#MWC16: Ericsson and SKtel Plan 5G Field Trial This Year

SK Telecom is working with Ericsson to build an end-to-end 5G trial network by the end of this year.

The companies recently achieved peak downlink throughput of over 25 Gbps with Ericsson 5G Radio Prototypes  They have also previously demonstrated 5G network slicing.

Park Jin-hyo, Senior Vice President and Head of Network R&D Center at SK Telecom, says: “SK Telecom is focused on technology innovations that will ensure the early success and rapid adoption of new 5G services for our customers and we are collaborating on end to end 5G field trials with Ericsson. By leveraging MU-MIMO, Massive MIMO and beam tracking, we are clearly demonstrating peak throughput of more than 25 Gbps that shows the commercial viability of millimeter wave band spectrum for 5G.”

SK Telecom is a long-time Ericsson customer.

http://www.ericsson.com

Ericsson Demos 5G Network Core Slicing with SK Telecom

Friday, October 30, 2015  5G, EPC, Ericsson, Korea, SK Telecom  No comments

Ericsson demoed 5G network slicing at an event held by SK Telecom in Korea.  The demo showed a single physical network being partitioned into multiple virtual networks to offer optimal support for different types of services for different types of customer segments. The instantiation of the network slicing used the NFV-based Ericsson Virtual Evolved Packet Core (EPC).

By using logical instead of physical resources, Ericsson says operators could provide networks on an as-a-service basis, which enhances operational efficiency while reducing time-to-market for new services.

Ericsson and SK Telecom also plan to build the world’s first hyperscale datacenter for 5G based on Ericsson’s pioneering HDS 8000

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#MWC16- Samsung's Galaxy S7 Equipped for LTE Cat.9 (450/50Mbps)

Samsung unveiled its flagship Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge smartphones featuring a more refined design, more advanced camera, streamlined software functionality and unparalleled connectivity to a galaxy of products, services, and experiences.

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge introduce the first Dual Pixel camera on a smartphone, offer fast wired and wireless charging technology, and boast a hybrid SIM card tray supporting microSD cards of up to 200GB of additional storage.  In some countries, the tray can be used with a dual SIM card.

http://www.samsungmobilepress.com/2016/02/22/Samsung-Unveils-Next-Generation-Smartphones-at-the-Core-of-its--Connected-Galaxy-Experience

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#MWC16 - Ruckus Debuts OpenG for In-Building Cellular

Ruckus Wireless introduced its OpenG technology to address in-building cellular coverage and capacity challenges.

OpenG technology combines coordinated shared spectrum, such as 3.5 GHz in the U.S., with neutral host-capable small cells for in-building cellular coverage.

At Mobile World Congress, Ruckus is showcasing an OpenG 3.5 GHz demonstrations based on access points utilizing Qualcomm Technologies' 28nm FSM99xx system-on-chip, which integrates an LTE modem with LTE-advanced capabilities.

Ruckus said its OpenG technology offers a significantly less expensive, easier-to-deploy, mobile network-neutral alternative using the 150 MHz of spectrum (3550-3700 MHz) that the FCC has made available for commercial use.

"Ruckus is particularly well-positioned to offer enterprises and service providers a solution to in-building cellular challenges by making it easy to deploy like Wi-Fi," said Dan Rabinovitsj, chief operating officer, Ruckus Wireless, Inc. "We believe Ruckus OpenG technology will provide a disruptive TCO scenario, making it ripe for adoption on a global scale at a fraction of the cost of DAS."

https://www.ruckuswireless.com/openg

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#MWC16- Telstra Testing LTE Cat 1 for IoT with Sequans

Telstra is testing on its LTE Cat 1 on its production network in partnership with Sequans Communications.

Cat 1 (Category 1) refers to the lower throughput speed (10 Mbps) defined in the existing LTE standard now being used for low cost and low power IoT and M2M applications.

Telstra is investing in the evolution of its LTE network to support future growth in IoT,” said Mike Wright, Telstra’s Group Managing Director, Networks. “We are working with leading players, including Sequans, to bring IoT capabilities to Australia. We are preparing for the long term, beginning with LTE Cat 1 technology and continuing with the next evolution of LTE technology on the horizon, Cat M, which will increase coverage and reduce device cost for our customers.”

“As the world’s first provider of an LTE Cat 1 chipset for IoT, we are excited to work with Telstra to validate that devices based on our Calliope Cat 1 LTE platform perform well in Telstra’s network,” said Craig Miller, Sequans VP of marketing. “Operators worldwide are taking advantage of the longevity and technology advantages that LTE brings to their IoT businesses. We look forward to helping Telstra’s IoT customers in this important space.”

http://www.sequans.com/products-solutions/streamlitelte/calliope-lte-platform/
http://exchange.telstra.com.au/2016/02/19/our-network-ready-to-support-the-internet-of-things/

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#MWC16: Realtime Assurance of Mobile Services in Virtual EPC

CENX, Ixia, Mitel, and VMware are demonstrating real-time assurance of mobile data services in a virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) at this week's Mobile World Congress 2016.  The demonstration showcases optimized real-time service assurance, within the context of Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO):

• CENX's Exanova Service Intelligence provides end-to-end visualization, performance monitoring, and analysis of the real-time state of services across all segments of the multi-vendor network path, pinpointing fault root cause and impact on subscriber QoE;
• Ixia's IxLoad Wireless delivers full-featured application testing of wireless networks and components, emulating real-world subscriber traffic from LTE and WiFi Offload base stations to mobile core at scale, for fast-tracking new network services with proven quality;
• Mitel's vEPC virtual functions provide the feature-rich, high-performance evolved Packet Data Gateway (ePDG) and Packet Gateway (PGW) platforms for secure connections over untrusted non-3GPP WiFi or 3GPP-compliant LTE access networks;
• VMware vCloud NFV enables CSPs to deploy a unified, multi-vendor and multi-function NFV platform that supports any application at all stages of cloud evolution. The vCloud NFV platform includes production-proven NFVI Solutions, openness in cloud management through VMware Integrated OpenStack and Service Assurance with Day 2 and Ongoing Operations.

"Mobile and NFV technologies continue to innovate at a tremendous pace, and we're excited to be collaborating with industry leaders, Ixia, Mitel, and VMware, to bring comprehensive solutions to market," said Jay McMullan, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, CENX. "With Exanova Service Intelligence's real-time visualization and detailed KPI analytics, operators can quickly navigate their network, isolate faults, and trigger automated workflows for proactive service assurance. This ensures high subscriber satisfaction, driving top line revenues, and also makes the most of infrastructure investment, netting bottom line gains."

http://www.cenx.com

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#MWC16 - Nokia to Acquire Nakina Systems for Network Integrity Software

Nokia announced its acquisition of Nakina Systems, a privately-held developer of Network Integrity software applications.  Financial terms were not disclosed.  The deal is expected to close this quarter.

Nakina, which is based in Ottawa, Ontario, offers a suite of Network Integrity applications for securing and optimizing physical and virtual networks. Nakina’s applications are built upon a Network Integrity Framework – an open and modular software platform that abstracts network complexity, normalizes multi-vendor management, and bridges the physical and virtual worlds for management and orchestration. Its software enables service providers to avert security breaches and eliminate configuration-related vulnerabilities. Nakina is deployed by some of the world's largest service providers.  Nakina has had a multi-year partnership with Nokia Networks.

“Our customers are facing increasing cybersecurity threats and complexity arising from new technologies such as mobile broadband expansion, NFV, and SDN,” said Mary O’Neill, CEO, Nakina Systems. “We are excited to become part of Nokia, and use this exciting opportunity to help our customers address these challenges head-on.”

https://nakinasystems.com

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#MWC16 - Nokia Launches $350 Million IoT Venture Fund

Nokia Growth Partners (NGP) has launched a new US$350 million investment fund focused on IoT companies.

The fund IV commitment brings NGP’s total assets under management to over USD 1 billion, including USD 500 million available for new investments.

"The $350 million Internet of Things investment fund, tasked with finding and funding the best entrepreneurs across the world, reflects our strong intent to be a leader in the technologies that connect people and things, while establishing successful partnerships for both Nokia and the investee companies,” said Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri.

http://www.nokia.com

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#MWC16: Qualcomm and SpiderCloud Pitch Small Cells for Unlicensed

Qualcomm and SpiderCloud Wireless are collaborating on LTE-U, LTE-LAA, and MulteFire systems for enterprises and public venues.

SpiderCloud’s Enterprise RAN (E-RAN) architecture that includes a Services Node controlling up to 100 self-organizing LTE small cells, capable of delivering coverage and capacity in indoor locations as large as 1.5 million square feet. Verizon will trial SpiderCloud’s LTE-U system in the third quarter of 2016.

SpiderCloud’s systems are enabled with Qualcomm's latest LTE technology including aggregation of licensed and unlicensed spectrum on its FSM SoC platforms.

“SpiderCloud shares Qualcomm Technologies’ vision that small cells will be crucial in addressing the 1000x mobile data challenge,” said Mike Gallagher, chief executive officer, SpiderCloud. “Our relationship with Qualcomm Technologies allows us to offer mobile operators with easy-to-deploy and easy-to-integrate LTE small cells solutions.”

“Operators worldwide are increasingly demanding LTE infrastructure solutions that make best use of both licensed and unlicensed spectrum bands,” said Neville Meijers, vice president, business development, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are pleased to join forces with SpiderCloud in developing a roadmap of small cells expected to meet and exceed operator needs.”

http://www.qualcomm.com
http://www.spidercloud.com/

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LinkNYC Brings Gigabit-connected Wi-Fi to Phone Booths

New York City kicked off LinkNYC, a project to bring free, super fast Wi-Fi to at least 7,500 former public phone booths.

LinkNYC, which will be funded by paid advertising, is being constructed by CityBridge, a consortium that includes Intersection, Qualcomm and CIVIQ Smartscapes.

CityBridge is investing more than $200 million to build hundreds of miles of new fiber optic cable that will deliver gigabit connectivity to Links in all five boroughs. The Wi-Fi at each kiosk will be able to support hundreds of Wi-Fi users simultaneously. At least 510 gigabit Links will be installed across all 5 boroughs by July 2016.

The kiosks also feature opt-in Bluetooth beaconing.

https://www.link.nyc/

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#MWC16 : GSMA Releases SIM Remote Provisioning Spec

The GSMA released a specification that allows consumers to remotely activate the SIM embedded in a device such as a smart watch, fitness band or tablet.

The initiative does not aim to replace all SIM cards in the field, but is instead designed to help users connect multiple devices through the same subscription and will help mobile device manufacturers to develop a new range of smaller, lighter mobile-connected devices that are better suited for wearable technology applications.

The specification is backed by the world’s largest operators including AT&T, CK Hutchison, Deutsche Telekom, Etisalat, EE, KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, Rogers, SFR, Sprint, Telefónica, Telenor, TeliaSonera, Telstra, TIM, Transatel, Verizon and Vodafone. It is also supported by SIM and chipset vendors including Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient, Morpho (Safran), Oasis Smart SIM, Oberthur Technologies, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics, and Valid, as well as device makers including Apple, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, and Samsung. Telecom equipment provider Nokia and security provider Trustonic also support the specification.

http://www.gsma.com/remoteSIMProvisioning

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