Displaying items by tag: Deutsche Telekom

Nokia and Deutsche Telekom Group have announced the expansion of their strategic partnership by setting plans to build a 5G-ready IP network.

Deutsche Telekom has selected Nokia's 7750 Service Router (SR) platform to significantly expand capacity across its edge/core routing network as it prepares for next-generation broadband and 5G services. Deployment has already started in Greece, where Nokia is replacing and modernizing the operator’s existing IP network. Rollout in Hungary is expected in Q4 2020.

With networks experiencing unprecedented traffic growth and unpredictable demands, operators want to meet ever-increasing performance requirements while driving down network costs. The scale, feature breadth and versatility of the Nokia 7750 SR-s platform addresses these requirements, enabling operators like Deutsche Telekom Group and its affiliates to build bigger, smarter, automated and secure networks with greater return on investment.

As part of its network modernization, Deutsche Telekom needed to replace an existing IP edge/core network that was reaching its end of service with a new network that can cope with 5G and ultra broadband access requirements. A key principle to achieve this was the consolidation of network layers through the integration of IP aggregation and edge/BNG (Broadband Network Gateway) functions into one converged layer.

Deutsche Telekom selected the Nokia 7750 SR-7s routers as they support the full spectrum of provider edge, gateway and core functions for advanced residential, mobile and enterprise services. Powered by the programmable FP4 network processing silicon, the routers will enable Deutsche Telekom to boost IP network capacity with deterministic performace for a top-quality subscriber experience. As a result, Deutsche Telekom can support 5G interconnectivity and an increasing growth in backbone traffic driven by an increase in mobility applications, video streaming, gaming and other high-capacity demands such as remote working.

The 7750 SR-s is managed by the Nokia Network Services Platform (NSP). NSP supports 5G IP transport with automated slicing across IP and optical transport layers with end-to-end orchestration of network resource provisioning and assurance operations. This simplifies operations so that operators can create customer policies/slices with different network performance, quality and routing capabilities to respond quickly to fast-changing subscriber demand.

Bernhard Scholl, Technology Europe VP Access Core & Transport at Deutsche Telekom, said: “Deutsche Telekom Group affiliates need to expand and modernize their IP networks to address stringent 5G IP transport requirements. We continue to see tremendous growth in network traffic and the need to deliver more throughput and higher capacity with strict QoS to our customers is critical. This is particlarly the case as bandwidth intensive applications are shifting to on demand video along with the growing usage of cloud-based services. Building out this backbone with Nokia's IP edge routers will allow us to stay ahead of our customers’ network needs.”

Vassilis Kazatzopoulos, Head of International Sales DT Global Customer Business Team at Nokia, said: “With trends like 5G, IoT and Industry 4.0 now a reality, networks are expected to handle hundreds of new applications and services for millions of users. The Nokia 7750 SR-s series of IP routers takes router performance to the next level by delivering the massive scale, comprehensive feature set and platform versatility needed to stay ahead of evolving demands. Nokia is excited to expand its longstanding relationship with Deutsche Telekom Group to help prepare its affiliates’ networks for the future.”

German operator and domestic operating unit of Deutsche Telekom (DT), Telekom Deutschland (TD), has revealed its plans to upgrade fixed broadband speeds to cater to an additional 280,000 households.

TD has stated that around 32.9 million homes will now be able to access maximum data rates of up to 100Mbps and the number of 250Mbps-enabled lines has reached 24.1 million across the entire country.

In addition to this, the firm has also disclosed that the total number of households connected to its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network has risen by 27,000 last month, amounting to 1.8 million households.

In fact, since the beginning of 2020, TD has upgraded fixed broadband speeds for 2.7 million German households.

Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile US has announced that it is financially prepared to close its planned merger with Sprint, based on its previously secured commitments for bridge financing and senior credit facility financing.

The company has been in communication with all banks and is confident that they are ready to fund their commitments to support the closing of the merger transaction. The two telcos continue to drive forward toward closing the merger as soon as possible.

John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, commented: ‘I’m pleased that right now we have broad support from the banks to finance the closing of this merger. We are very close to unleashing the capabilities of the New T-Mobile, and that is even more important for consumers during the current COVID-19 pandemic.’

