Global Telco AI Alliance to progress generative AI for telcos

  • Four major global telcos joined forces to launch the Global Telco AI Alliance to accelerate AI transformation of the existing telco business and create new business opportunities with AI services.
  • They signed a Multilateral MOU for cooperation in the AI business, which includes the co-development of the Telco AI Platform.

Deutsche Telekom, e&, Singtel and SK Telecom have established a new industry group that aims to progress generative AI.  Called the Global Telco AI Alliance, it represents a coordinated effort by these four operators to accelerate the AI-fuelled transformation of their businesses, and to develop new, AI-powered business models.

The Telco AI Platform will serve as the foundation both for new services – like chatbots and apps – as well as enhancements to existing telco services. The alliance members plan to establish a working group whose task will be to hammer out co-investment opportunities and the co-development of said platform.

Members will also support one another in operating AI services and apps in their respective markets, and cooperate to foster the growth of a telco AI-based ecosystem.

As of today, all the operators have done is sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU), under which they pledge to carry out all this work. A signing ceremony took place in Seoul, Korea, and was attended – either in person or virtually – by the CEOs of e&, Singtel and SK Telecom, and Deutsche Telekom’s board member for technology and innovation, Claudia Nemat.  The Global Telco AI Alliance will also have to ensure that any AI-based services they develop are capable of accounting for cultural differences. They won’t get very far if their virtual assistants make culturally insensitive recommendations, for example.

The seniority of these signatories represents a strong statement of intent though, and the group said it will discuss appointing C-level representatives from each member to the Alliance.

“In order to make the most of the possibilities of generative AI for our customers and our industry, we want to develop industry-specific applications in the Telco AI Alliance. I am particularly pleased that this alliance also stands for bridging the gap between Europe and Asia and that we are jointly pursuing an open-vendor approach. Depending on the application, we can use the best technology. The founding of this alliance is an important milestone for our industry,” said Claudia Nemat, Board Member Technology and Innovation at Deutsche Telekom.

“We recognize AI’s immense potential in reshaping the telecommunications landscape and beyond and are excited to embark on this transformative journey with the formation of the Global Telco AI Alliance. The alliance signifies a strategic commitment to driving innovation and fostering collaborative efforts. Our shared goal is to redefine industry paradigms, establish new growth drivers through AI-powered business models, and pave the way for a new era of strategic cooperation, guiding our industry towards an exciting and prosperous future,” said Khalifa Al Shamsi, CEO of e& life.

“This alliance will enable us and our ecosystem of partners to significantly expedite the development of new and innovative AI services that can bring tremendous benefits to both businesses and consumers. With our advanced 5G network, we are well-placed to leverage AI to ideate and co-create and are already using it to enhance our own customer service and employee experience, increase productivity and drive learning,” said Yuen Kuan Moon, Group Chief Executive Officer of Singtel.

It is not clear at this stage of proceedings whether the operators plan to develop their own in-house AI assets, or license them from the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, or Google Bard. On the one hand, going with a third party that has done most of the legwork offers efficiencies, but on the other hand, the Global Telco AI Alliance might prefer an AI that specialises in telecoms, rather than a generalist.

Japanese vendor NEC showed earlier this month – with the launch of its own large language model (LLM) for enterprises in its home market – that generative AI isn’t necessarily the preserve of Silicon Valley big tech. It also highlighted the desire to develop localised AI for different languages.

The announcement also doesn’t attempt to grapple with any potential ethical pitfalls that might befall the Alliance. While it’s a fairly safe bet that responsible AI development will be an important consideration, it’s always better when companies make that clear.

Even big tech has come round to that way of thinking, with the launch earlier this week of the Frontier Model Forum. Established by Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and self-styled ethical AI company Anthropic, the group aims to advance the development of responsible artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

References:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sk-telecom-deutsche-telekom-e-and-singtel-form-global-telco-ai-alliance-for-collaboration-and-innovation-in-ai-301887205.html

https://telecoms.com/522891/telcos-team-up-for-ai-platform-project/

https://telecoms.com/522865/google-microsoft-anthropic-and-openai-launch-ai-safety-body/

https://telecoms.com/522603/nec-launches-its-own-generative-ai/

 

Deutsche Telekom tests 5G standalone video call

Deutsche Telekom (DT) announced it has conducted the first video call over a 5G standalone (5G SA) network. The largest European telco installed a standalone antenna in Garching to make the call to Bonn. The call latency was a swift 13 milliseconds as measured at Garching.
“True technical innovation is made up of implementation strength and pioneering spirit. Telekom has clearly demonstrated both with 5G. More than two-thirds of people in Germany can already use Telekom’s 5G network today,” said Walter Goldenits, CTO of Telekom Deutschland. “And the next step has also been taken. With our first data connection via 5G Standalone, we are making history again. As the first network operator in Germany.”
With DT’s 5G Standalone, the infrastructure in the core network will also be fully upgraded to a new, cloud-based 5G architecture. This further development of 5G is the prerequisite for new application possibilities.

“Our goal is to continue to actively shape the future of mobile communications. 5G standalone is important to be able to use technologies such as network slicing or edge computing,” says Claudia Nemat, Board Member Technology and Innovation at Telekom. “We are very proud to have taken the next innovation step in 5G. With this test, we are once again demonstrating our innovation leadership.”

