Tuesday, 31 October 2017 11:05
Verizon and Ericsson reach milestone in 4G LTE Advanced
US telecom giant Verizon and Ericsson reached another milestone in 4G LTE Advanced Technologies that will also serve as a stepping stone to 5G technology by completing their first deployment of FDD (Frequency Division Duplexing) Massive MIMO (Multiple Input – Multiple Output) on Verizon’s wireless network in Irvine, CA. This deployment will improve both spectral and energy efficiency, increasing network capacity for current devices in the market. Further significant enhancements are expected to come as new devices evolve toward…
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Wednesday, 25 October 2017 13:18
MTN, Airtel among 16 firms lining up to purchase 9mobile
The acquisition of 9mobile, formerly Etisalat Nigeria, looks to be competitive, as 16 firms have submitted their interest to bid for the operator. Etisalat Group was forced to pull out of Nigeria this year after its firm couldn’t come to an agreement with its lenders to restructure $1.2 billion debt after missed payments. Following Etisalat’s exit, the Nigerian firm announced it had rebranded as 9mobile and said it is open to discussions with new investors. The 16 companies to express…
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Wednesday, 25 October 2017 12:41
US Cellular expands 5G tests with Ericsson to 28GHz
US Cellular, the fifth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, and Ericsson, have completed a joint testing of various 5G use cases at 28GHz. The tests, a significant step toward the launch of a 5G network, were conducted in rural and suburban environments in Madison, Wisconsin. The trials were conducted under a variety of real-world conditions, and they achieved peak throughput speed of 8.5Gbps. In addition, virtual reality was tested, achieving peak speeds of 4Gbps. This virtual reality test…
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Tuesday, 24 October 2017 08:33
SK Telecom develops Wi-Fi technology that delivers 5G speeds
SK Telecom announced the introduction of a new Wi-Fi technology that can deliver speed as fast as 5G technology. For the first time in South Korea, the technology successfully demonstrated speeds of up to 4.8Gbps at SK Telecom’s Bundang Center. The technology was built on the IEEE 802.11ax standard, delivering speeds of up to 4.8Gbps, which is nearly four times faster than the existing gigabit Wi-Fi service — 1.3Gbps, 802.11ac — currently prevailing among smartphones. The technology uses four antennas to…
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Sunday, 22 October 2017 10:17
Orange contributes to oceanographic data collection
Orange Marine, a major player in the laying of new submarine communications cables and the maintenance of existing cables across the world's oceans, France-based Orange Group, has signed a partnership with Euro-Argo, the European branch of a global ocean observation consortium, to provide technical resources to launch free-drifting oceanographic data collection floats along its ships’ routes. These floats, which have an average lifespan of four years, gather data on ocean temperature and salinity from the surface down to 2,000 m depth. Argo,…
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Tuesday, 17 October 2017 11:25
Qualcomm and Verizon commit to commercialization of 5G NR mmWave
During Qualcomm’s 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong, the company announced a collaboration with US telecom company Verizon, and Novatel Wireless, an Inseego company, to help move the mobile ecosystem towards faster validation and commercialization of 5G NR mmWave technologies, supporting a full-scale commercial network deployment before the end of the decade. The companies announced plans to collaborate on 5G New Radio (NR) millimeter wave (mmWave) technology development and over-the air field trials based on the 5G NR Release-15 specifications being…
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Monday, 16 October 2017 08:56
PCCW Global and DHQ Tech to explore multi-currency ‘Tap & Go’ mobile payment technology
PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, and Zhuhai Da Hengqin Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. (DHQ Tech) will together explore the technological and regulatory viability of promoting multi-currency ‘Tap & Go’ mobile payment in the Greater Bay Area of Zhuhai, Hong Kong and Macau, in order to boost e-commerce, business trade and tourism in the region. The ‘Tap & Go’ service is currently provided in Hong Kong through HKT Payment Limited,…
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Sunday, 15 October 2017 13:31
Etisalat Egypt partners with Ericsson to evolve its network
Etisalat Misr (Etisalat Egypt) has signed a four-year contract with Ericsson to modernize and expand its core network and business support systems, which will help the operator to capitalize on the growth in 4G and pave the way for 5G and Internet of Things. The partnership will play an important role in further developing the services offered by Etisalat Misr, one of Ericsson’s largest customers for business support systems. “We are pleased to be working with Ericsson again on a…
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Sunday, 15 October 2017 08:09
Zain KSA and Nokia complete Mideast’s first LTE-Unlicensed trial
Nokia and Zain Saudi Arabia have successfully completed the Middle East's first trial of LTE-Unlicensed, combining unlicensed spectrum in the 5GHz frequency band with 1800 MHz spectrum to deliver a downlink speed of 223 megabits per second. Following the trial, the Nokia technology will be deployed in hotspots, for example, in malls and cafes in Jeddah and around the Holy Mosque in Makkah. The project to develop the use of LTE-U in the Kingdom marks an important step for Zain…
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Sunday, 15 October 2017 06:45
Singtel and Ericsson to launch Singapore’s first 5G Center of Excellence
Singtel and Ericsson will jointly establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) to facilitate 5G development and deployment in Singapore. 5G, the next-generation mobile network technology, is expected to roll out globally from 2020 and will deliver massive connectivity, ultra-low latency, gigabit speeds, and enable advanced applications such as smart cities, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality, and autonomous vehicles. Co-funded by Singtel and Ericsson with an initial investment of 2 million Singapore Dollars over the next three years, CoE aims…
Tuesday, 10 October 2017 13:31
Spark NZ expands capacity of nationwide mobile network
New Zealand’s largest telecom provider, Spark, announced the addition of a third mobile node or Evolve Packet Core (EPC), adding additional capacity and resiliency to its nationwide mobile network. Spark previously had two mobile EPC nodes handling large volumes of traffic, based in Auckland and Christchurch. The new third node, located in Porirua, gives the company additional resiliency and the flexibility to shift and re-route traffic around as required, particularly in the case of a natural disaster or emergency. Spark…
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Thursday, 05 October 2017 08:52
China Mobile considering purchase of Brazil’s Oi unit
China Mobile is reportedly in talks with Brazil’s telecom regulator to purchase Brazilian telecom provider Oi SA’s mobile phone division. According to Exame magazine, China’s largest telecom company is interested in taking over the Brazilin telecom company, which is currently under bankruptcy protection. China Mobile wouldn’t be responsible for paying overdue fines that Oi owes if it were to purchase the struggling telco, according to Exame, referring to China Mobile’s discussions with Anatel, Brazil’s agency of telecommunications. The agency reportedly…
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