Author: Alan Weissberger
MediaTek overtakes Qualcomm in 5G smartphone chip market
According to new figures from Omdia’s Smartphone Model Market Tracker, shipments of 5G smartphones powered by Taiwan based MediaTek reached 53 million in the first three months of the year, representing an impressive 53% uptick on Q1 2023. Shipments of smartphones with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon inside were comparatively flat, inching up to 48.3 million from 47.2 million.
MediaTek’s market share in 5G smartphones rose to 29.2% in 1Q24, up from 22.8% in 1Q23, while Qualcomm Snapdragon’s share decreased from 31.2% to 26.5% over the same period.
As a result, MediaTek’s market share in the 5G smartphone chipset market increased to 29.2% from 22.8%, while Qualcomm’s fell to 26.5% from 31.2%. Apple is third, while a Samsung owned Exynos, Huawei-owned HiSilicon’s Kirin, Google Tensor and Shanghai-based Unisoc make up the rest (see chart below).
Notes:
- It’s not clear whether Omdia includes both processors and 5G modem chip sets in their statistics.
- Apple uses in-house processors for its iPhones, but it still relies on Qualcomm for the 5G modem chips.
- Both MediaTek and Qualcomm sell SoC’s which include both a 4G/5G modem and an ARM processor.
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According to Omdia, Q1 shipments of 5G smartphones below $250 surged by 62% year-on-year to 62.8 million. This favors MediaTek as the preferred choice for this segment. Furthermore, in June, Omdia also reported in booming demand for sub-$150 phones, with shipments in this category growing to 120 million in the first quarter, up from 90 million a year earlier.
“The smartphone chipset industry is primarily shaped by two major trends: the widespread adoption of 5G and the expanding low-end segment. As 5G technology becomes more affordable and is integrated into smartphones priced below $250, MediaTek stands to benefit the most,” explained Aaron West, senior analyst in Omdia’s smartphone group.
The premium end of the market, where prices start at $600, is also growing – albeit not as rapidly. According to Omdia, shipments increased to 73 million from 70 million, driven by the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The popularity of premium devices should help Qualcomm come roaring back – it has spent much of this year promoting the on-device AI capabilities of its latest Snapdragon chipset, features that will be incorporated first and foremost into pricier handsets.
“On-device AI capabilities are becoming increasingly important to smartphone OEMs, with Snapdragon emerging as a key innovator and preferred choice for premium devices,” West said.
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Other Voices:
- According to Markets and Markets, the global 5G chipsets market size is estimated to be USD 36.29 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 81.03 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 17.4%.
- Grandview Markets says the global 5G chipset market size was estimated at USD 39.32 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20.7% from 2024 to 2030.
Illustrations:
References:
https://www.lightreading.com/5g/mediatek-outgrowing-qualcomm-snapdragon-in-the-5g-smartphone-market-omdia
https://www.telecoms.com/mobile-devices/rise-of-cheaper-5g-phones-lifts-mediatek-above-qualcomm
https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/5g-chipset-market-150390562.html
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/5g-chipset-market
GSA: More 5G SA devices, but commercial 5G SA deployments lag
Global 5G Market Snapshot; Dell’Oro and GSA Updates on 5G SA networks and devices
Mediatek Dimensity 6000 series with lower power consumption for affordable 5G devices
Nokia and Google Fiber trial 50G PON – first in the U.S.
Nokia and Google Fiber have tested 50Gb/s PON over Google’s fiber optic network. The partners say it’s the first live network demonstration of that technology in the US. The trial comes after last year’s partnership between Nokia and Google Fiber to enhance broadband services with 25G PON.
As fiber facility based network operators continue to push for increased speeds and reliability from their broadband networks, 50G PON acts as a catalyst to meet connectivity demands – unleashing further opportunity for growth and innovation. Capable of being easily built upon existing 25G PON solutions, it also enables flexibility for the operators to add future 50Gb/s with the fiber in place.
Nokia claims to be the only vendor that can support all next-generation PON options, with 10G and 25G products available today, 50G in trials, and 100G PON as a technology demonstrator.
With Nokia’s Lightspan fiber access platform, operators can choose a PON solution that best meets a specific use case or business need. The 50G PON trial with Nokia showcases how Google Fiber is looking at the future and what’s needed for new broadband services that foster innovation and growth. Leveraging Nokia’s fiber solution, Google Fiber was able to simultaneously run 10/25G PON along with 25/50G PON broadband service over its fiber network. This showcased the network flexibility and scalability it can deliver to keep pace with the growing demand for multi-gigabit services in the future. Google Fiber is already at the forefront of the multi-gigabit evolution, having launched the first 25G PON commercial services with Nokia in 2023.
Liz Hsu, Senior Director, Product & Billing, at Google Fiber, said: “We are always looking for ways to push the capabilities of our fiber network to deliver the best possible experience to our customers. This test with Nokia builds on the 25G PON deployment we announced together last year, paving the way for future improvements to our network that enhance customer experience in terms of speed, reliability, innovation and support for future business cases that have yet to be defined.”
Geert Heyninck, vice president of broadband networks at Nokia, said: “Service providers need to be able to select the right technology, based on their needs and business case. It is why we already offer 10G and 25G today, are trialing 50G, and developing 100G – ultimately leading to a full range of PON technologies that can be mixed and matched on the same platform and the same fiber. Our expansive toolkit of fiber solutions allows Google Fiber to future-proof their network and flexibly address their evolving network demands.”
Resources and additional information:
Video: Nokia and GFiber Labs trial 50G PON on live network
Website: Nokia Altiplano Access Controller
Website: Nokia Lightspan MF
Website: Accelerating to gigabit with fiber
Website: Fiber for Everything
- GFiber Labs is the second 50G PON trial Nokia has run globally in the past 4 months and the first to occur in the U.S.
- Nokia is the first vendor to show all PON technologies (10G, 25G & 50G) in a live fiber network.
