KDDI to launch limited 5G-based services in 2019; full 5G in 2020
Japanese network operator KDDI has announced plans to offer a limited range of 5G-based services in 2019, before a full-fledged 5G launch in 2020. During a conference call with investors and analysts, KDDI president Makoto Takahashi said the company’s initial 5G services will be in the areas of high-definition images and drone based security.
In 2020, KDDI plans a full-fledged 5G launch to support the upcoming Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“In limited areas, we are aiming at distributing high-resolution images and drone security. In 2020, in a full-fledged launch manner, we are planning to provide 5G in areas of Tokyo for the Olympic and Parlympic Games and in areas in accordance with the request of municipalities and our partner companies,” the executive said.
“5G is actually the extension of 4G LTE technology. So, we are thinking of adding software functions which are common to 4G, and we are trying to share the facilities with other companies, so that we do a capex investment efficiently, to reinforce [the]network with a view to [the]IoT era,” Takashashi added. Translation: to fund the extensive capex needed to roll out 5G and the IoT, KDDI is introducing a new model involving collaboration with the competition.
In the lead up to the launch, KDDI has been involved in 5G trials with Ericsson and Samsung. Last year, KDDI and Ericsson signed an agreement for a 5G proof-of-concept trial in the 4.5-GHz band in cities across Japan. KDDI also recently signed an agreement with Japanese commerce giant Rakuten through which the latter will use KDDI’s 4G network for the provision of mobile services. The agreement will enable Rakuten to offer a nationwide LTE service from launch. The services will be provided until March 2026, which will give the e-commerce firm time to deploy its own network.
Japan’s KDDI plans to launch limited 5G services in 2019
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In April, KDDI signed an agreement with Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten to provide the use of its 4G network for the planned launch of Rakuten Mobile Network in October next year.
Under the agreement, KDDI will provide Rakuten with network roaming, while Rakuten will provide payments as well as its logistics expertise, Takahashi said.
References:
https://www.rcrwireless.com/20181109/5g/japan-kddi-launch-limited-5g-services-2019
https://www.telecomasia.net/content/kddi-launch-limited-5g-based-services-2019
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Verizon CFO: “5G” Home Fixed Wireless Exceeds Promised Speeds
Verizon is pleased with the performance of its fixed wireless network, “5G Home”*), which has offered better speeds than promised in “a lot of cases,” said Chief Financial Officer Matthew Ellis. Although the service was introduced in four initial markets using non-standard equipment, Verizon plans “to transition to the global standard (?) as soon as equipment is available,” Ellis said. Also, Verizon expects to offer Verizon 5G Home outside its traditional local service territory.
Ellis made his comments at the Morgan Stanley European Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Barcelona.
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* As we’ve repeatedly explained, Verizon’s “5G” fixed wireless network is based on a proprietary spec. More importantly there is no standard 5G fixed wireless access because it is not being considered (i.e. no use case) for ITU-R IMT 2020. There are NO FUTURE STANDARDS imminent for 5G fixed wireless access. Instead, ALL SO CALLED 5G FIXED WIRELESS OFFERINGS ARE PROPRIETARY WITH NO INTEROPERABILITY!
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“The product works exactly as expected,” said Ellis in a transcript from the conference published by Seeking Alpha. “And in some cases – a lot of cases – at speeds higher than the minimums that we promised in the commercial offerings.”
When Verizon 5G Home was announced, the company said the offering would support typical network speeds around 300 Mbps and up to 1 Gbps peak speed. The service sells for $50 monthly with a qualifying Verizon Wireless service or $70 a month for non-Verizon Wireless users.
Verizon has said that it sees a potential market of 30 million homes for Verizon 5G Home, and although some industry observers see that as overly optimistic, Ellis said “we certainly still see line of sight to getting to 30 million households in the U.S. with that product over the next few years.”
Ellis said Verizon launched the service initially in only four markets because the equipment the company will use initially to support the offering is not based on standards. The company made the decision to launch with non-standard equipment in order to get to market quickly.
“We want to transition to the global standard as soon as equipment is available,” he said.
In 2019, he said, “you’ll see more activity… than this year” involving Verizon 5G Home. A big piece of deployment plans is “getting the fiber in the ground in a number of cities to hook up the 5G network.”
The fiber deployment is particularly important considering that Verizon is deploying 5G in the 28 GHz band – a strategy that will help maximize bandwidth but over relatively short distances, requiring extensive backhaul infrastructure. As equipment becomes available, Verizon’s 5G network will support both fixed and mobile service, and backhaul costs will be shared across both services, thereby enhancing the business case for both offerings, Ellis noted.
“You should assume we’ll start in a city in the central area, and once we get enough scale in that city, we’ll launch the network in that city and then the build moves out within that city limit into suburban areas and so on,” he explained. “And as we do, we’ll just add homes toward the 30 million number.”
Ellis offered some commentary about Verizon’s decision to offer a YouTube over-the-top video service to 5G Home customers. He noted that when Verizon launched FiOS fiber broadband service, the decision was made to curate a traditional pay-TV offering to be delivered over the same platform. But as content costs have outpaced what Verizon can charge for video service, the company has moved away from that model.
With Verizon 5G Home, he said, “we felt the right approach . . . was to say ‘there are some viable OTT offerings – and if you’ve got a great broadband experience, which is what our 5G Home product is, OTT is the right way to deliver the content that the customer wants to have.’”
References:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4222109-verizon-communications-inc-vz-presents-morgan-stanley-european-technology-media-and-telecom?dr=1
https://www.telecompetitor.com/cfo-verizon-5g-home-fixed-wireless-exceeds-promised-speeds/