ITV

Category: Telecom

  • 5G network: Huawei launches 5000 series station & microwave bearer solution

    MUMBAI: Innovative technologies empower mobile operators to build a 5G-oriented network. Huawei has launched its 5000 series base station in Mobile World Congress 2017. It has also unveiled 5G-oriented microwave bearer solution.

    The futureproof base station provides up to 10 times the support capacity of existing base stations as well as 30% better performance and 20% OPEX savings. With its new-generation 5000 base station, Huawei leads the industry in technology innovation, user experience and commercial success.

    The radio unit of the 5000 series is a modular design based on leading Power Amplifier (PA) technology. It achieves the highest level of integration in the industry with best-in-class performance and high output power. It supports flexible multi-channels such as 4T4R, 8T8R and 64T64R (Massive MIMO) capabilities, thus greatly improving spectrum efficiency, network capacity, and throughput. Such innovations will benefit operators building efficient, agile, and more economical networks. Such networks have 10 times the capacity to meet future mobile broadband (MBB) traffic growth.

    Huawei Wireless Network Marketing and Solution president An Jian said, “Huawei is dedicated to solving operator challenges and meet their demands. Broadband traffic will continue to surge with emergence of new and diversified applications. The innovative 5000 series base station provides powerful performance and futureproof design to help operators building leading ultra-mobile broadband networks. This accelerates the exploration of business opportunities, meets demands of evolution from 4.5G to 5G, and achieves commercial success.”

    The 5000 series base station baseband modules use new-generation baseband signaling processing chipsets and new architecture design to support Multi-RAT and Massive MIMO technologies.

    Huawei has also unveiled the microwave bearer solution. Featuring ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, and cloud readiness, it supports 5G application scenarios, helping operators manage future challenges to 5G bearer networks.

    5G application scenarios include enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (uRLLC), and massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC). The IMT-2020 report, published by ITU, defined 5G and laid out its requirements, specifying that 5G should support 10 Gb/s per user, 1 ms latency, and 1 million device connections per square kilometer. To meet the challenging requirements on bandwidth, latency, and flexibility, Huawei has developed its 5G-oriented microwave bearer solution, which features the following:

    • Ultra-high bandwidth: 20 Gb/s

    Huawei’s solution maximizes the value of the microwave spectrum through super dual band and large capacity E-band technologies to provide 10 to 20 Gb/s broadband access, meeting the requirements of carrier customers. Huawei is also actively researching D-band (110 to 170 GHz) and W-band (75 to 110 GHz), and is facilitating the development of standards that will support the smooth evolution to 50 – 100 Gb/s.

    • Ultra-low latency: less than 100 μs

    To reduce the per-hop microwave latency from hundreds of μs to tens of μs, Huawei uses its own chips and optimization algorithms in its solution. This fulfills the requirement for ultra-low latency. In addition, routing microwave allows for more flexible deployment of mobile bearer networks, reducing the latency of X2/eX2 services in LTE and LTE-A scenarios.

    • Cloud readiness: improving efficiency and meeting multi-service requirements

    Using Huawei’s All-Cloud Network architecture, the 5G-oriented microwave bearer solution significantly improves the efficiency of network operations, enables agile service provisioning, and reduces OPEX. Combined with the sub-solutions of Huawei’s All-Cloud Network solution, the 5G-oriented microwave bearer solution can efficiently transmit different services.

    The launch of the 5G-oriented microwave bearer solution will drive the evolution of the microwave industry towards large bandwidth, low latency, and cloud readiness to enable the business success of operators.

     

  • Most Jio subs to get Prime benefits

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio has enrolled customers to its Jio Prime membership plan, at Rs 99. The plan is an extension of the company’s ‘Happy New Year’ offer and Jio customers could enroll to Jio Prime before 31 March.

    Jio has launched paid prime and non-prime offers. Under the Prime offer, Jio customers get a one-year extension of existing unlimited data benefits, which under Happy New Year offer. The Prime subscription may be availed by both, existing Jio users and those who subscribe to Jio’s services till 31 March, 2017.