The merger will see Deutsche Telekom in effective control of the combined company, controlling more than 69% of the shares: early on in the process, SoftBank gave Deutsche Telekom a proxy for the shares the Japanese company will own in the new T-Mobile US. The original agreement was adjusted last month to reflect Sprint’s declining value.

Legere noted: “Our nation is more dependent than ever on connectivity, and we will continue to deliver our essential wireless service today and when we merge with Sprint, with a nationwide 5G service that is broader and more robust than anything else in America. We can see the finish line and are prepared to close the merger very soon so our teams can get to work building a supercharged Un-carrier.”

Europe’s largest telecommunications operator Deutsche Telekom has warned that if governments across the continent decide to implement a ban on Chinese vendor Huawei, then the rollout of 5G networks could be delayed by at least two years.

German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom (DT) and Huawei, together with Intel, announced they have collaborated to achieve the world's first 5G interoperability and development testing (IODT) based on the 3GPP R15 Standard with a commercial base station.

This successful test, based on Huawei's 5G commercial base station and Intel's third generation 5G NR Mobile Trial Platform (MTP), is a critical step towards the full commercial launch of Huawei and Intel solutions supporting millions of devices in 2019.

Deutsche Telekom and Huawei began cooperation on 5G-network research in 2015 and committed to accelerating the development of the ecosystem. With the benefit of Intel's 5G NR platforms, the group realized successful IODT tests taking crucial joint steps towards 5G industry maturity.

Using Huawei's commercial NR base station and the Intel 5G NR Mobile Trial Platform, the three parties have jointly verified the fundamentals of the new 5G 3GPP NR standard, including new synchronization, coding, frame structure, and numerology components underlying the interconnection of the NR-compliant terminal and network.

The test configuration used by Deutsche Telekom, Huawei and Intel is based on the largest C-band cell bandwidth defined by the 5G NR standard. It also incorporates the latest Massive MIMO multi-antenna and beamforming technology enabled by the standard framework.

“After delivering leading contributions to the 3GPP’s work on 5G standards, Deutsche Telekom, Huawei and Intel moved swiftly to jointly verify implementation progress through standards-based interoperability testing,” said Arash Ashouriha, Senior Vice President Technology Innovation of Deutsche Telekom. “The success of our test is a significant step on the path to 5G ecosystem maturity and early 5G commercialization.”

Yang Chaobin, President of Huawei’s 5G product line, said the success of this testing “shows that Huawei and all parties have devoted themselves deeply to the new NR standard. As the standard continues to be updated, Huawei will continue to work with all parties to step up interoperability test and promote the 5G industry maturity process, and to welcome the arrival of the entire industry digitization.”

The first 5G NR standard was successfully completed on December 21, 2017, at the 3GPP TSG RAN meeting in Lisbon, Portugal. All industry partners including operators, equipment vendors and terminal chipset vendors reached agreement to work together to accelerate the 5G NR standard process, and to facilitate the 5G global industrialization process.

Japan-based SoftBank Group’s plans to break off negotiations toward a merger between subsidiary Sprint and T-Mobile US amid a failure to come to terms on ownership of the combined entity, dashing the Japanese technology giant's hopes of reshaping the American wireless business.

SoftBank is expected to approach T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom as early to propose ending the talks, according to Nikkei. They had reached a broad agreement to integrate T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest carriers in the US, and were ironing out such details as the ownership ratio.

The German parent had insisted on a controlling stake, according to a source familiar with the situation. Some at SoftBank were initially amenable as long as the Japanese company retained some influence. But SoftBank's board discussed at a meeting that the company would not give up control. The decision was made to call the talks off.

Sprint's position in the US mobile market is weaker than its No. 4 ranking would suggest. The carrier sits well behind the top two Verizon Communications and AT&T in scale and subscribers. The hope was that a merger with T-Mobile would reinforce Sprint's customer base enough to let it challenge the duopoly while allowing for more efficient network investment. In addition, they have sold or mortgaged most assets.

SoftBank tried to buy T-Mobile in 2014, but the idea was abandoned amid opposition from regulators under then-President Barack Obama. The failure of this latest effort leaves Sprint, which was acquired by SoftBank in 2013, to keep working toward a turnaround on its own.

In early morning trading in Tokyo, SoftBank shares fell to 9,830 yen, down 5.8 percent from Monday's closing price. The share price had risen to 10,550 yen on Monday (Nov. 30), a 17-year high since the burst of the dot-com bubble. The shares closed the morning session at 9,921 yen, down 4.9 percent.

