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Samsung Wallet adds support for French visitors and residents 

Simon Dux
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Samsung Wallet adds support for French visitors and residents 

Together with Île-de-France Mobilités and Air France, Samsung Wallet will allow visitors to explore France through local transport integration and ticket management

Samsung Electronics announced that it will provide an even smarter and more streamlined Samsung Wallet experience to French residents and tourists in France. Beginning this summer, Samsung Wallet will support Île-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) integration on Samsung Galaxy devices, ensuring seamless public transportation services across the Île-de-France region through Navigo Travel Card access.

The Add to Wallet function will also make it easy for visitors to the region to enjoy Paris attractions and sites. And together with new partner, Air France, Samsung Wallet will enable a flight ticket management experience on Samsung Galaxy smartphones.

“Samsung is proud to drive ease of access through technological innovation for Île-de-France Mobilités and Air France,” said Woncheol Chai, head of digital wallet team, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung. “By integrating all-new travel management features into Samsung Wallet, we are bringing new levels of convenience to French locals as well as to visitors to France, just in time for a busy summer travel season.”

Hassle-free local transport

This summer, residents and visitors can enjoy a seamless public transport experience within Île-de-France region through global IDFM support. The IDFM transportation service will be available to use only in France for users from all countries where Samsung Wallet is available, except for India, Mainland China and Korea. Users can access the IDF Mobilités app through a pre-loaded shortcut displayed under the Transit menu of Samsung Wallet.

In addition to efficient city navigation, travelers can leave behind ticket queues and unmanned ticket booths. Samsung Galaxy users can tap their devices to board or transfer buses, metros and Réseau Express Régional (RER) lines, reducing the need for physical cards or tickets and unlocking a hassle-free transport experience. However, Samsung warns this will not be available on all services.

Beyond Paris, Samsung Galaxy users can use payment card-based transit across multiple French cities, including Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille and Aix-en-Provence. Plus, the RoissyBus and OrlyBus shuttle provide quick, direct links for travelers between the city center and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. With this feature, Samsung Galaxy users can tap their device to pay and go. Authentication may be required before tapping the device based on the origin country of the device.

For international travel, the Add to Wallet function is now being extended to Air France and partner flights, allowing Samsung Galaxy users to add boarding passes to Samsung Wallet. Travellers from abroad will also find that international payments and Add to Wallet capabilities will work when visiting France. Upon arriving at their destination, travellers will be prompted via push notification to explore these features. Push notification will only be sent to marketing opt-in Samsung Galaxy users.

Image: Samsung, a Worldwide Olympic and Paralympic Partner, announced its plans alongside the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) to be part of the Paris 2024 broadcast experience. Footage – which will be captured and shared with Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – will play an integral role in the Opening Ceremony on the Seine River and the Olympic Games’ sailing competitions.

Satellites are from Mars, mobile is from Venus 

Simon Dux
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Satellites are from Mars, mobile is from Venus 

Will the merger of satellite and terrestrial mobile services offer the best of both worlds?

Until now, satellite and terrestrial cellular communications industries have been functioning separately in their own domain. However, perfect conditions for merging both are approaching with the upcoming commercial launch of many new LEO-sat operators and the further development of seamless terrestrial network/ non-terrestrial network (TN/NTN) cellular standards.  

However, most legacy satellite operators were born as intergovernmental organizations that facilitated countries joining forces to develop, build and operate satellite systems. The nature of these institutional companies made them big, slow and bureaucratic. Although over the last few years many of these organisations have transformed themselves into commercial companies, Planet Earth Connect co-founder and executive director Enrico Ottolini said the traces of their past are still present today. 

“Backed by abundant government support from member states, satellite operators developed proprietary satellite systems. This led to competition purely based on technical superiority more than commercial capabilities,” said the consultant.  

In contrast, the terrestrial mobile industry was born as commercial companies and backed by investors who demand high ROI; this industry works with completely standardised services and is used to fierce competition based on superior commercial concepts. 

Ottolini believes the two sectors can still learn from each other. “Satellite operators have, with a rather limited portfolio of services optimised for specific market segments such as maritime, aeronautical and media industries, they obtained an almost exclusive position in serving each of their specific target segments,” he said. “The mobile operators, however, have been more involved in providing more mass-market segments with generic solutions…Beyond this, they also allow third parties to leverage their basic services to launch their own portfolio of unique cellular services.” 

Life cycle management  

Until recently, service roadmaps in the satellite industry have been dictated by the limitations of their mainly hardware defined space and ground segments as well as the huge production and launch costs of bulky satellites built to last a minimum of about 20 years. This resulted in very limited capabilities for service modification and development over long periods of time. 

 In contrast to these hardware-defined networks, the terrestrial cellular industry began adopting Software Defined Networks (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) about a decade ago. This has facilitated large-scale cloud deployments facilitating market-driven service roadmaps and reducing service life cycles from years to only a few months.  

“With this, mobile operators are already a few years in the process of providing their highly tailored connectivity services deeply integrated with the functionalities of their enterprise client`s IT-systems and applications, essentially embedding their networks into other company’s solutions. This provides them more resilient and sustainable revenue streams,” he said.  

And now, mobile operators are well-positioned to guide satellite partners in this same transition. Although this paints the picture of a very promising and effective merger between the cellular and satellite industry, this could be complicated by the tendency of new LEOsat operators to still provide highly proprietary solutions, and by legacy satellite operators taking the wrong turn into cellular services. 