    The new plans could be seen here: https://www.jio.com/en-in/4g-plans

    For prepaid users, the plans offered starts from Rs. 19 which is valid for one day, and offers 200 MB 4G data for Prime customers whereas 100 MB for non-Prime subscribers.

    Rs. 49 (with three-day validity) offers 600 MB for Prime and 300 MB for non-Prime users. Other plans are of Rs. 96 (seven-day validity), Rs. 149 (28 days), Rs. 303 (28 days), Rs. 499 (28 days), Rs. 999 (30 days), Rs. 1,999 (90 days), Rs. 4,999 (180 days) and Rs. 9,999 (360 days) offering different data packs depending on the recharge.   

    For postpaid users, the plans are of Rs. 303 (28 GB 4G data for a month with 1 GB daily data limit), Rs. 499 (58 GB data with 2 GB data limit per day), and Rs. 999 (60 GB data for a month).

    All Jio Prime plans offer unlimited voice calls to all operators as well as free roaming. Booster packs are also there for users if they exceed the data limit of the plan. Rs. 51 booster pack offers 1 GB 4G data. Others include Rs. 91 (2 GB data), Rs. 201 (5 GB data), and Rs. 301 (10 GB data).

    A recharge of Rs. 99 would have to be done before 31 March, 2017 from MyJio, JioMoney, Jio.com or a retailer. The Jio Prime plans come into effect from 1 April, 2017, the day the existing Jio Happy New Year Offer expires.

    Similar to the previous HNY offer, the Prime membership too will provide users with an FUP limit of 1GB data for each day. Effectively it translates to 30GB data for a month, meaning Rs 10 per day. A customer who still does not have a Jio connection can get on the network on or before 31 March in order to avail the Prime membership offer.

    Also Read :

    Jio data offer unsustainable, acknowledges Airtel

    Q3-17: Reliance: Jio busts records, organized retail op profit grows 55 percent

  • Cisco & Jio to build world’s largest all-IP 5G-ready platform

    MUMBAI: Reliance Jio is collaborating with Cisco to further expand Jio’s existing multi-terabit capacity, first all-IP converged network.

    With this network, Jio offers a unique combination of high-speed data, mobile video, VoLTE, digital commerce, media, cloud, and payment services. It is the first network of its kind globally with the fastest growth to 100 million broadband and VoLTE customers, reaching the milestone within six months of launch. With the Cisco All-IP network, Jio will help deliver the vision of Digital India and transform the delivery of citizen services from transportation, utilities and financial inclusion to entertainment, agriculture, education, and healthcare in the country.

    Cisco forecasts that mobile data traffic will grow 7-fold from 2016 to 20211. Technology has become the biggest driver of economic development in India. Jio network has exceeded consumption of more than 1 exabyte of data per month, establishing its clear leadership as the dominant data network.

    The Jio All-IP digital platform is a result of co-innovation around product and services between the two companies. It is built on Cisco’s Open Network Architecture and Cloud Scale Networking technologies featuring IP/MPLS, spanning areas including Data Center, Wi-Fi, Security and Contact Center solutions.

    The All-IP network is built for the ever-increasing volumes of data, and its promise to shape the future of India, with end-to-end digital solutions and broadband for all. Jio has more than 185,000 miles (or 300,000 KM) of fiber, and built India’s largest cloud data center to build platforms for applications and vertical solutions. Since its launch, Jio has accelerated India’s monthly user data consumption 40 times, the highest in the world. With the advanced All-IP network, Jio offers a premium broadband service at U.S. $0.15/GB, making it the most affordable in the world.

    Jio’s infrastructure and CDN extends beyond geographical boundaries of India into Singapore, France, London, New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. With this Jio has direct interconnect with global carriers and content providers enabling low-latency and high-quality experience for users in India.
    “We at Jio have been able to fundamentally impact how people leverage technology in their everyday lives by delivering inclusive and affordable broadband across India,” said Reliance Jio president Mathew Oommen.

    “As part of our journey in fulfilling the aspirations of the nation to be a key transformational agent in Digital Adoption and Leadership, Cisco has been a great partner for in building this highly scalable cloud centric All-IP Digital Services Network Platform meeting unprecedented data growth.”

