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This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Boominathan Shanmugam of Prodapt
Service providers in the Connectedness industry receive intercarrier invoices worth over USD 1.2 billion annually and are challenged with more than 25% revenue blockage due to disputes. Managing disputes and improving trust in intercarrier settlements is challenging for service providers. The traditional dispute analysis and resolution approaches are inefficient, delaying settlements … [visit site to read more]
Samsung Electronics today announced the company has been selected by KDDI to provide its cloud-native 5G Standalone (SA) Core for the operator’s commercial network across Japan. Samsung’s 5G SA Core will deliver a range of advantages for KDDI’s network, including lower latency and high reliability as well as 5G-enhanced capabilities. This ushers in a new generation of services and applications available to KDDI’s consumers and enterprise customers.
Samsung’s 5G Core solution supports both 4G and 5G networks, offering seamless migration from 4G to 5G. The company’s 5G Core is also designed with critical features to ensure the stability and reliability of the network such as an overload control feature to counteract sudden traffic spikes as well as geo-redundancy support. For geographic redundant deployment, Samsung and KDDI are operating multiple cores in various locations, with each core dimensioned to pick up loads in case one of the active cores becomes unavailable due to traffic bursts or natural disasters.
“We strive to provide the best mobile experiences to our customers through network innovation and our advanced 5G SA network will offer immense capabilities,” said Toshikazu Yokai, Managing Executive Officer, General Manager of Mobile Network Technical Development Division at KDDI. “With Samsung’s 5G SA Core, we will offer unprecedented speed, instantaneous connectivity and high reliability which could bring numerous new experience value for consumers and enterprises. We look forward to continue advancing 5G networks to stay ahead of our customers’ needs.”
“KDDI has been at the forefront of opening up the next frontier of 5G services and we are proud to see our long-term collaboration deepen with new opportunities as we drive continuous innovation and realize technology vision together,” said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with KDDI to reshape the 5G services landscape in Japan and achieving new 5G milestones.”
The standalone architecture will enable KDDI to create an independent 5G network, enabling lower latency capabilities that are essential to high-performance use cases such as smart factories, automated vehicles, cloud-based online gaming and multi-camera live streaming at sporting events.
Samsung’s 5G Core will also enable KDDI to optimize network slicing — a feature that requires a full 5G SA Core. Network slicing divides a single physical network infrastructure into multiple virtual slices, where each slice is dedicated for a specific user case or application. With this feature, a single network can dynamically support multiple 5G use cases and applications at once, accelerating the delivery of new services and meeting the tailored demands of enterprises and consumers. For instance, operators can create a low latency slice for automated vehicles, an IoT slice for smart factories and a high bandwidth slice for live video streaming — all within the same network.
With the deployment of 5G SA Core, Samsung is providing a wide portfolio of its 5G solutions to KDDI — ranging from RAN to Core. In their collaboration, Samsung has been providing its 5G network solutions which support the operator’s low-, mid- and mmWave spectrum bands — including Massive MIMO radios.
For more than a decade, the two companies have been working together, hitting major 5G networks milestones including KDDI’s selection of Samsung as a 5G network solutions provider and 5G network rollout on 700MHz. Recently, KDDI and Samsung announced the industry’s first demonstration of Service Level Agreements (SLA) assurance network slicing using a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) on a live 5G SA network and the initiation of the commercial deployment of Open virtualized RAN (vRAN) sites in Osaka, which is also the world’s first commercial MU-MIMO implementation with O-RAN compliant multivendor interoperability.
Samsung has pioneered the successful delivery of 5G end-to-end solutions including chipsets, radios and core. Through ongoing research and development, Samsung drives the industry to advance 5G networks with its market-leading product portfolio from virtualized RAN and Core to private network solutions and AI-powered automation tools. The company is currently providing network solutions to mobile operators that deliver connectivity to hundreds of millions of users around the world.
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Last month, following the publication of Office of National Statistics inflation data, most of the UK’s mobile and broadband operators confirmed that they would, as feared, be increasing their contract prices in line with inflation.
Customers can expect to be hit by an average mid-contract price hike of around 14.4%, most of which will come into effect between March and April this year.
But the question is, do customers know this increase is coming?
The legality of mid-contract price hikes is well established in consumer law, but how these increases are communicated to customers is highly varied. Some communication services providers (CSPs) include planned price increases in the fine print of the contracts themselves, while others typically give customers 30 days’ notice of any incoming increase to their bills.
But at a time when the cost-of-living crisis is piling pressure on consumers, Ofcom is keen to be especially vigilant to ensure customers know what they are getting into when they sign a connectivity contract.
In December last year, the regulator launched an industry-wide enforcement programme, seeking to ensure CSPs are making the pricing terms in their contracts both prominent and transparent.
The programme was built on the results of a preliminary investigation into the matter, which found that that around one in three customers did not realise their CSP could legally increase the price of their contract, with far fewer understanding how these increases would be calculated.
Now, Ofcom has announced that they will take this investigation process one step further, launching an official review into whether customers are given “sufficient certainty and clarity about what they can expect to pay”.