LEOsat operators are still proprietary  

Although the new LEO-sat operators have a profile more similar to terrestrial cellular operators, it is striking to see that, until now, all new market entrants act similarly to the legacy satellite operators where it comes to service strategy and choosing to launch highly proprietary solutions, and to compete on technical aspects while providing a rather narrow range of services. “This stems, to a certain extent, from a lack of complete 3GPP standardisation of these services, and the characteristics of their different constellations,” he said. “It appears that the new LEO-sat operators are applying a divide and rule strategy, trying to capture their clients within their proprietary solutions and, as such, stay in full control of them.” 

However, this leads to a very fragmented offer where each satellite operator will only serve a small part of their client’s needs. In the end, such an approach will turn out to be highly counterproductive, leading to slow market adaptation and negatively impacting their ROI. 

Legacy operators taking the wrong turn  

Lately, there has also been a lot of fuss about Apple and Qualcomm teaming up with the legacy Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) operators like Globalstar and Iridium to provide “3GPP-standardised” Direct-to-Device services to modified smartphones. 

“When we take a closer look at these services, it becomes evident that these are limited to just one or two-way SOS and very simple messaging, which cannot even be regarded as 1G cellular services,” said Ottolini. “As these kinds of limited services will soon be made redundant by the 2, 3, 4 and 5G services from the new LEOsat operators, this approach does not seem to be a very productive measure to counter the competition from these new market entrants. Aware of this shortcoming, Qualcomm already pulled the plug on its project with Iridium.” 

So, this all raises the question: are satellite operators better or worse than mobile operators? “Neither of course,” he said. “By creating the technical framework for seamless connectivity between TN and NTN services, it becomes possible to combine the strengths, unique capabilities, and experiences of both these industries — a move that will prove critical for success in global connectivity.” 

However, when Ottolini talks to both parties, he said there appears to be a lack of mutual respect towards each other. Namely, mobile operators complain about the lack of commercial capabilities and the bureaucratic nature of the satellite industry. And satellite operators, proud of their groundbreaking achievements in space, claim technical superiority over the terrestrial cellular industry. 

“Such a tribal attitude is counterproductive when serving the world’s needs. For this to happen, both sides must cherish and leverage each other’s strengths,” he said. “This is not only in their own interest, but an obligation that weighs down on them to do their utmost to leverage all their available capabilities and assets to serve mankind.” 

ecta responds to EC’s white paper on Europe’s future digital infrastructure

Annie Turner
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0
ecta responds to EC’s white paper on Europe’s future digital infrastructure

Unsurprisingly, it is not in favour of some proposals, fearing they favour large operator groups that were formerly state monopolies

The European Competitive Telecommunications Association (ecta) has responded to the European Commission’s white paper How to Master Europe’s Digital Infrastructure Needs?.

The white paper was published in February, opening a consultation with Member States, civil society, industry and academics, inviting them to contribute to the Commission’s proposals and give their views on the scenarios outlined in the paper.

The paper’s proposals confirm that the telcos’ messages, finally, have been received and understood. The European Commission’s default mode has been to oppose consolidation on the grounds that more competition keeps prices down for consumers and increases their choices.

This is despite being criticised for a lack of evidence that this is always or necessarily the case. For example, by the European General Court of the European Court of Justice in 2020, although its findings were overturned in 2023 and by evidence cited in Strand Consult’s global study on the effects of moving from four to three mobile operators within markets.

More receptive?

At the white paper’s release, Commission’s Executive Vice President, Margrethe Vestager, said, “We have 27 national markets with different network architecture, levels of coverage … and, to some degree, regulation. Fragmentation is a missed economic opportunity.”

She is clearly still opposed to creating new monopolies or permitting mergers of huge operator groups, pointing out that, “four big telcos hold more than 60 percent of the mobile market. So it’s not that that Europe is not concentrated.”

Still, the paper poses the question of whether “industrial policy measures further facilitating the cross-border provision of electronic communications networks or different forms of cooperation upstream could allow operators to acquire sufficient scale, without compromising downstream competition.”

In the same week that the white paper was published, Orange Spain was given permission to merge with MásMóvil, although it did apply some remedies, boosting Romania’s Digi to become a stronger fourth player in the Spanish market. ETNO welcome the decision and said further in-country consolidations were essential if the EU was serious about creating a true single market.

Supporting the altnets

Not surprisingly, ecta has a different point of view in its formal response to the proposals. It represents alternative operators who have a “created a free market” for what it insists on calling electronic communications, relying on the pro-competitive EU legal framework that has “helped overcome national monopolies to give EU citizens, businesses and public administrations quality and choice at affordable prices”.

Its response notes that for the past three decades, the European Union’s (EU) electronic communications regulation has “delivered a unique European success story”. It highlights the promotion of competitive markets and effective ex-ante regulatory measures as drivers of investments, innovation and consumer benefits in telecoms.

Lack of scale, poor performance

This is out of step with many other opinions, such as those of the European Telecommunication Network Operators (ETNO) where the Tier 1s hang out. In its annual report published in January, ETNO stated that although Europe’s total telecoms investment reached €59.1 billion in 2022, European operators still lag peers like the US in terms of spending per capita, performance and revenues.