    “We share the vision with Reliance Jio for an open, programmable infrastructure to simplify, automate and virtualize core network functions in order to digitize faster,” said Cisco senior vice president & general manager – service provider business Yvette Kanouff. “This network marks a milestone, transforming the mobility business in India by delivering a broad range of mobile apps and services from one common platform.”

    Cisco is building the simplified, automated and virtualized network platform of the future based on industry-leading software, systems, silicon and services. This enables service providers, media and web companies worldwide to reduce costs, speed time-to-market, secure their networks and sustain profitable growth.

    Also Read :

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/enews/convergence-17-planetcast-plans-virtualised-broadcast-cyient-lauds-jam-170210

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/dth/dth-operator/videocon-d2h-enhances-video-expereince-with-cisco-virtual-dcm-160902

  • Jio data offer unsustainable, acknowledges Airtel

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, India’s largest mobile operator, has opined that the new tariff announced by Reliance Jio was very aggressive and unsustainable, and the industry would respond to it with additional data offerings and more competitive plans.

    Yesterday Airtel anounced waiving of roaming charges to compete with free roaming and voice calls offered by Jio. The Mukesh Ambani-led Jio has not only promised to match the best mobile data usage plan in the market but add 20 per cent to it.

    Tariffs that they (Jio) announced were still very aggressive, which meant they got to respond. They all got to do more packages… they had to throw in more data. All those things need to be done, PTI reported Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal telling the press.

    Jio, which has invested USD 25 billion on its 4G wireless data network, will terminate free data plans from 1 April, but has offered consumers the option of signing up for a Jio Prime membership for Rs 99 to continue using unlimited services for a year by paying Rs 303 every month.

    Acknowledging that Jio’s plan to start charging customers was “good news” for operators, he said it however, would not signal the end to tariff war. Good news was that eventually they announced that they would. But yes, it was the pricing which was unsustainable.

    Mittal, who is also the chairman of global industry body GSMA, recommended consolidation for the Indian telecom industry to “get the economic case back”, pitched for affordability in spectrum pricing that has gone “out of control” in the last few years, and said the spectrum surplus industry would not need an airwave auction, at least in 2017-18.

  • Digital India: Jio & Samsung shift LTE mobile landscape

    MUMBAI: Samsung has announced its innovative “I&G (Infill & Growth) Project” for Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd in India. This joint project was established to upgrade current LTE mobile communication services across India by expanding both the current network capacity as well as network coverage.

    Jio has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies.

    The new project sets a high benchmark for LTE services in India through wider coverage, inbuilding penetration and the highest speeds, regardless of the user’s location. Utilizing spectrum in the 850, 1800 and 2300MHz bands, it will enable seamless indoor and outdoor coverage in dense urban areas. The project will also extend Jio’s superiority in rural areas by expanding its reach to over 90 per cent of the population.

    Previously, Samsung provided the LTE core, base stations and solutions required for VoLTE services, as well as massive deployment services for establishing a nationwide network for Jio. The two companies have successfully established the world’s largest greenfield LTE network.

    Reliance Jio Infocomm president Jyotindra Thacker said, “Samsung and Jio successfully achieved 100 million subscribers in 170 days, making us the fastest-growing company in the world, and the numbers continue to rapidly grow. It was possible because we introduced a truly effective LTE service, Pan-India. We are committed to bringing game-changing digital experiences to India with superior ecosystems,mobile content, all-IP networks and ongoing process innovations.”

    “As Jio’s end-to-end LTE solutions partner, it is a great pleasure for Samsung to contribute to Jio’s tremendous success,” said Samsung Electronics president and head of networks business Youngky Kim. “The massive deployment of over a million cells across India is especially remarkable. We will strive to create new paradigms for LTE-Advanced Pro and 5G by closely cooperating with Jio as a unified workforce.”

    Jio stands as an innovator which transformed the telecommunications sector in India last year. The company has already established itself as the leading data service provider in the country within a few months of commencing operations. It was also India’s first operator to introduce free-of-charge High Definition calls (VoLTE). This is especially notable, as this
    approach is now becoming a new market rule in India.

