When it comes to sustainability, for telcos the largest challenge is reducing the energy consumption of their ever-growing networks. Many of the largest operators around the world, including the likes of Orange, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom, have already committed to reducing their carbon emissions to net-zero by 2040 – a target that will be very difficult to achieve without rethinking the way in which they view network energy consumption…

When it comes to sustainability, for telcos the largest challenge is reducing the energy consumption of their ever-growing networks. Many of the largest operators around the world, including the likes of Orange, Vodafone, and Deutsche Telekom, have already committed to reducing their carbon emissions to net-zero by 2040 – a target that will be very difficult to achieve without rethinking the way in which they view network energy consumption. 

With this in mind, Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson have today announced a new collaboration, modifying a live 5G mobile site in Germany to support both wind and solar power generation and integration. 

The site, situated in Dittenheim, had been part-powered by 12 square metres of solar panels for over a year as part of a previous partnership between the two companies. Now, a new trial has seen wind turbines added to further boost the site’s capacity for renewable energy usage.

The combined solution is facilitated by the Ericsson Power System, which jointly controls the two power sources and the batteries also integrated into the system. This not only allows for more optimised energy consumption from the various sources, but also allows the batteries as dynamic power storage units, storing renewable energy when available. 

When conditions are right, the site can operate using energy from the renewable sources alone, without need to tap the electrical power grid.

“Ensuring an integrated management of clean, efficient and reliable power sources and usage is key for sustainable mobile site operations. Together with innovative partners we explore in trials how we can apply intelligent solutions and capabilities to optimize energy consumption and control at mobile sites,” said Leif Heitzer, SVP Technology Guidance and Economics at Deutsche Telekom.

An announcement by the Canadian government has banned Huawei and ZTE equipment from Canadian 4G and 5G networks.
The Canadian government said that the ban was on the grounds of national security concerns, in particular that Huawei and ZTE are legally obliged to comply with Chinese government intelligence agencies, potentially handing over sensitive information…

An announcement by the Canadian government has banned Huawei and ZTE equipment from Canadian 4G and 5G networks.

The Canadian government said that the ban was on the grounds of national security concerns, in particular that Huawei and ZTE are legally obliged to comply with Chinese government intelligence agencies, potentially handing over sensitive information. 

“The Government is committed to maximizing the social and economic benefits of 5G and access to telecommunications services writ large, but not at the expense of security,” read a government statement.

Following the announcement, Canadian telcos will no longer purchase additional 4G or 5G equipment from these vendors from September this year. In addition, they must remove all existing 5G equipment from these vendors by 28 June 2024, and from all 4G networks by the end of 2027. 

These removal plans are similar in scope to those implement in other markets that have banned Huawei and ZTE; the UK, for example, is also aiming to have Huawei equipment entirely removed from national networks by 2027.

The move will make Canada the last of the Five Eyes alliance – an intelligence sharing alliance between Australia, the US, Canada, the UK, and New Zealand – to implement a full ban on Huawei technology. 

Huawei, naturally, has protested the ban, saying that the company does not represent a security threat and will take all means necessary to safeguard its interests. 

Canada’s relationship with Huawei has been rocky for numerous years, perhaps catalysed by a long-running court drama involving Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s Chief Financial Officer and daughter of founder, Ren Zhengfei.

Meng was detained by Canada in December 2018, with the US having called for her arrest on charges of fraud and the deliberate violation of US sanctions. Meng contested the charges, leading to a prolonged legal battle that saw her remain under house arrest in Canada for almost three years. 

Following her arrest, China quickly detained two Canadian nationals, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, on the grounds of national security, in a move widely linked to Meng’s arrest.

The Meng case was finally resolved in September 2021 through a deferred prosecution agreement. The ‘Two Michaels’, as they had become referred to by the media, were released shortly afterwards.
 

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Also in the news: 
Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson combine wind and solar for 5G site
Sasho Veselinski to step down as G.Network CEO
BT trials for new antenna technology to boost UK 5G coverage

BT is undertaking a trial of new antenna technology that has the potential boost the range of 5G networks. The receiver technology works by utilising a quantum effect called « electromagnetically induced transparency& »…

BT is undertaking a trial of new antenna technology that has the potential boost the range of 5G networks.

The receiver technology works by utilising a quantum effect called « electromagnetically induced transparency » to produce greater sensitivity in terms of finding weaker signals. BT speculates that this could boost sensitivity by more than 100 times.

A spokesperson from BT explained how the antenna equipment will work. “A conventional dipole antenna is a macroscopic solid conductor and subject to thermal noise as the billions of atoms jostle each other at room temperature. In a diffuse gas, the atoms interact much less, so thermal noise can be reduced, and the signal-to-noise ratio is reduced even for weak signals, especially in a narrow frequency band.”

Currently, the research team at BT Labs in Martlesham are working towards finding the optimum radio frequency (RF) modulation and signal processing for future use in radio networks, as well as miniaturising the equipment.

Although this process will take time, the technology does have the potential to provide a significantly higher standard of sensitivity than standard radio antennas. This would mean a reduction of mobile network energy consumption and the potential for receivers to be positioned in hard-to-reach locations. This could have significant benefits for rural areas that struggle to obtain 5G signal. In terms of financial advancements, cost savings may flow from this technological development.

A date for deployment has not yet been announced. However, according to BT Senior Manager for Network Physics, Fraser Burton, « A commercial product is at least three to five years out, so network deployment within the decade is possible. »

Iqbal Singh Bedi hosted a panel discussion at Connected North that explored the future case of 5G networks with Jessica Ellis of the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), Rosemary Kay of Liverpool’s eHealth Cluster and Paul Coffey of the Scotland 5G Centre. According to Iqbal, a key discussion point was the Government&’…

Iqbal Singh Bedi hosted a panel discussion at Connected North that explored the future case of 5G networks with Jessica Ellis of the Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), Rosemary Kay of Liverpool’s eHealth Cluster and Paul Coffey of the Scotland 5G Centre.

According to Iqbal, a key discussion point was the Government’s role in accelerating the rollout of commercial 5G cellular networks, particularly densified small cell 5G networks that bring very low latency and multi gigabit capability to end user devices.

“However,”, according to Bedi, “densified public small 5G networks are scarce in the UK.” To combat this, the Government launched the Digital Communications Infrastructure Accelerator (DCIA) which was designed to make cities more appealing for 5G small cell investment.

Telecoms expert Bedi said, “While there are some benefits to the DCIA it is unlikely to result in any significant 5G small cell investment momentum”.

He put this down to a couple of key reasons. The first reason he said was that “Mobile operators are simply not focussed on deploying densified small cell public 5G networks in city centres. Instead, their current focus is on upgrading indoor cellular networks to 5G and upgrading outdoor 4G macro networks to 5G.”

Second, there is a notable absence of a ‘killer use case’ or ‘use cases’ to incentivise invest in costly 5G networks at any scale.

Intelligens Consulting recently supported a client to overcome these issues. They developed a private-5G enabled connected tourism use case for a local authority using virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR).

Bedi said, “The approach we took was based on a key principle, to ensure the use case would be commercially sustainable and independent of government subsidy.” As a result, it is expected that this private 5G network built to support a connected tourism use case could be leveraged to stimulate commercially led investment in public densified small cell 5G services.”

Intelligens Consulting has advised local authorities to unlock GBP multimillion investments in fibre, 5G and IoT networks at zero cost to the taxpayer resulting in GBP billions in economic impact creating smarter, connected places. Their team of technology, strategy, economic, procurement and finance experts can also provide strategic, technical and procurement support, research and economic analysis and can source private funders to finance the development of digital infrastructure.

Connected North will return to Manchester in 2023, before that, why not join us for Connected Britain in London in September?

Vodafone’s boss has been under strenuous pressure to deliver as a lack of updates on potential deals left investors feeling skeptical. According to chief executive Nick Reed, the telecoms giant is ‘actively pursuing a range of live opportunities&’…

Vodafone’s boss has been under strenuous pressure to deliver as a lack of updates on potential deals left investors feeling skeptical. According to chief executive Nick Reed, the telecoms giant is ‘actively pursuing a range of live opportunities’ in a number of European markets but declined to outline further detail.

However, Vodafone and CEO Nick Reed have been granted some relief. Emirates Telecommunications Group (e&) recently announced that it had acquired a 9.8 per cent stake in the European telecoms company for approximately $4.4bn and voiced unreserved support for the company’s management and strategy.

According to one significant Vodafone investor, Nick Read “will probably be given at least this year” to show he can turn round the business.

Vodafone’s full-year earnings targets for 2023 were significantly lower than predicted, which the company attributed to rising inflation. However, it has been speculated that the companies’ losses were largely a product of poor performance in the important German market, where Vodafone lost 240,000 broadband and mobile customers in the latest quarter, something Read blamed on an IT problem related to the implementation of a new telecoms law.

Investors are unhappy with one saying “Vodafone’s potential is obvious to all. The problem is management’s longstanding inability to realise it,” This has been demonstrated by Vodafone’s rejecting a bid of more than €11billion in Italy this year and failure to close a deal with Spanish company, MasMovil despite months of negotiations.

However, last week, the Financial Times reported that Vodafone had entered talks with CK Hutchison to amalgamate its UK services with Three UK. With investors suggesting that for Vodafone pursuing deals in strategic parts of company’s portfolio is the best route for future advancement, making this happen has never been more important.

Different submarine cable capacity consumption models
When bandwidth demands were comparatively low (compared to today) in the pre-ICP days, sub-lambda services were commonly sold carried by 5Gb/s to 10Gbs wavelengths. As bandwidth demands surged with the growth of the Internet, wavelengths became the currency of network services where end-users purchased entire wavelengths typically operating at 10Gb/s or 100Gb/s rates, still commonly used today.
 
For end-users with massive capacity demands, such as ICPs, entire fiber pairs were purchased from wholesalers. For routes where an entire fiber pair was unavailable for purchase or for end-users needing more than a few wavelengths but less than an entire fiber pair…

Different submarine cable capacity consumption models

When bandwidth demands were comparatively low (compared to today) in the pre-ICP days, sub-lambda services were commonly sold carried by 5Gb/s to 10Gbs wavelengths. As bandwidth demands surged with the growth of the Internet, wavelengths became the currency of network services where end-users purchased entire wavelengths typically operating at 10Gb/s or 100Gb/s rates, still commonly used today.

For end-users with massive capacity demands, such as ICPs, entire fiber pairs were purchased from wholesalers. For routes where an entire fiber pair was unavailable for purchase or for end-users needing more than a few wavelengths but less than an entire fiber pair, optical spectrum is available. In this acquired spectrum, services are managed by the submarine cable operator or end-users themselves. What network services are available on a submarine route will depend on the cables present and the associated portfolio of services offered by wholesalers along the route.

Verizon Business has teamed up with a leading UK based health technology company, Visionable, alongside support from Capgemini and Juniper Networks to open a technology-led centre dedicated to accelerating the adoption of connected healthcare technology for patient-centric care. Based in Kent, this centre offers the chance for visitors to experience the opportunities technology provides in transforming the patient care journey.   
The new technologies on display include Verizon’s private 5G and AI-driven secure networks from Juniper. The idea being to see this technology in a healthcare context and demonstrate the benefits of collaborating on next…

Verizon Business has teamed up with a leading UK based health technology company, Visionable, alongside support from Capgemini and Juniper Networks to open a technology-led centre dedicated to accelerating the adoption of connected healthcare technology for patient-centric care. Based in Kent, this centre offers the chance for visitors to experience the opportunities technology provides in transforming the patient care journey.   

The new technologies on display include Verizon’s private 5G and AI-driven secure networks from Juniper. The idea being to see this technology in a healthcare context and demonstrate the benefits of collaborating on next-generation connectivity within relevant healthcare environments. The areas they look to cover include General Practices, consulting rooms, emergency services, care homes, patient homes, and rehabilitation centres.   

On Verizon’s website Scott Lawrence, Group Vice President of Verizon Business in Europe, states: “In order to accelerate change in how healthcare is delivered, it is crucial that healthcare organizations come together and witness these transformational applications firsthand” and describes the centre as having “been developed to provide a dedicated space for professionals to see connected healthcare in action, and more importantly, work together as a community to build new applications and use cases. This collaboration will help revolutionize how healthcare is delivered.”   

The subject of collaboration is a key theme of this demonstration with the centre able to act as a dedicated collaboration hub to encourage co-creation of technology concepts so partners can develop innovative solutions for the future of healthcare.   

“The Connected Healthcare Center will enable collaboration between healthcare professionals and global technology partners to ideate & co-create new models of care for the future delivery of healthcare services, which we believe will benefit millions of patients worldwide.” said Alan Lowe, CEO, Visionable.  

Verizon have outlined how “demonstration zones” will showcase the following:   

– Patient home / care home / virtual ward: Virtual wards that provide a digital end-to-end journey from remote patient monitoring to specialist patient support and patient-led peer-to-peer support.  

– Connected emergency services: Wearable technology to communicate with remote clinicians and the use of video, diagnostic and data feeds to quickly share information with specialist clinicians via a connected device in the responder vehicle.  

– General Practice surgery: Use of multi-screen, multi-feed, collaboration platforms in delivering informed collaborative patient / citizen care.  

– Hospital ward: The digitalization of care pathways for faster diagnosis and improved patient outcomes to Multidisciplinary teams (MDT) collaboration  

– Rehabilitation center: Enabling virtual group consultations between a care provider and a group of people/patients to support recovery post-discharge.  

The message is clear, this strategic partnership aims to make connected healthcare a reality displaying exactly how Verizon and Visionable can allow healthcare professionals to securely access data, collaborate with one another, and share resources.   

The impact of connected healthcare was highlighted by Lynne A. Dunbrack, Group Vice President, Public Sector for IDC who said, “5G technology with its performance enhancements of increased speed, reduced latency, and improved density will enable expansion of care everywhere use cases. Healthcare organizations are starting to leverage a wide range of connected health technologies to provide urgent, chronic, and preventive care to patients on-demand anytime and anywhere to provide convenient access to high-quality, cost-effective healthcare services.”  

The centre has an additional purpose to add credence to Verizon’s broader vision to partner with startups, universities, enterprises, and governments to explore how 5G can disrupt and transform a variety of industries.   

To learn more about this story, Verizon and their partners visit the company news center website 

If you want to explore more on how industries are being impacted by innovative connectivity solutions be sure to check out Total Telecom Congress 2022 taking place in London this November 1st & 2nd.  

Total Telecom Congress brings together the senior leaders shaping the future of the global telecoms market. This year’s agenda will focus on the key strategic priorities which are being discussed in telco’s boardrooms around the world, delving into 12 key themes across the 2 days. Click here find out more. 

Also in the news:
French regulator approves Altice France €415m purchase of Coriolis Telecom
BT and Toshiba launch commercial quantum security trial
How to get the most out of 5G mid-band in Cloud RAN

Whether CAMRA (Campaign for real ale) would approve is not entirely clear but Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia says their latest collaboration with University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is helping & »…

Whether CAMRA (Campaign for real ale) would approve is not entirely clear but Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia says their latest collaboration with University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is helping « optimize the brewing process and move ever closer to achieving the perfect pint ».

The world’s first private wireless and 5G connected digital microbrewery utilises a cloud-based digital twin of an actual brewery to optimize the brewing process. The Nano-Brewery in the project is part of an international production network, with an identical physical twin set up in TU Dortmund University in Germany – ensuring this is truly global brewing! The 5G connected brewery captures and monitors production data at every step of the brewing process and uses this data, together with data from the physical twin in Dortmund and a digital twin in the cloud, to optimize the process.

Professor Jochen Deuse, Director of Centre for Advanced Manufacturing at UTS, said: “Our goal is to promote Industry 4.0 principles to local industry by offering a testbed that gives partners the keys to improve their own manufacturing processes and gain business intelligence. »

5G connectivity for the microbrewery is provided by Nokia’s FastMile 5G Gateways connected to a campus-wide Nokia Digital Automation Cloud 5G Standalone private wireless network. The private wireless 5G network is part of the on-site Nokia 5G Futures Lab and also supports other Industry 4.0 projects within Tech Lab such as the Australian Government-funded Nokia/UTS 5G Connected Cobots project.

Wi-Fi networks in the home are set to become more interactive after the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) published new deployment guidelines on Wi-Fi Sensing which will enable new applications and revenue streams in markets such as home security…

Wi-Fi Sensing is set to become an integral part of the smart home concept tapping into a previously ignored source of artificial intelligence for preventative and analytics-driven solutions. The technology uses existing Wi-Fi signals to sense motion making Wi-Fi networks more interactive. The benefits to the user fall into multiple areas including convenience, peace of mind, health insights, and privacy.

CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, Tiago Rodrigues, believes this could be a great boost for Wi-Fi service providers giving them a foundation to expand into a wide variety of exciting new markets, including health care, home security and building automation.

Pioneer Consulting, the full-service submarine fiber optic telecommunications consulting and project management company, along with Southern Cross, announces that the Southern Cross NEXT submarine cable project has been granted Provisional Acceptance. The culmination of the submarine segments of the cable system marks the nearing completion of a project six years in the making that will be the largest and lowest-latency route connecting Australia…

Pioneer Consulting, the full-service submarine fiber optic telecommunications consulting and project management company, along with Southern Cross, announces that the Southern Cross NEXT submarine cable project has been granted Provisional Acceptance. The culmination of the submarine segments of the cable system marks the nearing completion of a project six years in the making that will be the largest and lowest-latency route connecting Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Throughout the project, Pioneer Consulting oversaw and handled the dynamic elements of the project, including market and business case analysis, procurement and contracting, project implementation, quality assurance, and shipboard representation, ensuring the successful commissioning of the subsea system between each cable station. Granting Provisional Acceptance for the subsea system, which includes the trunk cable between Sydney, Auckland, and Los Angeles along with branches to Fiji, Tokelau, and Kiribati, represents the material completion of the Southern Cross NEXT system marine program.

The Southern Cross NEXT system will provide 72 Tbit/s of capacity and will add to the existing Southern Cross network ecosystem, which includes 12 cable stations and eight major datacenter hubs in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The Southern Cross network spans six countries and eight time zones, connected by over 45,000 km (28,000 mile) of cable – greater than the Earth’s circumference.

« This has been a truly incredible project that allowed us to demonstrate the full breadth of our submarine telecom consulting services, » said Gavin Tully, Managing Partner of Pioneer Consulting. “We’re proud to have supported taking what was once an idea and helping make it a reality. It has been a pleasure to work alongside Southern Cross and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) during each crucial stage of NEXT’s development, and we eagerly look forward to the cable’s forthcoming entry into commercial service. »

« We are tremendously proud to have completed this critical phase of NEXT’s development in partnership with Pioneer Consulting, » said Laurie Miller, CEO of Southern Cross Cable Network. « Once activated, this high-capacity route will provide enhanced reliability and network efficiency from Los Angeles to Sydney, and all points between. »

The installation of the submarine cable system was performed by Alcatel Submarine Networks, who additionally designed and manufactured the cable, repeaters, and branching units. The system is expected to initiate commercial service on July 7th, 2022.

Alain Biston, President of Alcatel Submarine Networks, said: “ASN is very proud of achieving, in spite of very difficult conditions resulting from the global pandemic, the crucial milestone of Provisional Acceptance for Southern Cross NEXT, which concludes another chapter of our long-standing partnership with Southern Cross. After building the original Southern Cross cable network more than twenty years ago, we are honored to have been cooperating again to provide more broadband connectivity to the South Pacific region, bringing into the fold several previously underserved communities.”

Gavin Tully is chairing day one of Submarine Networks EMEA in London on the 17-18 May 2022. To book your tickets visit www.totaltele.com/subnets