TELECOM – THIS WEEK (2215)
1.????Smaller carriers in limbo because of $3.7B Huawei rip and replace shortfall
The FCC program to reimburse U.S. service providers for removing and replacing existing Huawei and ZTE gear is facing a $3.7 billion funding shortfall, and absent additional Congressional support near-term, the program’s goal could be in jeopardy as carriers themselves are left in limbo.?
2.????Vodafone Portugal Awards Mavenir Cloud-Native Converged Packet Core
Vodafone Portugal, a leading telecom provider in Portugal, and Mavenir, the Network Software Provider building the future of networks with cloud-native software that runs on any cloud and transforms the way the world connects, today announced that Vodafone Portugal will be using the?MAVcore?solution for its fully containerized Converged Packet Core network after the selection of Mavenir as strategic 5G Converged Core supplier.
3.????Zain Global Connect to link Jeddah to Marseille through J2M undersea cable
The investment marks ZGC’s first subsea cable ownership, in a portion of the state-of-the-art Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) cable system, that will offer Zain full operational independence, a genuine critical factor capable to foster digital transformation initiatives in the region, particularly for cloud and IoT services.
4.????Augmented reality valuable to Asia-Pacific foodservice vendors to drive consumer engagement, operational efficiency, says GlobalData
Foodservice companies in the Asia-pacific (APAC) region are investing in technologies like augmented reality (AR) to raise their profile and stay in touch with relevant trends, such as social media and the metaverse, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
5.????AustralianSuper, Singtel and Australia Tower Network to acquire Axicom
AustralianSuper and Singtel owned Australia Tower Network (ATN) today announced it will acquire Axicom, one of Australia’s leading providers of telecommunications tower infrastructure, for A$3.58 billion.
6.????Deutsche Telekom touts 5G SA rollout in Germany
Deutsche Telekom (DT) is making progress on its 5G Standalone (SA) network, with more than 5,000 antennas transmitting at 3.6 GHz. The company?said?that about 350 new sites have been added in recent weeks. The 5G SA network is now available in more than 200 urban centers and cities across Germany.The 5G SA network can provide download speeds of up to one gigabit per second and enables a minimum response time of less than 10 milliseconds, the operator said.
7.????Amazon Project Kuiper books 83 launches of internet satellites
Amazon hired Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance to provide up to 83 launches over five years for its Project Kuiper initiative to boost broadband service from a constellation of low Earth orbit satellites. Notably missing from the launch group is Amazon’s direct satellite competitor, SpaceX, and its Starlink constellation for internet access.?Amazon’s announced launches will deploy the majority of Project Kuiper’s 3,236 satellites,?Amazon said in a statement. The launch agreements “reflect our incredible commitment and belief in Project Kuiper,” said Dave Limp, senior vice president for Amazon devices and services in a statement.
8.????CommScope, Orange Belgium join forces for next-gen set-top box launch
CommScope has teamed up with Orange Belgium to release the newest generation of CommScope’s set top boxes, powered by the?Android TV?OS. The partnership merges CommScope’s software with Orange ecosystem partners to deliver both live TV and streaming services.?Orange Belgium subscribers will have access to CommScope’s 4K Ultra HD digital video decoders, with enhanced OTT streaming, on-demand and broadcast TV services. Customers can tap into a variety of streaming apps as well as CommScope’s new multiscreen cloud recording service.
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9.????Africell launches services in Angola
Africell launched commercial mobile services in Angola. The entry of an independent operator brings fresh competition to Angola’s telecommunications sector and signals positive progress in efforts to open Angola’s economy.
10.?Crypto company Helium, wafted to stratospheric heights by hot money, becomes a unicorn
Helium Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, styles itself as “The People’s Network” and says it “represents a paradigm shift for decentralised wireless infrastructure” and maybe it does. The global electronic comms industry has a long history of new companies constantly popping-up hither and yon. Some of them come and stay, others come and go, disappearing after the overheated gas belching from the PR and market-analysis hype machines cools and start-ups lose the lift that propelled them to unfeasible heights and then plummet to obscurity. We have seen it time and time and time again, but every once in a while, one company makes it to the big time by having the right idea and the technology at the right time. Helium has the potential to be another of these rare beasts and certainly the investment community seems to think so.
11.?STC bets big on IoT with new $131 million JV
Saudi Telecom Company (STC) looks eager to cash in on the increasing demand for Internet of Things (IoT) products and services by creating a SAR492 million (US$113 million) joint venture with one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world. The new company?will operate in the field of IoT and will be established on a 50/50 basis between STC and the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and is tipped to hold assets valued at minimum of $500 billion. STC will finance its half of the investment from existing resources.
12.?Austria’s Magenta Telekom sets 2024 for 3G shutdown
Austria’s Magenta Telekom plans to switch off its 20-year-old 3G technology at the start of 2024, freeing up those frequencies for 4G/LTE and 5G.
13.?Indian telcos want to control 5G spectrum for private networks
A conflict is building in India over how spectrum should be allotted for 5G private networks. The Indian government has yet to decide how to allocate 5G spectrum for building private networks for enterprises. Media reports suggest that the top three private telcos, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have indicated to the government that their participation in the forthcoming 5G spectrum auctions will be muted unless and until the Government ensures that the spectrum will not be handed to enterprises for setting up 5G private networks.
14.?Boeing taps AWS to enhance its cloud strategy
Boeing has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS) as one of the providers to revamp its existing cloud operations. The partnership allows Boeing to make use of AWS’ scalable high performance computing infrastructure. AWS will power new and existing Boeing digital applications, allowing the aerospace company to promote more efficient operations. Boeing will migrate applications out of on-premises data centers to AWS, strengthening its engineering and manufacturing processes.
15.?SoftBank borrows $282M to strengthen its 5G network
According to SoftBank, at the end of March 2022, it covers 90% of the Japanese population with its 5G network. But this new loan financing will go toward increasing?the population coverage ratio to 95% by the end of March 2024 through further expansion (using terrestrial 5G base stations).