    Samsung, as Jio’s strategic partner, has established a foundation for Indians to enjoy exclusive services, including voice calls, with data as their engine. It has also gone a step further, enabling Jio to offer a superior service to its users by providing professional solutions such as Samsung VoLTE, Quality Monitoring and Analysis (VoMA) and Cognitive Traffic
    Monitoring and Optimizer for a superior user experience. Further, it was through Samsung’s VoMA that the steady management of high traffic in data-dense environments was enabled.

    The tools monitor and optimize mobile data services, and have successfully contributed to enabling Jio to provide its subscribers with a stable and improved user experience. The relationship between Jio and Samsung goes back to 2012, when the two companies signed a turn-key agreement covering the entire scope of network, ranging from equipment to establishment and maintenance services.

  • Airtel makes roaming data & incoming free

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecommunications services provider, today announced radical changes that redefine the value proposition for domestic and international roaming. With this, Airtel mobile customers will be able to carry their numbers across India and the world and stay connected all the time without having to worry about high call/data charges. Bill shocks will now be a thing of the past.

    National Roaming – Free Incoming Calls
    No Premium on Outgoing Calls
    No Data Roaming Charges

    Starting 1 April, 2017, Airtel customers roaming within India will enjoy free incoming calls/SMS and there will be no premium on outgoing calls allowing them to speak freely wherever they are within the country. Also, there will be no additional data charges on national roaming. Home data packs for customers will apply even while they roam across India.

    Bharti Airtel MD & CEO (India & South Asia) Gopal Vittal said, “This marks the death of national roaming and the whole country will now be like a local network for our customers, who will not have to think twice before making or receiving calls or using data while traveling outside their home base. Airtel has again set the benchmark in delivering best in class value backed by a great network experience.”

    No bill shocks on international roaming

    Airtel has already launched innovative and affordable International Roaming packs for all major countries across the world. These packs come with convenient validity options of 1 day, 10 days, and 30 days and offer loads of benefits including free incoming calls/SMS, calling minutes and texts both to India and the local country as well as generous dollops of data to stay online. These packs have received an overwhelming response from customers, shielding them from any bill shock and eliminating the need for a local country SIM. However, there are still several cases of customers inadvertently failing to choose these packs and suffering bill shocks due to thesteep roaming charges on international networks.

    Starting April 1, 2017, even customers on international roaming Without a Pack will be fully protected from bill shocks through an automatic adjustment that is equal to the daily pack for that particular country. This means that the moment a customer’s billing reaches the price of a one day pack for the country, he/she will be automatically moved to that pack. This will allow our customers to use their devices abroad without any fear. Even post the exhaustion of pack benefits, customers will continue to enjoy extremely attractive rates for calling and data usage. Call Charges have been reduced by up to 90% to as low as Rs. 3/min and data charges by upto 99% to Rs 3/ MB across popular roaming destinations. 

    Here is an example of how Airtel’s new international roaming pricing works. When a customer traveling to the USA without a pack hits the threshold of Rs 649 (the price of the one day pack for USA), he/she will automatically move to the one day pack with free incoming calls/SMS, 100 India and local country outgoing minutes, 300 MB data and a host of other benefits. Similarly, a customer traveling to Singapore will move to the one day pack the moment his/her usage hits the Rs 499 mark.

    Bharti Airtel and GSMA chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said, “At Airtel, we are changing the international roaming paradigm, which will allow our customers to take their number to every corner of the world. As an industry, operators across the world must collaborate to remove the cost barrier to roaming and offer customers the convenience of staying connected without the fear of exorbitant bill charges.”

  • Telcos may offer multi-play OTT for security, energy & appliance control: Report

    MUMBAI: The Smart Home is a growing fifth-play opportunity for operators. The global smart home market is growing exponentially, attracting an array of service providers, including technology giants and startups to major media players, device makers, big-box retailers, home improvement companies, utilities and telecom network operator.

    Government mandates and initiatives in addition to the ongoing technology innovations coupled with increased attention paid to conservation- are the major factors contributing in making smart home a place with a bright future. Focus on sustainability, increasing awareness amongst the consumers with regards to energy consumption and regulatory mandates on energy conservation continue to drive smart home adoption trend globally. While adoption is increasing in countries where governments actively support faster broadband services, especially fiber to the home, the costs associated with new equipment, installation and ongoing maintenance are significant deterrents to home automation.

