Press Release

Juniper Networks, a leader in secure, AI-Native Networking, today announced that Thai Airways has modernized the network infrastructure of its headquarters in Thailand, by deploying Juniper’s AI-Native Networking Platform to deliver the right data, the right real-time response and the right infrastructure for reliable, measurable and secure wired and wireless services. With the upgrades, Thai Airways can now achieve better simplicity, productivity and consistent performance at scale to deliver exceptional end-to-end operator and end-user experiences.

With a vision to implement better processes for improved operations and workflow while also enhancing the customer experience when researching, booking and managing flights online, the airline embarked on a digital transformation. It selected Juniper to overhaul and upgrade its network solutions – becoming the first organization in Thailand to deploy Wi-Fi 6E through the use of Juniper AP45 access points, alongside Juniper EX Series Ethernet switches for its core, distribution and access networks. 

“Slow, unreliable Wi-Fi was previously hampering productivity and efficiency at our Bangkok head offices, but the upgrades have turned networking complaints into compliments. With the Juniper solution, we are now also able to unify management of our wired and wireless networks through an industry-leading, cloud-native solution purpose-built to leverage AIOps. Enabled by Juniper, we are excited to continually uplift the user experiences of our operators and customers alike, as Thai Airways continues to grow and soar into the skies internationally going forward,” said Tana Kantipan, Team Lead, Network and Cybersecurity, Thai Airways.

The deployment is driven by Mist AI™, which leverages purpose-built AIOps trained on nine years of insights and data science development, to deliver rich insights into user experiences and proactive fault resolutions that can reduce network-related trouble tickets by up to 90%. In unifying the end-to-end management of Thai Airways’ wired and wireless networks, Juniper Mist Wired and Wireless Assurance cloud services were implemented to enable efficient operations of its business-critical systems, requiring minimal human intervention while ensuring every connection is reliable, measurable and secure for every device, user, application and asset. 

In addition, the Marvis Virtual Network Assistant allows the airline’s IT team to detect and resolve networking issues through a seamless conversational interface, determining the root cause of issues, providing proactive insights and suggesting prescriptive actions. This has resulted in a significant decrease in issues and user complaints since the upgrades, ultimately reducing the overall time required for network operations by Thai Airways, enabling it to focus efforts on delivering stronger value, services and outcomes for its customers. 

Thai Airways’ Network: Strategic for Business Growth

As Thailand’s national carrier and a strategically located flight hub and gateway to Asia, Thai Airways is regularly ranked amongst the world’s top airlines, renowned for its hospitality and services across an extensive global network. To maintain its reputation while meeting surging demand for post-pandemic travel, the airline recognized its corporate network as a key strategic component of its planned business growth.

The new network from Juniper empowers Thai Airways’ IT team to continue delivering exceptional end-to-end operator and user experiences across all its stakeholders – especially as it explores further extending the roll-out of Juniper’s solutions to its hubs at Thailand’s two major international airports, deployments which could potentially surpass the scale of the current deployment at its head office.

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain

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The pan-European infrastructure provider euNetworks has built another intercity fiber route and added to its list of Super Highways. This time they have overbuilt Frankfurt to Paris, another of the core FLAP-D legs, with diverse, modern infrastructure. … [visit site to read more]

Ukrainian telco Kyivstar said on Wednesday that it has invested UAH1.9 billion (US$46 million) over the last two years to upgrade backup-power facilities for its network, the second phase of which is now underway.

Kyivstar’s owner Veon said in July it would install more energy infrastructure for Kyivstar to to bolster its energy resiliency to maintain crucial communication services and protect digital operations against extended blackouts caused by attacks on national energy infrastructure. The project has been a major focus for Kyivstar since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Kyivstar said that as of this month it has installed 124,000 new lithium batteries at base stations, which are also supported by close to 2,400 generators. Kyivstar said that over 68% of its mobile network has a four-hour backup-power supply.

The telco has also installed 50,000 uninterrupted power sources in 24,000 apartment buildings in 92 cities to keep its fixed broadband service running. Kyivstar also plans to install more powerful batteries to back up the fixed line service and continue to deploy GPON, which uses far less electricity than copper wires.

For the second phase of the project, which is now underway, Kyivstar plans to install 113,000 new batteries at base stations and 1,427 industrial generators.

Kyivstar’s current goal is to enable 25% of its network to run entirely on generators, and achieve six-hour redundancy for all key facilities.

It is also focusing on critical telecoms facilities identified by the government’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), which are provided with enough backup power for at least three days in case of full-scale blackouts.

Kyivstar has also called on businesses with their own industrial generators to collaborate with telecoms operators to connect telecoms equipment to their facilities.

News

The state-owned telco has reportedly deployed over 50,000 4G sites nationwide,

Today, India’s Ministry of Communications has announced that state-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has successfully deployed over 50,000 4G sites across the country, around 41,000 of which are currently operational.

This represents half of the 100,000 sites that the company estimates will be required to achieve national coverage of its new network.

The deployments have been completed using equipment solely from Indian vendors, supporting the government’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiative. Participating vendors include Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tejas Networks, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), and ITI Ltd.

The announcement marks a significant acceleration of BSNL’s 4G rollout in recent months, with around 25,000 of the total sites deployed in the last quarter alone.

But while BSNL’s 4G rollout now seems to be happening apace, it is worth noting how heavily delayed this process has been. The company had initially targeted nationwide coverage and a commercial launch for 4G by December 2023, but various operational challenges have seen the rollout delayed three times.

In fact, earlier this month BSNL moved the goalposts once again, suggesting that the company is now targeting nationwide 4G by June 2025.

The company’s ambitions with regard to 4G market share have also been revised; the company had initially been targeting a 20% 4G market share by the end of 2024, but the numerous delays mean the company is now aiming for a 25% market share by the end of 2025.

Interestingly, BSNL says that it will be able to upgrade all of its sites to 5G within a month of the June deadline, having already conducted trials of the new technology in New Delhi.

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter   

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain

A few interesting items to catch up on: … [visit site to read more]

Brazil-based digital bank platform Nubank announced plans on Tuesday to join Brazil’s increasingly crowded mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) space in a bid to expand its portfolio beyond financial services.

The new service, branded NuCel, will cover 93% of Brazil and offer high-performance 5G connectivity via an MVNO arrangement with mobile operator Claro Brasil. The service will be rolled out gradually, and will initially be available only for customers with devices that support eSIM, although this also means the service can be activated digitally and quickly.

NuCel promises to not only offer a user-friendly mobile service with flexible and no-commitment plans, but also integrate services from the Nubank ecosystem.

While only some functionalities will be available in the initial testing phase of the service, at launch, NuCel customers will be able to use Nubank’s “Caixinhas Turbo” tool, a savings box with a return of 120% of the CDI on amounts deposited by the customer, with a limit of up to R$10,000, for at least one year.

NuCel will offer three plans, with monthly data caps at 15GB, 20GB and 35GB. Customers of Nubank’s higher-end services Ultravioleta and Nubank+ will automatically receive extra gigabytes if they exceed their data allowance.

All plans include the Caixinhas Turbo service, unlimited voice for local and long-distance calls, unlimited WhatsApp (including voice and video calls), and unlimited access to the Nubank app. Payments can be made via Nubank’s credit card.

“NuCel was created to simplify the current telephony portfolio with flexible plans, no surprises for customers, and the autonomy that only a 100% digital platform can offer,” said Livia Chanes, CEO of Nubank in Brazil.

Nubank customers who want to sign up for the service can sign up in the banking app to receive notifications when the service is ready to go.

Brazil already has well over 100 MVNOs, the most recent entry being Unifiquemost recent entry being Unifique, which already has an actual 5G network, but applied for an MVNO licence to expand its reach outside of its network coverage in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul.

Nubank may be counting on the popularity of its banking services as a hook to draw customers. In June 2024, Nubank said it has more than 95 million customers in Brazil.  It also has over 8 million in Mexico, and 1 million in Colombia.

Nubank is also potentially well funded, having reported over US$1 billion in net profit and over US$8 billion in revenues in its 2023 financial results.

News  

Backed by £93 million from UKRI funding, the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) is envisaged as a centrepiece of the UK’s quantum strategy 

The UK’s NQCC officially opened last week by Science Minister Lord Vallance. Located at the Harwell Campus in Oxfordshire, the 4,000-square-meter facility will house 12 quantum computers used for further research into quantum technology.  

Unlike similar facilities worldwide, the NQCC offers open access to researchers, industry, and students across the UK. With over 70 staff members, the centre aims to close skill gaps through the UK’s first dedicated quantum apprenticeship programme, as well as PhD placements.  

The initiative aligns with the UK’s goal of using quantum technology to drive advancements in sectors like healthcare, energy, and artificial intelligence. 

The NQCC is also set to play a major role in the UK’s ten-year quantum strategy, which will invest £2.5 billion on quantum research, innovation, and skills. Key projects within this strategy include optimising energy grids to reduce power loss, accelerating drug discovery, and improving climate predictions.  

Quantum computing is expected to be orders of magnitude more powerful than traditional supercomputers, allowing for calculations that would normally take years to be completed in minutes’  

The National Quantum Computing Centre marks a vital step forward in the UK’s efforts to advance quantum technologies,” said Science Minister Lord Vallance in a statement. 

“By making its facilities available to users from across industry and academia, and with its focus on making quantum computers practically useable at scale, this Centre will help them solve some of the biggest challenges we face, w 

hether it’s delivering advances in healthcare, enhancing energy efficiency, tackling climate change, or inventing new materials,” he continued. 

Join us at next year’s Connected North, 23-24 April in Manchester. Get your discounted tickets here! 

Also in the news:
Nokia and Lenovo forge partnership to drive AI and automation in data centers
UK govt announces £22m investment in ‘smart data’
“We’re on track to close the loop”: Adtran talks data, AI, and network automation at Connected Britain

Four technology deployments by global operators to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]

Orex Sai – the Open RAN joint venture between NTT DoCoMo and NEC – says it has been selected by Cambodia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for a project to deploy a 4G Open RAN test network.

According to a statement from Orex on Saturday, the JV will deploy its 4G Open RAN solutions at an unnamed “large commercial facility” in Cambodia as a demo to verify the technology’s ability to provide stable voice and data communications.

The network will also be used to test AI-powered solutions developed for commercial facilities by NTT Data Malaysia to trial potential use cases for 4G in such environments, and demonstrate the ability of Open RAN to support them.

Orex Sai was established by DoCoMo and NEC in April 2024 to integrate Open RAN hardware and software from partners into tailored “Orex Packages” for telcos. Under the Orex Packages framework, Orex provides a full-stack service that includes planning, construction, system verification, maintenance and operation.

Orex said that if the demo goes well, the company will introduce its Orex Packages to the Cambodian market.

Orex Sai also hosted a workshop on Open RAN and other topics on Monday at the Cambodia Academy of Digital Technology (CADT) to help develop local skillsets for Open RAN technologies.

While the chief pitch for Open RAN has typically been to provide telcos with an alternative to vendor lock-in and potentially lower costs, Orex is also pitching its Open RAN solutions – at least in Cambodia – as a security measure for digital infrastructure and a way to mitigate supply chain risks.

“Supply chain risks due to changes in the international situation and concerns about ensuring security in cyberspace have become apparent. Concerns have also been raised about the security of digital infrastructure in terms of security, openness, and transparency,” Orex said.

Orex said that because Open RAN enables various vendors (rather than a single vendor) to supply base station hardware and software, this “will make it possible to reduce supply chain risks, build a flexible and highly scalable wireless access network, and optimize prices by activating the base station market.”