DT first announced tests of its 5G standalone network in February. At the time, Walter Goldenits said the Garching test represented the first step towards the 5G standalone live network, although he also noted that a rollout “will then also depend on the requirements of our customers. Technology and the market will play a joint role in further development.”

Goldenits said more than two thirds of people in Germany are now covered by the operator’s non-standalone 5G network (5G NSA), which is anchored to the existing 4G-LTE infrastructure.

 

5G NSA (EPC) vs 5G SA (5G Core):

Image Courtesy of GSMA

Important Question:

We wonder how DT is collaborating with T-Mobile US which has already deployed a 5G SA/5G Core network?  DT owns 43% of TMobile, but the shareholder pact with Softbank assures it of strategic control and allows it to consolidate results of its largest subsidiary at group level.  Cooperation is essential to ensure interoperability and 5G SA roaming, because there is no implementation standard or open specification for 5G SA/5G Core network (as we have written so many times).

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Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone also recently pledged their support for Open RAN technology in the hope a joint commitment will attract investment, speed up the development of products that can be used in mainstream networks and produce new European wireless network equipment suppliers.

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References:

Deutsche Telekom tests 5G SA network via “Telekom cloud infrastructure”

Deutsche Telekom has started testing the “standalone” (SA) version of 5G, setting up its first 5G SA antenna site in the town of Garching, near Munich.  The site will be the first in Germany with 5G core network technology, which has yet to be standardized.

The antenna site will soon be connected to a 5G Standalone core network. The core network will be implemented via a Telekom cloud infrastructure. The hallmark of 5G Standalone is that the infrastructure in the core network will also be fully upgraded to a new, cloud-based 5G architecture. This is the next evolution of 5G and also a prerequisite for new deployment options.

Deutsche Telekom has already achieved 68% coverage of the German population with non-standalone (NSA) version of 5G, which uses the existing 4G-LTE network as an anchor for all non radio aspects.

“It is important for us to be at the forefront of the further innovation steps of 5G,” says Claudia Nemat, Board Member for Technology and Innovation at Telekom. “To ensure that our customers can take advantage of technologies such as network slicing or edge computing in the future, we continue to actively drive the development of 5G and its features.”

With 5G Standalone, the network structure and architecture is changing. The 5G technology currently deployed in Germany is based on the 5G Non-Standalone (5G NSA) network architecture. This means that today’s 5G offerings are still technically dependent on a simultaneously available 4G network (LTE) and virtually “piggyback” on this network, i.e., they do not yet function completely independently.

“5G standalone is one of the goals for us with 5G,” said Walter Goldenits, head of technology at Telekom Deutschland. “The network innovation in Garching is initially the first step for us into the 5G SA live network. It helps us to gain necessary and important experience with 5G SA. A rollout in the area will then also depend on the requirements of our customers. Technology and the market will play a joint role in further development.”

There are currently no terminals for customers that support 5G standalone. Telekom is therefore conducting the first tests with special development software on commercially available devices. The goal is to test various connections and applications that function completely standalone and without the support of 4G in the coming weeks.

“The further roll-out of 5G is the preparation of our network for the next steps in 5G development. We will use every opportunity to make 5G even faster and develop it further,” says Walter Goldenits.

 

Image courtesy of Samsung

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Last month, Samsung and Deutsche Telekom conducted their first 5G SA trial in Pilsen, the Czech Republic, verifying performance of 5G SA multi-user, multiple-input, multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technologies.

The trial used Samsung’s latest end-to-end 5G SA solutions. In the SA trial, the two companies achieved outstanding results with the MU-MIMO technology using Samsung’s 3.5GHz Massive MIMO radio. The spectrum efficiency was tripled in comparison to that of LTE under realistic conditions and the throughput was increased by about 2.5 times of SU-MIMO (Single-User MIMO).

“We are pleased to collaborate with Samsung to verify the performance of its 5G SA solution,” said Alex Choi, SVP Strategy & Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom. “Together with strong partners we are consistently introducing advanced technical capabilities into our network, and we are very excited about the potential of 5G SA networks to further accelerate the 5G evolution.”

Samsung also said:  “5G SA architecture enables mobile operators to have more efficient and simple network operations, while empowering 5G networks to deliver immersive user experiences and new business models for enterprises.”

References:

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/telekom-tests-5g-standalone-619118

https://www.samsung.com/global/business/networks/insights/press-release/0125_samsung-and-deutsche-telekom-complete-first-5g-sa-trial-in-czech-republic/

https://www.samsung.com/global/business/networks/products/core/cloud-core/

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20210128009500320

 

 

Deutsche Telekom Progress Report on 5G and FTTH

Deutsche Telekom (DT) is rounding out 2020 with an upbeat announcement on its achievements and ambitions in 5G and FTTH.  The largest telco in Germany highlighted progress in the rollout of 5G and uptake of the technology in its home market. Two-thirds of the population can use 5G,  which was its target figure for the end of year, as outlined in the summer, with 45,000 5G-capable antennas deployed.

