News

The partners say they will work together to develop premium metaverse experiences, with Meta’s Meta Quest platform leveraging Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip’s extended reality (XR) capabilities

This week, Meta and Qualcomm have announced a new multi-year partnership focussing on the creating customer chipsets for Meta’s Quest virtual reality (VR) platform.

The partners say they will work together to create new chips using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon platforms, specifically optimised for XR devices.

“As we continue to build more advanced capabilities and experiences for virtual and augmented reality, it has become more important to build specialized technologies to power our future VR headsets and other devices. Unlike mobile phones, building virtual reality brings novel, multi-dimensional challenges in spatial computing, cost, and form factor. These chipsets will help us keep pushing virtual reality to its limits and deliver awesome experiences,” said Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg.

“We are still in the early stages of the metaverse and this sort of deep technical integration will help VR move towards being a multifunctional computing platform,” he added.

Qualcomm and Meta have had a partnership in the VR space for around seven years, with the semiconductor specialists’ chips being an integral part of Meta’s various VR headsets, including its latest Quest 2 set.

Now, this new deal will see that partnership taken one step further, creating what Meta hopes will be the foundation upon which the elusive metaverse will ultimately be built.

“Building off our joint leadership in XR, this agreement will allow our companies to deliver best-in-class devices and experiences to transform how we work, play, learn, create and connect in a fully realized metaverse,” explained Cristiano Amon, president and chief executive officer of Qualcomm.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

It is worth noting that, in recent years, Meta has been moving towards creating its own custom silicon for its XR and metaverse creations, though progress here has seemingly been slow. Earlier this year, for example, Meta decided to go with Qualcomm’s technology rather than their own chip, Brasilia, for its launch of the second generation of Ray Ban Stories smartglasses.

Ultimately, it seems that Meta does not quite have the in-house semiconductor expertise it needs just yet and, with Zuckerberg banking the entire future of Meta on the success of the still-amorphous metaverse, it makes sense for the company to lean on tried-and-tested partners like Qualcomm to hopefully make the metaverse materialise.

 

How will the metaverse change the telecoms industry? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s live Total Telecom Congress  

Also in the news:
UK telcos to face stricter cybersecurity obligations under new govt rules
Jio prepares to plough $25bn into 5G
VMO2 activates first open RAN sites in live network

The post Meta increases partnership with Qualcomm to make metaverse a reality first appeared on Total Telecom.

Press Release

Ericsson is teaming-up with China Mobile Zhejiang and other partners to deploy 5G technology in public-safety-focused natural disaster management in China

The move follows successful testing of a 5G mission-critical partnership solution – called the 5G Full-Closed-Loop system for Integrated Natural Disaster Management – in ten cities across the Lishui region of China.

Spanning early-warning analysis, natural disaster monitoring, command and dispatch, and post-disaster assessment, the solution has now been included in China’s Ministry of Science and Technology’s Monitoring, Early Warning and Prevention of Major Natural Disasters demonstration projects. As a result, the partners expect nationwide deployment to get underway in the coming weeks.

The solution was developed and launched by the Lishui Branch of China Mobile Zhejiang Company Limited and Ericsson along with several industry ecosystem partners under the leadership of Lishui Municipal Emergency Management Bureau.

Ericsson and China Mobile provided key insights and support for the development and validation of core applications by combining respective emergency communication practices, digital twin use cases, and network slicing technologies while jointly building 5G network connectivity.

The project was listed in the recent 5G in Verticals in China 2022 report published by the GSMA.

The solution was developed and tested in Lishui due to the region’s vulnerability to large-scale natural disasters and flash floods during the wet season.

Several criteria were identified for the solution to address, including: accurate disaster prediction; visible disaster occurrence; shared data silos; coordinated emergency command; and timely evacuation.

The Solution tech

The solution combines the coverage, high bandwidth, low latency, and reliability benefits of advanced 5G network connectivity, edge computing, digital twins and 5G private network slicing.

It incorporates:

Integrated 5G sky-land monitoring network: Solves challenges in data integration and sharing, deployment, coverage, and construction and operational costs by ensuring rapid network deployment
Intelligent 5G multi-hazard early-warning model based: Accelerates data processing and improves accuracy for rapid data transmission, consolidated processing, and precise multi-hazard identification
Decision-making assistant based on digital map models: A 3D model of disaster sites built by utilizing 5G drones. Dynamic renditions of disasters duplicate and analyze impact range and create emergency evacuation routes
Portable 5G sites and communication vehicles for on-site communication: Vehicles provide 5G network coverage across disaster relief sites – with portable 5G antenna-integrated radios weighing less than 10 KG as well as satellite and microwave equipment
Simulated model assessment based on remote-sensing imagery: Evaluates disaster scale, physical damage and direct economic loss through the combined results from on-site surveillance results and the simulated assessment model.

 

When it comes to social contribution, are telecoms operators doing enough for their customers? Join the experts in discussion around this key topic at this year’s live Total Telecom Congress  

Also in the news:
UK telcos to face stricter cybersecurity obligations under new govt rules
Jio prepares to plough $25bn into 5G
VMO2 activates first open RAN sites in live network

The post China Mobile and Ericsson devise 5G disaster relief solution first appeared on Total Telecom.

News

T-Mobile proved the runaway winner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s latest 5G spectrum auction, facing less competition than feared

This week, the FCC has announced the winners in its latest 5G spectrum auction, with T-Mobile taking home the lion’s share of available airwaves.

The auction, Auction 108, saw additional 2.5 GHz spectrum made available for the US operators in the form of 8,017 county-based licences.

T-Mobile was the runaway winner, taking home 7,156 of the available licences, while its largest rivals – Verizon, AT&T, and Dish Network – won no licences at all.

The auction raised $427.8 million, following 73 rounds of bidding from 82 eligible companies – a far lower total than some analysts had expected, with some even predicting that the auction could raise up to $3 billion.

This speculation was largely based on the fact that AT&T, Dish, and Verizon would bid to drive up the cost of licences for T-Mobile, for whom the spectrum is far more critical.

T-Mobile acquired a large amount of 2.5 GHz spectrum when it purchased Sprint in 2020 and has since made mid-band spectrum (often referred to as ‘C-band’, especially in the US) its primary focus for its 5G rollout.

Verizon and AT&T, meanwhile, are focussing on different spectrum bands for their own rollouts and appear to have gotten their fill of C-band spectrum last year, when they spent $45.5 billion and $23.4 billion on airwaves, respectively, largely to catch up to T-Mobile’s spectrum holdings.

By comparison, in the same auction, T-Mobile itself spent substantially less, just $9.3 billion.

But despite its broad C-band spectrum portfolio, T-Mobile still has significant coverage gaps for its 5G network, which is why this haul of new regional licences was so important.

Ultimately, it would appear that T-Mobile’s rivals declined to become embroiled in a bidding war over spectrum that they did not actually want and therefore were content to see T-Mobile win the spectrum at a more reasonable price.

 

How is the battle for 5G supremacy playing out in the US? Join the operators in discussion in Texas next year for Total Telecom’s inaugural Connected America conference

Also in the news:
UK telcos to face stricter cybersecurity obligations under new govt rules
Jio prepares to plough $25bn into 5G
VMO2 activates first open RAN sites in live network

The post US 5G spectrum auction sees T-Mobile win largely uncontested first appeared on Total Telecom.

The annual Connected Britain Awards 2022 (Total Telecom) event is just around the corner and they’ve today published their short list of potential winners for this year, which sees various UK full fibre network builders and broadband ISPs being named across multiple categories (e.g. “Broadband Provider of the Year“). Last year’s event saw UK ISP […]

ISP Virgin Media (VMO2) has confirmed to ISPreview.co.uk that their partnership with Open Fibre Networks Limited (OFNL / GTC / BUUK) is being extended, which will enable them to expand their rival gigabit broadband, TV and phone network to cover UK homes on some of the operator’s existing (older) sites. Back in the Spring (here) […]

A small number of Gigaclear’s rural UK broadband customers on their new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network in Essex (Area 2) – primarily residents in the village of White Colne – have complained after a service fault resulted in a loss of connectivity that has so far persisted for two long weeks. The area, which was […]

London-focused broadband ISP CommunityFibre (CF), which has already covered 500,000 premises with their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network (aiming for 2.2 million by the end of 2024), today claims to have become the “UK’s first 5Gbps 100% full fibre broadband for businesses” with their new 5GIGAFAST tier. The first thing to clarify here is that CF are […]

Press release

Vodacom Tanzania, part of Vodafone Group, has today launched the first ever 5G mobile network in the country

The new non-standalone 5G service offers customers faster speeds, lower latency and will support the development of emerging technologies in Tanzania, such as the Internet of Things.

Vodacom Tanzania will deploy various sites in Dar es Salaam with a target to expand 5G technology to approximately 230 locations in the country, including Arusha, Dodoma, Mwanza, Iringa, Kagera, Zanzibar, Mbeya and more.

The network will be available for fixed network customers through Vodacom’s 5G routers, and for smartphone users with 5G capable devices. Customers can expect to enjoy speeds of up to
400 megabits-per-second (Mbps), with plans to offer more than 800Mbps in the coming months. Vodacom expects the network to achieve speeds of up to 1 Gigabit-per-second once the 5G spectrum is made fully available.

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub says “Having been first to launch 5G in Africa, this is an exciting milestone in Vodacom’s history as we continue to densify 5G services across our Africa markets, bringing the continent closer to the global digital economy through the latest generation of mobile technology. Congratulations to the Tanzanian team for bringing us one step closer to an inclusive, fully digitised future for all Africans.”

Speaking at the launch event, appearing as a hologram from a remote location, Hon. Nape Nnauye, Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Parliament of Tanzania said: “I congratulate Vodacom for paving the way for digital transformation in Tanzania, and the government fully supports this breakthrough through its various sector ministries because we know technology has the power to transform lives and help the country achieve SDG targets in areas such as health, agriculture, energy, logistics and many more. I call on entrepreneurs, businesses, innovators, and ministries to tap into this 5G network and transform this nation. The government pledges its support to you.”

Vodafone is a technology leader in Africa, working to build a digital future for African nations.

 

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Also in the news:
UK telcos to face stricter cybersecurity obligations under new govt rules
Jio prepares to plough $25bn into 5G
VMO2 activates first open RAN sites in live network

The post Vodacom gives Tanzanians first taste of 5G first appeared on Total Telecom.

Press Release

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 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.”

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.”

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.

Don’t miss out on all the latest telecoms news – click here to receive Total Telecom’s Daily Newsletter straight to your inbox

Also in the news:
UK telcos to face stricter cybersecurity obligations under new govt rules
Jio prepares to plough $25bn into 5G
VMO2 activates first open RAN sites in live network

The post Ericsson launches new triple-band, tri-sector 5G radio first appeared on Total Telecom.

News

Sources suggest Maxis and U Mobile will not be taking stakes in the government’s national 5G agency, having argued against the value in becoming minority stakeholders

Malaysia’s relatively unique approach to 5G continues to prove disastrous, with sources this week suggesting that two of the nation’s telcos will not buy a stake in Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) after all.

The government set up DNB early in 2021, aiming to create a single national 5G operator from which the country’s other 5G operators could rent 5G services. At the time, the government said this would be more efficient and cost-effective than the operators rolling out the infrastructure themselves, noting that the plan eliminated potential overbuild.

The operators, however, said that this plan would be more expensive for them than deploying 5G themselves, with many refusing to engage with DNB at all.

Over the past year, the government has taken various measures to make partnering with DNB more attractive, ultimately settling on a plan that would see 70% of DNB’s ownership handed over to the country’s six mobile operators in individual minority stakes.

By August 2022, the government finally seemed hopeful that the nation’s operators were ready to buy-in, literally, to the government’s 5G vision, with Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz telling the media that the last holdouts –Maxis and U Mobile – had confirmed they would take a stake in DNB.

The two operators, alongside rivals Celcom Axiata and DiGi Telecommunications, had previously argued that they should allowed to own a combined majority stake, though this plan was rejected by the government.

Instead, the Malaysian state began floating the idea that foreign companies could take the place of domestic operators in owning a piece of DNB if necessary, with Tengku Zafrul noting interest had been received from companies in India, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

“There are many who have registered strong interest […] because to them there is no more capex. And then they say we have got the technology and we know how to play the game,” he explained.

Now, however, it seems that discussions have fallen at the last hurdle, with sources suggesting that Maxis and U Mobile are refusing a stake in DNB. According to reports, the two operators still believe there is little value in taking a majority stake in the business but wanted to continue talks about gaining access to DNB’s network.

Without the participation of Maxis and U Mobile, the stake sale process itself is potentially scuppered, with sources suggesting that “(the parties) will have to try and restructure the deal”.

It is possible that the four participating operators will simply have their potential stakes increased to absorb the missing stakes of Maxis and U Mobile, though even this simple solution will require new approvals and will thus delay the country’s 5G rollout yet further.

Malaysia is one of the last countries in Southeast Asia to launch commercial 5G services, with many of its neighbours having been enjoying such technology for over a year now.

 

Don’t miss out on all the latest telecoms news – click here to receive Total Telecom’s Daily Newsletter straight to your inbox

Also in the news:
UK telcos to face stricter cybersecurity obligations under new govt rules
Jio prepares to plough $25bn into 5G
VMO2 activates first open RAN sites in live network

The post Malaysia’s 5G turmoil continues as operators refuse stakes in DNB first appeared on Total Telecom.