Ecta’s response to the white paper also recognises telecoms as “the linchpin of social and economic dynamics in the 21st century” and thinks Europe is well on track to meet the European Commission’s 2030 Digital Decade Objectives. However, it says the purpose of the white paper is to clear obstacles that could hinder those objectives, enshrined in the EU’s legal framework, which is coming up for review.

Damaging the status quo

In ecta’s view some proposals outlined in the white paper “will structurally and irreversibly impact the future of the European Single Market, of which the telecommunications sector is a fundamental and strategic component to guarantee EU’s global competitiveness”. 

Specifically, it wishes to rebut assumptions on the alleged poor state of the European electronic communications markets. ecta warned on the adverse consequences at an informal meeting of the Telecoms Council in April again objects to the perceived need for a change in the white paper regarding access policy. This policy is based on two scenarios that “amount to dismantling the EU wholesale access regulatory framework,” according to ecta.

It says, “The assumptions which inform some proposed scenarios result in policy proposals based on a misdiagnosis of the issues” and the white paper lacks any reference to or analysis of the needs and trends in the B2B market. Consequently, the EC’s assessment is incomplete and may well not benefit the entire telecoms market.

This, in turn, is likely to damage the continent’s competitiveness as European business customers’ needs will not be met.



ecta appreciates that the EU’s regulatory framework must adapt to the evolving market in terms of technologies, use cases and business models but says changes must be based on incontrovertible, empirical evidence.



Luc Hindryckx, Director General of ecta (pictured), commented, “By pushing a potential review of the Relevant Markets Recommendation, a more far-reaching review of the EECC [the European Electronic Communications Code], and a potential ‘Digital Networks Act’ proposal, the White Paper seems to support and strengthen specific former monopolist companies. 

“This approach would have harmful effects on competition, the EU internal market and consumers’ interest.It would undermine the principles enshrined in the EECC. Further market concentration would likely undermine the deployment of very high-capacity infrastructure and the availability of affordable offers for European consumers, businesses and public administrations. Ultimately, this will be detrimental to Europe’s Global Competitiveness.”



Other matters

Other scenarios in the white paper receive a more favourable response, with ecto saying that they could help address issues that hamper operators’ investments in very high capacity networks (VHCN) and their uptake by European citizens, businesses and public administrations. ecta makes detailed proposals.

These include:

• Measures aimed at “a more harmonized management of the spectrum to unleash the full potential of 5G deployment and further build on the internal market for telecoms”. These measures should aim to create a balanced, competitive structure in the mobile market, for instance, by addressing late entrants’ lack of spectrum including in the low band for indoor rural areas’ coverage.

• Proposals to improve the adoption of VHCNs by consumers and businesses to improve the financial performance of operators.

• Solutions to improve EU’s global competitiveness through timely adoption of new technologies such as cloud and edge, both upstream and downstream of telecoms markets, accompanied by increased sovereignty of the European providers,

• Additional recommendations to the paper’s sustainability proposals, which ecta supports.

Download ecta’s press release here.


Download ecta’s full contribution here.


Download ecta’s manifesto here.

Telefónica, Nokia aim to boost use of 5G SA network APIs

Annie Turner
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0
Telefónica, Nokia aim to boost use of 5G SA network APIs

They will use Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal and Nokia Network Exposure Function in Spain and Germany

Telefónica and Nokia have agreed to explore jointly opportunities leveraging 5G Standalone (SA) capabilities for network APIs. They plan to support developers in creating new use cases for consumer, enterprise and industrial customers.

Nokia’s Network Exposure Function (NEF) will allow developers to access Telefónica’s 5G network capabilities, such as precise device location, notifications based on connectivity status, edge discovery and more. Initially NEF will be used in Spain and Germany.

API mash-ups

Nokia says its NEF solution is based on 3GPP specifications. It provides a process for interfacing with defined functions in the core network. It also enables API mashups so developers can combine APIs from different core functions into a new customised API, making it easier for developers to use for new applications.

Nokia’s Network as Code platform with developer portal brings incorporates networks, systems integrators and software developers into one ecosystem designed to make it simple for developers to integrate 5G capabilities into their applications without navigating the complexity of underlying network technologies.

Nokia has signed collaboration agreements with 14 network operators and ecosystem partners, in Europe, North America and South America since the platform was launched in September 2023.

Orange group signed up at the end of May and last week the Finnish equipment vendor announced the Nokia Network as Code platform with developer portal will run on Google Cloud. The parties said they are to promote specific use cases to the Google Cloud developer community, starting with healthcare. Google Cloud stresses it developers cover “all major industries and geographies”.

Today’s announcement

Cayetano Carbajo Martín, Core & Transport Director, Global CTIO at Telefónica, commented about today’s announcement saying, “This partnering agreement is about steering the industry in building new APIs and more use cases over 5G SA capabilities that have been launched across Telefonica’s main operations”.

Shkumbin Hamiti, Head of Network Monetization Platform, Cloud and Network Services at Nokia, added that it was increasingly obvious that sustaining closed network is an out of date approach and ecosystems are “the way forward for deepening collaboration and creating new use cases; delivering better customer experiences; and generating new revenue opportunities.

“Our agreement with Telefónica is added proof of the much greater telco ecosystem openness that we are now seeing today and we look forward to jointly working to support developers in harnessing a broader array of network capabilities.”  