- Nokia is the number one vendor for XGS-PON technology globally according to 2023 market share figures from Dell’Oro and Omdia.
- There are more than 12 operators around the world who are already gaining the benefits of 25G PON, and the eco-system is maturing with more than 5 ONT vendors bringing 25G PON solutions to the market.
- Some operators currently deploying 25G PON include Google Fiber, EPB, Vodafone Qatar and OGI.
- The ecosystem for 25G PON is mature, with more than 60 operators, system vendors, chipset, and optical suppliers part of an MSA focused on standardizing and accelerating the technology.
- Nokia is a key contributor to 50G PON industry standard and introduced the industry’s first true 50G platform in 2020 with the Lightspan MF platform.
- Once the 50G PON industry matures, the step to 100G is straight forward.
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In March, Türk Telekom and ZTE carried out their own 50G PON trial in Turkey, which clocked speeds in excess of 50 Gbps in the downstream over a single fibre. It was apparently done so in a way that was compatible with existing PON generations already deployed in Türk Telekom’s network.
Meanwhile In April, Australia’s NBN demoed Nokia 100G PON tech to reach 83 Gbps on its live full fibre access network, eclipsing the previous trial the October before which achieved symmetrical throughput of 21 Gbps and was a new speed record for PON in Australia at the time.
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References:
https://www.telecoms.com/fixed-networks/nokia-and-google-fiber-trial-50g-pon-in-us
Google Fiber planning 20 Gig symmetrical service via Nokia’s 25G-PON system
Nokia and Hong Kong Broadband Network Ltd deploy 25G PON
Nokia’s launches symmetrical 25G PON modem
Orange and Nokia demo 600Gb/sec transmission over a 914 km optical network; Nokia 25G PON
SK Telecom and Singtel partner to develop next-generation telco technologies using AI
SK Telecom (South Korea) and Singtel (Singapore) have initiated a two-year project to develop advanced telecommunication networks. This collaboration aims to drive innovation, improve network performance and security, and enhance customer experiences through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), orchestration tools, and network virtualization.
The project will focus on creating innovative solutions like Edge-AI Infrastructure to enhance connectivity and provide unique AI service offerings. A white paper will describe advancements to assist other global telcos to harnessing the capabilities of 5G and preparing for 6G.
This MOU initiative is expected to not only enhance connectivity but also provide customers with unique AI service offerings and enable the operators to restore services faster, thus improving the customer experience.
Additionally, SKT and Singtel will be putting together a white paper on their advancements in areas such as virtualization, slicing and network evolution that can help other telcos globally to capitalize on the capabilities of 5G and to prepare for 6G in 2030.
SK Telecom (SKT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singtel, Singapore’s leading telecommunications provider, to collaborate on the application of AI technology in communication networks, the development of use cases for 5G network slicing technology, and preparation for 6G technology, aimed at fostering advancements in 5G and next-generation communication technologies. Photo Courtesy of SKT
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Kang Jong-ryeol, SKT’s Head of ICT Infra(CSPO) stated, “The collaboration between SKT and Singtel marks a significant first step in shaping the future of the global telecommunications industry.” He further emphasized, “By combining the strengths of both companies, we aim to achieve efficient high-performance network construction, enhance network stability, and discover new network-based services. Additionally, we will strive to make significant advancements in next-generation communication technologies, including AI-powered wired and wireless infrastructure.”
Tay Yeow Lian, Singtel’s Managing Director, Networks, said, “As a global leader in 5G technology, we’re keen to capitalize on the myriad of capabilities this technology has to offer, especially in the areas of network slicing and with the inclusion of AI. With SKT, we’re looking to not only enhance the experience of our customers but to also drive industry innovation and help us prepare for the evolution to 6G.”
ANNEX: Singtel’s 5G advancements
· Developed Paragon, the industry’s first all-in-one aggregation and business orchestration platform, which allows enterprises to interact with and manage networks, clouds and multi-access edge computing (MEC) infrastructure and applications
· Developed Singtel CUBΣ, a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) that makes it easier for enterprises to subscribe and manage desired services and multiple vendors as well as gain insights on network utilisation, workload performance and sustainability metrics via a single sign-on digital portal. CUBΣ leverages and integrates AI into its network management systems to deliver enhanced services such as proactive user experience monitoring, incident automation and predictive analytics to anticipate, detect and address incidents faster. This results in improved network performance, optimised resource allocation, enhanced security protocols, elevated the overall user experience, and the development of a network that learns, evolves and self-improves over time – all of which enable faster digital transformation for greater economic growth and innovation.
Major 5G developments from Singtel:
2022
· Launched first public multi-access edge compute for enterprises in Asia with Microsoft
· Launched iSHIP to provide critical satellite-enabled connectivity and digital services for the maritime industry
2023
· Singapore’s first 5G-enabled smart retail showcase
· Achieved 5G upload speed of more than 1.6Gbps in an enterprise deployment
· Completed more than 30 5G trials at Sentosa
· Successfully trialed RedCap technology for better energy savings for IoT devices
2024
· Addition of Starlink satellites for maritime connectivity
· Offered the 5G Express Pass service to concertgoers for Coldplay and Taylor Swift
· Pioneered app-based network slicing, aka User Equipment Route Selection Policy
· Singtel Paragon integrated into Telkomsel’s enterprise product portfolio
· Launch of Paragon-S to spur digital transformation for satellite operators
About SK Telecom:
SK Telecom has been leading the growth of the mobile industry since 1984. Now, it is taking customer experience to new heights by extending beyond connectivity. By placing AI at the core of its business, SK Telecom is rapidly transforming into an AI company with a strong global presence. It is focusing on driving innovations in areas of AI Infrastructure, AI Transformation (AIX) and AI Service to deliver greater value for industry, society, and life.