    Government mandates and initiatives, ongoing technology innovation and the intense attention paid to conservation all contribute to giving the smart home a bright future. The smart home is an attractive opportunity for network operators, thanks to their unique billing relationships and network connections into the home.

    Telcos can improve the value proposition of home automation by implementing a multi-play OTT strategy that offers a range of capabilities, such as security, energy and appliance control.

    Partnerships with companies from different industries are key to ensuring the role of operators in smart home functionality. The market is at a fork in the road, going either toward an open ecosystem with heterogeneous devices or toward proprietary platforms that control all device access.

    The Smart Home, a research report by Pyramid Research, analyses the smart home strategies of leading network operators in a number of markets across the globe, focusing on their roles in the value chain. It discusses the elements of smart home services, the participants in the ecosystem and a number of smart home strategies available to operators. Attention is paid throughout to the key challenges operators face, including the need for device standardization and interoperability.

    Introduction in the report: Providing a thorough overview of the smart home market, this section looks at the long-term evolution of the market, the types of services available as well as the main adoption drivers and barriers.

    The smart home ecosystem (in the report): This section examines the value chain and the roles of the various types of participants, from broadband providers to device manufacturers, utilities and home security platform providers.

    Telco positioning strategies and marketing opportunities: This section analyzes a number of approaches operators can take to gain competitive advantage in the connected home, including white-labeling, support services, bundling and OTT services.

    Key takeaways in the report whittles down into a number of actionable bullet points.

    Case studies: This section analyzes four smart home programs by operators: AT&Ts Digital Life platform in the US, Oranges Homelive in France, HKTs Smart Living in Hong Kong and Rogers Communications Smart Home Monitoring in Canada.

    One could identify the broad barriers to adoption as well as challenges specific to telecom operators in the smart home market. Assess the role and opportunity of operators in the smart home market and how they can gain competitive advantage over the markets many powerful players.

    One could gain information on some of the most valuable experiences by operators in the home automation market, placing them in the context of ongoing market developments and the main technological and competitive challenges.

    The Case studies could be leveraged upon by the operators and cable companies to make informed decisions pertaining to partnering, go-to-market strategies and investments in technologies.

    Also read:

    MatrixCloud OTT enables IPTV operators roll out OTT services in 60 days

    Content & channel management vital as Asian production enters new growth cycle

    Processing video from linear to live, OTT & VR: Verizon launches Exponent for global carriers

  • Smartphone chip market to be worth US$ 5bn by ’22: Report

    MUMBAI: GNSS Chip Market is estimated to be worth US$ 5.22 billion by 2022. Some of the factors driving the growth of the GNSS chip market include the high penetration of electronic, wearable, and connecting devices; increasing demand for accurate and real-time data; rising demand for high-speed Internet and network coverage such as 4G/5G; and growing popularity of IoT.

    According to a new market research report, “GNSS Chip Market by Devices (Smartphones, In-Vehicle Systems, Tablets, Personal Navigation), Application (Location-Based Services, Navigation, Telematics, Surveying, Mapping, Timing & Synchronization), Vertical and Geography – Global Forecast to 2022,” published by MarketsandMarkets, the market, also covering India, is expected to be expanding at a CAGR of 7.9 per cent between 2016 and 2022.

    The key players operating in the GNSS chip market include Qualcomm Incorporated (U.S.), STMicroelectronics N.V. (Switzerland), Intel Corporation (U.S.), Mediatek Inc. (Taiwan), U-Blox Holdings AG (Switzerland), Broadcom Corporation (U.S.), Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. (Japan), Skyworks Solutions, Inc. (U.S.), Quectel Wireless Solutions Co., Ltd. (China), and Navika Electronics (India).