The EU accuses Apple of breaching Digital Markets Act 

Simon Dux
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The EU accuses Apple of breaching Digital Markets Act 

Apple becomes the first company to face action under the digital competition rules and holds back some AI features due to DMA

The European Commission has told Apple of its preliminary view that its App Store rules are in breach of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), as they prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content. 

In addition, the Commission opened a new non-compliance procedure against Apple over concerns that its new contractual requirements for third-party app developers and app stores, including Apple’s new “Core Technology Fee”, fall short of ensuring effective compliance with Apple’s obligations under the DMA. 

Under the DMA, developers distributing their apps via Apple’s App Store should be able, free of charge, to inform their customers of alternative cheaper purchasing possibilities, steer them to those offers and allow them to make purchases. 

“Apple’s new slogan should be ‘act different’. Today we take further steps to ensure Apple complies with the DMA rules. We have reason to believe that the AppStore rules not allowing app developers to communicate freely with their own users is in breach of the DMA,” said EU internal market commissioner Thierry Breton.  

“We are also opening a new case in relation to Apple’s new business terms for iOS. Without prejudice to Apple’s right of defence, we are determined to use the clear and effective DMA toolbox to finally open real opportunities for innovators and for consumers,” he added.  

Apple currently has three sets of business terms governing its relationship with app developers, including the App Store’s steering rules. The Commission said none of these business terms allow developers to freely steer their customers. For example, developers cannot provide pricing information within the app or communicate in any other way with their customers to promote offers available on alternative distribution channels. 

The Commission added that under most of the business terms available to app developers, Apple allows steering only through “link-outs”, that is, app developers can include a link in their app that redirects the customer to a web page where the customer can conclude a contract. The link-out process is subject to several restrictions imposed by Apple that prevent app developers from communicating, promoting offers and concluding contracts through the distribution channel of their choice. 

It added that while Apple can receive a fee for facilitating via the AppStore the initial acquisition of a new customer by developers, the fees charged by Apple go beyond what is strictly necessary for such remuneration. For example, Apple charges developers a fee for every purchase of digital goods or services a user makes within seven days after a link-out from the app. 

Breach detected 

By sending preliminary findings, it is the Commission’s current view that the company is in breach of the DMA. Apple naturally has a right of reply. The company told the FT [subscription needed] it had: “made a number of changes to comply with the DMA in response to feedback from developers and the European Commission”. 

“We are confident our plan complies with the law, and estimate more than 99 per cent of developers would pay the same or less in fees to Apple under the new business terms we created,” said a spokesperson. 

If the Commission’s preliminary views were to be ultimately confirmed, none of Apple’s three sets of business terms would comply with Article 5(4) of the DMA, which requires gatekeepers to allow app developers to steer consumers to offers outside the gatekeepers’ app stores, free of charge. The Commission would then adopt a non-compliance decision within 12 months from the opening of proceedings on 25 March 2024. 

Apple has been reacting to the EU’s rising activity. In January it tweaked iOS, the app store and the Safari browser to allay competition concerns from the EU and last week it announced it would delay the introduction of its AI-enabled features in the EU due to uncertainty around their compliance with the latest rules. The latter move will not hurt the company given only a small percentage of its handsets will support these features. Apple has already been fined this year over competition concerns around its music streaming services.  

In case of an infringement, the Commission can impose fines up to 10% of the gatekeeper’s total worldwide turnover. Such fines can go up to 20% in case of repeated infringements. Moreover, in case of systematic infringements, the Commission is also empowered to adopt additional remedies such as obliging a gatekeeper to sell a business or parts of it, or banning the gatekeeper from acquisitions of additional services related to the systemic non-compliance. 

Non-compliant contract terms 

The European Commission has also opened a non-compliance investigation into Apple’s new contractual terms for developers regarding access to features enabled by the DMA, such as alternative app stores. Key areas of the investigation include Apple’s Core Technology Fee of €0.50 per installed app, the multi-step process for downloading and installing alternative apps, and the eligibility requirements for developers. 

The investigation will assess if these terms breach Article 6(4) of the DMA, focusing on their necessity and proportionality. The Commission will also continue preliminary investigations into Apple’s validation process for apps and alternative app stores. 

“Today is a very important day for the effective enforcement of the DMA: we have sent preliminary findings to Apple. Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering. Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s executive vice-president in charge of digital policy. 

“We have also opened proceedings against Apple in relation to its so-called core technology fee and various rules for allowing third party app stores and sideloading. The developers’ community and consumers are eager to offer alternatives to the App Store. We will investigate to ensure Apple does not undermine these efforts,” she added. 

Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, the six gatekeepers designated by the Commission on 6 September 2023, had to fully comply with all DMA obligations by 7 March 2024. 

On 25 March, the Commission opened non-compliance investigations into Alphabet’s rules on steering in Google Play and self-preferencing on Google Search, Apple’s rules on steering in the App Store and the choice screen for Safari, and Meta’s “pay or consent model”. The Commission announced additional investigatory steps to gather facts and information in relation to Amazon’s self-preferencing and Apple’s alternative app distribution and new business model. 

Apple delays AI launch in Europe

Last Friday, Apple said it would delay launching three new AI features in Europe on the grounds that competition laws in the European Union mean the company must ensure that rival products and services can function with its devices.

