One bit of M&A and two fiber expansion projects to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]

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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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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.