"Investors were buying SoftBank partially on the merger hopes, so the news has a negative impact. It will be difficult to maintain the stock price over the 10,000 level," said Tomoaki Kawasaki, senior analyst at Iwai Cosmo.

Go Ignite, an alliance of the world’s leading telcos including Orange, Deutsche Telekom, Singtel and Telefonica, announced the winners on Sept. 11 of the second global search for startups that offer the most innovative solutions for three key technologies including Consumer Experience Artificial Intelligence, Connected Homes, and Internet of Things (IoT) Cyber Security.

Consumer Experience AI refers to the use of new technology to provide personalized or new forms of customer support. Connected Homes are solutions that use software and/or hardware to automate and remotely control home appliances with ease, while IoT Security leverages new technologies to keep smart vehicles, homes and cities safe.  

The winners include Sparkcognition and NanoLock Security for IoT Cyber Security; Cujo and Vayyar Imaging for Connected Homes, and SafeToNet for Consumer Experience AI. The startups will have the opportunity to form business partnerships with the four telcos and tap into the alliance partners’ collective mobile subscriber base of over 1.2 billion mobile phone subscribers across five continents.

Axel Menneking, managing director of Deutsche Telekom’s hub:raum, said the telco alliance received “numerous applications from strong teams.” The five winners, he said, were able to “convince us with their ideas on artificial intelligence and security issues. The topics range from helping to protect children from bullying, protect critical infrastructure, and secure management platforms. I'm sure these teams will be doing good pilots with us and the other three telecom companies.”

The winners are attending a two-day workshop in Madrid to help them refine their solutions and sharpen their business strategies. In addition, each start-up will receive support including access to mentoring and expertise, co-working space and invitations to community events and networking opportunities.

“For us and our partners we have a firm belief that working collectively and in an open manner with the start-up community is critical to accelerate our innovation in these three key areas,” said Bertrand Rojat, Deputy Director of Orange’s Technocentre. “These are exciting times and we are delighted to be working with these ‘scale-ups’ to jointly deliver something truly remarkable to our customers.”

Go Ignite is an alliance aimed at connecting the start-up ecosystems across Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. The Go Ignite global call for start-ups encourages teams world-wide to enter their projects into any one of the categories identified by the alliance to be of strategic interest.  

“This marks the continuation of our strong support in working with startups and other telcos to find and grow the next disruptive idea,” said Mrs. Ana Segurado, Global General Director, Telefónica Open Future. “It´s open innovation initiatives built with partners such as Go Ignite that truly creates the right framework to develop the business of the startups.”

Deutsche Telekom, in collaboration with Huawei, went live with Europe’s first 5G connection on Sept. 14, based on the latest 3GPP standard. The operator’s commercial 5G network in central Berlin provides over 2Gbps and low latency of 3 milliseconds over a 3.7GHz spectrum link.

Powered by Huawei user equipment using 3GPP specifications for 5G New Radio (NR), the deployment on commercial sites is the first in Europe and marks an important advancement in the global development of 5G.

5G NR will be “critical for meeting our customers’ ever-increasing connectivity requirements that are steadily growing with more and more network connections,” said Claudia Nemat, Deutsche Telekom Board Member for Technology and Innovation. The achievement, she said, demonstrates the feasibility of DT’s plans to deliver superior customer experience.

Taihua Deng, President Wireless Network, Huawei, said, “Huawei is confident that the partnership with Deutsche Telekom can fully prepare the commercial launch of 5G NR services in Europe by 2020 thanks to 3GPP standardization efforts.”

The implementation in a live real-world setting in central Berlin using Huawei equipment and software is based on pre-standard 5G that closely tracks the 3GPP global standard for so-called ‘Non-Standalone New Radio’.

With the Non-Standalone 5G NR mode for enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) use-case, it is meant that the connection is anchored in LTE while 5G NR carriers are used to boost data-rates and reduce latency. Therefore, 5G NR will be deployed with the evolution of 4G LTE as the baseline for wide-area broadband coverage. The specifications enabling that system will be complete by December 2017 as part of the first drop of 3GPP Release 15.

5G NR has characteristics that make it ideal to meet the sub 6GHz mid-band needs for 5G applications that will require mobility support, wide-area coverage, as well as multi-gigabit throughput speeds and millisecond low latency.

