News

Connected devices include smart metres, smart bikes, asset tracking sensors, and vehicle telematics

This week, Indian mobile operator Bharti Airtel has announced that it has connected over 20 million devices to its IoT platform.

Launched by the company’s B2B division Airtel Business back in 2021, Airtel IoT has quickly accrued more than 8000 enterprise customers in the past two years, according to the company website. This includes companies in numerous major industries, including automobile, energy, utilities, logistics, financial services, and manufacturing.

The IoT platform supports a range of connectivity technologies, such as 5G, 4G, NB-IoT, 2G and satellite, and allows enterprises a centralised portal to manage their IoT device portfolios. This Airtel IoT Hub can provide real time analytics, including data usage and sensor activity.

According to Airtel, the company has been helped to reach the new device milestone by a number of major deals, including a contract with Secure Meters to help power 1.3 million smart metres in the state of Bihar, another with government-backed joint venture TP Western Odisha Distribution for 200,000 smart metres in Odisha, and a deal with Matter Motor Works for 300,000 smart bikes.

“IoT is a key pillar in India’s digital growth journey and, as a brand powering this journey with our future-ready technology solutions for connected devices, we are delighted to achieve this significant milestone of 20 million connected devices on our platform,” said Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, CEO, Airtel Business (India) said. “With efficient and cost-effective automated IoT solutions, we are at the forefront of empowering enterprises to extend their reach to the remotest parts of the country on our secure platform as they scale their businesses.”

The global IoT market is growing rapidly worldwide, with some sources suggesting the total number of connected devices will reach 16.7 billion this year.

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One subsea cable, one DAS deployment, one SASE expansion, and one IoT M&A: … [visit site to read more]

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, one of the world’s largest integrated energy and chemicals companies, and OQ Technology, described as the world’s first satellite 5G IoT operator that provides global cellular Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) communication solutions through satellites, have announced the signing of a new MoU.

The MoU, the partners say, further strengthens their existing collaboration and focuses on automation and satellite IoT connectivity for Aramco’s remote site infrastructures. Specifically, OQ Technology aims to expand satellite IoT services and solutions for connecting Aramco’s Intelligent Integrated Node (IIN) technology.

IIN is an innovative automation infrastructure technology invented by Aramco and developed by MOXA Inc, a provider of industrial networking, computing, and automation solutions. It combines instrumentation control, monitoring, and edge computing capabilities into a single fault-tolerant device.

While IIN technology is focused on the energy companies, it is seen as applicable to other sectors, such as smart cities, power and utilities, agriculture and transportation. 

The significance of this collaboration lies in the synergy between Aramco’s automation edge technology and OQ’s low Earth orbit (LEO) 5G NB-IoT infrastructure. It will, the partners say, accelerate the development of IoT applications, personal products, safety, security & surveillance, fire protection, automotive, healthcare and other industries in Saudi Arabia and globally.

There’s also a sustainability angle. Omar Qaise, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at OQ, says: “Integrating 5G IoT and IIN technologies will increase operational efficiencies downstream, reduce raw material consumption, and minimize personnel travel to remote sites, contributing to a more efficient green economy.”

News

The network will provide 4G services to individuals, homes, and businesses throughout the country 

Last week, Airtel Rwanda launched its highly anticipated 4G LTE Network. The firm is Rwanda’s first mobile network operator to secure its own 4G license and launch its own 4G network.  

The launch has been made possible by a government change in licensing strategy.  

Previously, Airtel could only provide their LTE services through Korea Telecom Rwanda Networks, who had a wholesale monopoly in the country.  

In February this year, however, the Rwandan government announced a change in licensing rules, which would allow other telcos to launch their own 4G networks, in the interest of increasing competition to accelerate the country’s access to high-speed mobile services. 

Airtel’s 4G tariff plans have launched at the same price point as its existing 3G plans, which Airtel Rwanda hopes will drive up adoption of 4G devices to boost digital inclusion across the country. 

“The company remains committed to leading innovation in the Rwandan market by providing choice to Rwandans because of significant investment in network coverage, consistent network quality, an improved quality of service in addition to delivery on market leading value for money,” said Airtel Rwanda’s Managing Director, Emmanuel Hamez.  

The move comes after the Rwandan government introduced The National and Broadband Policy and Strategy in October last year, aiming to transform Rwanda into a competitive digital economy.  

Airtel says it plans to expand its network infrastructure coverage and increase its support for the country’s new digital strategies. 

How is the African telecommunications market evolving in 2023? Join the operators in discussion at this year’s Total Telecom Congress live from Amsterdam. 

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The optical industry’s job is never done, as there is always a need for more speed and bandwidth. I remember clearly when Infinera burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s with new Indium Phosphide technology and photonic integrated circuits to challenge the status quo. There’s been a lot of change since then, and plenty more still to come.  With us today to talk about Infinera’s viewpoint on where we are and where we are going in the world of optics and bandwidth is Robert Maher, CTO of Infinera’s Optical Modules and Coherent Solutions. … [visit site to read more]

Press Release

Ericsson and O₂ Telefónica in Germany have achieved a significant milestone in the development of 5G Cloud RAN technology in Europe

In their inaugural joint Proof of Concept (PoC) deployment at O₂ Telefónica’s Wayra innovation hub in Munich, they showcased the capabilities of Ericsson’s first 5G Cloud RAN installation in Europe. The PoC utilized a centralized control unit (CU) and harnessed the power of mmWave frequency to achieve an impressive end-to-end speed of more than 4 gigabits per second.

This successful collaboration not only demonstrates the efficiency and performance of Ericsson’s 5G Cloud RAN solution but also validates the feasibility of Cloud RAN for enterprise and industry-specific use cases as well as fixed wireless access (FWA) use cases. One such use case is “Data Shower”, a new concept in the automotive industry that enables the efficient deployment of software updates to vehicles in production lines by using mmWave technology for high-bandwidth transfer.

The achievement of this PoC highlights the potential of Cloud RAN technology to deliver 5G connectivity and drive future innovations in the European telecommunications landscape. It serves as a crucial foundation for O₂ Telefónica’s efforts to bring Cloud RAN technology to macro networks and demonstrates Ericsson’s commitment to Open RAN – paving the way for further advancements in cloud-native architecture and operation.

By implementing Ericsson’s cloud-native software solution for 5G Cloud RAN, O₂ Telefónica in Germany will experience significant gains in flexibility, service delivery and improved network operations. This initiative also sets the stage for other communication service providers (CSPs) to leverage network automation and RAN programmability, thereby enhancing their overall network flexibility, scalability, and simplification.

Daniel Leimbach, Head of Customer Unit Western Europe at Ericsson, says: “The partnership between Ericsson and O₂ Telefónica demonstrates our commitment to achieving significant breakthroughs on our path to build the networks of the future. It is a first for both companies in Europe and shows the potential of Cloud RAN for high performance use cases. It builds upon our work with the cloud-native 5G core we have deployed in O₂ Telefónica Germany, enabling a full end-to-end cloud native network. We are very proud to be doing this together with O₂  Telefónica.”

Mallik Rao, Chief Technology & Information Officer of O₂ Telefónica, says: ” O₂  Telefónica is a pioneer in deploying new network technologies such as Cloud RAN. With the introduction of a cloud-based, standardized architecture, we are able to respond quickly to customer needs, introduce new products and services even more flexibly and scale our O₂ network better. With Cloud RAN, we combine the benefits of open interfaces with the expertise and product quality of European network equipment supplier Ericsson, whose technology we already use for our high-performance 5G core network.”

Cloud-native deployment plays a pivotal role in the transformation of the telecommunications industry, and the integration of cloud-native architecture into the radio access network (RAN) presents an exceptional opportunity to foster innovation and enhance network efficiency. By virtualizing the RAN and adopting a cloud-native, standardized architecture, O₂ Telefónica will gain the ability to respond rapidly to customer needs, introduce new products and services with greater flexibility and agility, and realize benefits such as faster service delivery, improved scalability and enhanced cost efficiency.

Ericsson’s commitment to advancing telecommunications networks is underscored by this collaboration and builds upon the company’s successful Cloud RAN deployments with other leading CSPs in North America and Australia.

The incorporation of Cloud RAN extends the foundation of the ongoing network cloudification efforts by Ericsson and O₂ Telefónica in Germany.

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News

BT hailed the deployment as a ‘significant milestone’, potentially opening the door for further deployments in the near future

Lundy Island is a small island off the north coast of Devon. Spanning less than 5km², the island is home to 28 permanent residents, but is perhaps best known for its status as a Marine Conservation Zone and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Now, the island is set to benefit from low latency connectivity delivered courtesy of a partnership between BT and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite operator OneWeb.

Connectivity across the island will reportedly be delivered by an Intellian dual parabolic terminal deployed on the island, which connects to OneWeb’s LEO satellite constellation orbiting above. The connection then travels from a User Terminal (UT) to Satellite Network Portal (SNP) via the satellites, where it is backhauled across OneWeb’s Wide Area Network to BT’s core network.

“It’s brilliant to be bringing high-speed, low-latency connectivity to Lundy Island in partnership with OneWeb and DSIT. The installation will not only have a transformative impact on the island and its residents but is also a significant milestone in demonstrating the value of satellite communications and the crucial role such solutions will play in enabling digital connectivity across the entirety of the UK and beyond,” said BT’s chief networks officer Greg McCall.

BT first partnered with OneWeb back in 2021, with BT CEO Philip Jansen promising the company would “put OneWeb’s technology through its paces” at BT’s labs before beginning live trials in 2022.

However, these field trials seemingly became delayed, with no further announcements made until April this year, when BT and OneWeb revealed they were planning this trial on Lundy Island as part of the government’s Very Hard to Reach Premises connectivity programme.

BT currently aims to provide high-speed connectivity to the entirety of the UK by 2028, saying that OneWeb will play a critical role in achieving this goal. Beyond connecting remote locations, BT says they are also exploring using OneWeb’s services to support eco-tourism, search and rescue, and temporary deployments like festivals.

OneWeb’s LEO constellation has grown significantly in scale in recent years, with its most recent launch in May bringing its total to 634 satellites. The company says just a handful more satellites are a required to reach global coverage, a feat that is expected to be achieved later this year.

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Also in the news:
EU and Japan sign deals for subsea cables and semiconductors
Home Office lambasted over Emergency Services Network delays
Ofcom probes VMO2 as customers complain about contract cancellation