“Customers need certainty and clarity about what they will pay over the course of their contract. But inflation-linked price rises can be unclear and unpredictable. So we’re concerned that providers are making it difficult for customers to know what to expect,” said Cristina Luna-Esteban, Ofcom’s Director of Telecoms Consumer Protection. “We’re taking a thorough look at these types of contract terms, to understand fully the extent to which customers truly know what they’re signing up to, and whether tougher protections are needed.”
The review will particularly explore the ways in which inflation and percentage-linked price rises are communicated to customers.
Initial findings from the probe are expected to be published later in the year.
Are operators doing enough to support their customers during the cost-of-living crisis? Join the discussion with the UK’s telecoms ecosystem at this year’s live Connected North event
Also in the news:
Comcast signs deals worth $50m with State of Indiana for rural fibre expansion
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iColo, a Kenyan carrier-neutral data centre provider with campuses in Mombasa and Nairobi, says it has opened its first data centre in Mozambique.
The launch of the MPM1 data centre on Africa’s southeast coast expands iColo’s footprint and supports the growing connectivity needs of the eastern coast of Africa, driven, inevitably, by the growth of subsea cables.
The 9,500 square metre campus is located in Maputo. MPM1 provides approximately 350 square metres of rentable space, equivalent to approximately 80 racks in the first phase of development. It will be able to accommodate further upgrades.
Mozambique is connected to two subsea cables, with a third cable system, 2Africa, landing in Mozambique in February this year. iColo says its Maputo facility will be the local landing point for critical equipment for the 2Africa cable system.
iColo is part of Digital Realty, the largest global provider of cloud and carrier-neutral data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions.
The enhanced connectivity in Maputo is expected to improve cloud and content accessibility, increase digitisation, improve the online experience for local businesses and consumers and support a more inclusive digital society through Digital Realty’s global data centre platform, PlatformDIGITAL.
The Data Centre Dynamics website quotes Jose Almeida, General Manager, iColo Mozambique, as saying: “This new data centre is a significant milestone in the development of the internet in Mozambique, bringing high-quality, reliable colocation solutions with a longstanding record of operational excellence. This highly connected campus will provide a bedrock for strong data growth in the country and on the entire African continent.”
One subsea, one managed SSE, one metro expansion, and some new factory capability from a vendor: … [visit site to read more]
Fern Trading Limited today announced that it is consolidating Jurassic Fibre, Swish Fibre, Giganet and AllPoints Fibre into a single Fibre To The Premises (FTTP) operating entity to accelerate full-fibre delivery in the UK.
The combined group’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) brands will accelerate delivery of a ‘fast and fair’ full fibre offering for retail customers across the enlarged network.
The businesses will combine their regional operations and create a national wholesale network during the course of 2023.
The industry has seen considerable investment and growth in recent years as operators build market momentum and value. The unification of the four businesses will enable them to combine their resources, knowledge and expertise to hasten and grow full fibre network access across the UK.
Jarlath Finnegan, currently CEO of Giganet, will lead the combined group moving forward. He said: “All four companies are excited to build upon the solid foundations they have built over the last few years as a combined force. Together, we will become even stronger through exceptional customer service, combined with a relentless focus on technology and product. We’re looking forward to expanding our presence across the country and providing even more customers with access to full fibre connectivity”.
John Browett, chairman of Fern Trading’s fibre division, said: “In the coming years, the UK fibre market is going to experience exponential change, driven by the massive need to ensure homes and businesses in every part of the UK have access to a fast and fairly priced internet service. We expect to see continued consolidation within the industry, and by combining these successful businesses now, we will be in a fantastic position to take advantage of those market opportunities as they unfold. Our ambitions have always been high, but today represents the start of even bolder aspirations for our place in the UK fibre sector”.
How is the UK’s altnet landscape changing in 2023? Join the discussion with the operators themselves at this year’s Connected North conference live in Manchester
Also in the news:
Comcast signs deals worth $50m with State of Indiana for rural fibre expansion
Verizon records 5G upload speeds of over 1Gbps
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Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.
Four regional buildout and expansion projects in the Midwest and Southeast worth noting: … [visit site to read more]
This week, Comcast has announced that it has signed a number of contracts with Indiana’s Office of Community & Rural Affairs (OCRA), aiming to deliver fibre services to rural locations throughout the state.
The deals are part of Indiana’s Next Level Connections Broadband Grant Program, with Comcast partnering with both state and local governments to deploy around 1,200 miles of fibre. These fibre deployments will impact over 10,000 homes and businesses in 19 counties within Indiana.
In total, the deals are worth roughly $50 million, with Comcast investing $36 million and the state of Indiana investing $13.6 million.
“Next Level Connections is used as a model by other states to deliver the best tech infrastructure to rural areas,” explained Indiana’s lieutenant governor Suzanne Crouch, who also serves as Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development. “The investments made by Comcast and other partners will not only benefit residents and businesses but also contribute to Indiana’s rural economic engine.”
According to Comcast, the network expansion will be completed within two years.
Comcast notes that it has already invested around $500 million in Indiana over the past three years to expand and upgrade its existing broadband networks.
Are US operators doing enough to reach rural customers with high-quality connectivity? Join the discussion at this year’s Connected America conference
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