News

Elon Musk insists that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite services could be a connectivity game changer for India’s rural regions, but the company’s path to commercial services remains clouded by doubt over the government’s spectrum policy

Earlier this week, billionaire Elon Musk met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the latter’s diplomatic visit to the USA. According to reports, the discussion largely centred around Musk’s potential business ventures within India, with Musk outlining plans to potentially build a Tesla manufacturing base in India.

According to Musk, this could be just one of a number of “significant investments in India”, including launching SpaceX’s commercial LEO satellite service, Starlink, in the country.

But bringing Starlink to India is set to be a contentious process, not least because of SpaceX’s current clash over spectrum policy with India’s existing mobile operators.

The Indian government is currently planning to launch an auction for satellite-suitable spectrum in the near future, handling the spectrum in the same manner they would for 4G and 5G suitable bandwidths.

SpaceX, however, is currently lobbying the government to reconsider this strategy, arguing that the spectrum should simply be allocated to suitable companies in an equitable manner. The company said the auction process would drive up costs and impose geographical restrictions, therefore limiting the service’s reach and economic viability.

Reliance Jio disagrees, saying that foreign satellite companies like SpaceX could offer voice and data services to consumers and therefore directly compete with the rest of the telecoms sector. Thus, an auction is necessary to ensure a level playing field for the market.

Musk had previously tried to launch Starlink in India in 2021, with the company beginning to take preorders for the services prior to receiving regulatory approval to offer services. The Indian government ultimately cracked down on this practise, ordering SpaceX to return pre-order deposits and await full regulatory approval.

Starlink is still awaiting clearance from Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

The communications satellite space race in India is beginning to heat up in recent years, with Jio Platforms forming its own low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite business, Jio Satellite Communications, late last year. Earlier that same year, the company had partnered with satellite specialist SES for a joint venture called Jio Space Technology Limited, aiming to provide broadband services using a combination of geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites and middle Earth orbit (MEO) satellites.

India’s second largest mobile player, Bharti Airtel, meanwhile, already owns a significant stake in the UK government-backed LEO satellite operator, OneWeb.

Rumours also suggest that Nelco, a local satellite company owned by Tata, and Canada’s Telesat are interested in launching satellite services in India and will seek spectrum licences.

Finally, Amazon’s long-awaited LEO sat project, Project Kuiper, is also expecting to launch its first satellites next year, indicating that India will be a key market for the service’s growth.

How is the emergence of LEO satellite constellations changing the telecoms ecosystem? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam

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News

The UK communications regulator Ofcom and seven of the country’s largest telecoms firms have today jointly committed to better supporting women in the industry to attain senior leadership positions

The gender imbalance in the telecoms industry is well established, with a stark disparity in the number of men and women in senior tech positions. Promoting gender equality has risen up the agenda for telecoms organisations in recent years, with various initiatives being put in place across the country, but progress remains in desperate need of acceleration.

Now, Ofcom and seven of the country’s largest telecoms operators – BT, Sky, TalkTalk, Openreach, Three, Virgin Media O2 (VMO2), Vodafone – have signed a pledge to improve this situation, committing to supporting the career development of more women within the sector.

Here is the pledge in full:

• We are committed to increasing the senior representation of women in technology-based roles in the telecoms sector over the next three years; and to increase the overall representation of women in our sector.
• We will invest our efforts in attracting and retaining women in our organisations, creating inclusive environments for them to excel and be their best.
• As an industry we will come together annually to share good practice and showcase, to the outside world, our talented women in technology in the telecoms sector.
• We will publish information on the impact our initiatives have made on our collective ambitions as well as against the diversity and inclusion strategies of our respective organisations. We aim to publish information on our initiatives, so we may inspire others in the sector.

As you can see, these commitments are fairly vague – it would have been nice to see some more concrete targets agreed for the end of the three-year period, for example. Nonetheless, this represents a step in the right direction, encouraging collaboration to solve one of the telecoms industry’s biggest social challenges.

“Having a diverse workforce is crucial to the success of any organisation. It drives creativity, innovation and ensures we as employers attract the skills we need from the widest possible pool. But for too many women, climbing that career ladder in a male-dominated industry can be a real challenge,” said Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom Chief Executive.

“We want the telecoms industry, including us at Ofcom, to lead the way in changing that. So it’s great to see so many companies getting behind this pledge, and committing to helping more women launch long-lasting and rewarding technology careers. We look forward to working together to achieve this.”

As you might imagine, most of the companies signing this pledge took the opportunity to highlight their individual successes and goals in this area. Sky pointed out that they had doubled female representation in their technology team since 2017, TalkTalk noted the creation of the North West Women in Tech awards; VMO2 highlighted its involvement in various projects to encourage women into STEM careers, while Three said it had already committed to a 50/50 gender split in leadership roles by 2030.

Ofcom invites other telecoms companies from across the sector to take the pledge and support the initiative.

How can we improve female representation throughout the UK telecoms sector? Join the telecoms ecosystem in discussion at this year’s Connected Britian conference

Also in the news:
Hyperoptic announces plans to cut 110 jobs
U.S. Huawei ban: A Pyrrhic victory spurring digital decolonisation
New advertising guidelines push for clarity over contract price hikes

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Kazakhtelecom JSC is working with A10 Networks to improve the reliability of broadband access for businesses and consumers nationwide.

The operator began the transition to a telco cloud environment in 2020, and A10 Networks has been a key facilitator of this, helping Kazakhtelecom JSC to establish cloud nodes on its network. At this time, the operator launched two cloud nodes using an Open Stack architecture in the largest cities of Kazakhstan.

The operator launched the first A10 virtualised carrier-grade network address translation (CGNAT) solution on a cloud node that serves 384,000 broadband subscribers, along with a second that serves 80,000 subscribers. These nodes provide a universal infrastructure for deploying virtual network functions (VNFs) that have numerous advantages, including deployment time, scaling, high fault tolerance, and manufacturer selection. This solution allows the telco to automate the operation of all VNFs, which has a positive effect on the quality of services for its customers.

Kazakhtelecom JSC is actively working to enter the information security market and has established a Security Operation Centre. A core element of the centre is its DDoS attack protection system, which Kazakhtelecom JSC launched with A10 Networks. The A10 Thunder Threat Protection System (TPS) provides the backbone to analyse all incoming internet traffic, detect anomalies and DDoS attacks and block or clear illegitimate traffic. The system has allowed Kazakhtelecom JSC to protect up to 500 zones of IP address spaces and analyses about 2 Tbps of traffic.

IPv4 addresses are almost fully allocated, causing difficulties for telecom operators as they grow subscribers. While IPv6 provides a solution, most of the internet today still uses IPv4, while transitioning to IPv6 brings its own set of challenges and costs. Network address translation (NAT) technologies are used as a near-term solution to connect hundreds of hosts behind one public address without the need to purchase more expensive IPv4 addresses.

Kazakhtelecom JSC successfully deployed A10 Thunder Carrier-Grade Networking (CGN) in the cities of Almaty and Astana, where a large number of its internet users are concentrated. The operator immediately saw the economic benefits compared to the acquisition of new IPv4 addresses. Kazakhtelecom JSC is looking to expand its use of Thunder CGN to other network locations.

“A10 Networks has been a valued partner and strong collaborator as we have set to transform our network, grow subscribers, and establish an information security services centre”, said Nurlan Meirmanov, chief innovation officer, Kazakhtelecom JSC. “We are actively working on creating new deployments for our telco cloud environment, and we are confident that with our anti-DDoS system, the resources of Kazakhtelecom JSC and its customers will be reliably protected from network attacks.”

“Kazakhtelecom JSC has faced a convergence of business challenges that many telco operators have faced in recent years: how to grow subscribers with limited addressing, how to secure its network against the rapidly expanding cyber threat landscape and how to transition to new-generation cloud technologies within its network, all while maintaining a secure and consistent subscriber experience. A10 Networks’ solutions have helped support Kazakhtelecom JSC’s business and technology objectives throughout this transition as we continue to work with them on their evolution to a cloud-based infrastructure,” said Dhrupad Trivedi, president and CEO, A10 Networks.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Ulrich Schälling, VP Market Strategy at FNT Software

The push towards sustainability has many business benefits for telecom providers. Business can improve their sustainability by reducing energy consumption and using less resources, both of which tamp down carbon emissions. While that is good for the environment, these same measures are also good for the bottom line. Using less energy and fewer resources brings down energy costs and ongoing OPEX. … [visit site to read more]

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Press Release

Nokia and its partners have announced the successful completion of Europe’s first live hybrid quantum encryption key trial with Proximus. Using technology from Nokia, ID Quantique and evolutionQ, Proximus was able to establish a quantum-safe optical network connection using quantum key distribution (QKD) to successfully encrypt and transmit data between two datacenters located in Brussels and Mechelen, Belgium. The live demonstration represents a significant milestone in the development of quantum key technologies and highlights the future of network security in the era of quantum computing.

Quantum computers are expected to usher in a new world of possibilities with the power to solve currently unsolvable problems. However, they can also pose a significant risk to online security, capable of breaking some of today’s most widely used security protocols in a matter of seconds. To prepare for Q-day – the eventual day when quantum computers are capable of performing sophisticated computations that can break asymmetric, mathematical based encryption schemes – enterprises, operators and governments will need to ensure their data and networks are safe from quantum attacks. Quantum cryptography allows operators to use the principals of quantum mechanics to encrypt and send messages securely.

The trial with Proximus highlights how quantum cryptography can be implemented in a live network to help protect against malicious hacks or attacks from future quantum computers. Using Nokia’s Quantum-Safe Networks solution alongside hardware and software from ID Quantique and evolutionQ which create, distribute and manage the quantum keys, Proximus was able to encrypt data running over its live optical network and use photonic properties to ensure the safety of the data transmitted. Adding an additional layer of security, Nokia’s SMS (Security Management Server), a quantum-safe key generator and orchestrator, provided classic quantum-safe encryption using symmetric key distribution in instances where the stability of data using QKD were compromised or altered.

Geert Standaert, Chief Technology Officer at Proximus, said: “Network security is not just a vital business priority; it’s the bedrock upon which our digital operations thrive. In an increasingly interconnected world, where data breaches and cyber threats loom large, protecting our networks is paramount. To prepare for Q-day, we need to take the proactive steps to safeguard our critical systems from quantum threats and this live trial is the first step. Working with Nokia and its partners, we’re confident that we’ll be able to continue to safeguard our critical systems and successfully navigate the ever-evolving threat landscape in the quantum computing world.”

James Watt, President Optical Networks Division at Nokia, said: “The trial we did with Proximus and our partners represents a groundbreaking leap forward in securing our digital future. We’re excited to demonstrate the industry’s only hybrid quantum key distribution system which we believe will be essential to unlocking a safer and more resilient digital landscape.  By combining the inherent properties of quantum mechanics with symmetrical cryptography, operators can safeguard their networks today against current and future Q-day threats such as store now, decrypt later activities.”

Rudy Hoebeke, Vice President of Product Management, IP Networks Division at Nokia, said: “Today’s trial with Proximus is an industry milestone in network security. With the industry’s only hybrid quantum encryption key solution, we’re able to provide Proximus with an unprecedented level of data security and resilience against existing and future threats stemming from the inevitability of Q-day. It also opens the door to new quantum-safe services for customers seeking to safeguard intellectual property or critical sensitive data against sophisticated quantum based cyber-attacks.”

Are operators doing enough to protect their customers’ sensitive data? Just how big of a threat is quantum computing to network security? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live in Amsterdam

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Ooredoo Qatar has announced two high-profile agreements this week, one with Dell Technologies and one with Ericsson.

Ooredoo and Dell Technologies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen existing collaboration, simplify digital transformation initiatives and explore new growth opportunities through Dell’s APEX multicloud portfolio.

Through the agreement, Ooredoo says it will explore the Dell APEX offerings to simplify its cloud experiences and gain more control over its applications and data.

Dell says APEX will allow the communications service provider to seamlessly manage and orchestrate its workloads while optimizing performance, minimising risk and ensuring high network availability. Ooredoo will also be able to eliminate unnecessary complexity and inefficiency.

The collaboration complements Ooredoo’s current IT environment and builds on the existing technology centred around Dell’s infrastructure, storage and cyber recovery services.

Ooredoo has also announced the extension of a longstanding partnership with technology giant Ericsson that will upgrade 5G connectivity in Qatar.

Designed to increase collaboration on radio access network (RAN) technology products and services, this partnership extension will see Ericsson’s team facilitating the optimisation of Ooredoo’s network with the latest technology – including millimetre wave – enabling multi-gigabit speeds, greater capacity and ‘exceptional’ mobile broadband speeds. This will allow Ooredoo to explore new use cases and connectivity opportunities for customers.

The upgraded technology will also permit improved coverage and capacity; efficient power consumption; network slicing capabilities; and robust security measures. In addition it will enable Ooredoo to leverage the potential of IoT applications and explore emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Leveraging Ericsson’s advanced technologies and intelligent algorithms such as Ericsson Network IQ Statistics, and Ericsson Network Management, Ooredoo says it will gain greater insights into network performance, traffic patterns, congestion hotspots and incident detection in real-time, achieving greater resource management and an overall enhancement to customer experience.

Ericsson’s new Mobility Report highlights continuing global 5G growth, with India apparently leading the way.

The June 2023 edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report shows that, despite geopolitical challenges and macroeconomic slowdown in some markets, communications service providers worldwide are continuing to invest in 5G. It suggests that 5G mobile subscriptions are growing in every region and are forecast to top 1.5 billion globally by the end of 2023.

However, not too surprisingly, the report’s focus on India is gaining a lot of headlines in that country’s press. Following the launch of 5G services in October 2022, the Indian 5G market is witnessing huge network deployments under its Digital India initiative.

5G subscriptions in India reached about 10 million by end of 2022 and are estimated to account for about 57% of mobile subscriptions in the country by the end of 2028, making it the fastest-growing 5G region globally.

At present, says India’s Economic Times, operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are deploying 5G standalone (SA) and 5G non-standalone (NSA) networks respectively. Both service providers aim to complete roll-out by late 2023 or early 2024.

According to Ericsson, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and fixed wireless access (FWA) are already emerging as the initial use cases for 5G in India. 

Ericsson’s overall global 5G subscription forecast has been adjusted due to delayed spectrum auctions in several countries and continued difficult macroeconomic conditions. It has now projected global 5G subscriptions to reach 4.6 billion globally by the end of 2028, making up more than 50% of all mobile subscriptions.

Subscriptions for 4G have continued to increase, growing by 59 million during Q1 2023 to 5.2 billion, but are projected to start declining from this year as subscribers migrate to 5G.

Globally, around 240 communications service providers have launched commercial 5G services and about 35 have deployed or launched 5G standalone.

The most common 5G services launched by service providers for consumers, says the report, are enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), fixed wireless access (FWA), gaming and some AR/VR-based services, such as training and education.