5G mobile subscriptions to rise to 5.5 billion in 2027

5G mobile subscriptions to rise to 5.5 billion in 2027

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• Nokia scores 5G ran deal in Jordan
  in 5G
  By Kenn Anthony Mendoza

  Mobile network operating company Orange Jordan has picked Finnish telecommunications vendor Nokia to supply 5G radio access network equipment in Jordan.

  The deal sees Orange Jordan providing connectivity and capacity to its customers.

  Nokia will supply 5G RAN equipment from its AirScale portfolio powered by its ReefShark System on Chip (SoC) technology and will replace Orange Jordan’s entire existing RAN network.

  Orange Jordan aims to provide 5G services to 50% of the population within four years followed by 5% year-on-year growth.

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  The deal includes the massive MIMO radios with support for RF bandwidth as well as AirScale Baseband and dual-band remote radio head (RRH) products.

  Nokia will supply its Single RAN solution to run 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G technologies simultaneously.

  Orange Jordan will deploy Nokia’s NetAct network management system to consolidate a network view for improved network monitoring and management.

  Nokia will also provide digital design, deployment as well as technical support services.

  Nokia president of mobile networks Tommi Uitto backed the 5G to stimulate growth and fuel advanced digital services in Jordan.

  “5G technology will have an evolutionary impact on the Kingdom of Jordan stimulating growth and enabling advanced services for the benefit of both industries and consumers,” he said.

• Cybersecurity firm chief praises ‘united front’ in ban on TikTok
  in Technology Regulation
  By Gordon Peters

  The united front being shown by Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and Canada with regard to TikTok is noteworthy with the limiting of the use of TikTok on government devices, according to Oakley Cox, Analyst Technical Director of security firm Darktrace.

  Cox says the decision by Australia to ban the use of TikTok on Government devices - as reported by iTWire - makes Australia the last of the Five Eyes Alliance to limit their use and while New Zealand’s approach falls short of a full-Government ban, Australia’s strategy matches those taken by the other Alliance members, USA, UK and Canada.

  “In itself, limiting the use of TikTok on certain devices is unlikely to represent any major change in policy. Government devices in these countries would already be subject to user policies about what they can be used for, so adding TikTok is in line with say forbidding personal banking, gambling sites or gaming apps," Cox observes.

  “It is also likely there will be some exceptions to allow PR and communications teams to use TikTok to interface with the public. Even so, the united front being shown by Australia, New Zealand, US, UK and Canada with regard to TikTok is noteworthy.

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  “The National Security concerns around TikTok appear to be twofold. Firstly, the potential for the Chinese Government to access large volumes of sensitive data about Australian citizens due to weak data privacy laws in China.

  “TikTok has confirmed its employees based in China can access user data even when that data is stored in overseas data centres, opening up the possibility that the Chinese Government could do the same.

  “Second is the potential for the Chinese State to leverage TikTok for a foreign influence campaign targeting Australian citizens and in particular Government employees,” Cox cautions.

  Cox says that ever since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, there have been similar concerns with respect to any social media platform, “but the perceived blurry line between TikTok and the Chinese Communist Party has resulted in it being singled out for particular attention”.

  “While banning TikTok from Government devices does not completely eliminate the risk posed by these security concerns, it is in line with wider risk mitigation strategies used by Western Governments to manage risks to national security and from foreign influence campaigns.”

• AI, real-time data ‘driving early development’ of autonomous vehicles: report
  in Automotive
  By Gordon Peters

  Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are moving from virtual tests to early development phases worldwide in commercial spaces like ride-hail services, freight logistics, and mobile retail, according to a new report from data and analytics company GlobalData.

  GlobalData also says car and commercial vehicles are leveraging real-time data to build complex simulations and understand how artificial intelligence (AI) responds to unpredictable situations.

  Manish Dixit, Practice Head at GlobalData, comments: “AVs are focused on using advanced algorithms and sensing technology to improve vision, radar, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and vehicle control systems. AI is helping in path planning and predictions to forecast the behavior of other vehicles and pedestrians, and with predictive maintenance to reduce downtime and maintenance costs of AVs.”

  Prathyusha Paruchuri, Senior Disruptive Tech Analyst at GlobalData, comments “AI is an integral part of AVs functionality, starting from observation and decision-making to control and supervision. AI can not only reduce traffic congestion and optimize travel routes but also eliminate human intervention in driving. However, it still needs to overcome challenges in terms of safety and reliability of AVs and improve overall vehicle performance.”

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  According to GlobalData the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic along with a slowdown in economic development and global funding has brought many AV trials to a temporary halt, and, moreover, the high investment costs, lack of profitability, and the time involved in manufacturing AVs is leading to the exit of many players - for instance, Uber disposed of its AV unit in late 2020, and Argo.ai joint venture between Ford and VW was dispersed in 2022. and subsequently, companies like Tesla, Waymo, and Baidu are looking to manufacture safer and more reliable vehicles.

  GlobalData's latest report, “Digital Innovation Case Studies in Automotive,” highlights the implementation of AI technologies with real-world use cases and assesses the return on investment.

  “Continental AG, a Germany-based supplier of automotive parts, collaborated with NVIDIA, a provider of AI and IBM Spectrum storage for data. They launched Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), which use deep learning and trained artificial neural networks to develop intelligent sensors and data-driven traffic safety solutions. The systems are claimed to improve AI training time by 70% and reduced training time from weeks to days.

  GlobalData also notes that BMW Group collaborated with DXC Technology, an IT and consulting services provider, to effectively access and analyze the vast amounts of data required to develop and improve the driving algorithms for its automated vehicles - and the platform provided nearly 230 petabytes of usable storage and established sufficient processing capacity to simulate up to 240 million kilometers of test data within a period of just 3 months.

  The GlobalData report notes that Splunk, a technology provider, was approached by Honda Manufacturing of Alabama (HMA), which is Honda's biggest light truck production facility, to implement its machine learning (ML) solution - and Splunk claims that its ML solution allowed HMA to access the right data and reduce the mean time to repair (MTTR) by 70%.

  Prathyusha Paruchuri concludes: “The use of AI and machine learning is converting the vehicles into intelligent and adaptable systems. AVs are also incorporating cybersecurity to safeguard passenger data from malicious activity. Manufacturers are now focusing on Generative AI that uses synthetic training data to conduct virtual tests in a controlled environment, which could train their AVs more efficiently and effectively.”

• Internet users have doubled in the past eight years but 2.6 billion people remain unconnected: study
  in Mobility
  By Staff Writer

  Internet users have doubled in the past eight years with an estimated 67% of the world population using broadband services in 2022, according to space and satellite market consultancy Euroconsult. However, 2.6 billion people remain unconnected, representing an untapped opportunity worth US$74 billion.

  According to Euroconsult’s Universal Broadband Access (UBA), least-developed and landlocked developing countries are lagging with just one-third of their populations connected to the internet.

  Asia Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa alone hold 85% of the world’s unconnected people, with a quarter located in India.

  “With access to broadband services increasingly recognised by governments as a driver of economic growth, this represents a significant untapped opportunity for service providers, estimated at US$74 billion in 2022,’’ said Euroconsult managing consultant and editor-in-chief Dmitri Buchs of the UBA report.

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  Mobile Internet has been the primary growth driver for network expansion and Internet subscriptions in recent years.

  However, despite mobile network availability to over 95% of the world’s population, at least in the form of 3G, service affordability and lack of digital skills are yet to be fully addressed.

  This has created an “adoption gap” – people do not use Internet services even when coverage exists where they reside. In 2022 only 100+ countries met international broadband affordability targets, the study said.

  “This highlights the need for government and commercial initiatives to refocus efforts to close the digital divide beyond the expansion of coverage. We anticipate that at least one billion people, mainly those living in extreme poverty and uninterested in accessing internet services, will remain off the grid by the early 2030s,” said Buchs.

  More notably, however, governments and international organisations are focusing on “meaningful connectivity” – a combination of sufficient download speeds and data allowances with an adequate device and frequent access to the Internet.

  Governments have turned to satellites as the more cost-effective option for low-density areas where terrestrial network deployments are not economically feasible, the study said.

  Today, three main satellite solutions are used to address the universal access broadband market: consumer-grade broadband, cellular backhaul, and rural connectivity.

  According to Euroconsult’s report, the addressable market for satellite solutions reached 591 million people in 2022, with 71 million people connected to satellite broadband services at the end of the year, a number expected to more than double in 2031 to reach over 150 million users.

  Consumer broadband is currently the dominant satellite option in advanced economies while cellular backhaul is the most frequently used option in emerging markets, mainly due to the lower cost of services for end-users.

  The rollout of satellites and next-generation high-throughput satellites (HTS) planned in the coming years will be crucial in helping reduce the digital divide, the study stressed.

  Upcoming HTS services will also provide ‘better quality’ packages to users through unlimited plans and higher data rates.

  Other opportunities exist for satellite services to expand their addressable market in the coming years.

  These include vehicles in motion like RVs, such as Starlink Roam service, and the direct-to-device (D2D) market.

  The D2D satellite service landscape is particularly gaining momentum, supported by new regulations – like the FCC rule-making – and new 5G standards (through 3GPP) to integrate satellites into terrestrial networks more seamlessly.

• Optus pours $5.3 million network upgrade at South Coast
  in Business Telecoms
  By Kenn Anthony Mendoza

  Telecommunications provider has invested a $5.3 million network upgrade at South Coast to improve coverage, reliability, and connectivity speed following the 2019/2020 Black Summer bushfires.

  Optus claimed the upgrade is “one of the most significant has made in the region to date.”

  The funding will see eight towers upgraded or built from now into 2023, aiming to enhance local coverage in the Shoalhaven region.

  Eight Shoalhaven region locations are slated for new towers or upgrades, including:
  Basin View
  Berry
  Milton
  Shoalhaven Heads
  Sussex Inlet
  Nowra 5G
  Nowra CBD
  Worrigee

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  “The outages and network impacts that occurred in the Shoalhaven region during the ‘Black Summer’ bushfires highlighted the importance of mobile connectivity for effective response and recovery efforts,” said Southern New South Wales Optus territory general manager Nick Gibson.

  “Optus’ investment into growing and improving the towers will not only aim to assist first responders and impacted residents to remain connected and online during a crisis but also aims to ensure the local community and businesses can rely on our services outside of times of crisis,” Gibson said.

  Henriksen Electrical owner Finn Henriksen said he has experienced Optus’ improved coverage.

  “My mobile can now receive up to three to four bars of Optus 5G in the area, where previously I reached one to two bars of 3G and had to walk out to the street to get reception,” Henriksen said.

  “After switching my business landline to Optus, my business can function, and I have a reliable connection with better reception in the office, at home, and on the road when travelling around the Shoalhaven area.”

  Following the 2019/2020 devastating bushfire season, the NSW Government conducted a Bushfire Inquiry, which revealed the community valued telecommunication above all other services.

  This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 13 April 2023.