In addition to the big Verizon/Frontier deal, there was an interesting infrastructure M&A deal yesterday over in southeastern Europe. EXA Infrastructure has agreed to acquire Global Communications Net AD (GCN). … [visit site to read more]
There was a major bit of fiber M&A yesterday of course, among what we once called incumbent telcos. Verizon has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Frontier. The purchase will combine Verizon’s FIOS footprint with the FTTH that Frontier has been building out as well. … [visit site to read more]
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This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Luis Coton, Allied Telesis
As we come down from the excitement of the Paris Olympics, America is deep in the process of readying for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, CA. When these “mega events” happen, there are countless layers of logistics that go into building, preparing, securing, and managing a successful event. In today’s always-on world, one must be ready for anything. And with everything from transportation to payments systems relying on wireless technology, that means an effective communications network is critical. … [visit site to read more]
Service provider Ooredoo Qatar has announced the successful completion of its trial of Wi-Fi 7 technology. The trial was completed on fibre-to-the-room (FTTR) devices for the first time in the region. The company plans to launch the technology in 2024.
Ooredoo explains that Wi-Fi 7 is set to redefine the internet landscape by enhancing Wi-Fi speed by four times, offering wider coverage and more reliability and reducing latency.
Describing the key features of Wi-Fi 7 on its website, technology company Qualcomm explains that is built upon the IEEE 802.11be Extremely High Throughput (EHT) standard and incorporates ultra-wide 320MHz channels, allowing for massive capacity gains and accommodating the ever-growing demands of modern connectivity.
Additionally, Qualcomm says, the implementation of 4K QAM modulation enables peak speeds to surge for lightning-fast data transfer. Wi-Fi 7 also introduces multi-link operation (MLO), a groundbreaking feature which significantly boosts throughput and maintains consistent low latency even in highly congested environments.
In the case of Ooredoo’s FTTR offering, these improvements are critical for supporting next-generation home applications such as 8K video streaming, immersive augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences, and high-definition interactive gaming.
Beyond home use, says Ooredoo, Wi-Fi 7 will drive substantial innovation across various industrial sectors, including telemedicine, cloud computing and industrial IoT, catalysing Qatar’s ongoing digital transformation.
The initial commercial launch of Wi-Fi 7 will be with Ooredoo’s FTTR solution, designed to enhance connectivity across larger homes, thereby, it says, providing a consistently superior internet experience for its customers across all corners of their premises.
There is a new JV taking aim at the dark fiber market down in Mexico. SummitIG is teaming up with Neutral Networks to do something similar south of the border. The two have formed a joint venture called SierraIG that will focus first on connectivity within and between Querétaro and Monterrey. … [visit site to read more]
There was a bit of M&A in the data center space yesterday out in the Midwest. fifteenfortyseven Critical Systems Realty and the investment management firm Harrison Street have teamed up to acquire the Union Station Data Center out in South Bend, Indiana. … [visit site to read more]
Dr. Wen Tong, CTO, Huawei Wireless
At the IEEE PIMRC conference held on September 4, 2024, Dr. Tong Wen, Huawei Wireless CTO, presented his views on the development direction of the 6G industry. Titled with “The Architectural Framework for A-RAN and A-Core”, Dr. Tong Wen pointed out, “6G will not be a simple upgrade of 5G, it should integrate AI revolution for the past 20 months, so to reshape the wireless industry and take it to the next height.”
5G is a success and 6G is on track. Dr. Tong Wen shard the timetable of 6G standard. The first 6G standard discussion will start in 3GPP in 2025 and the first version of 6G standard will be frozen in 2030. In a nutshell, after 6 years, there will be a global 6G standard and the mobile industry ecosystem will rally to go to market.
However, 6G is a long-term game plan, its technology and standard should support the innovations during the future decade from 2030 to 2040. From the investment point of view, 6G technology also should have a long-shelf time, which is not a replicate of 5G technology, but an incremental generation of wireless.
At the conference, Dr Tong Wen elaborated on 6G Standardization Direction and Innovations Driving 6G Standardization.
First, 6G is a true generational technology disruption.
Currently, AI revolution is profoundly changing every aspect of our work and life, 6G for sure should consider the emerging AI revolution happed now and future. Therefore, we need to re-examine the new possibilities and potential for the mobile industry for the time-frame 2030 and beyond. Therefore, 6G standard, key technologies, and network architecture should be re-defined based on application scenarios and requirements from 2030 to 2040.