    “Smartphones to hold the largest size of the overall GNSS chip market”

    Smartphones held the largest size of the GNSS chip market in 2015. GNSS chips in smartphones are used for applications such as location-based services (LBS), online games, and mobile geographic information systems (GISs), among others. Smartphones are expected to hold the largest size of the GNSS chip market during the forecast period due to the increasing demand in developing countries and the need for real-time information pertaining to the exact location of vehicles, individuals, and other assets. With the growing demand for smartphones, personal navigation devices, , and tablets, among others, are now equipped with GPS/GNSS receiver chips and navigation software to enable the users to navigate from one place to other. Due to the miniaturization of smartphones, the demand for GNSS chips is increasing. Also, the miniaturization of GNSS chips enables the chips to get integrated in small as well highly sensitive devices.

    “Location-based services (LBS) to hold the largest share of GNSS”

    The LBS application is expected to dominate the global GNSS chip market between 2016 and 2022. LBS are the most widely used applications in various devices such as smartphones, tablets, wearable devices, in-vehicle systems, and personal navigation devices. In addition, technological innovations and miniaturization of electronic devices have led to the increased demand for GNSS chips for consumer electronics products such as tablets, smartphones, laptops, and digital cameras, among others. LBS, on the basis of application, can be categorized into mapping, discovery and infotainment, emergency support and disaster management, leisure and social networking, location-based advertising, location-based games and augmented reality, and tracking, among others. All the aforementioned factors are driving the growth of the market for location-based services.

    “APAC GNSS chip market expected to grow at a high rate”

    APAC is expected to be the fastest-growing market for GNSS chip during the forecast period. This market growth can be attributed to the growth in the construction industry and the development of the transportation infrastructure in this region. The major factors responsible for the growth of these sectors include the rapid urbanisation and growing population. The construction industry in APAC would continue to account for the largest share of the GNSS chip market in the coming years. Due to the increasing adoption of IoT and portable consumer electronics devices in countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea, the GNSS chip market in
    APAC is expected to grow at a high rate.

    Also Read:

    Dish TV & ALi tie up – chipset tech vital for secure VAS, enriched viewing

  • Mobile Congress: SK Telecom to discuss 5G commercialisation with Nokia & Ericsson

    MUMBAI: SK Telecom has announced that it will participate in the 2017 GSMA Mobile World Congress to be held from 27 February to 2 March, at Fira Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain. The company has set this year’s theme as “Connect Everything” and will be showcasing a wide variety of innovative technologies and services that will transform people’s lives in the future.

    At its booth 3H10, SK Telecom will display ‘5G Connected Car,’ a vehicle with 5G connectivity and services; artificial intelligence (AI) platform NUGU and NUGU-powered devices; technologies and services for IoT-dedicated networks; and immersive media based on virtual reality technologies

    SK Telecom will display ‘T5,’ which is the world’s first 5G connected car the company has successfully demonstrated in Korea in November 2016. Connected car, realized through a combined set of key 5G technologies, dramatically enhances driving safety and provides immersive in-vehicle entertainment services via the 5G network that supports ultra-high speed and ultra-low latency transmission of massive data. In November 2016, SK Telecom has built the world’s largest 5G testbed at BMW driving center located in Yeongjong Island and demonstrated interworking between the end-to-end 5G system and the 5G Connected Car.

    Moreover, on 6 February, 2017, SK Telecom achieved 3.6Gbps transmission speed at 28GHz band for a connected vehicle moving at 170 kilometers per hour. The 3.6Gbps of data rate enhances the stability of connected car services by improving image recognition and V2X (Vehicle to Everything Communication) technologies. That is, a vehicle can communicate, in real time, with other vehicles, traffic lights and surveillance cameras to understand and respond to unexpected situations and obstacles in a much shorter time.

    Besides the 5G Connected Car, SK Telecom will also showcase federated network slicing, a technology the company has successfully demonstrated jointly with Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson, for the first time in the world, on February 14, 2017. In 5G, network slicing will allow the operator to configure an end-to-end network that provides the desired overall functionality and service parameters. Federated network slicing extends this concept to a visited network, meaning that customers will be able to enjoy the same quality service while travelling to a different country. At SK Telecom’s booth, visitors will be able to witness how federated network slices can be created, managed, and terminated in the form of NS-as-a-Service (Network Slice as a Service). The created slices can be used in various applications, including V2X and connected cars.

    Meanwhile, SK Telecom will also participate in the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) forum – to be held in Barcelona from February 21 to 23 – to engage in discussions on 5G-based autonomous driving services and platform.