The three features are Phone Mirroring, better SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements and Apple Intelligence – will not be rolled out to EU users this year because of regulatory uncertainties due to the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Apple repeated its mantra that the EU’s regulations would force it to compromise the devices’ security which seems to cut no ice with the bloc’s regulators.

The features will be launched in autumn in the US and in Europe next year.

Rohde & Schwarz joins AI-RAN Alliance 

Simon Dux
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Rohde & Schwarz joins AI-RAN Alliance 

Company wants to use its test and measurement (T&M) expertise to unlock potential of AI for wireless comms

Rohde & Schwarz has become the latest member of the recently formed AI-RAN Alliance. The wireless testing company will contribute its T&M expertise to this new collaborative initiative, which aims to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into wireless communications to advance radio access network (RAN) performance and mobile networks. The company said the membership marks a significant milestone for it on the road to 6G and takes its ongoing collaboration with industry leaders on AI-native air interfaces to a new level. 

By joining the AI-RAN Alliance, Rohde & Schwarz further aligns itself with key industry players such as Nvidia, Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung and strengthens its role in the development of AI-native air interface test methodologies. Formed in February 2024 during the recent Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the AI-RAN Alliance will utilise their members’ respective technology expertise and collective leadership to focus on three key areas of research and innovation as the ecosystems moves towards 6G: 

> AI for RAN: advancing RAN capabilities through AI to improve spectral efficiency. 

> AI and RAN: integrating AI and RAN processes to utilize infrastructure more effectively and generate new AI-driven revenue opportunities. 

> AI on RAN: deploying AI services at the network edge through RAN to increase operational efficiency and offer new services to mobile users. 

Prior to joining the alliance, Rohde & Schwarz has collaborated with Nvidia’s research team on 6G research, pioneering a test bed for exploring neural receiver implementations that promise to revolutionise the air interface by improving performance and network efficiency.  

A neural receiver constitutes the concept of replacing signal processing blocks for the physical layer of a wireless communications system with trained machine learning models. Academia, leading research institutes and industry experts across the globe anticipate that a future 6G standard will use AI/ML for signal processing tasks, such as channel estimation, channel equalisation, and demapping. 

Today’s simulations suggest that a neural receiver will increase link-quality and will impact throughput compared to the current high-performance deterministic software algorithms used in 5G NR. 

To train machine learning models, data sets are an absolute prerequisite. Often, the required access to data sets is limited or simply not available. In the current state of early 6G research, test and measurement equipment provides a viable alternative when generating various data sets with different signal configurations to train machine learning models for signal processing tasks. 

To run the test bed, the R&S SMW200A vector signal generator emulated two individual users transmitting an 80MHz wide signal in the uplink direction with a MIMO 2×2 signal configuration. Each user was independently faded, and noise is applied to simulate realistic radio channel conditions. The R&S MSR4 multi-purpose satellite receiver acted as the receiver, capturing the signal transmitted at a carrier frequency of 3GHz by using its four phase-coherent receive channels.  

The data was then provided via the real-time streaming interface to a server. There, the signal was pre-processed using the R&S Server-Based Testing (SBT) framework including R&S VSE vector signal explorer (VSE) micro-services. The VSE signal analysis software synchronized the signal and performed fast Fourier transforms (FFT). This post-FFT data set served as input for a neural receiver implemented using Nvidia Sionna. 

Nvidia Sionna is a GPU-accelerated open-source library for link-level simulation. It enables rapid prototyping of complex communications system architectures and provides native support to the integration of machine learning in 6G signal processing. 

As part of the demonstration, the trained neural receiver was compared to the classical concept of a linear minimum mean squared error (LMMSE) receiver architecture, which applies traditional signal processing techniques based on deterministically developed software algorithms. These already high-performance algorithms are widely adopted in current 4G and 5G cellular networks. 

“Collaboration is critical to unlocking the full potential of 6G technology components, such as an AI-native air interface,” said Rohde & Schwarz CTO Andreas Pauly. “By partnering with leading industry players and joining the AI-RAN Alliance, we ensure that we remain at the forefront of wireless communications innovation. In this way, the ecosystem benefits from our extensive experience in creating holistic test solutions for the wireless industry.” 

Private 5G networks finally begin to boom beyond China

Annie Turner
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0
Private 5G networks finally begin to boom beyond China

Analysts SNS Telecom & IT expects a compound annual growth rate of 42% between this year and 2027; cites reference deployments

Although private LTE networks have been around for more than a decade, they are a niche part of cellular infrastructure. Now private networks based on the 3GPP-defined 5G standard are beginning to move beyond proofs of concept and small-scale deployments to production, according to a new report from SNS Telecom & IT – outside of China, that is.

The analyst house estimates that annual investments in private 5G networks for vertical industries will grow at a CAGR of about 42% between 2024 and 2027, accounting for nearly $3.5 billion (€3.272 billion) by the end of 2027.

Much of this growth will be driven by highly localised 5G networks covering geographically limited areas for Industry 4.0 applications in manufacturing and process industries. However, sub-1GHz, wide area networks for critical communications (such as public safety, utilities and railway communications) are also expected to begin their transition from LTE, GSM-R and other legacy narrowband technologies to 5G towards the latter half of the forecast period.

Among other features for mission-critical networks, 3GPP Release 18 adds support for 5G NR equipment operating in dedicated spectrum with less than 5MHz of bandwidth, paving the way for private 5G networks operating in sub-500 MHz, 700 MHz, 850 MHz and 900 MHz bands for public safety broadband, smart grid modernisation and Future Railway Mobile Communication System.

China pioneered private 5G

China is the most mature market for 5G private networks due to state-funded directives to accelerate the application of 5G in industry, at scale.

Consequently, it provides good examples of what 5G private networks can do – without the onus of having to prove the business case. The report – Private 5G Networks: 2024-2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts – says the largest private 5G installations in China can comprise hundreds to even thousands of dedicated RAN nodes. They might be supported by on-premise or edge cloud-based core network functions depending on specific latency, reliability and security requirements.

For example, home appliance manufacturer Midea’s Jingzhou industrial park hosts 2,500 indoor and outdoor 5G NR access points to connect workers, machines, robots and vehicles across an area of about 104 acres. Wuhan Iron & Steel Corporation (WISCO) has installed a dual-layer private 5G network – spanning 85 multi-sector macrocells and 100 small cells – to remotely operate heavy machinery at its plant in Wuhan (Hubei).

Fujian-based manufacturer Wanhua Chemical recently built a wireless network for more than 8,000 5G reduced capability (RedCap) devices, most of which are surveillance cameras and IoT sensors.

Now for the rest of the world

For the rest of the world, SNS Telecom and IT reckons private 5G networks “are laying the foundation for Industry 4.0 and advanced application scenarios” because 5G brings new capabilities to the party such a low latency, network slicing, and superior reliability, availability and the density of connections. Not all applications require all of these attributes. Still, it is the first purpose-designed, wireless alternative for industrial-grade communications between machines, robots and control systems.

In addition, 5G’s new capabilities are seen by the telecoms industry as paving the path 6G networks in the 2030s.

The report found that despite 5G’s relatively higher cost of ownership, “its wider coverage radius per radio node, scalability, determinism, security features and mobility support have stirred strong interest in its potential as a replacement for interference-prone unlicensed wireless technologies in IIoT (Industrial IoT) environments, where the number of connected sensors and other endpoints is expected to increase significantly over the coming years”.

Enterprises in the US, Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere are ramping up their digitisation and automation initiatives. Against this backdrop, private 5G networks are being implemented to support use cases as diverse as wirelessly connected machinery for the rapid reconfiguration of production lines, environments that rely on distributed programmable logic controllers, autonomous mobile robots) and automated guided vehicles) for intra-site logistics.

They are also being used for: assisted guidance and troubleshooting using augmented reality; vision-based quality control of production processes and machines; wireless software flashing of manufactured vehicles; and remote-controlled cranes. Other applications include: unmanned mining equipment; beyond visual line-of-sight operation of drones, digital twin models of complex industrial systems and automatic train operation.

Private 5G networks support video analytics to improve safety at railway crossings and on train station platforms, plus remote visual inspections of aircraft engine parts, real-time collaboration for flight-line maintenance operations, extended reality for military training and virtual visits enabling parents to see their infants in neonatal intensive care units.

Yet more applications include production for live broadcasts in locations that cannot be accessed by traditional solutions, operations-critical communications during major sporting events, and optimisation of cattle fattening and breeding for Wagyu beef production

The report found that progress is happening, despite long-standing issues like limited non-smartphone devices and high 5G IoT module costs due to low shipment volumes. Other issues that have proved to be stumbling blocks include the lack of experience and expertise in end-user organisations in using cellular wireless systems in this way and, of course, resistance to change.

Still, early adopters are investing in networks built independently using new shared and local area licensed spectrum options, in collaboration with private network specialists or via traditional mobile operators.

Actual deployments

Some private 5G installations have progressed to a stage where practical and tangible benefits – particularly efficiency gains, cost savings and worker safety – are becoming increasingly evident. Notable examples include:

• Tesla’s private 5G implementation on the shop floor of its Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg plant in Brandenburg, Germany. It has helped overcome up to 90% of the over-cycle issues for a particular process in the factory’s general assembly shop. Tesla is integrating private 5G network infrastructure to address high-impact use cases in production, intralogistics and quality operations across its global manufacturing facilities.

• John Deere [the agricultural machine maker] is progressing towards its goal of reducing dependency on wired Ethernet connections from 70% to 10% over the next five years by deploying private 5G networks at its industrial facilities in the US, South America and Europe. Meanwhile, IKD which supplies automotive aluminium die-castings has replaced 6 miles of cables connecting 600 pieces of machinery with a private 5G network. The cost of cable maintenance is now almost zero and the product yield rate has risen 10%.

• civil aviation customers no longer need to physically attend servicing sessions at Lufthansa Technik. Instead they can carry out inspections remotely, thanks to Lufthansa’s 5G network at its Hamburg facility. Previous attempts to implement virtual inspections using Wi-Fi proved ineffective, hampered by the large metal structures within the plant.

• The East-West Gate (EWG) Intermodal Terminal at Fényeslitke in Hungary has increased productivity from 23 to 25 containers per hour to 32 to 35 an hour through its private 5G network. It has also reduced the staff operating expenses by 40% and eliminated the risk of crane drivers’ injuries due to remote-controlled operation, with a latency of less than 20 milliseconds.

• The Liverpool 5G Create network in the inner city area of Kensington has shown there are potential savings from digital health, education and social care services. This includes “an astonishing $10,000 [€9,351 or £ 7,908) drop in yearly expenditure per care home resident through a 5G-connected system to prevent falls and a $2,600 reduction in WAN (connectivity charges per General Practitioner’s surgery (that is local doctors’ clinics or offices). This could represent a $220,000 annual saving for the UK’s National Health Service when applied to 86 surgeries in Liverpool.

• CJ Logistics has achieved a 20% productivity increase at its Ichiri centre in Icheon (Gyeonggi), South Korea, after replacing the 300 Wi-Fi access points in the 40,000 square meter warehouse with private 5G for Industry 4.0 applications, which previously experienced repeated outages and coverage issues.

The report’s summary cites many more use cases.

Other developments

Some of the most technically advanced features of 5G Advanced – 5G’s next evolutionarily phase – are also being trialled over private installations. For example, the Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor, is using an indoor 5G Advanced network for time-critical industrial control within a car roof production line. This is part of an effort to prevent wire abrasion in mobile applications which result in average downtime of 60 hours a year.

Geopolitical trade tensions and sanctions have given parties the means to test domestically produced 5G network infrastructure products in controlled environments, prior to large-scale deployments or vendor swaps across national or regional public mobile networks. For instance, Russian industrial groups are trialling private 5G networks in zones within production sites, using indigenously built 5G equipment operating in Band n79 (4.8-4.9 GHz) spectrum.

A number of new alternative suppliers have developed 5G infrastructure offerings tailored to the specific needs of industrial applications. For example, satellite communications company Globalstar has launched a multipoint terrestrial RAN system, that complies with 3GPP Release 16. It is optimised for dense private wireless deployments in Industry 4.0 automation environments. German engineering conglomerate Siemens has developed an in-house private 5G network solution for use at its own plants as well as those of industrial customers.  

Aspects under investigation

The report presents an assessment of the private 5G network market, including the value chain, market drivers, barriers to uptake, enabling technologies, operational and business models, vertical industries, application scenarios, key trends, future roadmap, standardization, spectrum availability and allocation, regulatory landscape, case studies, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents global and regional market size forecasts from 2024 to 2030. The forecasts cover three infrastructure submarkets, 16 vertical industries and five regional markets.

The report comes with an associated Excel datasheet suite covering quantitative data from all numeric forecasts presented in the report, as well as a database of over 7,000 global private cellular engagements – including more than 2,200 private 5G installations – as of Q2, 2024.

Vodafone extends e2e network monitoring deal with Netscout

Annie Turner
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Vodafone extends e2e network monitoring deal with Netscout

This is part of the operator’s data strategy for better management of its evolving hybrid infrastructure

Vodafone’s new multi-year agreement with Netscout is for its InfinistreamNG to provide real-time, end-to-end visibility monitoring across Vodafone’s physical and virtual networks. This includes 5G Standalone (SA), Vodafone’s European operations and Vodafone Group entities and services.

Hence the move is in parallel with the evolution of Vodafone’s European networks and especially its strategy of being data driven. Foundations stones in implementing this strategy were its tie-up with Google Cloud for data crunching in May 2021, then the creation of a pan-European platform for network performance with Cardinality.io and Google Cloud a year later.

Analyse and enhance

Simon Norton, Head of Digital & OSS at Vodafone, stressed, “With Netscout’s solutions, we’re able to analyse and enhance our network performance”

He added, “Netscout has been a valuable partner for many years. InfinistreamNG gives us the visibility to analyse packet and flow data for greater control of our services, networks, and applications across our European hybrid environment.”

The vendor says it gives Vodafone “pinpoint visibility of all the component parts of its networks, enabling it to analyse the flow and performance of anonymised and aggregated packet data to enhance the customer experience”.

“InfinistreamNG gives us the visibility to analyse packet and flow data for greater control of our services, networks, and applications across our European hybrid environment,” stated Simon Norton, Head of Digital & OSS, Vodafone.

Netscout has worked with Vodafone for more than 10 years and the first contract involving InfinistreamNGwas signed in 2017 and expanded three years later to implement the technology across Vodafone’s opcos in Europe.

Deutsche Telekom uses Live TV via 5G at football 

Simon Dux
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Deutsche Telekom uses Live TV via 5G at football 

Telekom and Sony carries out successful 5G live TV test from the UEFA Euro 2024 fan zone in Cologne

Broadcast continues to decent 5G use case despite remote surgery not taking off. RTL Deutschland’s and n-tv’s coverage of the opening 2024 European Championship match in Munich featured live broadcasts by reporters via Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network. In addition to the live TV, Telekom also set up a 5G campus for RTL. The media company has been also using Telekom’s “Live Video Production” product since last year, which also transmits via the operator’s 5G standalone (SA) network.

Directly next to the RTL media centre in Cologne is one of the official public viewing locations for the European Championship. Thanks to the direct proximity to the transmitter and onwards to Telekom’s campus network, live reports from the fan zone could be sent from that site via 5G. For the coverage, the companies used a new camera system, part of the Networked Live ecosystem, from Sony and Nevion, a Sony Group Company.

In February, Deutsche Telekom and Sony said they had successfully tested Nevion’s VideoIPath media orchestration platform with 5G network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The solution from Sony and its subsidiary Nevion uses Deutsche Telekom’s network APIs to make optimum use of the 5G network and offer low latency and reliable bandwidth, which is essential for live, professional video production.