References:
https://www.koreaittimes.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=132974
SK Telecom, DOCOMO, NTT and Nokia develop 6G AI-native air interface
SK Telecom, Intel develop low-latency technology for 6G core network
SK Telecom and Thales Trial Post-quantum Cryptography to Enhance Users’ Protection on 5G SA Network
ITU-R: IMT-2030 (6G) Backgrounder and Envisioned Capabilities
ITU-R vs 3GPP – 5G and 6G Standards and Specifications:
For new IEEE Techblog readers, ITU-R is responsible for radio interfaces with WP 5D making the ITU-R recommendations (standards) for IMT Radio Interface Technologies (RITs) and Set of Radio Interface Technologies (SRITs).
For 5G, it was called IMT 2020 (M.2150 recommendation) and for 6G, it’s called IMT-2030. 3GPP contributions towards those standards have been presented to WP5D by ATIS – one of the organizational partners of 3GPP.
While ITU-T was supposed to standardize non-radio aspects of 5G, 5G Advanced and 6G, that did not happen. Instead, those specifications, including the 5G and 6G core networks, are being developed by 3GPP. Those 3GPP 5G and 6G non-radio specs have to be transposed and adopted by official standards bodies, such as ETSI.
Please see References and Comments below for more information.
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Backgrounder:
In February 2021, the ITU started the development of ITU-R Framework Recommendation for IMT-2030 (6G) which was approved by the Radio Assembly 2023 and published as Recommendation ITU‑R M.2160 – Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT for 2030 and beyond. Based on this Recommendation, the ITU has started the process of the development of IMT-2030. The IMT-2030 terrestrial radio interface specification is expected to be completed in 2030. M.2160 describes these motivation and societal considerations, potential user and application trends, technology trends, spectrum harmonization and envisaged frequency bands. Also ITU-R Report M.2156 “Future technology trends of terrestrial IMT systems towards 2030 and beyond” and Report ITU-R M.2541 “Technical feasibility of IMT in bands above 100 GHz” details these expected trends and phenomena for IMT-2030.
The framework and objectives including overall timeframes for the future development of IMT for 2030 and beyond are described in some detail in Recommendation ITU-R M.2160.
In order to fulfil these varied demands, Usage scenarios of IMT-2030 are envisioned to expand on those of IMT-2020 (i.e., eMBB, URLLC, and mMTC introduced in Recommendation ITU-R M.2083) into broader use requiring evolved and new capabilities. In addition to expanded IMT‑2020 usage scenarios, IMT-2030 is envisaged to enable new usage scenarios arising from capabilities, such as artificial intelligence and sensing, which previous generations of IMT were not designed to support. Figure 1. below illustrates the usage scenarios for IMT-2030.
Figure 1. Usage scenarios and overarching aspects of IMT-2030:
Capabilities of IMT-2030:
IMT-2030 is expected to provide enhanced capabilities compared to those described for IMT-2020 in Recommendation ITU-R M.2083, as well as new capabilities to support the expanded usage scenarios of IMT-2030. In addition, each capability could have different relevance and applicability in the different usage scenarios.
The range of values given for capabilities are estimated targets for research and investigation of IMT-2030. All values in the range have equal priority in research and investigation. For each usage scenario, a single or multiple values within the range would be developed in future in other ITU-R Recommendations/Reports. These values may further depend on certain parameters and assumptions including, but not limited to, frequency range, bandwidth, and deployment scenario. Further these values for the capabilities apply only to some of the usage scenarios and may not be reached simultaneously in a specific usage scenario.
The capabilities of IMT-2030 include:
1) Peak data rate
Maximum achievable data rate under ideal conditions per device. The research target of peak data rate would be greater than that of IMT-2020. Values of 50, 100, 200 Gbit/s are given as possible examples applicable for specific scenarios, while other values may also be considered.
2) User experienced data rate
Achievable data rate that is available ubiquitously[1] across the coverage area to a mobile device. The research target of user experienced data rate would be greater than that of IMT-2020. Values of 300 Mbit/s and 500 Mbit/s are given as possible examples, while other values greater than these examples may also be explored and considered accordingly.
3) Spectrum efficiency
Spectrum efficiency refers to average data throughput per unit of spectrum resource and per cell[2]. The research target of spectrum efficiency would be greater than that of IMT-2020. Values of 1.5 and 3 times greater than that of IMT-2020 could be a possible example, while other values greater than these examples may also be explored and considered accordingly.
4) Area traffic capacity
Total traffic throughput served per geographic area. The research target of area traffic capacity would be greater than that of IMT-2020. Values of 30 Mbit/s/m2 and 50 Mbit/s/m2 are given as possible examples, while other values greater than these examples may also be explored and considered accordingly.
5) Connection Density
Total number of connected and/or accessible devices per unit area. The research target of connection density could be 106 – 108 devices/km2.
6) Mobility
Maximum speed, at which a defined QoS and seamless transfer between radio nodes which may belong to different layers and/or radio access technologies (multi-layer/multi-RAT) can be achieved. The research target of mobility could be 500 – 1 000 km/h.
7) Latency
Latency over the air interface refers to the contribution by the radio network to the time from when the source sends a packet of a certain size to when the destination receives it. The research target of latency (over the air interface) could be 0.1 – 1 ms.
8) Reliability
Reliability over the air interface relates to the capability of transmitting successfully a predefined amount of data within a predetermined time duration with a given probability.
The research target of reliability (over the air interface) could range from 1-10−5 to 1-10−7.
9) Coverage
Coverage refers to the ability to provide access to communication services for users in a desired service area. In the context of this capability, coverage is defined as the cell edge distance of a single cell through link budget analysis.
10) Positioning
Positioning is the ability to calculate the approximate position of connected devices. Positioning accuracy is defined as the difference between the calculated horizontal/vertical position and the actual horizontal/vertical position of a device.
The research target of the positioning accuracy could be 1 – 10 cm.
11) Sensing-related capabilities
Sensing-related capabilities refer to the ability to provide functionalities in the radio interface including range/velocity/angle estimation, object detection, localization, imaging, mapping, etc. These capabilities could be measured in terms of accuracy, resolution, detection rate, false alarm rate, etc.
12) Applicable AI-related capabilities
Applicable AI-related capabilities refer to the ability to provide certain functionalities throughout IMT-2030 to support AI enabled applications. These functionalities include, distributed data processing, distributed learning, AI computing, AI model execution, and AI model inference, etc.
13) Security and resilience
In the context of IMT-2030:
− Security refers to preservation of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information, such as user data and signalling, and protection of networks, devices and systems against cyberattacks such as hacking, distributed denial of service, man in the middle attacks, etc.
− Resilience refers to capabilities of the networks and systems to continue operating correctly during and after a natural or man-made disturbance, such as the loss of primary source of power, etc.
14) Sustainability
Sustainability, or more specifically environmental sustainability, refers to the ability of both the network and devices to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts throughout their life cycle. Important factors include improving energy efficiency, minimizing energy consumption and the use of resources, for example by optimizing for equipment longevity, repair, reuse and recycling.
Energy efficiency is a quantifiable metric of sustainability. It refers to the quantity of information bits transmitted or received, per unit of energy consumption (in bit/Joule). Energy efficiency is expected to be improved appropriately with the capacity increase in order to minimize overall power consumption.
15) Interoperability
Interoperability refers to the radio interface being based on member-inclusivity and transparency, so as to enable functionality(ies) between different entities of the system. The capabilities of IMT-2030 are shown in Figure 2. below.
FIGURE 2. Capabilities of IMT-2030:
NOTES:
[1] The term “ubiquitous” is related to the considered target coverage area and is not intended to relate to an entire region or country.
[2] The coverage area over which a mobile terminal can maintain a connection with one or more units of radio equipment located within that area. For an individual base station, this is the coverage area of the base station or of a subsystem (e.g., sector antenna).
Relationship between existing IMT and IMT-2030:
In order to support emerging usage scenarios and applications for 2030 and beyond, it is foreseen that development of IMT-2030 would be required to offer enhanced capabilities as described in § 3. The values of these capabilities go beyond those described in Recommendation ITU-R M.2083. The minimum technical requirements (and corresponding evaluation criteria) are to be defined by ITU‑R based on these capabilities for IMT-2030. They could potentially be met by adding enhancements to existing IMT, incorporating new technology components and functionalities, and/or the development of new radio interface technologies. Furthermore, IMT-2030 is envisaged to interwork with existing IMT.
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Separately, ATIS’ Next G Alliance (NGA) recently announced publication of Spectrum Needs for 6G, which assesses 6G spectrum needs based on scenario-specific key performance indicators and application-specific technical performance requirements.
The methodology used for estimating spectrum needs is based on the data rate requirements of 6G applications, with an emphasis on North American context and needs. The applications considered reflect the NGA’s collective efforts in establishing a comprehensive 6G roadmap.
“Proactively understanding next G spectrum needs and planning for them is essential to U.S. leadership in critical and emerging technologies,” said Next G Alliance Managing Director, David Young. “Decisions about the use of spectrum depend on multiple aspects and require time to be implemented. This paper achieves an understanding of 6G spectrum needs so that these needs are considered in the development of data-driven policies, regulatory decisions, and technical solutions.”
References:
https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/Pages/PR-2023-12-01-IMT-2030-for-6G-mobile-technologies.aspx
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg5/rwp5d/imt-2030/Pages/default.aspx
Highlights of 3GPP Stage 1 Workshop on IMT 2030 (6G) Use Cases
ITU-R WP5D invites IMT-2030 RIT/SRIT contributions
IMT-2030 Technical Performance Requirements (TPR) from ITU-R WP5D
ATIS’ Next G Alliance Maps the Spectrum Needs for the 6G Future
NGMN issues ITU-R framework for IMT-2030 vs ITU-R WP5D Timeline for RIT/SRIT Standardization
Draft new ITU-R recommendation (not yet approved): M.[IMT.FRAMEWORK FOR 2030 AND BEYOND]
Nokia, BT Group & Qualcomm achieve enhanced 5G SA downlink speeds using 5G Carrier Aggregation with 5 Component Carriers
BT claims to be the first European network operator to achieve 5G carrier aggregation with five component carriers (5G CC CA). Led by BT Networks team at Adastral Park, with support from BT Research, this is the latest milestone in 5G innovation for us, and promises to deliver potentially even faster 5G SA downlink speeds in the future, of up to nearly 2 Gbps. What this means for customers is a significant boost in performance in areas of high demand when the 5G SA device requires a high-speed connection, for example when watching live sport at a train station in rush hour.
The 5G CC CA trial used Nokia’s 5G AirScale portfolio and a device powered by a Snapdragon® 5G Modem-RF system from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a pioneer and global leader in 5G technology. Here are the highlights:
- BT Group becomes first European operator to achieve 5G 5CC carrier aggregation, boosting 5G standalone (SA) performance ahead of network launch later this year.
- Combines three FDD and two TDD carriers with 150 MHz total bandwidth, delivering greater capacity and downlink speeds in areas of high demand.
- Follows 5G SA downlink 4CC carrier aggregation breakthrough in 2022, and concurrent two carrier uplink aggregation in 2023.
5CC CA will significantly boost the data rates available to customers in areas of high demand by combining all mid-band radio spectrum when the 5G SA device requires a high-speed connection. Set to launch later this year, EE’s 5G SA network will also have the capability to leverage a low frequency sixth carrier to provide a superior experience in more places, including indoors.
In 2023, BT Group and Nokia successfully demonstrated 4CC CA in 5G SA downlink with concurrent 2CC CA in 5G SA uplink. With today’s announcement, the companies reached the next milestone, achieving further performance uplift in connections from the device to the network by increasing throughput and capacity.