    Furthermore, SK Telecom senior vice president and head of network technology R&D Center Park Jin-hyo will take part in the MWC Conference titled “5G Beyond the Hype: Value and Building Blocks.” Park will share SK Telecom’s vision and roadmap for 5G commercialization and talk about differentiated values 5G is expected to bring to customers. He will also discuss 5G cooperation with CTOs of global ICT companies including Nokia and Ericsson.

    At MWC 2017, SK Telecom will showcase NUGU, a voice-activated AI platform that understands and processes the Korean language, as well as intelligent devices powered by NUGU. The company will also demonstrate interworking between NUGU speaker and Aibril, a Watson-based AI service.
    In September 2016, SK Telecom has launched an intelligent personal assistant speaker based on NUGU. Since then, the company has been constantly upgrading the platform, while carrying out studies on the generation AI devices powered by NUGU.

    Visitors will be able to gain a first-hand experience of the NUGU speaker, including its ‘smart IoT hub’ feature that enables voice control of diverse smart home* devices such as IPTV, air purifier and gas valve.

    The company will showcase a desktop type AI device by adding image recognition and hand posture recognition technologies to voice recognition engine/technology. Unlike other AI devices, it has a head embedded with a camera and a screen, and can be easily controlled via hand/finger postures. Going forward, the device will be able to generate rich information and emotional expressions by utilizing head movements and screen graphics.

    Through the application of its own intelligent image recognition solution, SK Telecom plans to build a personalization system based on facial recognition. Once built, the system will offer a tailored service for each and every member of a family.

    SK Telecom will also display Toy Bot, a robot for kids. Applied with the Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) solution, Toy Bot offers a calling feature.

    Moreover, under cooperation with SK C&C, the information technology arm of the SK Group, SK Telecom will also demonstrate interworking between NUGU speaker and SK C&C’s Aibril, a Watson-based AI service, to enable the speaker to recognise English as well. Building on this, SK Telecom will continue to cooperate with SK C&C in the area of artificial intelligence to further strengthen its competitiveness.

    Going forward, SK Telecom will not only expand its NUGU-compatible smart home product line-up, but will also develop and offer an intelligent smart home service that automatically suggests/implements personalized service for each individual. This will be made possible through the application of machine learning technology, which conducts comprehensive analysis of a wide range of information including device use history, lifestyle pattern and indoor/outdoor environment.

    “While making aggressive efforts to develop innovative AI technologies, SK Telecom will continue to make efforts to expand the AI ecosystem by joining hands with diverse companies across the world,” said Park Myung-soon, Senior Vice President and Head of Future Technology R&D Center of SK Telecom.

    Meanwhile, on 27 February, 2017, SK Telecom’s CTO Alex Jinsung Choi will participate in the MWC’s AI-related conference titled “Artificial Intelligence – Chatbots and Virtual Assistants” to discuss the future of the AI industry with CTOs of global AI firms including Google and IBM. Choi will give a presentation on SK Telecom’s AI platform ‘NUGU’.

    At MWC 2017, SK Telecom will showcase LoRa gateway and module, and demonstrate various adaptable IoT services centered on metering, tracking and monitoring.
    proposing standards for LoRa roaming interworking

    SK Telecom is also playing an active role in the establishment of international standards for LoRa roaming. At MWC 2017, the company will demonstrate a location-tracking service enabled via LoRa roaming between Korea and Spain using candidate technologies for standardization currently being discussed within the LoRa Alliance.

    In addition, ThingPlug, an integrated IoT platform based on OneM2M standard will also be on the show. ThingPlug allows people to easily develop IoT services and apply them to their real lives. The strength of ThingPlug lies in its ability to establish connections with any device and application based on global IoT standards.

    SK Telecom will unveil its 360-degree live broadcast platform named ‘360 Adaptive VR Live Streaming Platform (or 360 VR Live)’ at the MWC.