Live Video Production is now regularly used for RTL/n-tv coverage and continues to be booked almost daily during the European Championship.

Parallel streaming

Put together, this system can receive the 5G signal directly via an integrated SIM card and transmit images to the studio in real time without an additional mobile solution. This enabled a high-quality live connection to a reporter in the public viewing zone. The 5G campus network provided the basis for several parallel data streams. Here, too, there were several live broadcasts on n-tv news and for pre-match reporting on MagentaTV.

An RTL team equipped with two mobile 5G cameras has been working at the public viewing spot in Cologne over the last few days. Here they tested four different functions, all of which worked successfully via the 5G connection: Ultra Low Latency Live Video Production; audio intercom for direct communication between the control room, the camera operator, and the interviewer; return video to show the camera operator or interviewer in real time what is currently being broadcast; and remote camera control.

Two Sony FX6 cameras were used for the test, each connected to a CBK-RPU7 HEVC 4K/HD remote production unit for ultra-low latency HEVC video encoding. The encoded outputs were connected to the 5G campus network in the 3.7–3.8GHz frequency range via Sony’s PDT-FP1 Portable Data Transmitter and decoded by an NXL-ME80 processor. RTL’s existing Nevion VideoIPath SDN Control Software System was used to manage the delivery of pictures and sound received via the 5G network into RTL’s SMPTE ST 2110 based IP production infrastructure. Sony’s UWP-D series wireless microphones and receivers were used to ensure high quality sound.

Ooredoo Group gets Nvidia AI chips for data centres 

Simon Dux
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Ooredoo Group gets Nvidia AI chips for data centres 

The move comes despite US officials slowing down licences for chip manufacturers like Nvidia and AMD to export large quantities of AI accelerators to the Middle East

Ooredoo Group has announced it is becoming an Nvidia Cloud Partner (NCP) and plans to deploy thousands of Nvidia Tensor Core GPUs in its AI data centres to support the region. The move comes amid heightened geopolitical tensions globally that has seen the US Government has been curbing the export of advanced US chips to stop Chinese firms from using Middle Eastern countries as a back door to access the newest AI technology. 

Last month, Bloomberg reported US officials had slowed down the issuance of licences for chip manufacturers like Nvidia to export large quantities of AI accelerators to the Middle East while a national security assessment of AI developments in the region was underway. 

There was no further info on what “large-scale” exports looked like and the fact the Qatari operator has announced the Nvidia is happening suggests that nation has passed scrutiny and is poised to push ahead of the UAE and Saudi Arabia which are both looking to import significant quantities of chips for AI data centres. 

“Our B2B clients, thanks to this agreement, will have access to services that probably their competitors (won’t) for another 18 to 24 months,” Ooredoo’s CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo (above right) told Reuters in an interview. 

In January, the US finalised an agreement with Qatar to extend its military presence at the Al Udeid Air Base, its largest military facility in the Middle East, accommodating more than 10,000 American troops. 

Ooredoo wants to use Nvidia’s advanced accelerated computing platform to help enable “the AI revolution” in the region. Through this collaboration, governments, enterprises, and startups in Qatar, Algeria, Tunisia, Oman, Kuwait, and the Maldives will have access to Nvidia’s latest full-stack AI platform. 

Capitalising on the significant market demand for accelerated computing and hyperconnectivity across its MENA footprint, Ooredoo is developing an AI-ready platform powered by NVIDIA’s full-stack innovation across systems, software, and services. The agreement with Nvidia was signed during TMForum’s DTW24 in Copenhagen. 

“Implementing Nvidia’s full-stack platform for accelerated computing and generative AI, Ooredoo is equipped to be at the forefront of the AI revolution in MENA, driving digitalisation and innovation as the leading digital infrastructure provider in the region,” said Ooredoo’s chief executive Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo. “Working with Nvidia, we aim to meet the significantly growing demand for accelerated computing infrastructure to support advanced AI models.” 

Ooredoo plans to offer GPU-as-a-Service, which offers on-demand access to “some of the most advanced AI and machine learning tools available”. The telco will also be able to offer GPU-as-infrastructure, giving its customers the flexibility to integrate accelerated computing with their own cloud solutions or directly host them on premises. 

“As a trusted regional telecommunications provider, Ooredoo Group combines deep enterprise and consumer relationships with the ability to invest in and deploy AI infrastructure and services,” said Nvidia SVP of telecom Ronnie Vasishta (above left). “By providing NVIDIA’s full-stack AI computing platform to customers, Ooredoo will help make it easier for their customers to deploy generative AI applications and services.” 

Ooredoo Group said its collaboration with Nvidia is part of its larger aim to boost AI infrastructure in the MENA region while enabling enhanced security, optimised performance, and customisation to align with local standards. As a result, the countries where Ooredoo operates can establish local clouds, facilitating the development of local AI ecosystems and applications and reinforcing data security measures. 

Data centre push 

The operator carved out its data centres into a separate company called Mena Digital Hub and last month appointed ex-Microsoft executive Sunita Bottse to become CEO and manage the firms $1bn investment plans to expand the data centre capacity to more than 120MW. Bottse was previously senior director of data centres site acquisition (EMEA) at Microsoft. 

Mena Digital Hub has 26 active data centres across Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Tunisia. The operator currently sits at around 40MW. Ooredoo also has plans to carve out its undersea cables and fiber network into a separate entity, according to the Reuters report. 

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