The tests were conducted in the field on live network spectrum at Adastral Park, BT Group’s headquarters for R&D, using Nokia’s 5G AirScale portfolio and a device powered by a Snapdragon® 5G Modem-RF system from Qualcomm Technologies. Downlink speeds of 1.85 Gbps were reached, using three FDD carriers NR2600 (30MHz), NR2100 (20MHz), NR1800 (20MHz) aggregated with two TDD carriers NR3600 (40+40MHz).
Greg McCall, Chief Networks Officer at BT Group, said: “This latest milestone achieved with Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies enhances 5G SA performance as we work towards the launch of our network, building further on the benefits of carrier aggregation in delivering greater throughput and speeds to customers. This is particularly important as more and more devices come to market with 5CC CA capabilities. We are focused on maximizing our spectrum assets to deliver the very best experience to our customers with that in mind.”
Mark Atkinson, SVP and Head of RAN at Nokia, said: “This successful trial with our long-standing partner, BT is another great example of Nokia’s clear leadership in 5G carrier aggregation technology. Multi-component carrier aggregation helps mobile operators to maximize their radio network assets and provide the highest 5G data rates at more locations to subscribers.”
Dino Flore, Vice President, Technology, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. said: “Qualcomm Technologies is committed to pushing the boundaries of 5G connectivity, and our Snapdragon 5G Modem-RF Systems are designed to unlock the full potential of 5G, delivering unparalleled speed, efficiency and capacity for networks and their users. We are proud to work with Nokia and BT Group to play a key role in bringing this enhanced 5G experience to European consumers.”
This follows on from previous carrier aggregation ‘firsts’ aimed at boosting 5G SA performance across both downlink and uplink, where demand for greater speeds is growing in importance for a number of both existing and emerging use-cases, including live-streaming and video calls.
Today’s achievement has been delivered with one eye on the future, too. The 5G SA handset ecosystem right now is relatively small, but we expect to see more and more devices come to market by the early part of next year which are capable of supporting this technology. So we’re laying down a marker to say that at EE, as the UK’s best and most reliable network1, we are building capabilities into our network to support both the devices of today and the future.
We want to ensure that we really deliver on the promise of 5G SA for our customers, and an ongoing focus on innovation and research will be key to achieving this. Whether that’s through carrier aggregation advancements like today’s, demonstrating network slicing capabilities for guaranteed quality of service, or exploring how we can support the emerging IoT ecosystem through the likes of 5G RedCap technology, we’ll continue to prioritize advancements in network quality to support the evolution of the 5G services ecosystem.
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In January, T-Mobile conducted a six-component carrier (6CC) aggregation download using sub-6-GHz spectrum on its live 5G network saying it was the first time that’s ever been done. The test involved aggregating two channels of 2.5 GHz, two channels of PCS spectrum and two channels of AWS spectrum, according to T-Mobile US, which produced an “effective 245 MHz of aggregated 5G channels.”
T-Mo said that they were able to “achieve download speeds of 3.6 Gbps in sub-6 GHz spectrum. That’s fast enough to download a two-hour HD movie in less than 7 seconds!”
Resources and additional information:
Website: Nokia AirScale
Website: Nokia 5G RAN
Website: 5G Carrier Aggregation explained
Website: Multi-Gigabit 5G with Carrier Aggregation | Nokia
References:
https://newsroom.bt.com/delivering-seamless-standalone-in-the-busiest-locations/
T-Mobile US, Ericsson, and Qualcomm test 5G carrier aggregation with 6 component carriers
Finland’s Elisa, Ericsson and Qualcomm test uplink carrier aggregation on 5G SA network
Dish Wireless with Qualcomm Technologies and Samsung test simultaneous 5G 2x uplink and 4x downlink carrier aggregation
Ericsson and MediaTek set new 5G uplink speed record using Uplink Carrier Aggregation
https://www.nokia.com/about-us/newsroom/articles/5g-carrier-aggregation-explained/
Vodafone: GenAI overhyped, will spend $151M to enhance its chatbot with AI
GenAI is probably the most “overhyped” technology for many years in the telecom industry, said Vodafone Group’s chief technology officer (CTO) Scott Petty at a press briefing this week. “Hopefully, we are reaching the peak of those inflated expectations, because we are about to drop into a trough of disillusionment,” he said.
“This industry is moving too quickly,” Petty explained. “The evolution of particularly GPUs and the infrastructure means that by the time you’d actually bought them and got them installed you’d be N minus one or N minus two in terms of the technology, and you’d be spending a lot of effort and resource just trying to run the infrastructure and the LLMs that sit around that.”
Partnerships with hyper-scalers remain Vodafone’s preference, he said. Earlier this year, Vodafone and Microsoft signed a 10-year strategic agreement to use Microsoft GenAI in Vodafone’s network.
Vodafone is planning to invest some €140 million ($151 million) in artificial intelligence (AI) systems this year to improve the handling of customer inquiries, the company said on July 4th. Vodafone said it is investing in advanced AI from Microsoft and OpenAI to improve its chatbot, dubbed TOBi, so that it can respond faster and resolve customer issues more effectively.
The chatbot was introduced into Vodafone’s customer service five years ago and is equipped with the real voice of a Vodafone employee.
The new system, which is called SuperTOBi in many countries, has already been introduced in Italy and Portugal and will be rolled out in Germany and Turkey later this month with other markets to follow later in the year, Vodafone said in a press release.
According to the company, SuperTOBi “can understand and respond faster to complex customer enquiries better than traditional chatbots.” The new bot will assist customers with various tasks, such as troubleshooting hardware issues and setting up fixed-line routers, the company said.
Vodafone is not about to expose Vodafone’s data to publicly available models like ChatGPT. Nor will the UK based telco create large language models (LLMs) on its own. Instead, a team of 50 data scientists are working on fine-tuning LLMs like Anthropic and Vertex. Vodafone can expose information to those LLMs by dipping into its 24-petabyte data “ocean,” created with Google. Secure containers within public clouds ensure private information is securely cordoned off and unavailable to others.
According to Petty’s estimates, the performance speed of LLMs has improved by a factor of 12 in the last nine months alone, while operational costs have decreased by a factor of six. A telco that invested nine months ago would already have outdated and expensive technology. Petty, moreover, is not the only telco CTO wary of plunging into Nvidia’s GPU chips.
“This is a very weird moment in time where power is very expensive, natural resources are scarce and GPUs are extremely expensive,” said Bruno Zerbib, the CTO of France’s Orange, at the 2024 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. “You have to be very careful with your investment because you might buy a GPU product from a famous company right now that has a monopolistic position.”
Petty thinks LLM processing may eventually need to be processed outside hyper-scalers’ facilities. “To really create the performance that we want, we are going to need to push those capabilities further toward the edge of the network,” he said. “It is not going to be the hype cycle of the back end of 2024. But in 2025 and 2026, you’ll start to see those applications and capabilities being deployed at speed.”
“The time it takes for that data to get up and back will dictate whether you’re happy as a consumer to use that interface as your primary interface, and the investment in latency is going to be critically important,” said Petty. “We’re fortunate that 5G standalone drives low latency capability, but it’s not deployed at scale. We don’t have ubiquitous coverage. We need to make sure that those things are available to enable those applications.”
Data from Ericsson supports that view, showing that 5G population coverage is just 70% across Europe, compared with 90% in North America and 95% in China. The figure for midband spectrum – considered a 5G sweet spot that combines decent coverage with high-speed service – is as low as 30% in Europe, against 85% in North America and 95% in China.
Non-standalone (NSA) 5G, which connects a 5G radio access network (RAN) to a 4G core (EPC), is “dominating the market,” said Ericsson.
Vodafone has pledged to spend £11 billion (US$14 billion) on the rollout of a nationwide standalone 5G network in the UK if authorities bless its proposed merger with Three. With more customers, additional spectrum and a bigger footprint, the combined company would be able to generate healthier returns and invest in network improvements, the company said. But a UK merger would not aid the operator in Europe’s four-player markets.
Petty believes a “pay for search” economic model may emerge using GenAI virtual assistants. “This will see an evolution of a two-sided economic model that probably didn’t get in the growth of the Internet in the last 20 years,” but it would not be unlike today’s market for content delivery networks (CDNs).
“Most CDNs are actually paid for by the content distribution companies – the Netflixes, the TV sports – because they want a great experience for their users for the paid content they’ve bought. When it’s free content, maybe the owner of that content is less willing to invest to build out the capabilities in the network.”
Like other industry executives, Petty must hope the debates about net neutrality and fair contribution do not plunge telcos into a long disillusionment trough.
References:
Vodafone CTO: AI will overhaul 5G networks and Internet economics (lightreading.com)
Vodafone UK report touts benefits of 5G SA for Small Biz; cover for proposed merger with Three UK?
ITU-R WP5D invites IMT-2030 RIT/SRIT contributions
ITU-R has commenced the process of developing ITU-R Recommendations for the terrestrial components of the IMT-2030 (6G) radio interface(s). This work is guided by Resolutions ITU-R 56 and ITU-R 65. As you can see from the timeline below, the final IMT-2030 recommendation won’t be completed until 2030.
The ITU Radiocommunication Bureau has established a “Web page for the IMT-2030 submission and evaluation process” to facilitate the development of proposals and the work of the evaluation groups. The IMT-2030 web page will provide details of the process for the submission of proposals, and will include the RIT and SRIT submissions, evaluation group registration and contact information, evaluation reports and other relevant information on the development of IMT‑2030.
Candidate RITs (Radio Interface Technologies) or SRITs (Set of Radio Interface Technologies) will be evaluated by the ITU membership, standards organizations and other independent evaluation groups. Evaluation groups are requested to register with ITU-R1, preferably before [February/the end of 2027].
The evaluation groups are kindly requested to submit evaluation reports to the ITU-R in accordance with the evaluation process delineated on the IMT‑2030 web page. The evaluation reports will be considered in the development of the ITU-R Recommendation describing the radio interface specifications.
The evaluation guidelines, including the criteria and methodology, are to be finalized by WP 5D in June 2026. The availability of these guidelines on the IMT-2030 web page will be announced in a forthcoming Addendum to a Circular Letter calling for IMT-2030 RIT/SRIT contributions.
3GPP’s contributions will most likely be presented to ITU-R WP5D by ATIS. It remains to be seen what other entities will submit IMT-2030 RIT/SRIT proposals.
References:
https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/study-groups/rsg5/rwp5d/imt-2030/Pages/default.aspx
https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-r/oth/0a/06/R0A060000C80001PDFE.pdf
Highlights of 3GPP Stage 1 Workshop on IMT 2030 (6G) Use Cases
NGMN issues ITU-R framework for IMT-2030 vs ITU-R WP5D Timeline for RIT/SRIT Standardization
IMT-2030 Technical Performance Requirements (TPR) from ITU-R WP5D
Draft new ITU-R recommendation (not yet approved): M.[IMT.FRAMEWORK FOR 2030 AND BEYOND]
Mauritius Telecom Expands 5G Network Across the Island
Mauritius Telecom announced that its 5G network is now available island-wide. The company made this announcement during an event on June 18th, in the presence of the Minister of Information Technology, Communication, and Innovation. This nationwide deployment represents a major step forward in the digital transformation of the country, offering unprecedented technological prospects for individuals and businesses. It follows the initial deployment of its 5G network in 2021 [1.].
Up until now, the telco’s footprint was limited to six locations. With this expansion across populated areas, the mobile portfolio has been revamped to include 5G access under the my.t brand.
Note 1. Mauritius Telecom launched 5G in five specific areas in July 2021. Later, in April 2024, MT extended the 5G network to Rodrigues, expanding the operator’s 5G footprint to six locations.
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With this announcement, the company is now expanding the deployment of the 5G mobile network throughout the island, investing several billion Mauritian Rupees (1 Rp=$0.021). As part of this expansion into populated areas, the mobile portfolio has been revamped to include 5G access under the my.t brand.
Under my.t 5G, Mauritius Telecom promises download speeds of up to 1 Gbps, improved latency, and seamless connectivity, enabling multiple devices to connect simultaneously. The technology will also support innovations such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and the Internet of Things (IoT), the company said.
“The deployment of 5G island-wide is a significant step in enhancing the digital landscape of our country and transforming not only our personal digital experiences but our entire lives,” Mauritius Telecom said.
References:
https://www.telecom.mu/mediacentre/pdf/press-release-5g.pdf
https://mitci.govmu.org/News/SitePages/Mauritius-Telecom-launches-first-5G-network.aspx
Nokia to acquire Infinera for $2.3 billion, boosting optical network division size by 75%
Nokia has agreed to buy optical networking equipment vendor Infinera in a deal worth $2.3 billion. 70% of the sum will be paid in cash, the remaining 30% in Nokia shares. Nokia said it will accelerate its share buyback program to offset the dilution.
The acquisition will grow the size of its Optical Networks division by 75%, enabling the company to accelerate its product roadmap and increase its exposure to webscale customers, which account for around 30% of Infinera’s revenue.
Nokia and Infinera see a significant opportunity in merging to improve scale and profitability, enabling the combined business to accelerate the development of new products and solutions to benefit customers. The transaction aligns strongly with Nokia’s strategy, as it is expected to strengthen the company’s technology leadership in optical and increase exposure to webscale customers, the fastest growing segment of the market.
- Creates a highly scaled and truly global optical business with increased in-house technology capabilities and vertical integration.
- Strengthens Nokia’s optical position, specifically in North America.
- Accelerates Nokia’s customer diversification strategy, expanding webscale presence.
- Targeted net comparable operating profit synergies of EUR 200 million by 2027.
Nokia believes the transaction has compelling financial and strategic merit. The combination with Infinera is projected to accelerate Nokia’s journey to a double-digit operating margin in its Optical Networks business. Nokia targets to achieve EUR 200 million of net comparable operating profit synergies by 2027. This transaction along with the recently announced sale of Submarine Networks will create a reshaped Network Infrastructure built on three strong pillars of Fixed Networks, IP Networks and Optical Networks. Nokia targets mid-single digit organic growth for the overall Network Infrastructure business and to improve its operating margin to mid-to-high teens level.
The combined Nokia and Infinera will have a global market share of around 20%, broadly equal to Ciena (which acquired Nortel’s optical network division in November 2009 for $769 billion) but lagging behind Huawei’s 31%, according to J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee.
“Ciena is less likely to make a competing bid given complexity in integrating competing optical portfolios as well as hurdles in regulatory approval given Ciena’s majority (51%) share of the North America market,” wrote Chatterjee in a research note.
Omdia (Informa) expects optical networking market sales to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 5% between now and 2029. A well-executed takeover may, then, give Nokia a growth story during a period of difficulty for its large mobile business group, responsible for about 44% of total sales last year.
The transaction is expected to be accretive to Nokia’s comparable EPS in the first year post close and to deliver over 10% comparable EPS accretion by 2027*, with a return on invested capital (RoIC) comfortably above Nokia’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC).
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO of Nokia, said:
“In 2021 we increased our organic investment in Optical Networks with a view to improving our competitiveness. That decision has paid off and has delivered improved customer recognition, strong sales growth and increased profitability. We believe now is the right time to take a compelling inorganic step to further expand Nokia’s scale in optical networks. The combined businesses have a strong strategic fit given their highly complementary customer, geographic and technology profiles. With the opportunity to deliver over 10% comparable EPS accretion, we believe this will create significant value for shareholders.”
Federico Guillén, President of Network Infrastructure at Nokia, said: “Today, Network Infrastructure offers a unique portfolio across the fixed access, optical and IP networks domains built on leading technology innovation and a strong customer focus. This acquisition will further strengthen the optical pillar of our business, expand our growth opportunities across all our target customer segments and improve our operating margin. I am extremely pleased that we are bringing together these two talented and dedicated teams. Separately, we have long respected each other as competitors. Together, we find the logic of combination irresistible.”
David Heard, CEO of Infinera, said: “We are really excited about the value this combination will bring to our global customers. We believe Nokia is an excellent partner and together we will have greater scale and deeper resources to set the pace of innovation and address rapidly changing customer needs at a time when optics are more important than ever – across telecom networks, inter-data center applications, and now inside the data center. This combination will further leverage our vertically integrated optical semiconductor technologies. Furthermore, our stakeholders will have the opportunity to participate in the upside of a global leader in optical networking solutions.”
Compelling strategic benefits for Nokia, Infinera and customers:
- Improving global scale and product roadmap: The combination will increase the scale of Nokia’s Optical Networks business by 75%, enabling it to accelerate its product roadmap timeline and breadth; providing better products for customers and creating a business that can sustainably challenge the competition.
- The combined business will have significant in-house capabilities, including an expanded digital signal processor (DSP) development team, expertise across silicon photonics and indium phosphide-based semiconductor material sciences, and deeper competency in photonic integrated circuit (PIC) technology. The result will be a strong innovative player with a deep and diverse pool of optical networking talent and expertise.
- Gaining scale in North America optical market: The two companies have limited customer overlap, putting the combined business in a strong position in all regions (excluding China). Infinera has built a solid presence in the North America optical market, representing ~60% of its sales, which will improve Nokia’s optical scale in the region and complement Nokia’s strong positions in APAC, EMEA and Latin America.
- Building on Nokia’s commitment to investment in U.S. based manufacturing and advanced testing and packaging capabilities.
- Accelerating Nokia’s expansion into enterprise and particularly webscale: The combination of these two businesses is also expected to accelerate Nokia’s strategic goal of diversifying its customer base and growing in enterprise. Internet content providers (ICP or webscale as Nokia typically calls this segment) make up over 30% of Infinera’s sales. With recent wins in line systems and pluggables, Infinera is well established in this fast-growing market. Infinera has also recently been developing high-speed and low-power optical components for use in intra-data center (ICE-D) applications and which are particularly suited to AI workloads which can become a very attractive long-term growth opportunity. Overall, the acquisition offers an opportunity for a step change in Nokia’s penetration into webscale customers.
- Net comparable operating profit synergies of EUR 200 million: The combination is expected to deliver EUR 200 million of net comparable operating profit synergies by 2027*. Approximately one third of the synergies are expected to come from cost of sales due to supply chain efficiencies and the remainder from operating expenses due to portfolio optimization and integration along with reduced product engineering costs and standalone entity costs. Nokia expects one-time integration costs of approximately EUR 200 million related to the transaction.
- Creating value for shareholders: The transaction is expected to be accretive to Nokia’s comparable operating profit and EPS in year 1 and to deliver more than 10% comparable EPS accretion in 2027*. Nokia also expects the deal to deliver a return on invested capital (RoIC) comfortably above Nokia’s weighted average cost of capital (WACC). In addition, Infinera’s investors will have the opportunity to participate in the exciting upside of investing in a global leader in optical networking solutions.
Transaction details:
Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Nokia is acquiring Infinera for $6.65 per share, which equates to an enterprise value of $2.3 billion. For each Infinera share, Infinera shareholders will be able to elect to receive either: 1) $6.65 cash, 2) 1.7896 Nokia shares, or 3) a combination of $4.66 in cash and 0.5355 Nokia shares for each Infinera share. All Nokia shares will be issued in the form of American Depositary Shares. The definitive agreement includes a proration mechanism so that the Nokia shares issued in the transaction do not exceed an amount equal to approximately 30% of the aggregate consideration that may be paid to Infinera shareholders.
References:
https://www.barrons.com/articles/infinera-stock-price-buy-sell-nokia-ciena-658c7898
https://www.infinera.com/press-release/nokia-to-acquire-infinera/
LightCounting: Q1 2024 Optical Network Equipment market split between telecoms (-) and hyperscalers (+)
Infinera, DZS, and Calnex Successfully Demonstrate 5G Mobile xHaul with Open XR
Orange Deploys Infinera’s GX Series to Power AMITIE Subsea Cable
Infinera trial for Telstra InfraCo’s intercity fiber project delivered 61.3 Tbps between Melbourne and Sydney, Australia
Dell’Oro: Campus Ethernet Switch Revenues dropped 23% YoY in 1Q-2024
Worldwide Campus Ethernet Switch [1.] revenues plummeted by 23% YoY in the 1st quarter of 2024 to a 2-year low, according to the Dell’Oro Group.
- The only two vendors that grew campus switch revenues year over year were Santa Clara, CA based Arista Networks and Ubiquiti [2.].
- Cisco’s campus switch revenues fell more than the worldwide average.
Note 1. With higher demand from new use cases for wired connectivity such as automation, analytics, and network visibility, and the need for new access switches to aggregate Wireless LAN access points, Dell’Oro Group is offering in-depth analysis specifically on Ethernet Switches built and optimized for deployment outside the data center, for the purpose of connecting users and things to the corporate Local Area Network (LAN).
“Basically, campus switches are really the networking gear to connect users and devices and laptops,” said Sameh Boujelbene, VP with Dell’Oro Group. “Access points are probably the number one application.”
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Note 2. Although headquartered in New York, NY, Ubiquiti wrote in a 2019 SEC filing:
“We use contract manufacturers, primarily located in China, Vietnam and Taiwan, to manufacture our products. Our relationships with contract manufacturers allow us to conserve working capital, reduce manufacturing costs and minimize delivery lead times while maintaining high product quality and the ability to scale quickly to handle increased order volume. Over the long term, our contract manufacturers are not required to manufacture our products for any specific period or in any specific quantity. If necessary, we expect that it would take approximately 3 to 6 months to transition manufacturing, quality assurance and shipping services to new providers.”
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“Vendor backlogs of campus switch orders have now been completely run down, and the market is in a multi-quarter digestion cycle,” said Siân Morgan, Research Director at Dell’Oro Group. “The shipments of most port speeds declined, and the Average Sales Price (ASP) also dropped on a YoY basis.
“However, in 1Q 2024, Arista had its third sequential quarter of (market) share gain, growing Campus Switch sales to large enterprises.
On the downside, Cisco’s Campus Switch shipments contracted sharply. This reduction contrasts with their shipments in 2023, when Cisco opened the “floodgate” for Catalyst and Meraki port shipments which had been on backorder,” added Morgan.
Additional highlights from the 1Q 2024 Ethernet Switch – Campus Report:
- The contraction in campus switch sales was broad-based across all regions, with the exception of Central America-Latin America (CALA).
- Some vendors bucked the price trend and were able to grow port ASPs thanks to richer product mixes.
- 5/5.0 Gbps switch ports are expected to return to growth as shipments of Wi-Fi 7 Access Points accelerate.
The Dell’Oro Group Ethernet Switch – Campus Quarterly Report offers a detailed view of Ethernet switches built and optimized for deployment outside the data center, to connect users and things to the Local Area Networks. The report contains in-depth market and vendor-level information on manufacturers’ revenue, ports shipped and average selling prices for both Modular and Fixed, and Fixed Managed and Unmanaged Ethernet Switches (100 Mbps, 1/2.5/5/10/25/40/50/100/400 Gbps), Power-over-Ethernet, plus regional breakouts as well as split by customer size (Enterprise vs. SMB) and vertical segments.
To purchase these reports, email [email protected]
References:
Campus Ethernet Switch Revenues Crash to a Two-Year Low in 1Q 2024, According to Dell’Oro Group