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.
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.
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.”
Over the past decade, we have seen infrastructure investments in Latin America growing rapidly but with most of it going into data centers and subsea cables. But markets across the continent are maturing, and EdgeUno sees an opportunity. The infrastructure and cloud provider plans to leverage its footprint across the continent as it builds out diverse, new, longhaul terrestrial fiber between the markets it serves. With us today to talk about their approach and the opportunity they see is CEO Mehmet Akcin. … [visit site to read more]
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ZTE has unveiled the innovations of its RAN multi-agent collaboration solution with China Mobile during the China International Information and Communications Technology Exhibition (PTEXPO) in Beijing.
The multi-agent collaboration solution introduces AI large models into the end-to-end operation and maintenance of mobile networks for the first time, yielding impressive performance and efficiency improvements across various locations in China. This represents a significant leap forward in network digitalization and intelligence.
Through the extensive deployment and development of 5G, China Mobile has built the world’s largest mobile network. This expansion has led to increasingly complex network structures and diverse applications, demanding higher efficiency in network operations and maintenance. With the deep integration of 5G with AI+, the introduction of large models is revolutionizing the telecom industry.
The innovations of RAN multi-agent collaboration solution, unveiled at this event, are built upon the latest AI large model tailored for the telecom industry. By harnessing multi-agent collaboration, the solution leverages the network’s native AI atomic capabilities, empowering the network operation and maintenance platform, and exploring a new paradigm for intelligent network management.
The RAN multi-agent collaboration solution seamlessly integrates telecom knowledge, structured data, and network capabilities, enabling accurate understanding and intelligent decision-making in complex operation and maintenance scenarios through multi-agent collaboration and orchestration. This transformation shifts from the traditional « people+tools » model to a new self-orchestrating intelligent service model. The new approach improves the network’s adaptive capabilities and self-service levels, promotes the synergy among various intelligent technologies, and drives the overall advancement of network intelligence. Furthermore, this solution explores new business models and application scenarios, fostering effective integration of 5G-A and AI, expanding the 5G-A industrial ecosystem and enhancing overall industrial value.
In the journey of network transformation driven by « 5G+ » and « AI+ », ZTE and China Mobile collaborate closely to address the challenges posed by ultra-large-scale mobile networks, complex structures, stringent professional requirements, and high performance and security demands, aiming to establish a new paradigm in mobile network operation and maintenance. Since 2023, ZTE and China Mobile have actively promoted the AI multi-agent collaboration solution for network operation and maintenance, showcasing its effectiveness at major events across China, including the Wuzhen Internet Conference, concerts at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, the Jin’an International Tennis Open, the Xi’an Great Tang All Day Mall, and various events in Beijing. At a concert held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center, the solution achieved a 30% reduction in manpower required for network performance assurance. Similarly, at the Xi’an Great Tang All Day Mall, it facilitated a 20% increase in network traffic while significantly enhancing user experience. These improvements highlight the solution’s capability to enhance operation and maintenance efficiency while improving network performance and user perception.
The unveiling of the multi-agent collaboration innovations marks a significant milestone in the network intelligence strategies of ZTE and China Mobile. Moving forward, both companies are committed to deepening their partnership to drive breakthroughs in key intelligent technologies, explore diverse application scenarios, provide robust technical support for the advancement of telecom industry, and facilitate digital transformation across various sectors.
Costa Rican regulator Sutel has reportedly restarted the country’s 5G spectrum auction process, following the dismissal by The Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) of most of the objections of Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (Grupo ICE), the Costa Rican government-run electricity and telecommunications services provider.
There was apparently an error in the annex to the specifications, relating to coverage guarantees. This was one of ICE’s objections and one of the few to be accepted. The error has now been corrected.
However, ICE also objected to spectrum caps, which effectively mean that it can’t compete for more mid-range spectrum – that is, spectrum from 1GHz to 6GHz. This, along with most other ICE objections, has been rejected.
In fact ICE has so far held up the auction process with this argument twice, most recently at the end of September, although there had also been earlier objections from operators Claro and Liberty.
Now, however, Sutel aims to resume with the new deadlines and will be able to receive applications from bidders interested in the spectrum.
In fact on 24 October, Sutel published the notice of the 5G tender in the country’s Official Gazette, through which it restarted the remaining period of 12 working days granted for the receipt of offers from those who want to participate in the bid.
Once this part of the process is complete, Sutel will proceed with the evaluation and pre-selection of offers to define who will be the eligible bidders. Once the pre-selection is formalised, the start of actual bidding for spectrum will be scheduled.
As long ago as February last year we reported that all three Costa Rican operators – Liberty, Claro and ICE – had shown interest in acquiring new spectrum for mobile services in the country. APM Terminals, ICE and Liberty were also reportedly interested in implementing private mobile networks, as were a number of cooperatives.
