Verizon is the last of the Big 3 wireless carriers in the U.S. to shut down its 3G network and repurpose the spectrum for newer technology. AT&T was first, shutting its 3G network down in February. T-Mobile’s shuttered its 3G network over the summer but probably drew the most attention with the decommissioning of Sprint’s old 3G CDMA network earlier this year because it created such a big impact for Dish Network, its Ting Mobile and Boost Mobile customers.

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Personal Note:  After T-Mobile shut down Sprint’s 3G network, this author’s Samsung Galaxy A50 phone did not work with T-Mobile’s 4G-LTE network, even though Samsung claims it’s compatible with 4G-LTE.  Currently, I don’t have mobile Internet access via Ting/Dish Network/T-Mobile service!  I also can’t receive incoming cellular calls which go directly to voice mail even though call forwarding is disabled!

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Verizon is telling customers that if they’re still using a 3G CDMA or 4G (non-VoLTE) phone that does not support its newer network technologies, “your line will be suspended without billing and will lose the ability to call, text, or use data.”

initially said it was closing its 3G network in 2019. Then they extended it to the end of 2020 and finally, to the end of 2022. In March 2021, Verizon made it clear they were sticking with the 2022 end date and advised customers still accessing the 3G network that they may experience a degradation or complete loss of service.

Earlier this year, the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC) tried unsuccessfully to get AT&T to delay its 3G network shutdown, citing pandemic-related chip shortages, supply chain issues and labor shortages that meant they couldn’t make necessary upgrades. The group has not made those kinds of demands of Verizon, but AT&T also boasts a larger contingent of alarm connectivity customers.

Schulz said that in addition to migrating 3G devices onto 4G LTE or 5G, Verizon developed migration plans with most of its business customers to ensure any 3G devices they have in vehicles and equipment have been migrated to 4G LTE or 5G.

Verizon sent a letter to customers which states:

“Starting the day before your December 2022 bill cycle begins, if you are a Verizon customer using a 3G CDMA or 4G phone device that does not support our newer network technologies, your line will be suspended without billing and will lose the ability to call, text, or use data.”

Until January 1, 2023, impacted phones will still be able to make 911 emergency calls and calls to Verizon Customer Service (at 611) while the line is suspended, the letter says, adding: “Starting the day before your February 2023 bill cycle begins, any remaining impacted lines that are still suspended without billing will be disconnected.”

For those customers who didn’t get letters or don’t read them, they could be in for a surprise.

References:

https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-tells-3g-customers-upgrade-they-lose-service

Nokia today announced the opening of a new research and development center focused on 5G and future 6G mobile network technology at its Portuguese campus in Amadora. The center will create employment across several different disciplines and advance research in technologies that are vital components of current 5G and future 6G networks. Last year, Nokia signed a deal with the Portuguese government to open a Global Business Services Center and participate in initiatives that promote digital skills.  Apparently, this is part of that industry initiative.

The research and development center will create multiple highly skilled jobs focusing on the advanced development of software to support mobile networks. The center will oversee the full cycle of embedded and real-time software development from early analysis to final delivery. It will bring together professionals from diverse technical disciplines, including software engineers, product owners, and technical leads to work alongside teams around the world.
   
Tommi Uitto, President of Nokia Mobile Networks, said: “The new research and development center in Portugal demonstrates Nokia’s continued investment in the future of wireless communications. The center’s vital work will continue to expand the possibilities of mobile networks, critical for seamlessly connecting people, businesses, and industries. Importantly, this will be a hub for innovation, reinforcing our 5G technology leadership and helping to realize our ambition to become a 6G pioneer.”

Sérgio Catalão, Country Manager, of Nokia Portugal, said: “The announcement made today is a testament to the continued solid operation of Nokia in the country, reinforced once again by a collaboration with the Portuguese Government. This project reinforces our commitment to supporting Portugal’s digital transformation with our market-leading technology by working in close cooperation with academia, as well as bolstering our team with the best talent.”

A vibrant technology ecosystem, highly skilled talent pool, country stability, and location in Europe were contributing factors for Nokia to locate the research and development center in Portugal. The company has been an important innovation hub for Nokia globally through its units in Amadora and Aveiro and hosts services centers that remotely manage broadband networks for some of the leading global operators. The center follows a strategic agreement signed last year with the Portuguese government to open a Global Business Services Center and participate in initiatives that promote digital skills. The company has close to 2,800 employees in the country.

Comment & Analysis:

There are quite a few on these new 5G/6G Research Centers being opened all over the world. We wonder what “research will actually be done” as detailed programs have not been disclosed.  Ericsson announced last week that it was investing heavily in a new research facility in the UK.  The objective is to conduct research projects that ultimately contribute to the global development of 6G. Focus areas include network resilience and security, AI, cognitive networks, and energy efficiency.

We think the research efforts should be directed at solving the problems of 5G such as an implementation standard for 5G SA Core networks to facilitate multi-vendor interoperability of both hardware and software.  Another urgent 5G issue is to reduce the huge power consumption of 5G base stations, especially for mmW frequencies.

References:

https://www.nokia.com/about-us/news/releases/2022/11/28/nokia-to-open-new-5g-and-6g-research-and-development-center-in-portugal/

Nokia to open 5G and 6G research lab in Portugal

At long last, the FCC has released the first public version of its National Broadband Map. The new map is consequential as it will inform how many millions or billions of dollars each state and territory gets from the federal government for broadband infrastructure.

The broadband map’s release follows an effort that began in September to give Internet service providers (ISPs) and local governments an opportunity to review and challenge broadband data findings. That followed an initial FCC broadband data collection process that began in June.  IEEE Techblog summarized that and more in this post.

“Today is an important milestone in our effort to help everyone, everywhere get specific information about what broadband options are available for their homes, and pinpointing places in the country where communities do not have the service they need,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel. “Our pre-production draft maps are a first step in a long-term effort to continuously improve our data as consumers, providers and others share information with us. By painting a more accurate picture of where broadband is and is not, local, state, and federal partners can better work together to ensure no one is left on the wrong side of the digital divide.”

The public will be able to view the maps at broadbandmap.fcc.gov and search for their address to see information about the fixed and mobile services that internet providers report are available there. If the fixed internet services shown are not available at the user’s location, they may file a challenge with the FCC directly through the map interface to correct the information.

Map users will also be able correct information about their location and add their location to the map if it is missing. The draft map will also allow users to view the mobile wireless coverage reported by cellular service providers.

The FCC also announced the launch of an updated version of the FCC Speed Test App that will enable users to quickly compare the performance and coverage of their mobile networks to that reported by their provider. The app allows users to submit their mobile speed test data in support of a challenge to a wireless service provider’s claimed coverage.

Today’s debut marks the start of the public’s ability to offer challenges as well. The FCC has asked for challenges to the map data to be submitted between now and January 13, 2023, so that corrections can be included in a finalized version of the map.

The final version of the map will be used to distribute funding from the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program in summer 2023. As determined by the Department of Commerce last year, each state will get an initial $100 million from the $42.5 billion BEAD program, with additional funding to be distributed based on the number of unserved and underserved locations, according to the new national broadband map.

Members of the public, along with local governments and providers, will now be able to submit two different types of challenges: location (for example, incorrect location address, incorrect location unit count, etc.) and availability (for example, if the map incorrectly lists a certain provider or broadband technology as available).

While the FCC will continue collecting crowdsourced speed data for fixed speeds, that data is not part of the challenge process. Rather, the map is relying on maximum available advertised speeds.

References:

https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-releases-new-national-broadband-maps

https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/home

https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/notes/2022/06/30/status-update-mapping-where-broadband-and-not-available-us

FCC to release U.S. broadband maps in November 2022

Additional information sources:

• New users can download the FCC Speed Test App in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
• Existing app users should update the app to gain these new features.
• A video tutorial and more information on how to submit challenges is available at fcc.gov/BroadbandData/consumers.
• For more information about the BDC, please visit the Broadband Data Collection website at fcc.gov/BroadbandData.

Cable One [1.] has invested $50 million to acquire a minority stake in northwestern U.S. wireline network operator Ziply Fiber [2.].  Although  the investment was made on September 6th, it was first announced Thursday November 3rd when Cable One Chair and CEO Julie Laulis revealed the investment during the company’s Q3 2022 earnings call. She referred to Ziply Fiber as Cable One’s “newest strategic growth partner.” A Ziply representative confirmed the sum from Cable One was part of the $450 million in new funding it announced on September 8th.

Note 1.  Cable One is an American broadband communications provider. Under the Sparklight brand, it provides service to 21 states and 900,000 residential and business customers. It is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, though it does not serve that metro area.

Note 2.  Ziply Fiber was formed from the acquisition of Frontier Communications operations in Washington, Oregon and Montana.  Ziply has an ambitious fiber buildout/upgrade plan with the launch of symmetrical, multi-gigabit broadband speed tiers.

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In a 10-Q filing, Cable One stated it invested an initial $22.2 million in Ziply in November 2022 and expects to invest the remaining $27.8 million before the end of September 2023. Its investment netted the company less than a 10% equity interest in Ziply.

“We are investing alongside proven operational and financial leaders that we have maintained long-term trusted relationships with and they continue to demonstrate the ability to deliver strong results and shareholder returns that align with our rigorous standards,” a Cable One spokesman told Light Reading.

Other highlights from Cable One’s Q3-2022 results and earnings call:

• Total revenues were $424.7 million in the third quarter of 2022 compared to $430.2 million in the third quarter of 2021. Year-over-year, residential data revenues increased 6.3% and business services revenues decreased 11.5%. Revenues for the third quarter of 2022 included $4.9 million from CableAmerica(1) operations. Revenues for the third quarter of 2021 included $16.3 million from operations that were contributed to Clearwave Fiber(1) and from the Divested Operations, of which a substantial majority consisted of business services revenues.
• Net income was $70.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 35.1% year-over-year. Adjusted EBITDA was $224.6 million in the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 1.9% year-over-year. Net profit margin was 16.6% and Adjusted EBITDA margin(2) was 52.9%.
• Revenues decreased $5.5 million, or 1.3%, to $424.7 million for the third quarter of 2022 due primarily to the contribution of operations to Clearwave Fiber and the disposition of the Divested Operations during 2022 that collectively generated $16.3 million of revenues in the prior year quarter, predominantly consisting of business services revenues, and decreases in residential video and residential voice revenues. The decrease was partially offset by increases in higher margin residential data and business services revenues from continuing operations and the addition of CableAmerica operations.
• Cable One, like other cable operators, is seeing a slowdown in consumer move activity across its footprint. The operator posted an organic gain of just 1,800 broadband subs in the quarter, according to MoffettNathanson, a division of SVB Securities.
• Sell-in for 1-Gig service has accelerated to nearly 32%.
• Cable One’s average revenue per user (ARPU) rose 15%, to $80.46, as customers migrated to faster, higher-priced services or took an unlimited data plan.
• Rate increases are “absolutely on the table,” Laulis said.
• Average data usage reached about 580 gigabytes per month in Q3, up 19% year-over-year.
• Cable One, which has DOCSIS 4.0 on its roadmap, has tested symmetrical multi-gigabit speeds, but did not say when it might launch such services.
• FWA adoption in Cable One’s markets “remains low,” Laulis said.
• Video losses hit 18,000, widened from a year-ago loss of 8,000. Reflecting Cable One’s de-emphasis on video and its laser-focus on broadband, the company’s video base eroded by another 28% year-over-year.

At the start of 2022, Cable One along with three private equity companies formed a joint venture called Clearwave Fiber, aiming to reach 500,000 rural locations by 2027. Cable One contributed assets from its Illinois-focused Clearwave Communications and South Carolina-based Hargray Communications businesses as part of the deal. Shortly after its formation, Clearwave Fiber acquired the assets of Kansas-based operator RG Fiber to gain a foothold in the state.

Earlier this week, Clearwave Fiber revealed it has already crossed the 100,000 passings mark. By the end of this year, the company said its services will be available in a total of 35 markets across four states: Illinois, Kansas, Georgia and Florida.

References:

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221103005494/en/Cable-One-Reports-Third-Quarter-2022-Results

https://www.sparklight.com/

Cable One joint venture to expand fiber based internet access via FTTP

Ziply Fiber deploys 2 Gig & 5 Gig fiber internet tiers in 60 cities – AT&T can now top that!

Frontier Communications and Ziply Fiber to raise funds for fiber optic network buildouts

https://www.lightreading.com/cable-tech/cable-one-invests-$50m-in-ziply-fiber/d/d-id/781591

https://www.fiercetelecom.com/broadband/cable-one-doubles-down-fiber-50m-ziply-investment

A new report by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), the Private-Mobile-Networks August 2022 report, has identified 66 MNO’s and 70 countries/territories where organisations are involved with private mobile network projects. This equates to 889 organisations deploying LTE or 5G Private Mobile Networks (PMN) in one or more locations – up from 794 reported in June 2022.

Manufacturing is the major adopter of Private Mobile Networks with 165 identified companies, growth of almost 50% from the end of 2021, with other strong interest from education, mining, and power utilities sectors.

LTE is the dominant technology, used in 672 of the private mobile networks for which GSA has data, whilst 5G is being deployed by 354 organisations. 5G Standalone currently accounts for just thirty-seven deployments.

The USA leads the way with the most organisations deploying private networks based on LTE or 5G, followed by Germany, China, the UK, and Japan.

