ETNO, GSMA: EU should adopt “fresh approach” to support fiber & 5G investments; GSMA says 5G SA coming soon?

The European telecom network operators industry group ETNO together with the GSMA have called on the EU to make support for fiber optics communications and 5G investments part of the bloc’s economic recovery plans. In a joint statement to mark the start of the German presidency of the EU, the associations said a fresh approach is needed to ensure the focus is on closing the digital divide and that plans to alleviate that should not become bogged down in regulatory discussions.

“We encourage all institutions to take stock of the socio-economic context and shift regulatory modes from ‘business-as-usual’ to a fresh and comprehensive approach aimed at unleashing the full power of network investment, at full scale and at full pace,” the statement said.

The joint communique then delineated ways policymakers can support the investment in improved connectivity for the EU:

Spectrum auctions are timely and conditions for spectrum assignment support network deployment. This includes taking a long-term view to spectrum prices, rather than imposing punitive fees that hamper 5G investment. Also, access and coverage obligations should not diminish the speed and scale of investment in network roll-out;
Sharing agreements for Radio Access Network (RAN) are supported and incentivised, so that they contribute to a speedy 5G deployment;
All fibre investment models are adequately incentivised at the national level, including co-investment and other forms of partnerships;
Innovative infrastructure solutions, such as cloud, edge and quantum computing, are given the appropriate support;
Future EU initiatives dramatically reduce roll-out costs for both mobile and fixed networks. This should tackle, for example, unreasonable costs for using public ground as well as complex authorization procedures for both fixed and mobile networks;
Open and interoperable interfaces in the RAN are supported. Initiatives such as Open RAN have the potential to support Europe’s multi-vendor approach, while reducing deployment costs, further strengthening the security of the equipment and unleash more network innovation.

The most important thing is helping grow adoption of the new technologies by citizens and businesses, the statement said. This includes supporting digital skills education and training. “Finally, workers of all ages should be put in the condition to develop the necessary digital skills – both through upskilling and reskilling – to thrive in innovative and fast-paced markets.”

Demand stimulus measures can also help bring digital services to public sector organizations like schools, hospitals and local administrations. That would not only support Europe’s economic recovery, but also can contribute to the EU’s climate goals.

The GSMA and ETNO also called on the EU governments to combat the attacks against telecom infrastructure and misinformation surrounding 5G. To date they have counted over 180 arson attacks against mobile antennas in 11 countries.

Media Inquiries:

Alessandro Gropelli, ETNO – [email protected] 0032 476 9418 39

Noelle Knox, GSMA Europe – [email protected] 0032 470 45 2941

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Separately, GSMA says “5G Stand Alone to Become Reality“:

“The deployment of fully virtualized networks using 5G Stand Alone Cores, thereby facilitating Edge Computing and Network Slicing, will enable enterprises and governments to reap the many benefits from high throughput, ultra-low latency and IoT to improve productivity and enhance services to their customers,” said Alex Sinclair, Chief Technology Officer, GSMA.

“5G Stand Alone Option 2 can meet various and more stringent requirements and provide optimal and differentiated solutions, thereby empowering more businesses and unlocking the potential of many services. 5G is changing our society and life,” said Liu Guiqing, Executive Vice President of China Telecom.

“NTT DOCOMO has been actively promoting virtualisation of our core network; we believe that this virtualisation technology is already mature and that our operational know-how will be our advantage. In the future we expect to build dedicated networks, optimised for consumer use cases, such as AR /VR and gaming,” said Hiroyuki Oto, General Manager of Core Network Development Department, NTT DOCOMO, Inc.

The latest version of the 5G SA guidelines ‘5G Implementation Guidelines: SA Option 2 will be released 30th June at 17:00 Beijing time during Thrive China, a new virtual event from the GSMA.

NOTE that those GSMA guidelines come before 3GPP Release 16 5G Architecture (including 5G Core) spec 23.501 is finalized/frozen at 3GPP’s July 2020 meeting. It seems there will be many versions of 5G core networks:

Alex Quach, VP of Intel’s Data Platforms Group: “The way different service providers implement their 5G core is going to vary. Every service provider has unique circumstances. The transition to a new 5G core is going to be different for every operator.”

Asked if SK Telecom has now completed its 5G Standalone core network, the South Korean carrier was vague in an email reply to FierceWireless. “To commercialize standalone 5G service in Korea, we are currently making diverse R&D efforts including conducting tests in both lab and commercial environment. Our latest achievements include the world’s first standalone (SA) 5G data session on our multi-vendor commercial 5G network.

fiercewireless.com/operators/sk-t

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GSMA also states that: