Some data center, fixed wireless, and IX news to end the week.  … [visit site to read more]

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One M&A, one contract win, one technology partnership, and a leadership change: … [visit site to read more]

Demand for fixed-line telephone services has reportedly spiked in North Korea’s North Pyongan Province due to the easing of border restrictions with China, which has also led to a spike in installation prices.

According to Daily NK, citing anonymous sources, the relaxation of border controls has led to an increase in traffic in provincial areas like Sinuiju, Ryongchon, Uiju, and Cholsan. As much of that traffic is commercial (to allegedly include smugglers), wholesalers in those areas are starting to install two phones at home, as fixed-line services cost less than mobile phones.

The report also said that demand for fixed-line in North Pyongan has been driven by an increase in families who want to install their own home phone instead of sharing one with another family, mainly due to privacy concerns.

Consequently, post offices in the province have been swamped with requests for phone installations since the beginning of this year – so much so that the North Pyongan Province Post and Telecommunications Bureau has brought forward its annual revenue targets, the report said.

However, this also means provincial post offices have raised installation costs to take advantage of the spike in demand and hit those targets. The report claims the cost of fixed-line phone installation now costs between US$350-450 in Sinuiju and US$400-500 in Ryongchon. By comparison, installing a telephone in the capital Pyongyang costs between US$100-250.

The report’s source said the price of installation is particularly high in Ryongchon County because it has become a major bottleneck for shipping, as goods imported from China must pass through customs in Sinuiju before being distributed throughout the country.

“Since it’s the area where goods are distributed the fastest and wholesale prices are set, home phones are in high demand and installation prices are also high,” the source said.

The source also told NK Daily that Ryongchon County residents filed a complaint with the provincial party committee over the price hike, “but the matter was closed without results.”

According to the latest available figures from the CIA’s World Factbook, North Korea had 1.18 million fixed lines at the end of 2021, which works out to a market penetration of 5%. Figures from the World Bank (also for the end of 2021) say there are 6 million mobile subscriptions in North Korea, which comes to 23% market penetration.

There was a significant bit of consolidation among testing and assurance vendors yesterday. Viavi Solutions has agreed to acquire Spirent in an all cash deal. Both companies focus on testing and assurance products and services, enabling network operators around the world to better manage their infrastructure and serve customers. … [visit site to read more]

Thai operators AIS and True Corp announced separately on Tuesday that they are ready to implement an emergency cell broadcast service commissioned by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

The cell broadcast service is designed to immediately pinpoint specific areas affected by urgent and critical incidents, including violence, shootings, and natural disasters.

The service comprises two parts: a Cell Broadcast Entities (CBE) system, managed and overseen by the central command center of the government, and the Cell Broadcast Center (CBC) system, managed and overseen by mobile 0perators.

The CBE system defines content and delivery areas for messages, consisting of various functions such as system management, message creation and approval. The CBC system is responsible for delivering message content to base stations according to specified areas, comprising system management and configuration, message deployment function, and network management.

The cell broadcast service will send direct warning messages from area base stations to all mobile phones within that region. The message is displayed on the mobile phone screen as a near real-time triggering pop-up notification.

The system differs from regular SMS in that it doesn’t require phone numbers, allowing for rapid and efficient communication of emergency information across the entire affected area. This also means the public doesn’t need to download any specific applications. Additionally, users will receive messages even if the even if the device is switched off.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) first proposed establishing a cell broadcast system for emergency alerts in October 2023 following a shooting at Siam Paragon Mall in which two people were killed and five others injured. Since then, the NBTC has collaborated with DES, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), the Royal Thai Police, and mobile operators to develop the system.

AIS demonstrated the cell broadcast service on Tuesday at the NBTC office. Clinical professor Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, chairman of the NBTC, said the results were satisfactory. “[The system] is ready to connect with the central government’s command cente to serve as a tool or channel for swift and efficient disaster warnings.”

“The latest testing of this technology has successfully achieved its intended goals, and we are ready to expand its integration with the country’s emergency alert system efficiently going forward,” said AIS head of business relations Waroonthep Watcharaporn.

Also on Tuesday, True Corp announced that it was ready to support the service, having successfully testing it on January 15.

“Currently, negotiations are underway with the government to put this system into practice … marking a first step of success for True Corp in developing and cooperating towards the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the NBTC, and the DDPM for immediate deployment,” said Chakkrit Urairat, True Corp’s chief corporate affairs officer.

Chakkrit also said that True’s cell broadcast system supports five levels of alerts based on severity:

• National Alert: The highest level of alert, immediately informing everyone within the coverage area
• Emergency Alert: Alerts for various disasters like tsunamis, earthquakes and flash floods, as well as criminal threats
• Amber Alert: Alerts for information when a child is missing or abducted to help the public stay alert and assist government officials in monitoring and reporting if suspects are spotted
• Public Safety: Public safety alerts in areas or for monitoring cases involving residents, communities, and passersby
• Test Alert: A system for testing alerts for specific purposes before expanding to monitoring and alerts at different levels.

True also said its system supports five languages: Thai, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian.

Neither True nor AIS said how much the implementation would cost. A report in the Bangkok Post last month quoted DES minister Prasert Jantararuangthong as saying the CBE would cost around 400 million baht (US$11 million) to set up. He also said mobile operators may have to spend 300 million baht each to install their own CBCs.

On Tuesday, the NBTC’s Sarana said in a joint statement with AIS that funding for the system would be supported by the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund.

Some new leadership, a couple of rollout updates, and a new partnership: … [visit site to read more]

BW Digital and Citramas Group announced on Monday they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a carrier-neutral digital ecosystem using BW Digital’s upcoming new data centre in Batam’s Nongsa Digital Park (NDP) in Indonesia.

The partnership follows BW Digital’s acquisition of more than 55,000 square meters of land at the Citramas-owned Nongsa Digital Park to build its inaugural data centre in Southeast Asia and strengthen its Asia-Pacific digital infrastructure portfolio.

With a capacity of up to 80MW, the data centre will be designed to meet high density requirements. BW Digital said it will provide scalable solutions for enterprise, cloud and AI workloads, while helping customers to achieve their goals for carbon neutrality and general sustainability.

BW Digital and Citramas Group will jointly deliver infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) solutions co-located within the data centre, including landing infrastructure for new submarine cables, international and domestic connectivity, data storage facilities, and computing power for development of AI and machine learning applications.

“This new step anchors BW Digital’s long-term vision to create a neutral and trusted digital ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region, in tandem with the development of Hawaiki Nui, our new subsea cable, which will first connect South East Asia and Australasia,” said BW Digital CEO Ludovic Hutier. “We hope to accelerate the growth of Nongsa Digital Park as an emerging hub for innovation and technology.”

Citramas Group CEO Mike Wiluan said BW Digital’s presence would “adds immense value in furthering NDP as a strategic data centre hub in the region, connecting Indonesia to key global markets.”

BW Digital is a subsidiary of BW Group, a global energy and maritime group headquartered in Singapore.

Two data center projects, some subsea news, and a network expansion: … [visit site to read more]

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