far East, China and North America. These regions are expected to account for all of the predicted 1.05 million 5G active connections by the end of 2019.
However, the research cautioned that operators faced significant challenges both to deploy and most effectively configure 5G networks. It claimed that the need to deploy dense small cell networks, operators would need far greater access to sites to upgrade and share equipment. Furthermore, it urged operators to invest in virtualized networks to enable both more efficient traffic management and improve security in the network perimeter.
“Over the past 2 years, operators and network vendors have been actively trialing their 5G solutions, including antennas, core networks and beam forming. Since 3GPP standards have been finalized for 5G NRs (3GPP spec New Radios) many of these trials have focused on interoperability between devices and 5G networks,” the research firm said.
“As a result, leading operators are now aiming for a launch date in 2019. Indeed, many operators have begun rolling out antennas and backhaul infrastructure to provide a 5G service. Initial 5G coverage will be in urban areas.”
220M 5G broadband connections forecast by 2025:
The research firm also forecasts that 5G based fixed wireless broadband (there is no such thing as it’s not even a use case for IMT2020!) will be among the first services to launch over 5G (e.g. Verizon’s proprietary spec). Its suitability as a last mile solution will drive adoption to over 220 million connections by 2025. However, the challenge for operators will be to demonstrate tangible benefits, to enterprises and consumers, over existing fiber-based solutions, warns Juniper Research author Sam Baker.
“Operators must carefully consider pricing strategies for 5G broadband,” Baker said. “Pricing must address both the anticipated large traffic generated, whilst remaining price competitive against incumbent broadband suppliers.”
He also cautions that operators faced significant challenges both to deploy and most effectively configure 5G networks.
“With the need to deploy dense small cell networks, operators would need far greater access to sites to upgrade and share equipment. Furthermore, we would urge operators to invest in virtualized networks to enable both more efficient traffic management and improve security in the network perimeter.”
Current Market Status:
5G, the next iteration of wireless cellular technologies, is currently reaching its final stages of development and commercialization by MNOs and industry stakeholders. Previous iterations of technologies (3G and 4G) were developed with a consumer-oriented focus. However, 5G will have further-reaching impacts, enabling a large number of use cases in IoT (Internet of Things) sectors such as healthcare, automotive industries, smart cities and mobile broadband. 5G networks will deliver high-bandwidth and low latency that support services such as UHD (Ultra High Definition) video streaming.
Juniper Research anticipates that the first commercial network launches will occur in 2019; the first networks to provide 5G services will be located in Far East & China and North America. Meanwhile, network operators in Europe have mostly adopted a ‘wait-and-see’ approach, closely following the progress of operators in these 2 regions.
Over the past 2 years, operators and network vendors have been actively trialing their 5G solutions, including antennas, core networks and beam forming. Since 3GPP Release 15 specs have been finalized for 5G NRs (New Radios) many of these trials have focused on interoperability between devices and 5G networks.
As a result, leading operators are now aiming for a launch date in 2019. Indeed, many operators have begun rolling out antennas and backhaul infrastructure to provide a 5G service. Initial 5G coverage will be in urban areas.
Operator Monetization Strategies for 5G:
As noted in our previous edition, ARPU (Average Revenue per User) has been considered the benchmark metric for measuring operator success in terms of billed revenue. The new services discussed in the previous sections are expected to be heavily dependent on a favorable operator service model.
There is both a need and a desire to solve the ARPU problem that network operators are facing; carriers are considering different service scenarios that they could deploy to garner payback from their network licence investments. However, the challenge here is that as 5G expected to drive a number of connected devices, systems and sensor networks, is ARPU going to be the right factor for measuring 5G? For example, consider M2M verticals:
References:
https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/5g-market-strategies-tbc
Huawei introduces 5G-ready (7nm process) mobile chipset: Kirin 980 and Mali-G76
Huawei on Friday unveiled the world’s first “5G solution-ready” commercial 7nm (nanometre) chipset–the Kirin 980, which is believed to be the most powerful smartphone SoC (system-on-a-chip) equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. The company has now proven itself as a leader in telecom/network equipment, smart phones and now ultra large scale integrated circuits/System on a Chip (SoC).
“It looks smaller than my nail, but it is the most powerful and intelligent SoC chipset for smartphones introduced so far,” Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu said while unveiling the chipset to a packed audience at the IFA 2018 in Berlin. Yu confirmed that the first smartphone to be powered by the Kirin 980 chipset will be Huwaei’s Mate 20 series which is expected to be launched next month.
Based on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer Company’s (TSMC) 7nm semiconductor process, Kirin 980 delivers 20 per cent improved SoC performance and 40 per cent more efficiency, said Huawei which surpassed Apple to become the second-largest global smartphone seller behind Samsung in the second quarter of this year.
“The Kirin 980 will be used in smartphones and tablets. Huawei will launch 5G device powered by Kirin 980 next year,” Benjamin Wang, Deputy General Manager, Wireless Chipset Business Unit, Huawei Consumer Business Group, told reporters.
“Last year, we showed the world the potential of on-device AI with the Kirin 970 and this year, we’ve designed an all-round powerhouse that not only features outstanding AI capabilities, but also brings cutting-edge raw performance to consumers,” Yu told the gathering, adding that the new SoC is equipped with dual NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
“The Kirin 980 is the ultimate engine to power the next-generation productivity and entertainment applications,” Yu added.
The TSMC 7nm process technology enables Kirin 980 to pack 6.9 billion transistors within a “1 square cm die size”, up by 1.6 times from the previous generation.
The Kirin 980 is also the first SoC to embed Cortex-A76 cores, which are 75 per cent more powerful and 58 per cent more efficient compared to their previous generation.
In an octa-core configuration, the CPU in Kirin 980 is comprised of two high-performance Cortex-A76 cores; two high-efficiency Cortex-A76 cores; and two extreme efficiency Cortex-A55 cores, the company said. Running at higher clock speeds compared to the prior generation, Kirin 980 enables quicker app launch times, better multi-tasking and a generally smoother user experience, Huawei added.
As graphics in mobile games have become more and more sophisticated in recent years, Huawei has integrated the Mali-G76 GPU (graphics processing unit) into the Kirin 980 to deliver improved gaming experiences.
Debuting with the Kirin 980 chip, Mali-G76 offers 46 per cent greater graphics processing power at 178 per cent improved power efficiency over the previous generation, according to Huawei. Mali-G76 utilizes AI to intelligently identify gaming workloads and adjust resource allocation for optimal gaming performance.
Kirin 980 supports common AI frameworks such as Caffee, Tensorflow and Tensorflow Lite, and provides a suite of tools that simplifies the difficulty of engineering on-device AI, allowing developers to easily tap into the leading processing power of the dual NPU.
Kirin 980 adopts a new pipeline dedicated to processing video captures, allowing the camera module to shoot videos with 33 percent shorter delay, Huawei informed.
Huawei also launched at IFA 2018 AI Cube, its home speaker with 4G router and built-in Alexa that can perform several tasks such turning on the TV or playing music. The company also introduced new colors and “genuine Italian leather variants of its Huawei P20 Pro phones.
In addition, Yu also introduced the Huawei Locator powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technology that can help people easily locate their belongings, be it their luggage or pets.