The 6G standard needs to adopt the disruptive technologies to enable a true generational capability improvement. Specifically, in terms of core network, RAN, and terminals, the day-one 3GPP 6G standard must have the original technologies and major air interface features to drastically improve network performance and energy saving, to deliver 10 to 30 times better user experience, 3 times more intrinsic spectral efficiency and energy efficiency.
In summary, 6G is not the continuation or upgrade of 5G technologies, it is also not another way to implement 5G. Instead, 6G is a new generation of capabilities, it should generate new values for the consumers.
Second, 6G should embrace the AI revolution with an OOM Quantum Leap
Twenty years ago, the Internet was an enabler of the latest technology. Wireless industry embraced the Internet and achieved great business success. Today, AI is becoming the enabler of the latest technologies. It is no doubt that 6G should embrace AI. Thus, the 3GPP 6G standardization process needs to fully digest the disruptive changes of the AI technologies.
Third, 6G architecture should be a continuous innovation to create a bigger market
5G has proved its market success in the past years, and 5G technology is evolving into 5G-Advanced. In the next 5 years or more, 5G and 5G-Advanced can meet the customer requirements and will continue to deliver the value to the operators and protect their 5G investment.
Therefore, 6G technologies should not overlap and duplicate with 5G, as well as to compete with the 5G market space and waste operators’ investment. Instead, 6G technologies should create innovative industry values and expand the market space for the mobile industry.
Simply reusing 5G network architecture without generational and fundamental innovation, will limit the mobile industry’s aspiration and imagination to dive the innovation in the 6G era. In particular, to reuse the 5G core network will hinder the innovation in AI.
Fourth, 6G user device calls for a breakthrough
The breakthrough of terminal technologies is the key if not the only factor for mobile device evolution. In 2007, iPhones enabled the mobile broadband industry development with a phenomenal market success. It is hard to imagine that smartphone will continue to drive mobile industry beyond 2030.
Therefore, new breakthroughs must be made in terminal technologies in the 6G, and 6G system must be prepared for terminals in the 6G era.
In the end, Dr. Tong Wen further clarified the relationship between 5G and 6G: “ 6G must be an innovative generational technology, instead of a simple extension of 5G technology. Now, 5G deployment is rolling out globally, and the current market demand and requirement can be met by 5G-Adavanced. This will protect the investment of operators, and continue to expand the market space. To duplicate 5G technologies for 6G, is essentially a pseudo-6G technology, which is not the best use of investment for operators. We should not underestimate the capabilities of 5G-Advanced for current market, and we should not underestimate the potential of 6G.”
Two positive announcements for Nigerian connectivity have made headlines in the past week – one from pan-African operator Airtel Africa’s recently established fibre unit, Telesonic, and one from Hotspot Network Limited, a leading last-mile connectivity and telecom tower operator in Nigeria.
Telesonic has been granted three telecom licences by the Nigeria Communication Commision (NCC). The Techpoint Africa news service explains that the National Long Distance licence, valid for 20 years, will enable Telesonic to offer long-distance telecommunication services within Nigeria, allowing the company to establish and maintain the necessary infrastructure for connecting calls and data across different parts of the country.
However, the licence does not permit the holder to offer international long-distance services or function as an internet access provider directly to end users.
The Internet Service Provider licence, valid for five years, will enable the company to offer internet services to customers and establish and operate its own independent network for delivering these services.
The Sales & Installation Major licence, also valid for five years, allows Telesonic to engage in the sale, installation and maintenance of telecommunications equipment.
All three licenses are effective from 1 July this year. Airtel Africa announced the launch of Telesonic in February 2024.
A week before this announcement, Hotspot Network and Solarkiosk Solutions, a provider of off-grid solar energy access, entered into a joint venture (JV) to implement energy and connectivity solutions in rural Nigerian communities.
The Hotspot-Solarkiosk JV is established both as an Energy Service Company (ESCO) and an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor, dedicated to delivering state-of-the-art technology solutions and services for connectivity and solar energy in Nigeria.
The first focus will be on providing solar energy for Hotspot´s telecom tower network to enhance internet access and connectivity in remote Nigerian villages, as well as implementing Solarkiosk’s proprietary E-HUBB technology, which leverages solar power to distribute essential goods and services to underserved communities.
The joint venture will use proprietary remote monitoring and remote control, and IT technology to ensure seamless operations and enhanced service delivery. E-HUBB will serve as a platform for introducing telecommunication and solar products and services to rural markets.
The JV will also reportedly offer innovative energy solutions to private sector and government clients in Nigeria, addressing the increasing demand for renewable energy amid rising energy prices.
