Latest Ericsson Nokia 5G News
5G Advanced is next step for Qualcomm, Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia
Jeff Kagan, July 31, 2023
Just like the move from 2G to 2.5G meant a faster wireless connection before 3G came, so does the move from 5G to 5G-Advanced or as Huawei calls it, 5.5G. The move from 4G to 5G was supposed to increase speeds and decrease latency, which is the delay on the network. It did that. Now, the move to 5G Advanced means even faster speeds and even better latency. This is not a move to 6G yet, but it does crank 5G up to the next level. This is a real growth opportunity.
Nokia says 5G Advanced is the next evolutionary step in 5G technology. It will bring a new level of enhanced capabilities beyond connectivity and enable a wider set of advanced use cases for verticals. It will support advanced applications with enhanced mobility ad high reliability as well as Artificial Intelligence or AI, machine learning or ML and more.
Huawei is the technology behind the East-West Gate or EWG railway terminal project in Hungary, which represents the first time 5G and AI have been used in the European railway industry. This is a great example of the enormous growth opportunity ahead, worldwide for company after company in industry after industry.
Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and more update to 5G Advanced
This new growth opportunity is opening up for every company in the wireless networking space including Qualcomm, Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and others.
Like with everything else, some companies will do better than others.
Wireless networks are always being updated and upgraded for competitive reasons.
We have seen networks in the United States like Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, AT&T Mobility, US Cellular, C-Spire and countless smaller wireless carriers continue to do this over time.
We have also seen the same growth opportunity all over the world.
These networking giants work with wireless service providers to continually update their operations and remain competitive in a changing industry.
Private wireless means Juniper Networks, Betacom, Federated Wireless
Yesterday, equipment from these companies were typically used by wireless carriers. Today, the area of private wireless is opening an entirely new and expansive market area.
Private wireless is becoming a real growth opportunity for the industry. Competitors in the space include, but are not limited to Qualcomm, Betacom, Celona, HPE, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Federated Wireless, NTT, HPE, Ericsson, Cradlepoint, Nokia, Intel, Samsung, Amazon AWS and more.
Also, companies in non-wireless industries are now starting to use 5G technology to transform the way they do business. Think industries like healthcare and medical, airports, colleges and Universities, automotive with self-driving cars, and other connected technologies, retail, travel, manufacturing, warehouses and so much more.
5G Advanced or 5.5G is transforming non-wireless companies
These enterprises are integrating 5G into their operations to gain a competitive advantage. This is working. However, it does not stop there.
As early adopters gain a competitive advantage, their competitors generally jump in and follow them into this new area. After all, that is the only way they can remain competitive.
Then, when all competitors use new technology like 5G to transform their position, all of a sudden everything in their world has changed.
Some do a great job implementing new tech like 5G. Others don’t. Too many simply add 5G to their operations in hopes of keeping up with the competition, but simply cannot make it happen.
So, it’s not just a matter of using new technology to automatically transform a business and increase profitability and their competitive position.
Instead, it requires having the right people and the right core corporate strategy to use 5G wireless to successfully transform and improve operations.
Any way you slice it, the wireless growth opportunity is huge moving forward. It is just different from what we have experienced in the past.
The challenge for every enterprise is understanding the opportunity of action and the risk of inaction.
Kagan: 5G Advanced is next step for Qualcomm, Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia
By Jeff Kagan, July 31, 2023
Just like the move from 2G to 2.5G meant a faster wireless connection before 3G came, so does the move from 5G to 5G-Advanced or as Huawei calls it, 5.5G. The move from 4G to 5G was supposed to increase speeds and decrease latency, which is the delay on the network. It did that. Now, the move to 5G Advanced means even faster speeds and even better latency. This is not a move to 6G yet, but it does crank 5G up to the next level. This is a real growth opportunity.
Nokia says 5G Advanced is the next evolutionary step in 5G technology. It will bring a new level of enhanced capabilities beyond connectivity and enable a wider set of advanced use cases for verticals. It will support advanced applications with enhanced mobility ad high reliability as well as Artificial Intelligence or AI, machine learning or ML and more.
Huawei is the technology behind the East-West Gate or EWG railway terminal project in Hungary, which represents the first time 5G and AI have been used in the European railway industry. This is a great example of the enormous growth opportunity ahead, worldwide for company after company in industry after industry.
Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T and more update to 5G Advanced
This new growth opportunity is opening up for every company in the wireless networking space including Qualcomm, Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia and others.
Like with everything else, some companies will do better than others.
Wireless networks are always being updated and upgraded for competitive reasons.
We have seen networks in the United States like Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, AT&T Mobility, US Cellular, C-Spire and countless smaller wireless carriers continue to do this over time.
We have also seen the same growth opportunity all over the world.
These networking giants work with wireless service providers to continually update their operations and remain competitive in a changing industry.
Private wireless means Juniper Networks, Betacom, Federated Wireless
Yesterday, equipment from these companies were typically used by wireless carriers. Today, the area of private wireless is opening an entirely new and expansive market area.
Private wireless is becoming a real growth opportunity for the industry. Competitors in the space include, but are not limited to Qualcomm, Betacom, Celona, HPE, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Federated Wireless, NTT, HPE, Ericsson, Cradlepoint, Nokia, Intel, Samsung, Amazon AWS and more.
Also, companies in non-wireless industries are now starting to use 5G technology to transform the way they do business. Think industries like healthcare and medical, airports, colleges and Universities, automotive with self-driving cars, and other connected technologies, retail, travel, manufacturing, warehouses and so much more.
5G Advanced or 5.5G is transforming non-wireless companies
These enterprises are integrating 5G into their operations to gain a competitive advantage. This is working. However, it does not stop there.
As early adopters gain a competitive advantage, their competitors generally jump in and follow them into this new area. After all, that is the only way they can remain competitive.
Then, when all competitors use new technology like 5G to transform their position, all of a sudden everything in their world has changed.
Some do a great job implementing new tech like 5G. Others don’t. Too many simply add 5G to their operations in hopes of keeping up with the competition, but simply cannot make it happen.
So, it’s not just a matter of using new technology to automatically transform a business and increase profitability and their competitive position.
Instead, it requires having the right people and the right core corporate strategy to use 5G wireless to successfully transform and improve operations.
Any way you slice it, the wireless growth opportunity is huge moving forward. It is just different from what we have experienced in the past.
The challenge for every enterprise is understanding the opportunity of action and the risk of inaction.
Nokia and Eastlink announce multi-year deal to enhance 5G network in Canada
-16 August 2023
Eastlink will leverage Nokia’s AirScale portfolio to boost performance and capacity of its mobile network serving communities across Canada
Dallas, Texas – Nokia and Eastlink today announced a multi-year strategic access network partnership that will further modernize Eastlink’s mobile network. Using Nokia’s comprehensive, energy efficient AirScale portfolio, including 5G RAN, Eastlink will enhance its mobile experience with faster speeds, increased performance, and greater network capacity. The partnership includes new site expansion and existing site upgrades. The first site using Nokia technology is expected to go live in August.
Nokia’s industry leading AirScale 5G portfolio includes baseband, remote radio heads, and massive MIMO antennas, which provide vast 5G capacity, coverage, and easy deployment. These solutions are powered by a new energy-efficient generation of ReefShark System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and deliver the highest capacity and network performance while enabling efficient deployments and operation.
Powered by state-of-the-art fiber optic and mobile networks, Eastlink delivers world-class communications services, including high speed internet, mobile, TV, phone, data services, security and smart home solutions to residential, business and public sector customers in seven provinces across Canada and Bermuda. Eastlink has invested half a billion dollars ($500 million) since its launch in 2013 to grow its mobile service across the country, most recently in New Brunswick and in the Acadian Peninsula next.
Jeff Gillham, CEO at Eastlink, said: “We’re so pleased to welcome Nokia as part of our dual supplier radio network strategy. We expect them to cover a sizeable portion of our mobile radio access network over the next few years. As a global leader in 5G technology, Nokia will be a key contributor towards helping us deliver the best mobile experience to our customers as we leverage their expertise of next-generation technology that focuses on energy-efficiency and security.â€
Jeffrey Maddox, President of Nokia Canada, said: “Nokia is thrilled to partner with Eastlink to enhance their 5G network. Nokia’s AirScale platform will deliver incredible 5G to Eastlink’s consumer and enterprise customers with cutting edge 5G speeds and reliability. We are thrilled to see more Canadians get the opportunity to enjoy these amazing technologies and to see the transformative impact of 5G technology.â€
Ericsson makes ‘world’s first’ 6CC data call
Written by Andrew Wooden
Friday, August 18, 2023
Kit vendor Ericsson has combined six component carriers to clock a 5G download speed of 5.7Gbps, which says is a record.
The data call was achieved in an Ericsson lab using (brace yourselves) three FDD (frequency division duplex) bands combined with three TDD (time division duplex) bands in sub-6GHz, Ericsson RAN Compute hardware, carrier aggregation software, and something called Advanced RAN Coordination functionality.