Two thirds of people in Germany can now use 5G on the Telekom network. 45,000 antennas are already transmitting on 5G. Here too, Deutsche Telekom intends to continue expanding rapidly. In the coming year, the 80 percent mark for population coverage is to be reached with 5G. By 2025, it should be 99 percent – as announced.

“Never before have we been able to set up a new network technology faster than now with 5G. The fact that just over a year after the frequency auction, two-thirds of the population can already use 5G is the fastest expansion in the history of mobile communications. Telekom is the 5G engine in Germany. And 2020 was clearly the 5G year,” said DT CEO

With 5G, Deutsche Telekom is combining expansionan.  in two frequency bands. On the high-reach 2.1 GHz frequency, high mobile bandwidths will be brought to rural areas in particular. For example, the offshore island of Helgoland is now also being supplied with 5G. The 3.6 GHz frequency provides high-speed 5G where many people move around in a small area, such as in large cities. It is now also used at Frankfurt Airport. The technology will also be installed at Berlin’s BER airport. New are also the 5G Highspeed antennas in Bremen, Hanover and Nuremberg. This means that 13 major cities are already benefiting from 5G in gigabit speed.

“Telekom keeps its promises. This applies in particular to network expansion. Right now, the Telekom network is proving its worth. It was the right decision to put fiber optic in every street and thus to enable fast networks from Telekom for over 80 percent of all households. Home offices are possible throughout the country. Now comes the next step: Fiber optic to the home and 5G. Here too, we have a plan that we are working through step by step. Despite Corona, our expansion is running at full speed,” says Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges. “And to make sure that everyone in Germany is part of it in the future, we are now really getting going. To achieve this, we have been investing around five and a half billion euros a year in Germany for years. Most of it will go into our network.”

The telco also revealed that every other contract or contract extension it sells now includes a 5G device, a figure that suggests users are starting to embrace the technology.

“2020 was clearly the 5G year,” said Srini Gopalan, who took over as head of Deutsche Telekom in Germany just over a month ago.  Coverage of two-thirds of the population is certainly a significant milestone.

“We are building for digitization in Germany. The better the framework conditions for investment, the smoother the fiber-optic expansion will run. New technology and new times also require new and flexible answers,” says Tim Höttges. “What additionally helps us with the expansion are, for example, quick approvals. On the other hand, the acceptance of alternative laying methods beyond civil engineering would simplify and accelerate many things. But it also requires a clear commitment from the competition to FTTH. This is a task for society as a whole that we must tackle together. We too have learned our lesson and are focusing much more strongly on cooperation, especially with local suppliers.”

Deutsche Telekom has rolled out FTTH to around 2 million households in Germany, having added somewhere between half a million and 600,000 in 2020: its description of the number of households added varied in the announcement. Last year it rolled out full fiber to 270,000 homes. Going forward, DT is shooting for 2 million homes added per year.

“FTTH is the key to the next surge in digitization. We have revolutionized our processes to achieve this,” says Srini Gopalan, member of the Deutsche Telekom Board of Management responsible for Germany. “Our Fiber Factory is now really taking off. This means we are bringing the fiber directly to where it will be needed more and more in the future: In households, businesses and schools. In the city and in the country.”

References:

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/fiber-optics-and-5g-telekom-dials-it-up-614422

 

Deutsche Telekom hits 5G target, repeats itself on fibre

 

Deutsche Telekom in joint venture with SK Telecom for 5G in-building experiences

Deutsche Telekom is expanding its partnership with SK Telecom (SKT) to form a joint venture on advanced 5G in-building solutions and to complete the development of an advanced 5G/LTE dual-mode repeater.  Under the JV agreement, the companies will also assess opportunities to cooperate in the fields of augmented reality/ virtual reality services, mobile edge computing (MEC) and the app market.
Each company will hold 50 percept in the Germany-based JV, which is still subject to regulatory approval. The transaction is expected to be finalized before the end of the year.  Under the terms of the new partnership, SKT will contribute the technology assets it has developed over the years to the joint venture.
The two telcos cited research showing that the global market for in-building distributed antenna systems (DAS) is expected to be worth $10.33bn by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 10.1% between 2018 and 2023. Noting that there are not yet strong players dominating the market for 5G repeaters, the joint venture partners says that by combining their respective strengths they will be well-positioned to pioneer the market.“Together with SKT we are able to develop new and innovative products which enhance customer experience,” said Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges. “The first feedback from the repeater customer trial has shown the value of our partnership – for us, but more importantly, for our customers. We will start with the repeater, but this joint venture is aiming at a much higher goal: to create major innovations for both companies in the years to come.”

“The partnership between SKT and Deutsche Telekom is very meaningful at a time when the world is heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Park Jung-ho, CEO of SK Telecom. “The deepened bond between the two companies will play an important role as a bridge between Asia and Europe and lead us to new technologies that can bring greater value to humanity.”

Tim Höttges, CEO Deutsche Telekom, Park Jung-ho, CEO SK Telecom and their teams at a joint video conference.

 

Tim Höttges, CEO Deutsche Telekom, Park Jung-ho, CEO SK Telecom and their teams at a joint video conference.

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SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom have been working closely since 2016 to lead innovations in ICT, seeing the sharing of fixed and wireless technologies. In May 2020, the two firms announced a collaboration to expand the global 5G ecosystem by accelerating 5G deployment in Europe. As part of this, they constructed a Network Engineer Exchange Programme that will see them exchange their respective technological expertise once the situation with Covid-19 improves.

SK Telekom will contribute to the JV with technology the Korean operator has developed over the years. The company has already provided 5G/LTE dual-mode repeaters to support Telekom’s customer trial for in-building coverage. The test was carried out in the cities Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Cologne, Munich, Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Leipzig, from August to October of this year. The trial showed that users experienced significant improvement in 5G and LTE for both voice and data experience with this test device. The joint venture plans to complete the development of an advanced 5G/LTE dual-mode repeater.
SKT  has already provided 5G/LTE dual-mode repeaters to support DT’s customer trial for in-building coverage carried out in eight different cities in Germany – namely Berlin, Hamburg, Bonn, Cologne, Munich, Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Leipzig – from August to October 2020. The firms said customer trial results have shown that users experienced significant improvement in 5G and LTE experience with this test device.
References:

Superlatives Reign: Beaming 5G from the Stratosphere via New Type of Wireless Antenna

“5G sky high” is in the mind’s eye of Deutsche Telekom, which has backed UK-based startup Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL) and Capgemini-owned Cambridge Consultants to develop and test an airborne 5G network, slated for commercial release in 2024.

SPL said it has developed a high-altitude platform (HAP), in the shape of an unmanned zero-emissions aircraft, to carry a new kind of wireless antenna designed by Cambridge Consultants – which is described as unlike anything seen before.”   The two startups believe they can provide 5G coverage to the entire UK, from 20,000 metres up, from an airborne antenna array mounted on just 60 aircraft. They say that Germany with 67 aircraft.

HEALTH WARNING: It’s important to note that there is no standard, nor any standards or specifications work we know of related to airborne 5G via HAPs.  The IMT 2020.SPECS and 3GPP 5G NR specs only address terrestrial coverage.  In particular, IMT 2020.SPECs: “Detailed specifications of the terrestrial radio interfaces of International Mobile Telecommunications-2020 (IMT-2020).”

Also, the frequencies for such a “HAP based 5G” have not been specified by WRC 19 or ITU-R. However, ITU-R identified the following frequency bands for HAPs use: worldwide (31-31.3 GHz, 38-39.5 GHz, 47.2-47.5 GHz, and 47.9-48.2 GHz) and Region 2 (the Americas) (21.4-22 GHz and 24.25-27.5 GHz).

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The Capgemeni press release states:

Operating at a fraction of the cost of building and maintaining terrestrial infrastructure, and with minimal environmental impact due to its zero-emission hydrogen power system, such a fleet could rewrite the economics of mobile broadband.

With the proof of concept now complete, the ultimate antenna is set to be powerful, huge, and yet lightweight. At three meters square and weighing just 120kg, it will take flight to become what’s expected to be the world’s largest commercial airborne communications antenna.

The proof of concept antenna is the culmination of a four-year project with UK-based start-up SPL. Also headquartered in Cambridge, UK, SPL is developing a High-Altitude Platform (HAP) and communication system operating in the stratosphere to bring affordable, fast connectivity to every corner of the world. A single HAP will provide coverage over an area of up to 140 kilometres in diameter, equivalent to deploying hundreds of today’s terrestrial masts. A fleet of around 60 HAPs could blanket the whole of the United Kingdom with connectivity, providing even geographic coverage of peak 5G speeds in excess of 100 Gbps in aggregate. With radically cheaper costs, this new platform has the potential to connect the unconnected in the developing world, to fill gaps in coverage across the developed world and to ensure rural areas aren’t left behind anywhere across the globe. In addition, the hydrogen power system creates a long endurance, low environmental impact aircraft, with low noise, zero CO2 and zero NOx emissions.

As first announced on October 19 2020, SPL completed its first successful test trial during September 2020. Rollout of the first commercial service is anticipated to begin in Germany during 2024.

The companies suggested on a press call yesterday, that the U.K. will require another 400,000 masts to provide national 5G coverage. “This single mega cell tower in the stratosphere will provide coverage that is equal to the combined efforts of hundreds of terrestrial cellular masts, rewriting the economics of mobile broadband,” said Richard Deakin, chief executive at SPL.

Cambridge Consultants claims to have one of the world’s largest independent wireless development teams and this antenna is said to be amongst its crowning achievements. Sitting at one eighth of the intended full size, the proof of concept is a feat of engineering. It has overcome the key technical challenges within simulated flight conditions and proven its modular design can scale seamlessly. Advanced calibration across the four tiles of the prototype deliver beams with astonishing accuracy, maintaining laser-like performance during flight motion and paving the way for the huge 32-tile commercial array to now be developed.  Have a look at the video announcing this so called “technology breakthrough.”

Each antenna produces 480 individual, steerable beams, creating patterns that can be ‘painted’ onto the ground to cover specific areas such as roads, railway lines or shipping lanes. The ability to produce hundreds of beams enables the antenna to reuse spectrum ensuring fast and even coverage across the entire covered area. A unique, wholly digital beamforming capability gives massive flexibility in how services are deployed, allowing in-flight reconfiguration to deliver services beyond the reach of conventional fixed terrestrial networks. This includes following mobile users, including trains and autonomous vehicles, and providing coverage exactly where required, for example ending at national borders.

A prototype has already been tested with Deutsche Telekom in southern Germany, according to SPL. Deutsche Telekom has not yet responded to a request from Enterprise IoT Insights for comment. The project raises a number of questions, not least about its viability, as well as about the interplay with existing terrestrial networks and deployment schedules, and whether the new system might be utilised as a shared neutral-host infrastructure.

There is also a question about its likely usage, whether for consumer 5G connectivity or, more likely, for consumer in-fill coverage, plus as a vehicle for massive machine-type communications (mMTC), and redundancy, in general. But the innovation looks considerable, with its authors calling the whole thing, even in proof-mode, a “remarkable technical achievement.”

The antenna is designed to be powerful and low-energy, at the same time, as well as both huge (three meters square) and lightweight (120kg). It will be the “world’s largest commercial airborne communications antenna”, when it finally launches in 2024, said UK-based Cambridge Consultants, acquired by Capgemini in April. The firm called the prototype, even at one eighth of the intended size of the commercial model, one of its “crowning achievements.”

The consultancy said in their press release:

Advanced calibration across the four tiles of the prototype deliver beams with astonishing accuracy, maintaining laser-like performance during flight motion and paving the way for the huge 32-tile commercial array to now be developed. Each antenna produces 480 individual, steerable beams, creating patterns that can be ‘painted’ onto the ground to cover specific areas such as roads, railway lines or shipping lanes.

The ability to produce hundreds of beams enables the antenna to reuse spectrum ensuring fast and even coverage across the entire covered area. A unique, wholly digital beamforming capability gives massive flexibility in how services are deployed, allowing in-flight reconfiguration to deliver services beyond the reach of conventional fixed terrestrial networks. This includes following mobile users, including trains and autonomous vehicles, and providing coverage exactly where required, for example ending at national borders.

The hydrogen-powered aircraft, as the other piece of the innovation, is designed to fly at an altitude of 20,000 metres for around eight days, before coming down for refueling. It offers a low environmental impact, said SPL, with low noise, zero CO2 and zero NOx emissions.

A single HAP will provide coverage over an area of up to 140 kilometres in diameter – “equivalent to hundreds of today’s terrestrial masts,” said SPL and Cambridge Consultants in a statement. A fleet of around 60 HAPs over the UK would provide blanket 5G connectivity with peak 5G speeds in excess of 100 Gbps “in aggregate,” the pair said. This proposed flying-5G network will be a “fraction of the cost of building and maintaining terrestrial infrastructure,” they claimed.

“With radically cheaper costs, this new platform has the potential to connect the unconnected in the developing world, to fill gaps in coverage across the developed world and to ensure rural areas aren’t left behind anywhere across the globe.”

SPL’s Deakins added: “This unique antenna is at the heart of SPL’s stratospheric communications system. It was essential that we overcame significant technical challenges in the design of the antenna to enable us to deliver massive data rates in a unique environment where power was limited, where weight was critical and where cooling in the thin, stratospheric air was difficult.”

“The development and testing of the antenna has met or exceeded the design criteria and working with such a talented team at Cambridge Consultants has been one of the highlights of the program to date. We look forward to continuing the journey as we progress to the production-standard antenna,” he added.

Tim Fowler, chief sales officer at Cambridge Consultants commented: “Four years ago SPL approached Cambridge Consultants with an ambitious vision to revolutionize the telecoms experience by beaming connectivity from the sky. Our role, to design and build this ‘mega cell tower in the stratosphere’, has seen us make breakthrough after breakthrough and we’re excited to build on these innovations with SPL, on the path to commercial deployment.”

Cambridge Consultants became part of the Capgemini Group in April 2020. Capgemini recently announced its first set of Intelligent Industry offerings that leverage the Group’s pioneering capabilities in  data, digital and industrial technologies. Focused on 5G and Edge, the new services will enable Communications Service Providers, Network Equipment Providers and Enterprises across industries to implement 5G and Edge technologies at scale.

References:

https://www.capgemini.com/us-en/news/cambridge-consultants-building-the-worlds-largest-commercial-airborne-antenna/

DT-backed 5G sky-network to launch – offering country-wide 5G with 60 masts, no rents

High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) — bringing connectivity to all

Deutsche Telekom: 40 million people have 5G coverage

Deutsche Telekom said today that its 5G network has reached 40 million people in Germany. This means that 50% of the population can use the new 5G mobile technology. Over 3,000 towns and municipalities received 5G after the company upgraded a further 18,000 antennas in recent weeks. In the coming weeks, Bremen and Dortmund, among other places, will receive high-speed 5G.

Deutsche Telekom uses spectrum on the 2.1 GHz band to supply as many people as possible with 5G. This band enables a long-range reach and increased speed. In rural areas, customers can surf at up to 225 Mbps, while in cities the network reaches 600-800 Mbps speeds at its peak.

With the 3.6 GHz frequency band, the network offers more speed and capacity. Antennas on this band achieve transmission rates of up to 1 Gbps. The company uses both the 2.1 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequency bands for the 5G rollout.

Deutsche Telekom said nearly 18,000 antennas have been upgraded for 5G and integrated into the live network in the past five weeks. This means that 40 million people can now have access to the telco’s 5G.

Deutsche Telekom 5G

Image Credit: Deutsche Telekom

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“Half the population in Germany is now covered. 5G has arrived in all German states. This is a big step for our customers, our network and for digitization in Germany,” said Walter Goldenits, head of technology at Telekom Deutschland. The executive said that the carrier aims to cover two thirds of the country’s population with 5G before the end of the year.

“We will switch on 5G in 2.1 GHz in at least half of Germany already this year. 2.1 GHz is excellent for 5G because this spectrum range combines speed with good propagation,” the carrier’s CEO Timotheus Höttges recently said in a conference call with investors.

“We will have the top 20 cities covered with 3.6 GHz. Going forward, we will leverage other spectrum ranges, such as 700 MHz frequencies. So we have a mix of low band, mid band [and]high band, which is, compared to my competition, significantly better, and we will roll out faster than anybody else. So comparing the commitments of Vodafone with ours, we will have four times more coverage already by the end of the year with regard to 5G,” Höttges added.

As noted above, bands.Deutsche Telekom is using different frequencies for its 5G expansion. The focus is on the 2.1 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequency bands.  Deutsche Telekom kicked off the rollout of its 5G network in a limited number of cities across Germany at the beginning of July 2019.

LTE is also receiving a further boost from the technology offensive. Customers will receive a further frequency band for the use of LTE and thus more bandwidth. The use of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) will make additional spectrum available to LTE customers. As a result, they too can surf even faster than before.

With DSS, Deutsche Telekom operates two mobile communications standards in parallel in one frequency band. The new technology distributes the spectrum between LTE and 5G users according to demand. The network automatically adapts to the needs of the respective customers within milliseconds. This leads to an even better user experience.

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Germany 5G subscriptions 2020-22 (in thousands) – Omdia forecast
Company 2020 2021 2022
1&1 Drillisch 702
O2 Germany 477 2,539
T-Mobile Germany 430 1,253 3,242
Vodafone D2 494 1,426 3,536

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Rival operator Vodafone Germany in its financial results statement last week said it planned to cover 10 million people with 5G technology by the end of 2020.

Telefonica Deutschland aims to cover 16 million people with its 5G network by 2022, with coverage across Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne this year.

Meanwhile, the construction of 1&1 Drillisch’s 5G network has been experiencing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to previous reports, 1&1 Drillisch expects to launch its 5G network in 2021.

 

References:

https://www.lightreading.com/5g/deutsche-telekom-touts-5g-for-40m-in-germany/d/d-id/762676

 

Deutsche Telekom reaches half of German population with 5G

 

Germany’s Contentious 5G Auction May Squeeze Telcos

Germany’s auction of 5G frequencies, now into its 10th week, has drawn 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in bids so far.  That amount raised in a record 405 auction rounds for the 41 blocks on offer is more than experts thought companies would spend all together for all rounds.   The duration of this auction has no precedent in Germany, with country’s 4G auction in 2010 lasting for 224 rounds.

German telco market leader Deutsche Telekom has complained that the regulator has forced up prices by offering too little spectrum.  Deutsche Telekom leads in 13 of the blocks, with competitor Vodafone ahead in 12 and Telefonica Deutschland in eight, according to auction results published by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).

Source:  Deutsche Telekom

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New entrant 1&1 Drillisch, a ‘virtual’ mobile player controlled by United Internet, leads in eight blocks, as billionaire CEO Ralf Dommermuth pursues his dream of becoming Germany’s fourth operator.

Drillisch, and United Internet, have slashed their dividend payouts to conserve cash so that they can stay in the game.

As the telecom industry prepares for the costly rollout of new 5G networks, with little prospect of any immediate revenue growth from new 5G services, the spectrum bill is a further squeeze. And while bidding has recently slowed, the contest is not yet over.

Industry leaders say that inflated auction costs would undermine their ability to invest the billions needed to build 5G networks – as happened in a pricey spectrum auction in Italy last year.

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German telcos appear to be grasping expensively for a small amount of spectrum in the 3.6GHz range, the “mid-band” that looks optimal for the delivery of 5G services. The fight would have been less damaging and drawn-out had German regulators put more of these airwaves up for sale, according to Timotheus Höttges, the head of Deutsche Telekom.  Instead, they chose to hold back 100MHz for industrial and local settings, such as German factories, leaving 300MHz to the telcos. Supply constraints have driven up the bids.

Competition has been especially fierce because of 1&1 Drillisch. Having previously bought network capacity from Telefónica, and functioned as a mobile virtual network operator, the broadband company is now determined to build a fourth mobile network using spectrum it picks up in the auction. After round 406, 1&1 Drillisch accounted for more than €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) of the amount bid. Since the auction began, its share price has lost a quarter of its value as investors worry about the consequences of spending so much.

Outside Italy, Germany now values the mid-band at a higher level than any other European country that has licensed 5G spectrum. Were the auction to finish now, German telcos would pay about $0.16 per megahertz per head of population (per MHz pop, a common way of valuing spectrum) for 3.6GHz licenses. That edges Germany ahead of the UK, which raised about $0.15 (at current exchange rates) per MHz pop during a 3.4GHz auction in 2018. Spanish companies last year paid just €0.05 during a 3.6-3.8GHz auction (although this calculation does not consider usage fees they are also charged). Finland’s mid-band sale in October raised as little as $0.04.

Price per MHz Pop ($) for 3.4-3.8GHz Spectrum

Sources: Companies, regulators, Light Reading. Note: German auction is still open and the amount shown here reflects the value of spectrum on the morning of May 24.

Sources: Companies, regulators, Light Reading.
Note: German auction is still open and the amount shown here reflects the value of spectrum on the morning of May 24.
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However, the German auction is nowhere near Italy on this measure, and it will not even get close. After slapping just 200MHz of mid-band spectrum on the table, and slicing it like a badly cut pizza into uneven segments, Italian regulators made off with around $0.40 per MHz pop. The auction “winners” are now choking on their rewards. Telecom Italia and Vodafone, which landed the biggest mid-band concessions, are busy slashing jobs and pooling assets to ensure 5G rollout is affordable.

German telecom regulator Jochen Homann, the president of the Bundesnetzagentur, is said to have argued that bidders knew the conditions of the auction before it started and will have prepared accordingly. Yet analysts thought a spectrum sale would raise between €3 billion ($3.4 billion) and €5 billion ($5.6 billion), an upper limit the auction has now breached.

Light Reading says German authorities may still have cause to worry. While the country’s operators are in healthier shape than Italy’s, a large spectrum bill risks slowing down the pace of 5G rollout and jeopardizing national ambitions. With its large manufacturing sector, Germany is hopeful that 5G will support Industrie 4.0, a government initiative to bring communications technologies into factories and the workplace. The productivity boost this promises may be critical if Germany is to remain competitive with the US, China and other fast-developing Asian countries.

In the U.S., the FCC auctioned off 24GHz high-band spectrum in March 2019, with the announcement of more spectrum sales expected in the coming months.  The U.S. has yet to allocate any mid-band spectrum.

References:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-telecoms/bids-in-germanys-5g-auction-already-top-6-billion-euros-idUSKCN1ST24U

https://www.telekom.com/en/company/details/5-questions-and-answers-about-the-5g-frequency-auction-550970

https://www.lightreading.com/mobile/5g/germanys–euro-6b-5g-auction-should-be-a-break-point-for-telecom/d/d-id/751720?

https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/EN/Areas/Telecommunications/Companies/FrequencyManagement/ElectronicCommunicationsServices/ElectronicCommunicationServices_node.html

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Related:  World leaders in 5G:

https://www.seacoastecho.com/news/national/report-says-u-s-now-among-world-leaders-in-g/article_7c933d11-bc91-5996-9545-cfae054f149b.html

Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom Sign Strategic Cross-Investment Agreement in MobiledgeX and ID Quantique

Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom today entered into a cross investment agreement to further strengthen their competitiveness in 5G and deepen their cooperation in the global market. With this agreement, the two market leaders of Korea and Germany continue their strategic partnership announced at Mobile World Congress 2016.

Under the agreement, SK Telecom plans to invest in MobiledgeX, an edge computing company founded by Deutsche Telekom and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, focused on delivering developer-facing edge computing services. Deutsche Telekom plans to invest the same amount to ID Quantique (IDQ), SK Telecom’s strategic partner in quantum cryptography communication technology based in Switzerland.

Mobile EdgeX is developing a middleware platform that will enable third-party developers to run their applications on edge computing platforms, is also now at the heart of an open source effort that is part of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and which is being backed by DT and Intel. (See TIP Forms New Edge Computing Unit.)

Other operators have shown interest in MobiledgeX, including Vodafone and Verizon, while Telefónica has included the Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup’s tech in a distributed cloud architecture initiative called CTpd.

Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom intend to use mobile edge computing technologies to reduce data transfer time, latency and jitter.  With mobile edge computing, companies can conduct on-site monitoring of disaster-affected areas and respond faster to accidents.

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Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges and Park Jung-ho, President and CEO of SK Telecom, announced the cooperation in Seoul, South Korea.

Going forward, SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom plan to share their technologies and knowhow. The two companies made their cross-investment decision to gain leadership in the upcoming era of 5G by offering specialized 5G services with ultra-low latency in areas like telemedicine as well as AR and VR, while addressing potential security threats.

“SK Telecom is pleased to enter into a cross-investment agreement with Deutsche Telekom as it will serve as a valuable opportunity for us to further solidify our 5G leadership in the global market and drive new growth,” said Park Jung-ho, President and Chief Executive Officer of SK Telecom.

“We look forward to intensifying our successful cooperation with SK Telecom. The partnership will help both companies to strengthen our global technology leadership and bring 5G and other innovative services to our customers,” stated Timotheus Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom.

Unlike the pre-5G era, which was mainly about communication between people, the 5G era will be marked by communication between people and things, as well as communication between things (IoT), which will support intelligent services like connected car, smart factory and wearable devices.

Earlier this month, the German carrier said it expects to launch commercial 5G services in 2020. In May 2018, Deutsche Telekom announced the deployment of the first 5G antennas to test the technology in downtown Berlin. The antennas, which are based on 5G New Radio, allowed Deutsche Telekom to demonstrate what it claimed to be Europe’s first 5G data connection over a live network. The telco said that it is currently in the process of deploying a 5G cluster in Berlin.

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Separately, Deutsche Telekom is reviewing the idea of adopting quantum cryptography communication systems. Both SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom are currently in the process of qualifying quantum cryptography technologies on their respective trial networks.

Deutsche Telekom will make an investment in ID Quantique, a Switzerland-based strategic partner of SKT. The start-up is focused on the development of quantum cryptography communication technology, an innovation designed to increase the security of telecoms services.  ID Quantique’s applications are already being tested in trial networks deployed by both Deutsche Telekom and SKT.

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Note that in February  2016, Deutsche Telekom and SK Telecom entered into a strategic business partnership agreement to collaborate in the fields of services, Internet of Things (IoT) and related R&D areas.  With the aim to strengthen their capabilities as ICT industry leaders and to achieve new growth through joint business opportunities in Asian and European Markets, SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom will cooperate in the global sales of innovative solutions and products and work together to lead standardization of innovative technologies, including 5G enabling technologies and SDDC (Software-Defined Data Center).

Under the 2016 partnership agreement, the two companies will pursue joint R&D activities to develop cutting-edge technologies – including 5G  enabling technologies – and push for their standardization (where – in ITU-R WP5D for IMT 2020?), while actively taking a part in diverse global projects to drive ICT infrastructure innovations.

In particular, through development of key 5G technologies such as network slicing and mobile edge computing, the two companies  plan to drive standardization and implementation of 5G, and identify 5G key applications.

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References:

https://www.rcrwireless.com/20181023/5g/deutsche-telekom-sk-telekom-ink-cross-investment-deal-towards-5g

https://www.lightreading.com/the-edge/deutsche-telekom-to-swap-startup-investments-with-sk-telecom/d/d-id/746992?

Deutsche Telekom to deploy 1 Gb/sec fiber optic lines to 7,600 enterprises

Deutsche Telekom says it will begin the second phase of its fiber-optic network for business parks, which will provide internet connections at speeds of up to 1 Gb/sec to as many as 7,600 enterprises.

Deutsche Telekom’s latest fiber project will include laying almost 500 km of fiber-optic cables and connecting company locations directly to the fiber-optic network in 33 German towns and cities. The company says it is using sustainable, cost-effective micro trenching technology during construction to avoid inconveniencing town and city residents.

The German towns and cities whose business parks are being upgraded include: Amberg, Bielefeld, Bochum, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Cologne, Dippoldiswalde, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Flörsheim, Frankfurt, Frechen, Großbeeren, Hamburg, Hermsdorf, Hildburghausen, Hürth, Kelkheim, Kriftel, Langen, Leipzig, Lindlar, Lübeck, Mannheim, Markkleeberg, Nienburg, Oldenburg, Pinneberg, Planegg, Potsdam, Sandersdorf-Brehna and Seevetal.

Deutsche Telekom will connect companies at no additional charge should they make the switch to its business parks’ fiber-optic network “early on.” (timing unspecified?)

Sign with fibre for enterprises written on it

Fiber-optic lines for about 7,600 enterprises: In 33 business parks the companies that decide “early on” to switch to DT’s fiber-optic network will be connected at no additional charge.

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The range of fiber-optic rate plans runs from asymmetric 100 Mbps business customer lines through to symmetric 1 Gbps lines. The line growth follows previous expansion in 2016 and 2017, during which Deutsche Telekom invested nearly €5 billion annually on its network (see “Deutsche Telekom touts fiber-optic network investments”).

Deutsche Telekom currently operates a fiber-optic network of 455,000 km, with business parks a focus of its fiber to the home (FTTH) efforts, alongside subsidized expansion activities and partnerships with competitors (see “Deutsche Telekom pilots small town FTTH”).

“Business parks are at the heart of our fiber-optic build-out strategy,” said Hagen Rickmann, Telekom Deutschland director for business customers. “We are thinking nationwide, urban and rural, north, south, east and west. The decisive factor for us is customer demand, and we are pleased to be able to offer our business customers fiber-optic lines in a further 33 communities across the country.”

“We will execute this project quickly and supply the businesses with ultramodern technology, offering them the best infrastructure for the digital transformation. The build-out continues, and our interim goal is to connect 3,000 business parks across Germany to our fiber-optic network (FTTH).”

Deutsche Telekom invests around five billion euros every year and operates Europe’s largest fiber-optic network.

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More information at:
Hotline: + 49 (0)800 330 1362 77 (toll-free)
E-mail: [email protected]
www.telekom.de/vollglas

References:

https://www.telekom.com/en/media/media-information/archive/fiber-optic-lines-on-the-way-for-7600-enterprises-512978

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4r1Wb0O2Sk&feature=youtu.be

http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2018/01/deutsche-telekom-rolls-out-1-gbps-fiber-optic-line-to-7-600-enterprises.html