Huawei has 22 commercial 5G contracts; U.S. government warns allies about the company

1.  Huawei has signed 22 commercial contracts for 5G as operators prepare for the commercial launch of the new technology.

The company’s executive director and president of carrier business group Ryan Ding made the announcement during a keynote speech at the Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) in London.

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During his speech, Ding noted that a number of operators are expediting 5G commercial deployment in order to secure the first mover advantage. Major countries representing a third of the global population are among the first adopters of the technology.

“So far, we have signed 22 commercial contracts for 5G, and we are working with over 50 carriers on 5G commercial tests,” Ding said.

“Through heavy investment and continuous innovation, we are committed to helping carriers deploy 5G networks easily, rapidly, and cost-effectively. And we are ready to work with all stakeholders to drive robust development of the 5G industry.”

Ding spoke of the technical capabilities of Huawei’s 4G/5G kit, such as an uplink and downlink decoupling that can achieve co-coverage of 4G and 5G using C-band spectrum, and the ability to offer end-to-end solutions meant it was an ideal partner for operators.Ding added that the first 5G smartphones will be available next year, and phone makers are expected to launch budget 5G phones priced at around $100 soon after the commercial roll-out of 5G networks.

He also mentioned the relatively small size and lightweight of Huawei’s wireless networking equipment. This will appeal to operators struggling to add more equipment to mobile sites, especially in urban areas

“Every new generation of network comes with new challenges, and this applies to 5G commercial deployment, too,” said Ding. “We take complexity and deliver simplicity. That means we will provide innovative solutions to address challenges in 5G commercialization. Our close collaboration with carriers will help them find the easy way to 5G.

“Huawei has earned customer recognition for our leading 5G end-to-end capabilities and innovative products and solutions. So far, we have signed 22 commercial contracts for 5G, and we are working with over 50 carriers on 5G commercial tests. Through heavy investment and continuous innovation, we are committed to helping carriers deploy 5G networks easily, rapidly, and cost-effectively. And we are ready to work with all stakeholders to drive robust development of the 5G industry.”

The 5G contracts could also be viewed as a vote of confidence in Huawei. It has effectively been frozen out of the U.S. and Australian markets due to national security fears, specifically that the use of its equipment risks the possibility of Chinese government backdoors.

–>The effort to ban Huawei is further described in 2. below.

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2. U.S.  Asks Allies to Drop Huawei – worried about potential Chinese meddling in 5G networks, but foreign carriers may balk

WSJ article front page lead story on 23 November 2018

The U.S. government has initiated an extraordinary outreach campaign to foreign allies, trying to persuade wireless and internet service providers in these countries to avoid telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies Co., according to people familiar with the situation.

American officials have briefed their government counterparts and telecom executives in friendly countries where Huawei equipment is already in wide use, including Germany, Italy and Japan, about what they see as cybersecurity risks, these people said. The U.S. is also considering increasing financial aid for telecommunications development in countries that shun Chinese-made equipment, some of these people say.

One U.S. concern centers on the use of Chinese telecom equipment in countries that host American military bases, according to people familiar with the matter. The Defense Department has its own satellites and telecom network for especially sensitive communications, but most traffic at many military installations travels through commercial networks.

The initiative also coincides with rising tensions between Washington and Beijing on other fronts this year as the Trump administration moves to counter what some U.S. officials say they see as years of unbridled Chinese aggression. Washington has placed tariffs on some imports from China, drawing retaliation from Beijing. The U.S. has also tightened up foreign-investment rules targeting Chinese deal making.

Officials familiar with the current effort say concerns about telecom-network vulnerabilities predate the Trump era and reflect longstanding national-security worries.

The overseas push comes as wireless and internet providers around the world prepare to buy new hardware for 5G, the coming generation of mobile technology. 5G promises superfast connections that enable self-driving cars and the “Internet of Things,” in which factories and such everyday objects as heart monitors and sneakers are internet-connected.

U.S. officials say they worry about the prospect of Chinese telecom-equipment makers spying on or disabling connections to an exponentially growing universe of things, including components of manufacturing plants.

“We engage with countries around the world about our concerns regarding cyberthreats in telecommunications infrastructure,” a U.S. official said. “As they’re looking to move to 5G, we remind them of those concerns. There are additional complexities to 5G networks that make them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.”

The briefings are aimed at dissuading governments and telecom executives from using Huawei network components in both government and commercially operated networks. A core focus of the briefings is Beijing’s ability to force Chinese corporations to comply with government requests from government authorities, a U.S. official said.

Some major carriers say Huawei’s broad offering of components, lower costs and high quality make it a difficult provider to do without.
Some major carriers say Huawei’s broad offering of components, lower costs and high quality make it a difficult provider to do without PHOTO:MICHAEL HANSON FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
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The talking points also emphasize how wireless and internet networks in a few years could be more susceptible to cyberattacks or espionage, people familiar with the briefings said. Today’s cellular-tower equipment, for instance, is largely isolated from the “core” systems that transfer much of a network’s voice and data traffic. But in the 5G networks telecom carriers are preparing to install, cellular-tower hardware will take over some tasks from the core—and that hardware could potentially be used to disrupt the core via cyberattacks. For that reason, U.S. officials worry that Huawei or ZTE cellular-tower equipment could compromise swaths of a telecom network.

Huawei is the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker behind Samsung Electronics Co. It is the global leader for telecom equipment, such as the hardware that goes into cellular towers, internet networks and other infrastructure that enables modern communication.

Huawei has long said it is an employee-owned company and isn’t beholden to any government, and has never used its equipment to spy on or sabotage other countries. It said its equipment is as safe as that of Western competitors, such as Finland’s Nokia Corp. and Sweden’s Ericsson , because all manufacturers share common supply lines.

In a statement Friday, Huawei said it has its customers’ trust and was “surprised by the behaviors of the U.S. government” detailed in this article. “If a government’s behavior extends beyond its jurisdiction, such activity should not be encouraged,” it said.

The Trump administration and Congress this year initiated a multipronged push to tighten up restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese telecom-equipment manufacturers, including ZTE Corp. The Federal Communications Commission, for instance, moved to restrict federal subsidies to some carriers if they buy Chinese gear.

Even without U.S. business, Huawei dominates the world’s telecom-equipment market. Last year, the company held a 22% share globally, according to research firm IHS Markit Ltd. Nokia had 13%, Ericsson had 11% and ZTE was in fourth at 10%.  Dell’Oro Group says Huawei has a 38% revenue market share in Asia Pacific, a 30% share in Europe, but only a 2% share in North America.

Some other members of the “Five Eyes,” a five-member intelligence pact among English-speaking countries that includes the U.S., have also publicly challenged Huawei. The Australian government in August banned Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks. In October, U.K. authorities said they were reviewing the makeup of its telecom-equipment market, a move industry leaders said was clearly aimed at Huawei.

Still, there is a big hitch to U.S. efforts to curb Huawei overseas: The company is already popular among carriers in allied countries, including some of America’s closest military partners. Some major carriers in these places say Huawei offers the most products and often customizes them to fit a carrier’s needs. They also cite lower costs and high quality.

In an effort to narrow that advantage in some countries, Washington is considering ways to increase funding from various U.S. government sources to subsidize the purchase and use of non-Chinese equipment, according to people familiar with the matter. Countries buying Chinese telecommunications equipment would be ineligible for such subsidies.

In the past year, U.S. officials, including representatives from the National Security Council and Commerce, Defense and State departments, worked together to produce briefing notes about why they believe Chinese telecom equipment poses national-security risks, people familiar with the matter said. One U.S. government official said they focused on Huawei but also included ZTE, a Chinese rival with a much smaller business outside China.  A ZTE representative declined to comment on the U.S. effort.

Washington has circulated the notes to national-security officials as well as to embassies, with the idea that they can deliver the message to foreign officials and telecom executives, some of the people said.

A spokesman for the Commerce Department said it would “remain vigilant against any threat to U.S. national security.” Spokesmen for the National Security Council and the State Department declined to comment. The Defense Department didn’t return a request for comment.

U.S. officials have briefed counterparts in Germany, which has signaled a new wariness toward Huawei, according to people familiar with the matter. Huawei this month opened a lab in Germany similar to one it already operates in Britain, where Huawei products are inspected for security flaws. The U.K. government said in July it found shortcomings in the process.

Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security declined to comment.

American officials have also briefed Japanese officials about Huawei, people familiar with the matter said. A Japanese government official said “we share various information with the U.S.,” but declined to comment on specifics. Japanese officials in August said they were studying restrictions on Huawei.

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Telstra completes “5G” data call using Qualcomm chipset

Telstra says it has successfully conducted a live “5G” data call using a commercial chipset on the telco’s wireless network.  Australia’s largest network operator made a 3GPP Release 15 (not 5G according to 3GPP) compliant data call using its 3.5GHz spectrum, Ericsson’s latest 5G network software and Qualcomm’s commercial 5G Snapdragon chipset in a form factor device.

The operator also said it turned on two 5G-enabled base stations in the state of Tasmania. In August it switched on its first 5G-compatible cell sites  to enable testing of pre-commercial devices, with aims to deploy more than 200 sites across Australia by the year-end.  Telstra plans a commercial 5G launch in 2019 and is engaged in various trials at its 5G Innovation Centre in Australia’s Gold Coast (see pic below), which it opened in February.  That Centre, supported by Ericsson, has since been home to several world and Australian firsts including the world’s first precinct of 5G-enabled WiFi hotspots, Australia’s first 5G Connected Car, the world’s first end-to-end 5G non-standalone data call on a commercial mobile network, and the launch of over 50 5G-enabled sites around the country.

Although the form factor device used for the so called “5G” test is larger than most mobile handsets, it bears a far closer resemblance to a commercially available smartphone than the 200kg, fridge-like prototype 5G device that Telstra was employing for tests just a few months ago.

“Today’s announcement is a significant milestone as it signals that commercial 5G devices are getting closer and closer,” he added.

“Field testing in our real-world mobile network with this chipset over our commercial spectrum moves the verification well and truly from the lab into the street,” Seneviratne said. “The team will continue testing over the coming months to improve data rates and overall performance in readiness for device availability.”

Telstra’s chief executive, Andy Penn, has said that he expects the transition from 4G to 5G to be even swifter than the migration from 3G to 4G.

In July this year Telstra said that it had successfully conducted a 5G data call over its network using Intel’s 5G Mobile Trial Platform.   In August the company announced that it had started progressively declaring its mobile sites ‘5G-ready’ — a move that rival telco Optus dismissed as a marketing stunt.

The Australian Communication and Media Authority is currently auctioning off spectrum in the 3.6GHz band, which will play a key role in early 5G services.

References:

Telstra claims first live 5G data call in Australia

https://www.computerworld.com.au/article/649902/telstra-gets-ready-put-5g-your-pocket/

https://www.thefastmode.com/technology-solutions/13732-telstra-completes-australia-s-first-live-5g-connection-using-qualcomms-commercial-5g-chipset

 

GSMA, China Telecom & Huawei on 5G; GSMA says 40% of the world’s population will be on 5G by 2025

Mats Granryd, the Director General of the telecom trade organisation GSMA talked up  5G and AI in a keynote speech on “intelligent connectivity” at Huawei’s MBB 2018 event at London’s ExCel.  Granryd said those two emerging technologies will be key enablers for what the telecom industry has to offer in the years to come.  Granryd discussed the potential of 5G to drive inclusion, growth and sustainable development, especially in the developing world. He also touched on the impact of “smart” capabilities like artificial intelligence and network capabilities, and how such networks and technologies must be secure to drive the growth not only of smart cities, but all cities. He said intelligent management will be key with “the development of a rich and vibrant digital economy.”

In addition to predicting that 70% of the world’s population, or roughly 6 billion people will be on mobile internet, GSMA forecast 40% of the world population will be on 5G networks. When it comes to AI, on top of improving individual experience (e.g. Personal Assistants) and serving new industry needs (e.g. network slicing), Granryd highlighted what the combined AI capabilities can do for society. The GSMA’s “Big Data for Social Good” initiative has launched in seven countries around the world. Mobile operators in those markets have worked with local partners to enable air pollution warning, malaria spreading prediction, and natural disaster preparedness, using big data and machine learning and prediction capabilities.

Guiqing Liu, EVP of China Telecom, the world’s largest integrated operators in the world by subscriber number, then took the stage to share what China Telecom saw as the biggest opportunity for telecom operators to undertake the digital transformation, especially with the ascendancy of industry markets. Liu included four key capabilities the industry in particular the operators need to master to succeed in the transformation. They are:

  • End-to-end slicing to cater to different user and industry needs;
  • FMC (Fixed to Mobile Convergence) edge computing to deliver seamless experience;
  • 5G+Cloud based network and services to provide flexible and special customization; and
  • 5G+AI to both optimise service delivery and network management.

Liu also outlined the key challenges the industry is facing before 5G can become a real commercial success. He conceded that use cases now are still very much focused on eMBB, and the industry has not thought through how to change business models in the new era, including how to bill customers for the new use cases. On network challenges, in addition to the CAPEX and OPEX and skill gap, Liu also pointed the indoor coverage weakness intrinsic of the high frequency bands most 5G networks will be built on.  For 5G to truly be transformative and improve people’s lives, Liu said that companies will need to work together and collaborate – even if they’ve traditionally been rivals.

Ken Hu, deputy and rotating chairperson of Huawei stressed the importance 5G was already playing in shaping the future of not only business, but humanity, adding Huawei has been working on 5G for more than 10 years. “We believe 5G will make a big contribution to our society.”  Hu also said 5G was leading to the integration of previously separate technologies and services not unlike individual pieces of Lego bricks being combined to make something larger – fundamentally changing the definition of what a telco or technology company is. The user experience will be redefined by 5G.”

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Outside the main presentation halls, a number of booths showcased both Huawei technologies and those from  Huawei partners. A “5G bus” drove people around the surrounding Docklands area. The demo drive showed that 5G connections, download speeds and more could all be achieved while physically moving across large distances at a high speed and in poor weather (this being London, it was fittingly rainy, windy and cold). Tents erected outside ExCel London were also stuffed with 5G use case demonstrations.

References:

http://telecoms.com/493703/40-of-the-worlds-population-on-5g-by-2025-says-gsma/

https://www.commsmea.com/technology/18549-what-we-learned-at-day-one-of-huaweis-5g-focused-global-mbb-forum-in-london

 

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5G Pre-Commercial Deployments from Finland’s Telia Networks and Vietnam; Thailand 5G Trial?

1.  Telia Finland launches pre-commercial 5G network in Oulu

Telia Company has announced the launch of launching a pre-commercial 5G network in the city of Oulu by its Finnish subsidiary, claiming that the development constitutes one of the world’s first industrial 5G environments.  This 5G network was done in partnership with network equipment vendor Nokia,

In a press release on the development, Janne Koistinen, 5G Programme Director at Telia Finland, said:

“Oulu’s strong ecosystem and the operators’ open-mindedness in the introduction of new technologies accelerated our decision to continue the deployment of 5G in Oulu.”

Rauno Jokelainen, VP, Smart Radio Development Unit, Mobile Networks at Nokia, added:

“Oulu is one of the key locations for research and development of Nokia 5G technology and mobile network products globally. The strong start-up culture of the Oulu region and close cooperation between the city, the university and the businesses in the region have enabled a unique ecosystem to be created in Oulu. Among other things, the ecosystem built an open 5G test network where companies in the area collaborate to generate new products and services,”

Oulu has extensive plans to develop its industry and business activities, along the lines of the city’s strong technological tradition.

“The City of Oulu has pioneered the development and innovative use of various urban networks in cooperation with Nokia and different operators. Cooperation in 5G networks continues this culture and once again offers a platform for the development of new services and business models,” says Janne Mustonen from BusinessOulu.

The ecosystem built an open 5G test network where companies in the area collaborate to generate new products and services.

Telia opened a pre-commercial 5G network in Helsinki in early September

Telia, Nokia and Intel brong 5G to the factory floor

2.  Vietnam plans to test 5G next year

Vietnam is set to award 5G test licences to the nation’s mobile operators in January next year, with a view to launching commercial networks in 2020. ‘Vietnam should be among the first nations to launch 5G services in order to move up in global telecom rankings,’ Nikkei Asian Review cites the Minister of Information and Communications, Nguyen Manh Hung, as saying. Pilot 5G services will be carried out in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, with plans to upgrade mobile networks nationwide over the next couple of years.

TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database states that Vietnam is home to five mobile network operators: military-run Viettel; state-owned MobiFone and VNPT-Vinaphone; Vietnamobile, which is a joint stock company between Hanoi Telecom Company (HTC) and Hutchison Asia Telecom; and GTel Mobile (Gmobile), owned by state-run investment vehicles.

3.  Thailand may conduct 5G trials using 26 GHz spectrum

Thai regulator NBTC has indicated it will decide on Thursday whether to assign idle 26 GHz spectrum to AIS and True Corp to conduct 5G trials.

If approved, the NBTC plans to assign the spectrum for testing in two locations during the period between November 22 and December 15, the Nation reported, citing remarks from the regulator’s secretary general Takorn Tantasith at a recent 5G seminar.

AIS plans to conduct 5G testing using Nokia Networks equipment at the Emporium shopping mall in Bangkok, while True Corp intends to test Huawei equipment at the city’s EmQuartier mall. Dtac also plans to apply to conduct 5G testing using the same spectrum.

Thailand’s operators are taking a cautious approach to the introduction of 5G, according to executives who spoke at the seminar and were quoted in the Nation’sreport.

True Corp has urged the regulator to ensure 5G rollouts are sustainable by limiting the price of spectrum, while Dtac has called on Thailand’s public and private sector to collaborate on the development of an effective and sustainable 5G strategy.

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With no 5G standard (IMT 2020) China is working on 6G!

Consumers can’t buy 5G phones yet. But China is already talking about what comes next: 6G.  The concept of 6G is still very much unkown, but experts expect speeds in the range of 1 Tbps. Researchers have already achieved mobile speeds of 1 Tbps during lab trials.

The head of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) 5G technology working group, Su Xin, told local media he also expects 6G to deliver improvements across the same three areas as 5G will deliver – improved bandwidth, low latency and wide connection areas.

Su Xin, head of 5G technology working group at China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that China is starting research into 6G concepts this year. The country first started looking into 6G in March, making it one of the first countries to do so.

Su said that the actual development of 6G will officially begin in 2020, but commercial use will most likely have to wait until 2030.

The arrival of 5G has been touted as a big deal. It’s not just because it promises to bring fast mobile internet, it should also enable us to connect with machines – like gadgets, industrial machines and autonomous vehicles.  For those Rip Van Winkle readers, “5G” is the name of the next-generation wireless technology that promises far faster internet access than 4G-LTE.  Experts predict it will begin to take off in 2019, well in advance of the IMT 2020 standard from ITU-R.  So what is 6G supposed to bring that 5G can’t, especially for ordinary folks?

For one thing, it could make mobile internet speeds of 1 TB per second mainstream. This means you could download around 100 films in less than a second. (It’s worth noting that researchers at the University of Surrey in England have already achieved that with 5G… but only inside a lab.)

Of course, 2030 is a long way away, so the actual applications of this technology may be hard to imagine. As Verizon executive Andrea Caldini pointed out at this year’s Mobile World Congress, nobody expected Snapchat while developing 4G – it’s the increased speeds that made it happen.

According to Su, 6G could connect our devices more efficiently than 5G, expanding internet coverage to much wider areas.

“5G has three application scenarios: large bandwidth, low latency, and wide connection – I think 6G can achieve better application in all three scenarios,” Su told local media, noting that 6G could increase transmission rates by more than 10 times. “It may revolutionize the structure of the whole wired and wireless network.”

If this sounds vague to you, it’s because there is still no definition for the technology. And according to industry insiders, it is too early to talk about 6G. It took 5G ten years to develop its set of standards, and despite commercial deployment this year, they are still not fully settled. So is 6G even a thing?

Roberto Saracco, professor at the University of Trento in Italy, believes that 5G is still a fuzzy set of promises that will take time, probably ten years, before being fulfilled. As for the next generation of connectivity, “marketing will need 6G as soon as 5G is deployed,” writes Saracco. Researchers will need a term to mark the novelty of what they are doing or to put technologies that do not fit into 5G standards into another box.

The vagueness of the term has not stopped countries to start looking into the concept. Finland’s University of Oulu launched an 6G research program called 6Genesis. Aside from futuristic phrases like “interoperability sensing based ops” and “intelligent personal edge,” one of the applications mentioned on their site is wireless augmented reality/virtual reality.

It’s worth noting that this might be an application for 5G, judging by Tencent boss Pony Ma’s suggestion that the technology could enable WeChat VR.

The new 6G movement in China could also be a way to rub their tech advancement in other people’s faces. The country is already way ahead of US in deploying 5G, according to Deloitte. Since 2015, China outspent the US by approximately $24 billion in wireless communications infrastructure (with $400 billion more coming) and built 350,000 new cell phone tower sites – while the US is still stuck at less than 30,000.

https://www.techinasia.com/forget-5g-china-working-6g

Oracle to acquire SD-WAN vendor Talari Networks

In the ever arcane world of proprietary/non standardized SD-WANs, Oracle announced that it’s acquiring SD-WAN technology provider Talari Networks for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to close before the end of this year.

Talari’s SD-WAN technology is expected to complement Oracle Communications’ Session Border Controller (SBC) and network management infrastructure. Talari’s Failsafe technology is said to enhance the benefits of SD-WAN by adding greater reliability and predictability while maintaining security for site-to-site and site-to-cloud connectivity and application access over any IP network.

San Jose, California-based Talari currently serves more than 500 enterprise customers in 40 different countries across a variety of industries, including public sector, financial services, insurance, retail and manufacturing—and it expects to do even bigger things under the Oracle tent.

Talari CEO Patrick Sweeney, who joined the company last year, said the impact to existing and new customers will be tremendous. “Our loyal customers can expect to see powerful new network functionality and capabilities at an accelerated pace,” he said in a blog post. “And the vast span of Oracle’s brand and reach will extend the Talari solution across the globe. Together, Oracle and Talari plan to accelerate digital transformation and cloud adoption by providing companies with complete enterprise network solutions that deliver reliable real-time communications and performance of mission-critical applications over any network.”

Analysts were not particularly surprised by the deal given the competition now underway in the SD-WAN space. Talari ranked No. 9 in IHS Markit’s rankings of SD-WAN vendors based on second-quarter revenues.

“The musical chairs in the SD-WAN game is accelerating, so it’s good that Talari found a partner,” said R. Scott Raynovich, founder and principal analyst at Futuriom. “Talari’s technology is optimized for data center connectivity, and its recent move to deliver a cloud solution for Office365 and NetSuite make it a natural complement to Oracle’s cloud infrastructure. Given that Oracle is a software company and not an enterprise networking vendor, the goal of this acquisition is likely to improve the performance of Oracle’s cloud software.”

There’s not a lot of synergy between Session Border Controllers and SD-WAN, but Lee Doyle, principal analyst at Doyle Research, told FierceTelecom that he can understand why Oracle would want to acquire a product it can monetize in a hot space like this. It also has a history of buying communications companies, Acme Packet and Tekelec, both ongoing businesses.

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The Talari deal is one in a series of acquisitions Oracle has announced in recent weeks. Last month, the company announced plans to acquire data management and AI solutions provider DataFox. It also announced plans to acquire goBalto, a cloud platform developer in the life science industry.

Both Cisco and VMware have been working to blend more SD-WAN technology across their broader portfolios. Last year, VMware bought VeloCloud for an undisclosed sum while Cisco paid $610 million for Viptela.

SD-WAN vendors, connectivity providers, and application providers have begun to realize how much they need each other.  Total SD-WAN revenue, which includes appliance and control management software, reached $221 million in the most recent second quarter, which was up 25% quarter-over-quarter and twice the amount recorded in the second quarter of last year, according to IHS-Markit.

“Recently, cloud service providers have come to realize the importance of high-quality network connectivity to ensure a happy end user,” said Cliff Grossner, senior research director at IHS Markit. “For Oracle, purchasing Talari is an important move to be able to bundle SD-WAN with cloud services, remaining competitive with other providers that have established relationships with SD-WAN vendors such as Citrix.”

Citrix is an example of an SD-WAN vendor that has relationships with connectivity providers. For example, in May, Citrix partnered with the managed cloud provider RapidScale, which is offering Citrix NetScaler SD-WAN as a standalone managed service over RapidScale’s backbone. And Citrix recently partnered with Teridion to combine SD-WAN with a routing optimization network.

Gartner apparently values SD-WAN vendors with a connectivity play because it placed Aryaka and Citrix in the “Challengers” quadrant of its Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure.

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Recently, Gartner published its first Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure and placed Talari in its “Niche Players” quadrant. The report, which profiles 20 vendors, placed VMware in the top position for completeness of vision, followed by Cisco and SilverPeak in its coveted “Leaders” quadrant.

The Gartner report stated, “Talari’s strength lies in its sophisticated link aggregation and remediation, which provide seamless failover for sensitive applications such as UCaaS/VoIP. Talari should be shortlisted for WAN edge opportunities for global mid-market enterprises, especially when link remediation and sophisticated traffic steering are required.”

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References:

https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/oracle-to-acquire-sd-wan-provider-talari-networks

https://www.zdnet.com/article/oracle-to-acquire-talari-network/

https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/oracle-buys-sd-wan-vendor-talari-networks/2018/11/

Report: Cisco, VMware are cashing in on their SD-WAN deals

https://techblog.comsoc.org/category/sd-wan/

 

 

 

ZTE Completes Multi-Scenario 5G Test; More to come this year

According to China Knowledge, An insider from ZTE said on social media that the company has completed what it claims was the first 5G call, internet and WeChat connection all in the same test.

The company completed the test using the same simulation system at its Shanghai R&D Center that it used to complete a 5G call with a prototype smartphone and CPE device in April. ZTE’s relevant R&D personnel said that the 5G tests conducted by ZTE have always been an end-to-end solution.

ZTE’s 5G solution covers fundamental patents, standards, communication rooms and base stations (signal emitters), chips (including Xunlong 1020), intelligent terminals (signal receivers), clouds, services and so on, which is the so-called core cloud tube end-to-end solution. In this way, the highly matched network and mobile terminals can bring better 5G experience to users.

As early as April this year, ZTE successfully made the first 5G phone call based on the 3GPP R15 specification (which will NOT be submitted to ITU-R for consideration as an IMT 2020 RIT) in Guangzhou. At the end of October, ZTE Mobile Phone and Data Terminal dialed the telephone signal in Shanghai R&D Center and formally completed the 5G call of the simulation system. A few days ago, The company achieved the 5G Internet access and WeChat 5G transceiver for the first time under the simulation system.

ZTE said it plans to conduct additional multi-scenario R&D tests in December, ahead of the planned launch of its first commercial 5G smartphone within the first half of 2019.

ZTE’s antenna-integrated solution supports full coverage from sub-6GHz to millimeter wave spectrum, including multiple combinations of carrier aggregation and N-DC (evolved-universal terrestrial radio access-new radio, a component of the 3GPP R15 5G standard).

The Chinese telecom equipment and mobile phone vendor has previously revealed plans to introduce experimental 5G customer premises equipment (what kind?) by the end of the year.

ZTE says it is conducting data service testing on 5G mobile phones and is expected to carry out 5G multi-scenario R&D testing in December. ZTE announced that it would launch commercially available 5G phones in the first half of 2019.

References:

https://www.chinaknowledge.com/News/DetailNews/82281/ZTE-conducts-successful-5G-lab-test

https://www.telecomasia.net/content/zte-conducting-multi-scenario-5g-testing

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Morgan Stanley: Hello Europe, 5G is on the line!

by Emmet Kelly, Head of European Telecoms Research for Morgan Stanley

Introduction

5G technology promises to deliver faster download speeds, a far more efficient use of the mobile spectrum and denser networks with fewer white spots. For both industries and consumers, 5G will better enable technology like the Internet of Things to power smart factories, drive connected cars and use wireless locators to find a lost pet or house keys.

Despite high anticipation for 5G, one of the key questions is launch timing. Some U.S. operators have already rolled out limited 5G services in select U.S. cities, and operators in China, South Korea and Japan are prepping to launch 5G in the next 6 to 18 months. However, the 5G outlook in Europe is still somewhat of a question mark, with 2021-22 often cited as a launch date.   Some industry observers say European telcos are sending a weak signal on 5G launch dates. But the new technology could launch earlier than expected.

Delays for Europe?

Why are European telcos broadcasting such a weak signal on 5G? First, 4G has hardly been a financial success for operators in Europe, which begs the question: “Why rush to 5G?” Indeed, European mobile-service revenues have declined by more than 25% since 4G was first rolled out seven to eight years ago.

Second, European operators may decide that waiting is the best strategy, since a delayed rollout will likely bring cheaper 5G kit prices, and a greater selection of 5G handsets. European telco balance sheets are also more stretched now than they were in 2010, so cheaper 5G kits could help margins.

Lastly, immediate use cases for 5G have yet to emerge, with the possible exception of Fixed Wireless Access, which would make 5G a replacement for wireline broadband.

…Or Perhaps Not?

That said, an alternative view is emerging that 5G could launch in Europe earlier than some expect. Telcos may note that early adopters of 4G saw decent market-share gains of up to two percentage points and may seek to replicate this success with early 5G adoption.

Additionally, some European government bodies have noted that the high expense of 5G could spark wireless consolidation. If mobile consolidation happens, 5G would likely emerge soon afterward.

A final consideration for telcos: Could 5G reveal the next killer app? For example, the launch of 4G laid the groundwork for wireless video to emerge unexpectedly as the predominant use case. Abundant 5G use cases have yet to reveal themselves, to which some industry watchers say: “Build the network, and the killer apps will come.”

References:

https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/europe-5G-launch-2019

https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/us-5G-rollouts-2018?cid=228977584:428065928:99793987

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Verizon CFO: “5G” Home Fixed Wireless Exceeds Promised Speeds; Partnerships with Video Content Providers

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 fixed wireless 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.  Later, 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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* IMPORTANT NOTE: 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.’”

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From the Wall Street Journal:  Banking on 5G

Verizon’s biggest transaction to date was the $130 billion purchase of full control of Verizon Wireless in 2013. Executives have stressed to analysts and investors in recent months that they are focused primarily on building out the carrier’s 5G network—which they say will generate additional revenue by powering new technology used in factories, hospitals and cities.

Verizon explored, but didn’t ultimately pursue, acquisitions of companies such as CBS Corp. , and this year told investors it isn’t interested in buying a content creator. Instead of acquiring content, it is offering its first 5G customers live channels, movies and shows through streaming partnerships with Apple TV and Google’s YouTube TV.

The carrier is in discussions with Apple and Google about partnerships that could extend the video services to a broader group of its cable and wireless subscribers and include some content from Verizon’s Oath digital-media unit, according to people familiar with those discussions. Those plans could be announced as soon as this month, the people said.

Sajod Moradi, a senior credit analyst at Macquarie Investment Management, says Verizon’s partnerships will allow it to benefit from expanded content offerings without creating the pressure to generate excess cash flow to pay down debt.

Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg said in a recent interview the carrier was exploring ways to apply 5G technology to the media, augmented-reality and virtual-reality brands within the unit.

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/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-and-verizon-pursue-different-paths-into-the-future-1541999131

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.

KDDI

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

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2018/09/03/juniper-research-japan-south-korea-lead-in-5g-ntt-docomo-most-promising-5g-operator/

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2018/10/29/fujitsu-ericsson-form-5g-partnership-focused-on-japanese-market/

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