“With this real-world achievement, Deutsche Telekom is making its first important step towards a 5G network launch,” said Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, CTO at Deutsche Telekom. “When the standard is defined, we will trial it in 2018 to prepare the ground for a wider deployment of commercial sites and the offering of devices for the mass market as they become available.”

Germany’s leading telecom provider Deutsche Telekom went live with a 5G connection on its commercial network in central Berlin on Sept. 1, at over 2Gbps and a low latency of 3 milliseconds over a 3.7 gigahertz spectrum link. Powered by Huawei user equipment using 3GPP specifications for 5G New Radio (NR), the deployment on commercial sites is the first in Europe.

“5G New Radio will be critical for meeting our customers’ ever-increasing connectivity requirements that are steadily growing with more and more network connections,” said Claudia Nemat, Deutsche Telekom Board member for Technology and Innovation. “Our achievement demonstrates the feasibility of our plans to deliver a superior, new customer experience.”

Deutsche Telekom and Huawei are “long term partners” said Huimin Zhu, Vice President, 5G, Huawei, highlighting the success of the test using 5G NR equipment. The test marks the capabilities of 5G NR equipment to meet operators’ requirements for addressing new business opportunities for end users, he said.

“Huawei is confident that the partnership with Deutsche Telekom can fully prepare the commercial launch of 5G NR services in Europe by 2020 thanks to 3GPP standardization efforts,” said Zhu.

The implementation in a live real-world setting in central Berlin using Huawei equipment and software is based on pre-standard 5G that closely tracks the 3GPP global standard for so-called ‘Non-Standalone New Radio’, Zhu explained.

“With the Non-Standalone 5G NR mode for the enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) use-case, it is meant that the connection is anchored in LTE while 5G NR carriers are used to boost data-rates and reduce latency,” Zhu said. “Therefore, 5G new radio will be deployed with the evolution of 4G LTE as the baseline for wide-area broadband coverage. The specifications enabling that system will be complete by December 2017 as part of the first drop of 3GPP Release 15.”

5G New Radio has characteristics that make it ideal to meet the sub 6Ghz mid-band needs for 5G applications that will require mobility support, wide-area coverage, as well as multi-gigabit throughput speeds and millisecond low latency.

“With this real-world achievement, Deutsche Telekom is making its first important step towards a 5G network launch,” said Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, Chief Technology Officer at Deutsche Telekom. “When the standard is defined, we will trial it in 2018 to prepare the ground for a wider deployment of commercial sites and the offering of devices for the mass market as they become available.”

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom has defended its record on expanding broadband services, after the country’s digital focus became a hot topic leading up to the federal election campaign. Deutsche Telekom has focused on upgrading its copper network with new VDSL techniques, and some have criticized the company for not investing more in full fiber networks (FTTH).

In response to the criticism, Deutsche Telekom highlighted figures from the EU Commission that say Germany is one of the leading European nations with coverage of more than 80 percent for super-fast connections (next generation access with more than 30Mbps. The company said it relies on VDSL because it’s the fastest way to connect rural areas.

Very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL) is very fast broadband. It uses your copper phone line more efficiently so you get a faster connection than ADSL broadband. 

“It is simply impossible to install glass fibers right up to the houses,” the company said in a blog post on its website. “There are neither the civil engineering capabilities nor the financial resources for this. And, by the way, no demand.”

Also, that’s not to say that Deutsche Telekom isn’t implementing fiber. Since 2010, the company said it has added an average of 25,00km per year. With over 455,000 km, Deutsche Telekom has “by far the largest fiber-optic network in Germany,” the company said. By comparison, Vodafone comes to less than 60,000km.

Deutsche Telekom said has committed to provide 80 percent of households with at least 50 megabits per second. “This is what we do, and this includes raisin-picking per se,” the company said. “There is no self-obligation from other companies, especially from the cable network operators.”

The company also expressed the need for cooperation because “no company can expand Germany alone.” Telekom cooperates with local fibre operators such as NetCologne, Ewe Tel and Innogy. 

With its broadband expansion in fixed-line and mobile communications, Deutsche Telekom is “creating the prerequisite for the next communications standard 5G,” it said, which will enable the Internet of Things (IoT) and autonomous cars.