Joe Barrett, President of the Global mobile Suppliers Association called private mobile networks a microcosm of the wider 4G and 5G ecosystem and reported “a strong positive correlation between liberalised spectrum and the adoption of private mobile networks.”

An executive summary of the report is available from the GSA website based on dataset of over 50 equipment vendors, 66 operators and 70 countries and territories.

References:

https://totaltele.com/private-mobile-network-deployments-now-in-70-countries/

Private-Mobile-Networks August 2022 Summary

by  Fayre Fan (edited by Alan J Weissberger)

Introduction: 

The fiber optic transceiver is the core component of optical communications.  It is used to realize optical-to-electrical conversion. The transmitter converts the electrical signal into an optical signal, while the receiver does the reverse – it converts the optical signal into an electrical signal.

Increasingly, fiber optics is being used for the transport of 5G signals to and from the edge of the carrier’s wide area network. Optical transceivers are the basic component of 5G backhaul, midhaul and fronthaul.   Their cost accounts for 50%~70% of the total 5G network costs.  

Low cost is the key appeal of the 5G optical transceivers. The industry has carried out extensive research on 5G optical module technology, and currently, there are many solutions.

Increasing demands for 5G transceivers: low cost is the key to 5G optical module:

The growth of optical modules in the 5G network mainly comes from three factors:

• More base stations are needed in the high-frequency band.
• Larger bandwidth is required for high-speed rates.
• More connections are required for added midhaul transmission links.

Global top suppliers of 5G base stations include Huawei (China), Ericson (Sweden), Nokia (Finland), ZTE (China), and Samsung (Korea). China is the largest 5G market, which has captured about 74% of the market, followed by Korea and Europe.  

The development of the global 5G network market stimulates the increasing demand for 5G optical transceivers. According to the forecast data from Lightcounting,  the global market share of 5G fronthaul transceivers will reach 657/632/593 million dollars in 2022~2024. 5G midhaul and backhaul transceivers will reach 242/245/247 million dollars respectively. Therefore, reducing cost is a key objective of 5G transceiver development.  Here’s an illustration of backhaul, midhaul and fronthaul:

5G fronthaul -demand for 25G BiDi transceiver:

In the 4G fronthaul network, the most commonly used transceivers are single-mode 10G duplex transceivers. 5G network has higher requirements for the data rate and optical interface of transceivers. In consideration of saving fiber resources and maintaining high-precision synchronization of uplink and downlink, the simplex bi-directional (BiDi) transceiver allowing data transmitting and receiving over one single fiber, is superior to duplex transceivers. Moreover, considering the 5G download rate is at least 10 times higher than that of the 4G network, the 25 Gbit/s data rate is also necessary for the 5G fronthaul transceivers. Taken together, 25G BiDi transceivers are needed for 5G fronthaul networks.

Optical Transceivers for 5G Front-Haul

5G midhaul and backhaul – demand for 50G/100G/200G/400G transceivers:

The 5G midhaul and backhaul are mainly carried through the metro access layer, convergence layer, and core layer. For the access layer, 50G/100G transceivers are commonly used. For example, 50G PAM4 transceiver is a cost-effective solution for 5G midhaul and backhaul.  It is based on 25G optical components and PAM4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation 4-level) modulation. For the convergence layer and core layer, 100G/200G/400Gb/s DWDM transceivers are mainly used. And low-cost coherent 100G/200G/400G transceivers are welcomed, which mainly use QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) modulation and DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology.

Optical Transceivers for 5G Mid-Haul/Back-Haul

Technological innovations of 5G transceivers:

Optical transceiver-related technology mainly includes packaging technology and optoelectronic components technology. 

In terms of packaging technology, 5G transceivers can adopt existing mature packaging technologies. For example, since 25G BiDi has a similar optical structure to that of 10G BiDi, the common TO-CAN (transistor-outline-can) package can be used to save cost.

The most vital technological innovation aims at optoelectronic components technology. The technological innovation of optoelectronic devices mainly aims at these goals: function expansion, data rate increase, and cost reduction. 

Function expansion innovation of laser chips example: industrial-grade laser chips no longer require temperature control devices, the laser chip used in the non-airtight environment no longer requires the expensive airtight package, the laser chip with a small divergence angle no longer requires an expensive non-spherical lens,  anti-reflection laser chips no longer require isolators, etc. Those technologies simplify the packaging of the optical module, also providing higher reliability and lower cost.

Data rate increase innovation includes example: the 50G PAM4 optical module uses a 25G baud rate laser/detector, and an electrical chip with high linearity. Compared with the 25G NRZ (non-return to zero) optical module, it allows for higher bandwidth. 

Cost reduction innovation example: coherent 100G transceiver, it reduces the cost on the premise of meeting the transmission distance requirement within 200km.

Ultimately, the key technologies of 5G optical modules are mainly reflected in the innovation of optoelectronic chips. The specific technologies include:

• Industrial temperature grade high-speed laser chip technology
• High linearity 25G baud rate DFB chip and EML chip technology
• Low-cost 25G wavelength tunable laser chip technology
• Low-cost coherent 100G/200G/400G optical transceiver technology

For example, Marvell  and OE Solutions recently announced a collaboration to deliver the industry’s first production-ready 100G QSFP-DD optical modules optimized for 5G backhaul and Metro Access applications.

In conclusion,  5G optical transceivers will play a more important role in the entire optical module market compared with the 4G era.  Technological innovation will be the main driver to realize the low-cost 5G optical modules.

References:

https://www.researchreportsworld.com/global-5g-base-station-sales-market-21017689

https://www.3coptics.com/News/9.html

Investors should expect slower growth ahead for cable companies Comcast and Charter Communications, according to Barclays. Analyst Kannan Venkateshwar downgraded shares of Comcast to equal weight, and shares of Spectrum parent company Charter to underweight, pointing to dwindling subscriber numbers.Barclay’s noted dwindling subscriber numbers for the two companies.

A key source of concern among cable investors is the presence of emerging competition in the market for internet services, as wireless companies push forward with fiber and fixed-wireless-access offerings. While Comcast’s and Charter’s management teams made some acknowledgment of the competitive landscape on their earnings calls, they maintained that the biggest factor driving recent performance was that people have been moving homes in smaller numbers than before.

Venkateshwar didn’t seem sold on the cable companies’ explanations.  “While cable has gained share vs DSL over time and therefore lower moves would impact growth rates, it is mathematically impossible to get to negative growth as seen last quarter, purely on account of lower move activity,” he wrote. “In addition, the decline in move activity is not new and has been going on for years and tends to worsen during recessions.”

He added that even if move rates were to improve, “there are new elements that are likely to reduce cable’s share of gross adds” — namely the emerging competitive dynamics.

“Charter’s management almost seems in denial of competition in talking down its impact, but if TMUS does grow fixed wireless access (FWA) to the full extent of its guidance range (~500k+/quarter), TMUS alone would be bigger than Altice by the end of next year,” Venkateshwar continued. “It is tough to see this not impacting cable structurally when cable net adds overall have been ~3mm in normal years and TMUS and VZ alone could add 2-2.5mm FWA subs a year.”

Venkateshwar isn’t sure that FWA represents “a viable solution for telecom operators long term” given capacity requirements, but said that for the moment, T-Mobile US Inc.and Verizon Communications Inc. have “low marginal costs due to excess spectrum.”

“Consequently, even if FWA proves unviable long term, it could still be a significant headwind for cable over the next 2-3 years,” he wrote.

Additionally, with the help of government funding, more people could move from DSL over to fiber, which would benefit AT&T which has been laser focused on growing its fiber footprint.

Venkateshwar acknowledged that one criticism of his analysis may be that he isn’t giving the cable companies enough credit for growing their own footprints, but he doesn’t see much correlation between footprint expansion and broadband growth rates for Comcast, Charter, and Altice USA Inc. when looking at the past five years. Accordingly, he expects the companies could get even less marginal benefit in a world with growing competition.

“Overall, these factors imply that the largest cable companies, Comcast and Charter, are likely past peak growth and the debate therefore boils down to the degree of downside to broadband net adds going forward,” he wrote. Venkateshwar said that his analyst suggests “cable providers could be at flat growth next year and potentially negative thereafter unless their pace of footprint expansion and marginal penetration of this expanded base accelerates.”

He noted that the companies have been growing wireless subscribers, though he has questions about the long-term economic potential of their wireless involvement. As it stands, Charter and Comcast have a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) arrangement with Verizon that allows the companies to leverage Verizon’s network.

This strategy makes sense to test out the market and launch a service, but to anchor long-term strategic pivot of the scale that cable companies are attempting on someone else’s network is not viable in our view,” he wrote. “If cable companies continue to face challenges in broadband, which we think is likely, they may have little choice but to invest in more extensive wireless infrastructure in some form to extract the benefit of scale in wireless.”

References:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/comcast-charter-stocks-downgraded-as-barclays-says-companies-are-likely-past-peak-growth-11659361451