By combining FDD spectrum with TDD spectrum, more users can benefit from carrier aggregation gains. In total 400MHz of bandwidth was aggregated with FDD bandwidths ranging 20MHz to 50MHz to clock the 5.7Gbps throughput.
What’s the point of six-component carrier capability? It allows operators to optimise their use of network and spectrum assets and deliver higher data speeds and capacity that can help downlink-heavy applications. This can mean better audio and video quality for streaming users, faster file downloads, and a better working environment for digital nomads,’ explains the release. Better 5G is another way of putting it.
“We are keeping the momentum on carrier aggregation by continuously stretching its potential to boost capacity and speed,†said Sibel Tombaz, Head of Product Line 5G RAN at Ericsson Networks. “Our successful 6CC data call shows how versatile our solution is and that we are poised to work with ecosystem partners to make this new band combination a reality. Our goal, as always, is to help customers meet end users’ growing appetite for high-capacity, ultrahigh-speed 5G.â€
“Carrier Aggregation is crucial to getting the best possible 5G performance out of scattered spectrum assets,†Tombaz adds. “And with 6CC, service providers will be able to maximize use of allocated spectrum and optimize the combined bandwidth for superior mobile experience.â€
Last week, rival kit vendor Nokia teamed up with TPG and Mediatek to show how carrier aggregation can be used to transmit live 360-degree metaverse broadcasts. The demonstration used a combination of a 15 MHz carrier on the 700 MHz band (n28) and a 90 MHz carrier on the 3.6 GHz band (n78) using carrier aggregation to achieve a peak uplink throughput of 159 Mbps.
And in July T-Mobile rolled out four-carrier aggregation in the US on its 5G standalone (SA) network. There it merged four 5G channels of sub-6 GHz spectrum – two channels of 2.5 GHz Ultra Capacity 5G, one channel of 1900 MHz and one channel of 600 MHz spectrum, designed to provide a boost in performance.
These follow a series of millstones and ‘world’s first’ carrier aggregation trials last year.
Ericsson is calling this one a world’s first too, which it may well be, though it’s a little tricky keeping track of all these technically distinct carrier aggregation lab records being broken – but progress is progress.
Eurobites: Ericsson claims 5G CA breakthrough
– PAUL RAINFORD
8/18/2023
Ericsson says it has raised the bar for 5G carrier aggregation technology by achieving the world’s first 6CC (six component carrier) data call, setting what it claims is a record download speed in this context of 5.7 Gbit/s. The data call was completed in an Ericsson lab using three FDD (frequency division duplex) bands combined with three TDD (time division duplex) bands in sub-6GHz. Ericsson reckons that six-component carrier capabilities will allow communications service providers to make the most of their network and spectrum assets to deliver faster data speeds and capacity for downlink-heavy applications.
Vodafone UK has reduced the carbon emissions produced by its own operations – so-called Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions – by 92% in the three years since March 2020, according to figures in its newly published Carbon Reduction Plan. Most of the reduction has been achieved by exclusively using electricity generated from renewable sources – a commitment partly made possible by long-term investments in solar and wind farms in various UK locations. The decommissioning of what the company has called “energy-hungry legacy equipment” has also helped.
The European Commission is to carry out an investigation into Qualcomm’s proposed takeover of Autotalks, an Israeli company that makes chips specifically for use in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications for semi-autonomous and driverless vehicles. As Reuters reports, the Commission said in a statement that Qualcomm “cannot implement the transaction” before getting clearance from Brussels.
BT has sold its first few products and services via its new Orbit ordering system, which it describes as a “fundamental rework” of its approach to customer ordering. Orbit allows BT’s frontline staff to view a customer’s retail history with the operator (if they have one), detailing what other BT products and services they already use. The rollout of Orbit started this week, with 62 stores across four UK regions using it to date.
As England’s mighty soccer lionesses prepare to give their Spanish rivals a mauling in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday [How’s the impartiality training going? – Ed.], Dutch operator KPN has announced the arrival of W-sport, a women’s sport TV channel of Belgian origin, onto its TV platform. Soccer-wise, Dutch audiences on KPN will be able to see weekly action from England’s Women’s Super League (WSL), Germany’s Frauen Bundesliga, the USA’s NWSL and Sweden’s Damallsvenskan. Additionally, W-sport will also serve up women’s volleyball, triathlon and netball, among other sports.
— Paul Rainford,
TPG, Nokia boost broadcast speeds with 5G uplink CA
10 AUG 2023
– Joseph Waring
Australia-based TPG Telecom demonstrated a 360-degree video broadcast on its 5G network using Nokia’s uplink carrier aggregation (CA) technology to achieve a peak throughput of 159Mb/s by combining two sub-6GHz frequency bands.
The demonstration combined 15MHz of spectrum in the 700MHz band and 90MHz in 3.6GHz using Nokia’s uplink equipment and AirScale baseband, massive MIMO and remote radio head products.
Nokia and TPG Telecom used a 5G device powered by a MediaTek mobile chipset fitted with its M80 5G modem.
In a statement, Nokia head of Oceania Andrew Cope argued 5G uplink CA technology “is vital for the immersive future needed to take industrial digitalisation to the next levelâ€, adding 360-degree video streaming is a key building block of the metaverse.
The vendor cited research it commissioned from EY which showed broad awareness of the potential of the metaverse in industrial settings, in particular the ability to mix physical and virtual tasks to advance Industry 4.0 efforts.
Nokia hits extended range mmWave 5G speed record in Finland
Press Release
26 June 2023
Nokia achieves new download speed record of more than 2 Gbps over a distance of almost 11 kilometers
Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced it has achieved sustained average downlink speeds of over 2 Gigabits per second (Gbps) using millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum and 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), over a distance of 10.86 kilometers. This milestone download speed, the fastest recorded worldwide to date, was accomplished using Nokia’s 5G extended range mmWave solution at the OuluZone test facility in Oulu, Finland.
The test utilized Nokia’s AirScale baseband and AirScale 24GHz (n258 band) mmWave radio and a Nokia FastMile 5G PoC CPE (customer premises equipment). Testing involved eight component carriers (8CC) in the downlink, aggregating 800MHz of mmWave spectrum. This enabled a top downlink speed of 2.1 Gbps, and an uplink speed of 57.2 Mbps.
This achievement, which builds on a previous world record announced by Nokia in 2021, demonstrates the reach and connectivity speeds that 5G mmWave can deliver. It also lays the foundations for high-quality internet connectivity solutions delivered via FWA to areas where wired connections are not always possible.
Nokia’s mmWave radio portfolio is comprised of compact, high- and medium-power solutions, offering a wide range of deployment options that provide flexibility in ensuring service continuity across a wide variety of environments.
The Nokia FastMile 5G PoC device used in these tests is currently being trialed by major operators globally. High speeds over significant distances can be achieved with its high-gain 360° antenna (27dBi), which dynamically adapts to changing conditions to overcome mmWave deployment challenges.
Ari Kynäslahti, Head of Strategy and Technology at Nokia Mobile Networks, said: “We just set a new speed record for extended range 5G mmWave. This demonstrates that mmWave solutions will be an essential building block for operators to efficiently deliver widespread, multi-gigabit 5G broadband coverage to their customers in urban, suburban, and rural areas, complementing sub-6 GHz spectrum assets. This is a substantial achievement that reflects how we are constantly innovating and evolving our 5G services and solutions.â€
New Ericsson Radio Dot System feature extends reach of Swisscom’s indoor 5G connectivity Ericsson and Swisscom have completed the first-time deployment of the Radio Dot System’s new fiber-extended reach feature.
Ericsson and Swisscom have completed the first-time deployment of the Radio Dot System’s new fiber-extended reach feature.
JULY 3, 2023
In the latest chapter of their 5G story, leading European communications service provider Swisscom and Ericsson have deployed a new feature that allows them to deliver high-capacity indoor 5G to enterprise customers within a 10 km radius, from one centralized location.
The new feature complements Ericsson’s indoor 5G offering – the Ericsson Radio Dot System. It enables Swisscom to use fiber and hybrid fiber cables to deliver power and data to active indoor antennas (Radio Dots) from the Indoor Radio Unit (IRU) and extend cable reach from 300 m to 10 km.
The extended cable reach that comes with fiber-based rollouts supports more flexible deployment options, including remote IRU placement in instances where it may be difficult or expensive to keep equipment locally on premises. This increases solution scalability across different venues and deployment use cases. It allows Swisscom to serve more venues with high-capacity indoor 5G faster with up to 80 percent less equipment needed on premises and less service effort – reducing total cost of ownership.
Mark Düsener, Head of Mobile Networks, Mobile Services & B2B Telco, Swisscom, says: “High-performing indoor 5G is key to full scale societal digitalization, and Ericsson’s new indoor fiber capabilities boost the capacity and coverage of Swisscom’s leading 5G network. With more flexible in-building deployment options, we can provide more small-to-medium enterprise customers with fast and reliable mobile connectivity, with less equipment.â€
Nils Andersson, Head of Indoor, Ericsson, says: “Swisscom has been a true frontrunner in the 5G market, indoors as well as outdoors. With this latest addition to their toolbox, they can continue to expand their 5G footprint while reducing total cost of ownership and increasing operational efficiency. It’s always exciting to help our customers tap into the opportunities that the small-to-medium enterprise market presents.â€
The first fiber deployment was made in a Swisscom store near Bern, Switzerland. A Radio Dot was connected to a shared IRU hundreds of meters away in a central office using existing fiber infrastructure.
Typically, CAT6a cables are used for indoor 5G deployments. However, when using fiber connectivity instead, the reach of the cables increases almost 40 times, from 300 m (around three football fields in length) to 10 km (almost 110 football fields).
Swisscom can now deliver seamless, speedy, and secure indoor 5G more easily to small-to-medium enterprise customers such as retail stores, offices, event spaces and restaurants. In turn, this high-performing indoor solution enables them to offer a better mobile experience to customers and employees.
Up to eight small-to-medium venues can be served from one remote unit. This new fiber-extended reach offering is compatible with both single operator and multi-operator (neutral host) indoor solutions.
Ericsson and MediaTek expand 5G deployment options for CSPs with flexible Carrier Aggregation solution
Ericsson and MediaTek have successfully merged four channels – one FDD (frequency division duplex) and three TDD (time division duplex)– to deliver a downlink speed of 4.36 Gbps, the highest known speed based on this band combination. This four-component carrier (4CC) aggregation combination will increase the 5G deployment options for communications service providers by blending different frequency bands.
In an interoperability development test (IoDT), the two companies completed the 5G data call using one low-band and three mid-band channels in the sub-7GHz frequency range (FR1) bands, where typically most of the 5G data traffic is carried.
The higher throughput that this 4CC combination enables will enhance user experience with faster downloads and seamless video streaming for smartphone users and fixed wireless access subscribers. For service providers, Ericsson’s flexible Carrier Aggregation solution will allow them to maximize use of available spectrum assets to deliver high-quality 5G connectivity.
Sibel Tombaz, Head of Product Line 5G RAN at Ericsson Networks, says: “Carrier Aggregation is crucial to getting the best possible 5G performance out of scattered spectrum assets. At Ericsson, we are persistently exploring all possible frequency band combinations to boost capacity and coverage. We have also shown that Carrier Aggregation is a game changer when it comes to optimizing the combined bandwidth of allocated spectrum assets to deliver higher date rates for a greater number of users.â€
HC Hwang, General Manager of Wireless Communication System and Partnership at MediaTek says: “The technology milestone shows MediaTek continues to be at the forefront of NR CA innovation, developing and testing the next generation of 5G SA technologies in close collaboration with industry partners such as Ericsson, ready to integrate into our leading 5G modems.â€
Carrier Aggregation is key to deploying high-performing 5G networks. It provides the unique capability to combine many frequency bands, enabling higher speeds and increased cell coverage that improve capacity and user experience. The speed boost can mean better audio and video quality for streaming users, faster file downloads, and a better working environment for digital nomads. By combining FDD spectrum with TDD spectrum, more users can benefit from carrier aggregation gains.
The downlink peak rate of nearly 4.4 Gbps was reached by combining 20MHz of AWS (Advanced Wireless Service) band, 80MHz of CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) band and 200MHz of C-band spectrum. The test was carried out using MediaTek M80 5G modem, Ericsson’s Baseband 6648, TDD Massive MIMO radios AIR3268, AIR3239, and TDD Radio 4426
Nokia was the big 5G winner in 2022, research shows
IAIN MORRIS, International Editor 2/21/2023
The late Queen Elizabeth II would have called it an annus horribilis. She obviously wasn’t running Nokia in 2019 when its mobile mishaps were fully revealed. That honor went to Rajeev Suri, now boss of satellite operator Inmarsat. Overreliance on a blundering Intel and a subsequent fallback on costly Xilinx chips upset Nokia’s entire 5G pitch. Customers opted for a resurgent Ericsson instead.
Well in advance of its management overhaul in 2020, when Pekka Lundmark replaced Suri in the top job, Nokia had started to work on a fix. As far back as November 2018, a year before markets realized how bad things were, Tommi Uitto had succeeded Marc Rouanne (now chief network officer at Dish) as the head of Nokia’s mobile business. His first goal was to make Nokia less reliant on Intel – whose stumbles on 10-nanometer technology were largely blamed for Nokia’s problems – by finding alternative chip suppliers. He then needed to phase out Xilinx’s field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), the fallback chips that had torn into Nokia’s profit margins.
On the eve of this year’s Mobile World Congress Barcelona, Nokia’s long turnaround is perhaps finally complete. According to research from both Dell’Oro and Omdia (a Light Reading sister company), the Finnish vendor and South Korea’s Samsung were the biggest gainers in radio access network (RAN) market share last year. That seems to mark the first real improvement for Nokia since 5G was launched.
Profitability had already recovered during the long phaseout of FPGAs. Apparently hurt by the costliness of those chips, the gross margin at Nokia’s networks business (including mobile as well as other technologies) had tumbled by five percentage points in the third quarter of 2019, to just 29.1%, compared with the year-earlier quarter. Across the entire group, it was only 35.3%. Introducing Broadcom and Marvell as chip suppliers alongside Intel, Uitto has been able to ratchet up margins as the stockpile of 5G equipment featuring FPGAs has shrunk.
By the end of 2022, when just 3% of 5G shipments still used FPGAs, Nokia was able to report a full-year gross margin of 38.4% at its newish mobile unit and one of 41% for the whole company. While this remains less than the 44.6% that Ericsson managed at its own mobile network unit last year, the gap has narrowed. Research-and-development (R&D) spending has gone into more competitive system-on-a-chip technology, and company-wide investments have recently risen. Last year, Nokia spent about €4.4 billion (US$4.7 billion) on R&D, up from €4.1 billion ($4.4 billion) in 2021.
Mobile network sales have also grown. After dipping 5% in 2021 on a constant-currency basis, they rose 3% last year. “The target is to take market share and I believe that is what is happening right now,” Lundmark told Light Reading last month. Company statements and senior management remarks show that Nokia’s 4G and 5G RAN market share outside China dipped from 27% at the end of 2019 to 26% last May, when Uitto said it had “stabilized” at that level. Research indicating it eventually beat Ericsson on market-share gains last year is encouraging: the Swedish vendor claims to have picked up six percentage points in RAN market share outside China since 2017, giving it 39% in 2022.
Exactly where Nokia captured market share is not spelled out in the headline research findings by either Dell’Oro or Omdia. Outside China, its earlier dip was blamed on setbacks in the US, with Verizon awarding a $6.6 billion 5G contract to Samsung instead. Previously, it lost out in Germany when Deutsche Telekom decided to switch to Ericsson as a RAN vendor. Data supplied by Strand Consult, a Danish advisory firm, suggests Nokia had previously supplied one third of Deutsche Telekom’s RAN equipment, with the rest provided by Huawei.
But Nokia’s recent gains seem likely to have come at the expense of the Chinese vendor, increasingly viewed by Western countries as a Chinese government stooge and threat to national security. Thierry Breton, the European Union (EU) commissioner for the internal market, was recently sounding off about member states that had not “imposed the necessary restrictions” on so-called “high-risk vendors” – the standard EU designation for Huawei and ZTE. A clampdown could bring further opportunity for Nokia.
One of its main challenges will be fending off smaller players amid telco enthusiasm for open RAN. Worried about relying too heavily on Ericsson and Nokia in a Huawei-less future, some operators have swung behind that concept as an alternative. If it works, its new interfaces should allow telcos to combine products from different suppliers at the same mobile site, instead of buying the whole stack from someone like Nokia, as they mainly do now. This could buoy specialists previously excluded from deals because they could not offer the full RAN portfolio.
Yet there have been few signs of “brownfield” open RAN projects involving specialists. Omdia, which puts global RAN sales last year at about $45.3 billion, cites Ericsson, NEC, Mavenir and Rakuten Symphony as the other vendors – besides Nokia and Samsung – to have grown market share last year. The deals involving NEC, Mavenir and Rakuten, all rightly seen as 5G challengers (if not outright specialists), are mainly with companies building “greenfield” networks, and those account for a tiny piece of the market.
Mavenir made just $100 million in RAN sales last year, while Rakuten earned $200 million. Those figures compare with sales of nearly €10.7 billion ($11.4 billion) at Nokia’s mobile networks unit. Both NEC and Rakuten, moreover, have recently complained about the lack of brownfield progress.
Of all the big kit vendors, Nokia has seemed the most willing to accommodate open RAN, arguing it would have more to lose from a refusal to budge. In Japan, its baseband products already link to other companies’ radios in the network of NTT Docomo, and it has also opened 4G radios there to support baseband software developed by Rakuten. In a conversation with Light Reading last October, Yago Tenorio, Vodafone’s network strategy director, praised Nokia for having “a fully compliant open RAN system.” This is all very awkward for rivals insisting the opposite.