    360 VR Live is an innovative end-to-end broadcast system that enables users to produce and livestream ultra-high-definition (UHD) 360-degree virtual reality (VR) video with low latency using a 360-degree camera. The platform produces UHD VR content through its differentiated stitching technology. When it comes to creating 360-degree visuals, it is important to seamlessly stitch multiple videos or images taken by the 360 camera. Based on multi-band blending algorithm, the platform stitches images in multi layers to produce a seamless 360 VR content without any distortion. In terms of frame rate, it supports 60 frames per second (FPS), which is translated into two times higher image quality than that of its competitors.

    Moreover, 360 Live VR has significantly reduced the bandwidth required for transmitting 360 video data. Generally, live streaming of 360 VR video requires up to six times greater bandwidth than traditional broadcasting. However with the platform, the size of the 360 VR video file is reduced by 35 percent, while not compromising the image quality thanks to dynamic tiling.

    In addition, applied with ‘T Live Streaming,’ an innovative real-time streaming technology developed by SK Telecom, 360 VR Live creates a better environment for live broadcasting of 360-degree VR video by dramatically reducing latency from over 20 seconds to less than five seconds.

    SK Telecom brings T.um Mobile, a travelling ICT museum, to Barcelona to provide Spanish children with the chance to experience cutting-edge technologies.

    T.um Mobile will be opened as part of the Youth Mobile Festival (YoMo) Barcelona at Fira Montjuic, from February 27 to March 2, 2017. The GSMA and Mobile World Capital Barcelona launched YoMo as part of Mobile World Congress to inspire young people to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering, art/design, and math (STEAM) disciplines.

    T.um Mobile will offer smart robot-based coding classes at different levels of difficulty. Moreover, it will feature three different ICT experience zones designed to enable children to easily understand technologies that will become mainstream in the upcoming era of 5G such as virtual reality, augmented reality and holograms.

  • Airtel to take ownership of Telenor’s India operations

    MUMBAI: Telenor ASA, on 23 February, entered into a definitive agreement with Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), whereby Airtel will take full ownership of Telenor India, subject to regulatory approvals.

    Airtel is India’s largest wireless operator with over 269 million subscribers and a revenue market share of over 33 per cent. As the new owner, Airtel will take over Telenor India’s spectrum, licenses and operations, including its employees and customer base of 44 million. Telenor’s operations and services will continue as normal until the completion of the transaction.

    “We believe today’s agreement is in the best interest of our customers, employees and Telenor Group. Finding a long term solution to our India business has been a priority for us, and we are pleased with our agreement with Airtel. The decision to exit India has not been taken lightly. After thorough consideration, it is our view that the significant investments needed to secure Telenor India’s future business on a standalone basis would not have given an acceptable level of return,” says Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke.

    Bharti Airtel MD and CEO (India and south Asia) Gopal Vittal says, “The agreement underlines our commitment to lead India’s digital revolution by offering world-class and affordable telecom services through a robust spectrum portfolio spread across multiple bands. On completion, the proposed acquisition will undergo seamless integration, both on the customer as well as the network side, and further strengthen our market position considerably in several key circles. The customers of Telenor India will be able to enjoy India’s widest and fastest voice & data network, and a range of Airtel’s world-class products and services.”

    The transaction will not trigger any impairment. As of fourth quarter 2016, the remaining value of tangible and intangible assets in Telenor India amounted to NOK 0.3 billion (Rs 2.4 billion).

    According to the agreement, Airtel and Telenor India will merge and Airtel will take over Telenor India as soon as all necessary approvals are received. As part of the agreement, Airtel will take over outstanding spectrum payments and other operational contracts, including tower lease.

    The transaction is subject to requisite regulatory approvals, including approvals from the Department of Telecommunications in India (DoT) and the Competition Commission of India. The exposure to claims related to the period Telenor owned the business, will remain with Telenor.

    The transaction is expected to close within 12 months. With effect from first quarter 2017, Telenor India will be treated as an asset held for sale and discontinued operations in Telenor Group’s financial reporting.

    Telenor announced its entry into India in 2008. In 2016, Telenor India’s revenues were NOK 6.0 billion and the operating cash flow was NOK -0.4 billion. Telenor services are commercially available in six telecom circles in India (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar & Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, UP East and UP West), and the company also has spectrum in Assam.

    Telenor Group is one of the world’s major mobile operators, with reported revenues of NOK 131 billion in 2016. Bharti Airtel is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa.