Wireless Networks

Turk Telekom and Juniper Research struck a partnership agreement to develop Open RAN 5G technologies, a move to accelerate innovations and ecosystems in the technology.

In another example of how operator business models are changing as we approach wide-scale 5G rollout, Vodafone Romania has transferred its passive infrastructure to another Vodafone company.

Given the reported uncertainty surrounding spectrum availability, the news that Iran will see the launch of 5G this year may come as a surprise to some readers.

Ooredoo Group, an international telecommunications company headquartered in Qatar, and Ericsson have announced the signing of a five-year strategic 5G agreement.

Ooredoo has launched commercial 5G services in the Maldives, with the initial rollout covering a large percentage of the capital city of Malé, including key business hubs, hospitals and public spaces.

Ukrainian operator Kyivstar has announced plans to launch voice over LTE (VoLTE) on its network by 2021.

Parallel Wireless, an open RAN company delivering software-defined end-to-end 5G, 4G, 3G and 2G open RAN solutions, is to be part of a partnership to deliver rural communications in Nigeria.

MWC Shanghai 2021, taking place from 23 to 25 February next year, will not only explore how technology and connectivity can lead the global recovery – it aims to be an example of that recovery. MWC Shanghai is going to be a physical event.

More details have been revealed about the roll out of public Wi-Fi in India via what is called the PM WANI scheme, which aims to increase the penetration of broadband connectivity across India.

Russian operator MTS has launched an outdoor pilot 5G network zone in partnership with Ericsson and Qualcomm.

The GSMA and the World Bank have developed what they call an innovative, ground-breaking study on the impact of mobile broadband on welfare and poverty reduction. It uses data from Nigeria – the largest mobile market and economy in Africa – and its findings are fascinating.

The Indian cabinet has agreed to an ambitious public Wi-Fi plan that could bring broadband data connectivity to anywhere in the country – even places that at present have no mobile coverage.

Colombian operator WOM is deploying 125 cellular backhaul sites in partnership with Axess Networks as it seeks to connect rural areas as part of its nationwide build-out.

Rohde & Schwarz has been awarded a contract by Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (AEROTHAI) to deliver voice over IP (VoIP)-capable air traffic control (ATC) communications and a remote monitoring and control solution (RCMS) from its CERTIUM portfolio.

Alphabet subsidiary Loon announced its internet-beaming balloons will now be piloted using reinforcement-learning (RL) AI, an advancement it claimed will simplify processes and provide reliable and constant connectivity.

Philippines operator Smart Communications has announced plans to upgrade 40 per cent of its sites to 5G by the end of 2021.

As expected, Viettel has now become the first 5G carrier in Vietnam, after the launch of a 5G commercial trial following a period of technical tests.

Ukraine’s Kyivstar has extended its 900MHz 4G LTE services to all 25 regions in the country four months after launching the offering.

Leading operator Telefonica Movistar Argentina has deployed a complete traffic management solution from telecommunications software company Enea to help it handle the high consumption of data being experienced in Argentina due, in part, to the ongoing pandemic.

Zain KSA – the Saudi Arabian operator and part of Kuwaiti mobile telecommunications company the Zain Group – has announced the expansion of its 5G network coverage in Saudi Arabia to Dammam’s Second Industrial City.

A1 Bulgaria’s 5G network is now live in the country’s capital of Sofia.

Togocel (Togo Cellulaire) has been given the green light to conduct full-scale 5G trials using live network equipment, under real world conditions.

Another day, another Ericsson deal. This time UAE operator Etisalat has awarded the giant networking and telecommunications company a 5G-related contract.

NuRAN Wireless Inc has announced that it has received its first purchase order from iSAT Africa for an initial commercial rural deployment in what is described only as a sub-Saharan African country.

India’s second-biggest operator, Bharti Airtel, has started deploying 4G technology in bandwidth formerly used for 2G.

Saudi Arabia is to provide 60,000 free Wi-Fi points in a number of public places thanks to a newly announced initiative.

Estonia’s first commercial 5G network is now live, with Telia Eesti launching services in the city centres of Tallinn, Tartu and Parnu.

Telia Lithuania (also known as Telia Lietuva), the country’s biggest telecommunications and IT company, has announced the launch of a 5G mobile network in Lithuania.

A further example of the continuing drive to meet the growing demand for mobile communications on metro services comes from Belarus where operator MTS has announced that it will provide communication for passengers on the new line of the Minsk metro.