The risk for Nokia is that operators worried about a RAN oligopoly hand open RAN contracts to smaller suppliers. By actively participating in the O-RAN Alliance, the main specifications body, and supporting open RAN in other ways, Nokia could hasten that development and its own decline. But it’s just as likely that open RAN has no big impact before 6G arrives, and even likelier that telcos continue to rely on big vendors for most of their needs. If it can build on last year’s gains, Nokia can afford to be optimistic.
5G to boost emerging markets, Ericsson study says
Saf Malik November 28, 2022
Emerging markets could benefit from GDP growth of between 0.3% and 0.46% through 2035 as a result of potential economic, consumer and environmental benefits of 5G connectivity according to a study from Ericsson and Analysys Mason.
The Future Value of Mobile in Emerging Markets report examines the impact of multiple 5G spectrum deployments across consumer, industry, logistics, rural and public services clusters.
The study spans 15 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and indicates that baseline 5G deployment cost is estimated between US$3 billion to US$8 billion per country.
An additional 20% to 35% investment is required to extend coverage.
Most countries are expected to generate overall economic benefits (GDP) three to seven times higher than the incremental cost of extending coverage.
Results suggest that 5G mobile broadband can generate consumer surplus between US$1 billion to US$10 billion per country, with coverage extension giving 20% to 40% extra consumer surplus.
The paper adds that adopting 5G can help reduce emissions by supporting digital transformation in agriculture, freight and logistics, smart factories and construction.
Andrew Lloyd, head of government and policy advocacy at Ericsson said: “This Analysys Mason Future Value of Mobile in Emerging Markets report provides a detailed breakdown, based on comprehensive research into realistic and achievable scenarios in each of the 15 countries, of the potential economic, social, environmental and national benefits of 5G in these markets.
“With the backing of governments, regulators and policy makers, each of these 15 countries, and their citizens, stand to benefit significantly from 5G connectivity.
“In addition to economic benefits, 5G can also reduce climate impact, increase social inclusion, wellbeing and tackle the digital divide in areas where fixed infrastructure availability is poor.”
The methodology used national government statistics and reports, based on population density distribution and existing national infrastructure such as road and rail networks and agriculture.
Expanded mid-band 5G coverage was identified as a key success factor in the report, with the potential to deliver around 80% of the economic benefits.
Ericsson 5G portfolio update
Ericsson 5G portfolio update
Nokia and TPG Telecom set new 5G uplink speed record in Australia
16 November 2022
* In an Australian first, Nokia and TPG Telecom demonstrated a 5G uplink speed of 2 Gbps
* The live demonstration used Nokia’s commercial AirScale Radio solution together with TPG Telecom’s 5G mmWave spectrum
* Fast uplink speed is critical for Industrial and IoT applications running over 5G
Sydney, Australia – Nokia and TPG Telecom today announced they have hit a 5G uplink speed of 2 Gigabits per second (Gbps). Using TPG Telecom’s 5G mmWave spectrum, this milestone was achieved during a live demonstration at the Nokia 5G Futures Lab in Sydney, Australia.
The new Australian 5G uplink record, which follows on from a number of Australian 5G speed records announced by Nokia earlier in the year, will enable Nokia and its customers such as TPG Telecom to offer ultra-high-performing, low-latency services for Industrial and IoT applications which are heavily reliant on high-speed uplink connectivity. The solution is expected to be fully deployed next year as devices that support this capability become available.
The live demonstration involved a commercially available Nokia AirScale 5G mmWave base station utilising TPG Telecom’s 26 GHz spectrum to connect, over the air, to a 5G device powered by a Snapdragon X65 5G Modem-RF System featuring fourth-generation Qualcomm QTM545 mmWave antenna modules. Additionally, Nokia deployed its industry-leading Carrier Aggregation (CA) technology to fully leverage the available spectrum assets. The CA setup included four component carriers of 100 MHz each in the 26 GHz band.
The demonstration also leveraged Nokia’s 5G Core to provide the speed, intelligence, and security for testing the delivery of new advanced 5G services.
Once deployed, 5G mmWave technology will create new service opportunities for both consumers and industries. For consumers it will allow real-time multi-user 8K ultra-high-definition bi-directional video streaming, and augmented reality content for smartphones or wearable devices for immersive experiences.
For industries it will enable streaming of massive amounts of data directly from embedded IoT sensors and industrial robots over 5G, allowing the real-time control of industrial processes using powerful 5G connected Edge Compute Nodes. This concept of processor offload across 5G was also demonstrated at the event using “Spot†– the 5G connected Robot Dog – developed in conjunction with academics at the University of Technology Sydney.
Dr Robert Joyce, Chief Technology Officer at Nokia Oceania, said: “Super-fast uplink speeds are critical to fully realise the huge benefits of 5G networks, particularly as we look to emerging technologies like augmented intelligence, machine learning, advanced sensors and robotics that are set to transform industries and economies with huge safety, productivity and efficiency outcomes as we move towards the metaverse era. For consumers and industries alike, the future is exciting. Pushing the boundaries of 5G with innovative customers like TPG Telecom in Australia is a big part of this journey forward.â€
Giovanni Chiarelli, Chief Technology Officer at TPG Telecom, said: “We are very proud of this achievement and other mobile technology innovations we continue to develop with Nokia. This demonstration is important as it shows the huge potential of 5G mobile technology and gives a glimpse of the high-speed services that will one day be available to customers and businesses right across Australia.â€
Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei Among Top 20 Companies Helping Telcos Achieve Their Sustainability Goals
– ABI Research, 15 Nov, 2022
ABI Research releases comprehensive sustainability assessment of telco technology suppliers
NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The Sustainability Assessment: Telco Technology Suppliers by global technology intelligence firm ABI Research provides an unrivaled tool to identify partners best placed to help telcos drive sustainability initiatives as well as identify the best practice operations of suppliers that can be replicated. This unbiased examination of 81 telecommunications suppliers supporting telecommunication operator sustainability initiatives assesses vendors on sustainability criteria across nine categories, including 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (mMIMO) antennae, Open RAN hardware and software, on-site renewable energy solutions, free cooling systems, liquid cooling systems, Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven software, antenna solutions, and 5G cloud-native platforms. Sustainability initiatives were considered across two major dimensions; present-day implementation (the ability to scale impact), including the global rollout of 5G and market share of equipment, and forward-looking impact, evaluating the innovation of the technologies for reducing carbon emissions and waste, such as using next- generation silicon and integrating AI and Machine Learning (ML) to reduce the overall energy consumption of the equipment.
The results of the assessment highlight leaders in four different supplier groups:
Traditional Network Equipment Vendors
Non-traditional Network Equipment Vendors
Chipset and Component Vendors
Software Vendors
Across all the telco equipment categories, the leaders that demonstrated the most capabilities in their products and services for improving telecommunication operator’s sustainability are Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, ZTE, Samsung, Intel, Qualcomm, NEC, Mavenir, Cisco, Fujitsu, Rakuten Symphony, CommScope, Dell, AMD, IBM (Red Hat), VMware, Airspan, Parallel Wireless, and Schneider Electric.
According to Kim Johnson, Sustainable Technologies Principal Analyst at ABI Research, “ABI Research offers this comprehensive research as a tool to help select sustainable partners in the telecom industry and to identify industry best practices. With the evolution of network virtualization and cloudification, the total number of telco equipment vendors is growing. With this increase of potential partners, vendors must work together to optimize various layers and components of the networks, address soaring levels of 5G energy consumption, and respond to climate change industry-wide.”
ABI Research’s overall assessment identified the providers with the greatest ability to scale sustainable impact across the industry. Based on this analysis, ABI Research concludes that, for now, the traditional network equipment vendors are likely to be the best positioned to help telcos improve their overall sustainability strategies and achieve climate targets. “However, the other supplier groups are increasingly contributing to the sustainability of telco networks every day and should not be underestimated, given the complexities of the sustainability challenge and the innovation needed to advance to net zero carbon emissions,” Johnson notes. The next most important grouping in the assessment is non-traditional network equipment vendors, while the third tier for reducing industry-wide carbon emissions and waste are the chipset and component vendors and software providers. One company that supersedes this classification is Intel, as an integrated device manufacturing (IDM) leader and technology provider that maintains legacy partnerships with traditional vendors and overlaps in multiple network areas.
Johnson highlights, “The companies that were identified as the most impactful industry-wide incorporate a multitude of sustainability initiatives. They employ eco-design principles, using less aluminum and other materials while making equipment lightweight, modular, and compact for simplified installation and tower sharing. The leaders are designing and making energy efficient radios and equipment with specialized silicon and integrated, intelligent, and programmable hardware and software.”
The traditional leaders, Ericsson and Nokia, also have 5G smart factories recognized as “Global Lighthouse” manufacturing facilities and Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) pioneers by McKinsey and the World Economic Forum. The Ericsson USA 5G smart factory runs on 100% renewable energy with integrated environmental systems that reduce energy consumption by 24% and water use by 75%. Nokia’s 5G “factory of the future” in Oulu, Finland, leverages Nokia’s private wireless networks for secure and reliable connectivity for factory assets, IoT analytics, and a real-time digital twin of factory operations data.
“In addition to supporting sustainable manufacturing and operational practices, all the companies in the Sustainability Assessment are focused on breaking the 5G energy curve. These companies are leading the way for advancing network technologies and performance while reducing energy consumption and global carbon emissions,” Johnson concludes.
These findings are from ABI Research’s Sustainability Assessment: Telco Technology Suppliers report. This report is part of the company’s Sustainable Technologies research service, which provides actionable research and data designed to help companies go from sustainability pledges to sustainability execution by identifying technologies, vendors, and programs that accelerate sustainability efforts, such as reducing carbon emissions and waste.
Nokia Bell Labs taps Keysight for 5G-Advanced, 6G tests
By Monica AllevenNov 10, 2022
According to Keysight, Nokia selected its technology to accelerate research and development critical to supporting 5G-Advanced and 6G use cases that leverage millimeter wave (mmWave) and sub-terahertz (THz) frequencies to wirelessly transmit large amounts of data across short distances.
Keysight’s 6G test bed was chosen to verify, under both linear and nonlinear conditions, the performance of TRX modules, power amplifiers and antennas. Nokia designed these network infrastructure components by leveraging complex modulation technology and D-Band (110 GHz to 170 GHz) and E-Band (60 GHz to 90 GHz) spectrum.
At last month’s 2022 Brooklyn 6G Summit, Keysight and Nokia demonstrated the 6G test bed in combination with Nokia’s RFIC and radio-on-glass technology. The demonstration showcased the use of the 6G test bed for evaluating the performance of an individual component or a cascaded series of components in an end-to-end system, according to the companies.
“Working with Keysight enables us to make significant progress in developing next generation wireless technology. Cross-industry collaborations are important in co-innovating technology that merges physical, digital and human domains to create immersive experiences that support meaningful interactions,†said Nokia Bell Labs Core Research President Peter Vetter in a statement.
Nokia got flak for lagging in 5G, but Nishant Batra, chief strategy and technology officer at Nokia, told Fierce last month that the company will make sure that doesn’t happen with 6G.
Indeed, in a blog post earlier this year, Nokia spelled out how it’s working closing with industry organizations, government agencies and academia to make 6G technologies a reality. Nokia said it was selected to lead major 6G initiatives in the U.S., and it’s leading the Hexa-X-II project in Europe that’s designed to lay the groundwork for 6G standardization.
In it, the organization examines potential 6G use cases and notes that it is not likely that the 6G standards work will appear in a 3GPP release until after Release 19 or 20. 6G is expected to be ready for commercial deployment starting around 2030.
President of 5G Americas Chris Pearson said in a blog post that 5G is still expected to evolve into “5G-Advanced†standards beginning in 2023-2024 with Release 18 all the way through 2026 with Release 22.
And while 5G development continues, it’s informing the industry as to the kind of recommendations that will go into the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)-defined “IMT†document (IMT-2030) that will set the course for the development of 6G for the next decade, he said.
Nokia Bell Labs has selected Keysight Technologies’ sub-Terahertz (THz) test bed to verify the performance of 5G-Advanced and 6G transceiver (TRX) modules.
Samsung, Nokia Power 5G mmWave Potential
by Dan Meyer, Executive Editor
November 8, 2022
Samsung and Nokia are part of an Australian 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) network that could show broader deployment promise in support of higher-speed fixed-wireless access (FWA) networks. The effort is around bridging that country’s digital divide.
Samsung was part of an infrastructure test conducted with Australia’s NBN Co., which is a quasi-government entity tasked with expanding broadband across that country using its nbn wholesale network. The vendor said it was able to beam a 5G signal 6.2 miles from an FWA location using spectrum in the 28 GHz band that produced an average downlink speed of 1.75 Gb/s and uplink speed of 61.5 Mb/s.
The test aggregated eight 100 megahertz carriers, with total support of 800 megahertz of spectrum. This taps into the significant amount of available mmWave spectrum in most parts of the world.
Samsung used its Compact Macro integrated radio to beam the high-powered signal. This unit includes the baseband, radio, and antenna into a single form factor.
This signal was beamed to a “third-party 5G mmWave customer premise equipment (CPE).â€
Nokia had previously announced it was supplying 5G FWA mmWave CPE equipment for nbn’s efforts that also operates in the 28 GHz band with similar performance characteristics stated by Samsung for its test, including a range of up to 6.2 miles from the transmission tower. However, Samsung said that Nokia’s equipment was not part of its test.
Nokia noted that its CPE includes an antenna installed on the roof of a premises that is linked using a 2.5 Gb/s power over Ethernet (PoE) connection to an indoor unit that powers the on-premises internet connectivity.
The Australian project is working with around $485 million in funding provided by the government and NBN Co. It’s focused on expanding the reach of the country’s existing fixed wireless footprint by 50% and offering tiered services at different price points.
The nbn FWA network covers nearly 650,000 premises in the country. The firm wants to add at least 120,000 locations that are currently served by a satellite-based service.
5G mmWave Expansion
The test is significant as it shows potential use cases for difficult to deploy mmWave spectrum. Those bands, which are typically considered to be at least 15 GHz, typically have poor propagation characteristics. This means that the signals don’t travel very far from a transmitter and are easily blocked by materials.
Many operators around the world hold and use hundreds of megahertz of spectrum in these bands, but deployments are typically limited to short-range or indoor locations.
Verizon, for instance, has been plagued by coverage issues in deploying its vast mmWave spectrum resources.
The NBN work is able to overcome some of those challenges by being able to boost the signal strength in low population density rural locations that have minimal interference characteristics. The service is also using FWA CPEs that have a constant power source and remove the receiver from the on-premises device to separate heat and power issues.
Vendors are beginning to look more closely in tying mmWave spectrum bands to mid-band spectrum to provide a speed boost to 5G services.
“At Qualcomm we believe that 5G mmWave is not an either or, it’s not really a choice, it’s complementary to midband when you want to offer the best possible quality of experience wherever your subscriber is,†Philippe Poggianti, VP of business development at Qualcomm, noted earlier this year.
UPDATED: This story was updated by removing the statement that Nokia was “likely†the CPE provider for the nbn test and to further clarify that Nokia was not part of the Samsung test.
Ericsson 5G portfolio update puts energy efficiency center stage
Seven new RAN products and solutions led by the flagship dual-band Radio 4490, which consumes 25 percent less power compared to current product
Easy-to-deploy portfolio additions also include compact active-passive antennas, high-capacity ultra-lightweight Massive MIMO radios, and software features for energy savings and enhanced 5G performance
Powered by next-generation Ericsson Silicon, the additions will lead to lower-footprint 5G sites, boosting bandwidth, energy efficiency and user experience
PRESS RELEASE FEB 17, 2022
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) continues to strengthen its radio access network (RAN) portfolio with solutions that address the 5G rollout and sustainability goals of communications service providers. Announced today, the portfolio additions will deliver sizeable energy savings and up to ten-fold capacity increases – with minimal or no added footprint.
Leading the portfolio enhancements is Radio 4490, a dual-band radio that delivers 25 percent lower power consumption and lesser weight compared to the current product. This radio type is compatible with most of the radio sites globally as it supports the main FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) bands being used by many service providers for their 5G deployment.
Ericsson is also launching a high-power version of the new dual-band radio, 4490 HP, which enables up to 50 percent more output power compared to current radios. The two new radios apply passive cooling – reducing power consumption further, as fans are not needed. They are also Cloud RAN-ready.
Per Narvinger, Head of Product Area Networks, Ericsson, says: “We continue to evolve our RAN portfolio with more solutions for smart, slim and sustainable 5G networks. Our latest innovations will further optimize 5G sites for both purpose-built and Cloud RAN deployments.“
5G rollouts are accelerating across the world, with frontrunners gearing up for the shift to 5G Standalone to drive new consumer and enterprise use cases. Introducing 5G means added spectrum and hardware – which is where Ericsson’s new products play a key role through the ability to raise capacity while slashing power usage – fueling efforts to break the energy curve.
The portfolio additions also include:
Easy-to-install 64T/R Massive MIMO AIR 6428 for mid-band, with 400MHz bandwidth for efficient RAN sharing, in a single-person-carry 25kg radio
Highly integrated, multi-band Antenna 4602 – only 398mm wide, designed for best wind load durability and for maintained site build requirements
Next-generation Interleaved AIR 3218 with industry-leading low height and weight, enabling Massive MIMO rollouts without growing visual antenna footprint
Expanded Deep Sleep mode software for new radios and Massive MIMO portfolios. Consumes up to 70 percent less power per radio during low traffic hours
Coverage Boost is a versatile 5G carrier aggregation software that delivers 60 percent wider reach for mid-band TDD (Time Division Duplex) compared to dual connectivity. It supports RAN Compute and Cloud RAN platforms
The new products are powered by next-generation Ericsson Silicon, with its footprint-reducing, less power-consuming multi-band, and wide-band capabilities for remote and Massive MIMO radios.
Videos: Ericsson experts explain the benefits of the new RAN products
Gede Darmayusa , Director and CTO, PT XL Axiata, says: “XL Axiata always strives to provide the best customer experience to meet the ever-increasing demand for data services through the adoption of new technologies and other network initiatives. We have been pioneering the use of Ericsson’s first-generation dual-band radio technology since 2019. With the launch of the new dual-band 4T4R radio, we expect this innovation to continue to help us maximize user experience with greater energy efficiency and operational excellence.â€
Ed Gubbins, Principal Analyst at Global Data, says: “With this launch Ericsson has shown its commitment to sustainability through energy-efficient products and solutions for 5G rollouts and site expansions. Ericsson’s recipe includes in-house silicon, innovative radio and antenna product engineering, and advanced software features.
Appalachian Wireless will deploy a 5G SA network using Ericsson gear
By Sue Marek Sep 27, 2022
Rural wireless operator Appalachian Wireless will deploy a cloud-native dual-mode standalone 5G (SA) network that also supports 4G.
Mike Johnson, Assistant CEO of Appalachian Wireless, said that the first phase of the company’s 5G deployment will be in its low-band 600 MHz spectrum. However, the company is also looking at other options such as repurposing its 800 MHz spectrum and also deploying 5G in its mid-band spectrum. Appalachian Wireless’ web site says that it plans to decommission its 3G network by year-end.
Appalachian Wireless, which is also known as East Kentucky Network, participated in the FCC’s 3.45 GHz spectrum auction (Auction 110) and acquired two spectrum licenses for $4.34 million and the FCC’s C-band auction (Auction 107) and acquired one license for $7.4 million.
The company’s decision to initially rollout using its low-band spectrum isn’t surprising. Appalachian Wireless CEO Allen Gillum said during a FierceWireless Executive Panel on 5G at the Competitive Carriers Association’s Mobile Carriers Show last April that the company was planning to deploy 5G in its low-band spectrum and “mirror†its LTE coverage. Gillum also said that the company had some millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum in addition to its mid-band spectrum holdings.
Rural operators encouraged by upcoming 2.5 GHz auction
Appalachian Wireless will use Ericsson’s container-based dual-mode 5G core and its 5G RAN for the SA network. In addition, the company will replace its existing 4G network equipment with Ericsson’s gear and build a dual-mode core network for 4G and 5G. The goal, the company said, is to be able to future-proof its network and deliver advanced services to its customers, many of which reside in rural eastern Kentucky.
5G deployments by rural operators will be a hot topic of discussion during this week’s Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) annual show in Portland, Oregon. FierceWireless will be hosting a breakfast at the conference on “Mobile Meets Fixed: How 5G Fixed Wireless Traffic Will Grow Alongside Mobile.â€
MTN Nigeria and Ericsson Launch 5G Services
Phase one of the launch will cover certain parts of Lagos and Nigeria
The historic launch is set to provide consumers and enterprises with innovative 5G applications
PRESS RELEASE SEP 19, 2022
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and MTN Nigeria have reached a historic milestone with the successful launch of 5G services. This landmark deal is the result of a fruitful collaboration spanning 21 years reaffirming a rich culture of partnerships between the two parties.
The first phase of the launch covers certain parts of Lagos and Nigeria where Ericsson’s 5G technology – which includes 5G Radio Access Network & NSA Packet Core – will accelerate the development and digitalization of key sectors such as education, healthcare and manufacturing. It will also empower consumers and enterprises with innovative 5G applications that will unlock the true potential of the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart cities and Immersive Communication over Augmented (AR) and Virtual reality (VR) for millions of new consumers in the country.
With Ericsson Radio System, MTN will provide advanced Mobile broadband & fixed wireless access services which shall unlock a range of new opportunities in the Enterprise domain. The new 5G services can bring about unique Sustainable Development initiatives for agriculture, energy, financial inclusion, and security, among others, overcoming past institutional challenges and barriers to growth.
Mohammed Rufai, Chief Technical Officer, MTN Nigeria says: “5G will revolutionize the way we live and communicate across industries. With the speeds 5G offers, we will be able to experience the internet with low latency, which means no lag, making our virtual interactions more real. At MTN, we will continue to pursue the rollout of 5G technology to revolutionize internet access across the continent.â€
Hossam Kandeel, Vice President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says: “5G is not just about speed. 5G helps people do more with their devices, unlocking a whole new world of possibilities for society. 5G connectivity is likely to pave the way for life-altering advancements and we are proud to be a part of Nigeria’s 5G digital transformation that has only just begun. With connectivity being the backbone of digitization, we are committed to delivering the best service to our partners at MTN Nigeria to support them in this thrilling journey.â€
In the future, MTN Nigeria’s Ericsson-powered 5G network will be driven by software-defined network capabilities where a combination of currently available and well-understood AI techniques will allow a higher degree of practical autonomous operation. AI is creating opportunities in terms of improved performance, higher efficiency, enhanced customer experience as well as creating new business models and use cases for 5G, IoT and enterprise.
Nokia flexes new 5G partnership
Saf Malik September 16, 2022
Nokia will team with Flex Brazil to deploy 5G SA private wireless networks in its manufacturing facilities in Brazil.
Initial use cases will focus on increasing wireless applications and exploring the potential of 5G for reliable connectivity, massive transfers of operational data and greater layout flexibility on the shop floor.
Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (Nokia DAC) will provide the wireless on-demand service as well as MX Industrial Edge computing and digital-enabling applications.
Marcelo Entreconti, Head of Enterprise for Latin America, Nokia, said: “The partnership will leverage our strength in advanced networking and mission-critical communications with Flex long experience in manufacturing and supply chain innovation.
“Together, we will explore the power of Industry 4.0 to transform how we manufacture and distribute goods in this new digital world.â€
The collaboration is part of a long-term goal from both firms to introduce innovative Industry 4.0 solutions in the supply chain and manufacturing verticals to make operations more agile and cost effective.
Flex has over 100 sites worldwide and plays a key role in manufacturing and supply chain operations.
“We welcome the collaboration with Nokia to join us on this journey to expand the scope of our solutions by integrating Nokia’s 5G private wireless expertise to improve our current operations efficiency and prepare for the future of manufacturing at the same time.â€
Ericsson provides Malaysia’s 5G rollout with new generation radio equipmentEricsson claims its AIR 3268 radio’s are 18 percent more energy-efficient
September 16, 2022 By Paul Lipscombe
Malaysia’s joint-5G network will be supplied by Ericsson’s new generation radio equipment, with the vendor to provide its new antenna-integrated radio AIR 3268.
Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will deploy Ericsson’s network across the country, with the radio AIR 3268’s expected to reduce energy consumption for Malaysia’s 5G network.
DNB will be the first company in Asia to deploy this new radio, notes Ericsson, which it claims to be 18 percent more energy-efficient than the previous generation.
This new radio will support Massive MIMO architecture, and uplink booster capabilities, and will be more energy-efficient when using 5G over mid-band frequencies.
“The AIR 3268’s improved energy efficiency will reduce the cost of operations and impact on the environment,” said Ericsson head of Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh David Hägerbro.
“The new generation radios that will be deployed throughout Malaysia by Digital Nasional Berhad will be comparatively more energy efficient, thereby ensuring a more sustainable and responsible 5G rollout.”
Ericsson claims that the radio is the lightest and smallest Massive MIMO radio in the industry, at 12kg and 23 liters.
DNB wants to drive Malaysia’s 5G market
The DNB was set up last year by the Malaysian government to speed up the deployment of 5G services across the country.
The new company has sought to partner with all six of the main operators in the country — Maxis, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia, YTL Communications, Celcom Axiata, and DiGi –and all take equity stakes in a state-controlled 5G single wholesale network run by the DNB.
All six of the operators agreed to the proposals last month, after being offered a combined 70 percent stake in DNB, dependent on all six operators agreeing to the terms.
However Maxis and U Mobile pulled out at the last minute, as neither saw benefits to the agreement, although both ‘want to remain in talks for access to DNB’s 5G network’.
Operators have been skeptical of the proposals put forward by the DNB, with many initially reluctant to agree to the plans, but the DNB has insisted its 5G strategy will keep costs lower and speed up the deployment of 5G services in the country, which has faced regular delays.
The DNB says the rollout will cost RM16.5 billion ($3.7bn) for the next decade, with Ericsson selected as the network equipment provider.
DiGi and Celcom to merge?
Two of the six Malaysian operators that agreed to the initial 5G terms by the DNB are reportedly closing on a merger.
Developing Telecoms reports that DiGi, which is owned by Norwegian-based Telenor, and Celcom have received regulatory approval from the Securities Commission Malaysia over a proposed deal.
The two telcos are the second, and third biggest in the country, and want to compete against Maxis, the country’s number one mobile network operator.
Telenor noted in a stock exchange update that the merger is dependent on approval from Bursa Malaysia, plus shareholders of Axiata, and DiGi.
Telenor expects the merger to be finalized by the end of this year.
Ericsson radio Air 3268 to reduce consumption for Malaysia’s 5G network
By Kenn Anthony Mendoza
Ericsson’s energy-saving radios Air 3268 claims it will reduce power consumption of Malaysia’s 5G network being deployed by Digital Nasional Berhad.
The Malaysian 5G network claims to be the first in Asia to deploy Ericsson’s radio which is 18% more energy-efficient than its previous generation radio.
Air 3268 supports Ericsson’s massive Mimo architecture and uplink booster capabilities that deliver network performance.
At 12kg and 23 litres, Ericsson claims that the Air 3268 is the lightest and smallest massive Mimo radio in the industry.
With 200W output power, 32 transceivers and passive cooling, the radio weighs about 40% less than the earlier generation, making installations easy on towers, rooftops, poles, and walls.
“The Air 3268’s improved energy efficiency will reduce the cost of operations and impact on the environment,†said Ericsson head Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh David Hägerbro.
“The new generation radios that will be deployed throughout Malaysia by Digital Nasional Berhad will be comparatively more energy efficient, thereby ensuring a more sustainable and responsible 5G rollout,†Hägerbro added.
The Air 3268 is designed with Ericsson Silicon to provide real-time channel estimation and beamforming that improves coverage and user experience.
With its reduced size and weight, Air 3268 will also simplify site upgrades even in locations where the number of antennas is limited.
This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 16 September 2022.
Ericsson claims sustainability gains with tri-sector 5G radio
Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly
02 Sep 2022
At the beginning of 2022, Ericsson unveiled a radio access network (RAN) portfolio with systems designed to address the global acceleration in 5G roll-out and the sustainability goals of communications service providers. In the latest part of this strategy, the comms tech provider has launched a radio product designed to address the ever-growing need of communications service providers (CSPs) for more sustainable offerings.
The Radio 6646’s low-band spectrum capabilities are said to be able to significantly boost both 5G coverage and mid-band (3.5GHz) performance in an energy-efficient way, extending the multiband capabilities of Ericsson tri-sector products by combining 900, 800 and 700MHz frequency bands into one compact 2G to 5G-capable radio.
This is said to be able to produce a 40% reduction in energy usage compared with single-sector products, translating to yearly savings per site comparable to charging an electric car 40 times.
In addition, Ericsson noted that the 60% reduction in weight of the new triple-band, tri-sector radio will further help CSPs to minimise deployment costs and reduce their carbon footprint. One Radio 6646 can do the job of nine single-band radios.
Radio 6646 is also designed to increase the wide-area reach, outside-in coverage from rooftops and towers to indoor locations such as offices, basements, stores and homes. It will also increase the capacity of 5G networks, especially when combined with mid-band TDD over Carrier Aggregation and 5G Standalone (5G SA).
The new radio also supports the 700MHz band, which is expected to be one of the key spectrums for 5G SA deployments, where low bands extend the performance and reach of mid-band TDD.
With three low bands combined, Radio 6646 will enhance both outdoor and indoor coverage for all mobile generations – 2G to 5G – as well as the internet of things. The frequencies are widely supported by devices and, according to Ericsson, will provide “immense†potential to increase growth of 5G services.
Radio 6646 follows the 2021 launch of the dual-band, tri-sector Radio 6626, which is commercially available across global markets. Ericsson also unveiled earlier this year seven new 5G RAN services that deliver sizeable energy savings and up to tenfold capacity increases – with minimal or no added footprint.
“Our new energy-efficient radio uniquely combines spectrum capabilities in an easy-to-install form factor,†said David Hammarwall, head of product area networks at Ericsson.
“This will simplify deployments and extend 5G coverage, starting in Europe. With this latest innovation, service providers can scale up 5G Standalone deployments with new applications for consumers, enterprises and mission-critical communications.â€
Vicente Abad, RAN technology and support manager at Telefónica Spain, added: “Ericsson’s new Radio 6646 will offer a highly compact and flexible solution to expand 5G coverage in a very cost-efficient manner while being economical and sustainable. The footprint and energy consumption achieved are something we believe will be a powerful driver for 5G, and we look forward to the first deployments in Spain.â€
Swedish comms tech provider makes further inroads into more sustainable networks with the introduction of a new triple-band, tri-sector radio that is said to be able to do the job of nine radios
Ericsson raises sustainability bar with triple-band, tri-sector 5G radio
NEWS SEP 01, 2022
The new radio extends the multiband capabilities of Ericsson tri-sector products by combining 900, 800, and 700MHz frequency bands into one compact 2G to 5G-capable radio. With the ever-growing need of communications service providers (CSPs) for more sustainable solutions, Radio 6646’s low-band spectrum capabilities will significantly boost both 5G coverage and mid-band (3.5GHz) performance in an energy-efficient way.
A 40-percent reduction in energy usage can translate to yearly savings per site that is comparable to charging an electric car 40 times. Moreover, the 60-percent reduction in weight of the new triple-band, tri-sector radio will further help CSPs to minimize deployment costs, tower rent as well as carbon footprint. One Radio 6646 can do the job of nine single-band radios.
Vicente Abad, RAN Technology and Support Manager at Telefonica Spain, says: “Ericsson’s new Radio 6646 will offer a highly compact and flexible solution to expand 5G coverage in a very cost-efficient manner while being economical and sustainable – the footprint and energy consumption achieved are something we believe will be a powerful driver for 5G, and we look forward to the first deployments in Spain.â€
David Hammarwall, Head of Product Area Networks at Ericsson, says: “Our new energy-efficient radio uniquely combines spectrum capabilities in an easy-to-install form factor. This will simplify deployments and extend 5G coverage, starting in Europe. With this latest innovation, service providers can scale up 5G Standalone deployments with new applications for consumers, enterprises, and mission-critical communications.â€
Radio 6646 will expand the wide-area reach, outside-in coverage from rooftops and towers to indoor locations such as offices, basements, stores, and homes. It will also increase the capacity of 5G networks, especially when combined with mid-band TDD over Carrier Aggregation and 5G Standalone (5G SA).
The new radio also supports the 700MHz band, which is expected to be one of the key spectrums for 5G SA deployments, where low bands extend the performance and reach of mid-band TDD. With three low bands combined, Radio 6646 will enhance both outdoor and indoor coverage for all mobile generations – 2G to 5G – as well as IoT. The frequencies are widely supported by devices and provide immense potential to increase growth of 5G services.
Radio 6646 follows the 2021 launch of the dual-band, tri-sector Radio 6626, which is commercially available across global markets. Ericsson also unveiled earlier this year seven new 5G RAN solutions that deliver sizeable energy savings and up to ten-fold capacity increases – with minimal or no added footprint.
Ericsson is once again setting the pace for sustainable networks with the introduction of a new triple-band, tri-sector radio that can do the job of nine radios. Radio 6646 cuts energy consumption by 40 percent compared to triple-band single-sector radios and, with reduced weight – including use of aluminum – by 60 percent, minimizes site footprint as well.
The 5G Factor: News on T-Mobile, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Thales, Vonage, and more
Ericsson 5G portfolio update puts energy efficiency center stage
Nokia CEO: ‘Next big thing’ will be industrial investment in 5G
5G set to generate $7tn worth of economic value in 2030
By Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weeklym 19 August 2022
Study from mobile and video technology developer finds adoption of 5G is outpacing all previous generations of cellular technology in terms of subscription rate, leading to vast value by 2030
The growth of 5G is carrying on at an unprecedented rate compared with other generations of mobile communications. According to a study released by InterDigital and ABI Research, it’s on track to generate $7tn of economic value in 2030, 12 years after the official 3GPP standard was published.
The State of 5G report: Enabling the boundless generation claims the prospect for operators looks promising, as they witness the exponential rise of 5G and its growth opportunities – especially as 5G is set to support a wide range of revenue generating, mission critical applications. It notes that many operators and their partner suppliers are finding ways to develop new and better features in support of the network performance capabilities needed to realise the potential of 5G networks and its economic benefits.
The report examines the expectations of telecom operators as they look to capitalise on the latest generation of cellular technology to maintain and grow their profitability, and discusses the impact 5G is likely to have on the evolution of the mobile industry, particularly as it continues to enable innovative services such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and immersive content. It also highlights how 5G is starting to introduce advanced enterprise-enabling features, including low latency, deterministic networking and advanced internet of things use cases, all of which are new in the mobile network domain.
The research adds that industry stakeholders have expressed high hopes for the upcoming wave of 5G services, which will likely enhance productivity and efficiency through mobility, among other improvements. However, it also recognises that 5G would not be possible without contributions to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which produces global technical reports and specifications on how next-generation networks should be built and implemented.
The adoption of 5G was found to be outpacing all previous generations of cellular technology in terms of subscription rate and operator roll-out, gaining significant traction from enterprise verticals. ABI Research said organisations that have significantly invested in the research for 5G are projected to sustain that investment well into the future, highlighting the continued interest in the commercial relevancy of the technology.
“The time we live in is an exciting inflection point for 5G and the way telecommunications networks are built and consumed,†said Rajesh Pankaj, chief technology officer at InterDigital. “As 5G deploys across the world, it’s helping to solve fundamental challenges, and laying the foundation for experimentation, new ideas and innovation.
“At the same time, 3GPP and the 5G supply chain are continuously working to progress 5G even further,†he said. “The early years of 5G have been foundational to its long-term success. Now is the time when we will experience and benefit from exciting new applications, new use cases and many more ways consumer lifestyles can be transformed.â€
Dimitris Mavrakis, senior research director at ABI Research, said: “5G is now giving us a glimpse of what will be possible in the future and setting the foundation for the next generation of networks. The high capacity, high reliability and low latency capabilities of 5G are now starting to create the next wave of consumer and enterprise applications, in the very same way 4G seeded the creation of social networks, the collaborative economy and rich content. We are now in a very exciting technical era that will pave the way for 6G and future networks.â€
While the technology promises to support data-hungry and latency-sensitive applications such as AR and VR, the report shows that the appetite for such services has not yet fully emerged, with new concepts such as the Metaverse being a more distant future vision. Yet it also reveals how 5G can be seen as transformative in supporting the roll-out of digital spaces, smart cities and smart public services. To enable all of this, governments and local authorities must remove the barriers to ubiquitous 5G access.
In particular, ABI expects the private 5G addressable market to grow at an exponential rate, mostly driven by verticals including energy and utilities, healthcare, and manufacturing. Indeed, in a separate study, 5G private wireless in manufacturing, ABI said the manufacturing and industrial sector is slowly realising 5G private networks are essential for automation, robotics and augmented reality.
It said that network upgrades can underpin the efforts of manufacturers to automate quality assurance processes, deploy autonomous mobile robots inside the facility and upskill employees using augmented reality. Lower latency and support for time-sensitive networking afforded by a 5G network can further enable wireless process automation for robotics use cases and increase bandwidth support for data-heavy applications such as video analytics.
In all, the study calculated that in 2030, manufacturing and industrial firms worldwide will have more than 49 million 5G connections inside their facilities, generating $2.4bn in global connections revenue for suppliers.
However, the report warned that a lack of 5G industrial devices has stalled manufacturers’ interest in 5G private wireless. It added that in turn, the lack of enthusiasm has discouraged hardware suppliers from creating the necessary devices, and as a result of the state of flux, equipment suppliers such as Nokia have launched converged devices supporting Wi-Fi, LTE and 5G connectivity.
Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung win 5G deals from Jio, Airtel; Huawei, ZTE out of 5G race
Cash-strapped Vodafone Idea is still in talks with European vendors for 5G contracts, people familiar with the matter said. They added that the loss-making telco will initially place orders for circles where it has revenue market share of 15% and above, which are metro plus category circles.
by Danish Khan – ETTelecom
Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are believed to have finalised 5G equipment partners, awarding contracts to Finland’s Nokia, Sweden’s Ericsson and Korea’s Samsung, officially shutting out Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE from the roll outs of the next gen technology.
Cash-strapped Vodafone Idea is still in talks with European vendors for 5G contracts, people familiar with the matter said. They added that the loss-making telco will initially place orders for circles where it has revenue market share of 15% and above, which are metro plus category circles.
Notably, European vendors are set to supply mobile telephony equipment to the Mukesh Ambani-led telco for the first time. Jio has so far worked with just Samsung for its 4G network. Samsung, on its part, will be supplying mobile telephony network gear to Airtel for the first time.
While Airtel is expected to place an order of 15,000-20,000 5G sites in the initial phase to cover bigger cities, Jio is expected to place a much bigger order to cover more cities than its rivals, the people said.
Both Airtel and Jio though are yet to place purchase orders (POs) for network equipment, which will be basis their final 5G spectrum winnings and subsequent allotments.
Emails to all parties did not elicit a response.
A senior executive at Bharti Airtel separately confirmed deals to Nokia, Ericsson and Samsung. “Airtel will give purchase orders to all vendors,†the executive said.
In order to ensure that Airtel is able to get the best 5G equipment costs, it has also finalised Korean vendor Samsung along with its long-standing partners Nokia and Ericsson.
One person added that both Huawei and ZTE will also be phased out from Airtel’s 4G network, to be replaced with the three vendors.
“Jio has managed to secure a rate from Ericsson, which is even lower compared to Airtel,†one of the people privy to the discussions said, adding that final contours are being discussed currently.
A third source said that backward integration with gear from European vendors is possible with Samsung’s 4G, hence Jio is opting for 5G equipment from the latter.
“Nokia and Ericsson’s 5G gear is better than those of Samsung in terms of performance quality,†he said, adding that European vendors are aggressive in terms of trading margins to get entry into Jio’s network.
Sources said that Jio may in fact place a significantly bigger purchase order with Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson, compared with Nokia and Samsung.
Both telecom operators will initially focus on urban and dense population areas with their respective commercial 5G services. “Jio is expected to be more aggressive as it plans to cover the entire population in the next 3-4 years with its 5G,†the third person said, adding that the telco will deploy a lot more 5G sites this fiscal than Airtel.
A senior executive at a European vendor said that the company is ready to start work once the PO’s are signed. “They are just waiting for the auction to be done.â€
India’s first 5G spectrum auction started on July 26 with four participants—Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Adani Data Networks (an Adani Group unit). A total of 72 GHz of 5G airwaves across 10 bands—600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3.3-3.67 GHz and 26 GHz—are up for grabs.
“Once the auction is over, the POs issued, it will take another 3-6 months for the equipment to be installed and the network to be set up,†said an industry executive.
5 myths about 5G Transport
Don´t let these misconceptions stop you from building a superior transport network.
Several myths exist about 5G transport and its technologies. Don´t let these misconceptions stop you from building a superior transport network for 5G services everywhere. We bust the myths for you.
Myth 1: Every 5G radio site must have a GPS
Busted!
The specific requirements for RAN timing and sync are dependent on the radio technology deployed and the spectrum used. There’s also a need for increased reliability in the timing source. While today’s FDD-based LTE network can continue to operate for hours after sync loss with no degradation, in the future, loss of timing will have an immediate impact on RAN performance.
Although the mobile transport network itself does not need synchronization, it can provide timing and synchronization to the RAN. Router 6000 can work as boundary and/or grandmaster clock to distribute timing to other elements in the network. The result is exceptional 5G sync and lowered TCO. By managing upstream and downstream routers, basebands at hubs and other sites, the Router 6000 eliminates the need for a GPS at every radio site.
Myth 2: Radio over Ethernet is most efficient for transporting CPRI over packet networks
Busted!
With 5G we see more operators exploring the possibility to centralize their networks and build packet-based fronthaul systems. But by doing this, there is also a need to handle the legacy CPRI flows to enable a packet-only network. Two options are available; Mapping the CPRI frames into ethernet packets, called Radio over Ethernet (RoE) or Convert the CPRI streams into eCPRI by RAN Compute processing.
The two alternatives have their set of benefits, where conversion being the most effective technology in terms of bandwidth savings – 60-80% savings can be achieved depending on RAN configuration and by that, reducing the fiber needs as well as transport equipment. Ericsson Router 6673 supports RoE and Conversion in the same platform, offering full support across all current and future Ericsson radios CPRI and eCPRI variations. It also works as a cell site router and aggregates enterprise traffic.
Myth 3: Existing LTE backhaul is sufficient for 5G
Depends.
One of the major benefits of 5G is the improved user capacity it brings. Beside the optimization of the radio protocol stack, this improvement is enabled by the availability of multiple new frequency bands. When adding mid- and high-band spectrums, the backhaul network also needs to be upgraded to meet widely varying, but strict, requirements for performance, capacity, latency, synchronization, and security. It must also support the various needs of parallel network architectures and technologies, and seamlessly support the coordination between many more cell sites.
Myth 4: Microwave is not a viable transport media for 5G
Busted!
The steady evolution of backhaul over the last 40 years has been a response and adaptation to the requirements from new services enabled by new generation of mobile technology. The key to increased capacity is accessing new frequency bands, wider channel bandwidths, higher modulation schemes and other spectrum efficient solutions.
Microwave technology is being used for both 5G backhaul and fronthaul, and is continuously evolving. 100 Gbps speed is already verified.
Myth 5: All types of optical pluggables can be used in mobile networks
Busted!
In mobile networks, the optical pluggables need specific features: they have to be highly cost-effective, tolerate outdoor deployments of high and low temperatures, have a long lifetime to avoid costly downtime and network replacements, and meet the requirements for power consumption.
Ericsson has initiated a joint effort with Nokia and three leading optical pluggables vendors, II-VI, Lumentum and Sumitomo Electric, to agree on the most important high-level requirements and optical solutions for 5G. This intends to get a common and shared view in the industry to secure that the right optical pluggables are available at the right time and the right cost for the 5G buildouts.
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