Accelerated Push for 5G New Radio (NR) standardization

Major mobile network operators and vendors issued a call to accelerate the 5G New Radio (NR) standardization schedule to enable large-scale trials and deployments as early as 2019, a year earlier than the previous expected timeline.

The first 3GPP 5G NR specification will be part of Release 15 - the global 5G standard that will make use of both sub-6 GHz and mmWave spectrum bands.

Companies backing this accelerated schedule for 5G include AT&T, NTT DOCOMO, SK Telecom, Vodafone, Ericsson, Qualcomm, British Telecom, Telstra, Korea Telecom, Intel, LG Uplus, KDDI, LG Electronics, Telia, Swisscom, TIM, Etisalat Group, Huawei, Sprint, Vivo, ZTE and Deutsche Telekom. A new workplan will be presented at the upcoming 3GPP RAN Plenary Meeting on March 6-9 in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

"We support both the Standalone and Non-Standalone configurations of 5G New Radio," said Tom Keathley, senior vice president- wireless network architecture and design, AT&T. "Our focus is on prioritizing important specifications in the standards to bring 5G to market as quickly as possible. In the process of defining any standard, it is normal to make some decisions earlier than others. These accelerated decisions on key components of 5G New Radio standards will allow an earlier start on the development of the infrastructure and devices of tomorrow's 5G deployments."

"The faster we commercialize 5G based on 3GPP specifications, the faster we will realize its benefits for the entire industry. We are thrilled to participate in this initiative to accelerate the 5G ecosystem and commercial deployment," stated Arun Bansal, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Network Products, Ericsson.

See Qualcomm's "Making 5G a Reality" presentation
https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/technologies/5g-nr

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Telefónica Builds AI Virtual Assistant for Managing Services

At the kickoff to Mobile World Congress 2017, Telefónica’s introduced AURA, a virtual assistant that uses artificial intelligence and cognitive capabilities to allow its consumer customers to know, manage, and control their digital lives with the company.

Telefónica’s Chairman and CEO, José María Álvarez-Pallete said the new platform and voice application, which sounds like Apple's Siri, will transform the interaction between customers and service providers.

For example, customers will be able to ask questions about the products and services they use; create and track a claim; manage and unblock device access to the Wi-Fi router provided by Telefónica; get information about their favourite shows and program their recording; or be alerted when their data consumption is greater than usual. Each user will have a “personal data space”, the memory which will store the digital trace they leave when using Telefónica products and services, and which will allow the customers, if they so desire, to personalize their experience. AURA will also be able to make recommendations about offers of products and services that best adapt to the needs of the user, the contents that adapt to their preferences, the installation of security, or the detection of fraudulent apps.

“Cognitive intelligence will allow us to understand our customers better, so they can then relate to us in a more natural and easy way, and generate a new relationship of trust with them based on transparency and the control of their data”, stated Álvarez-Pallete, during the presentation event. “We are pioneers in this relationship model. Never before have the users of telecommunications services been able to talk with the networks in real time. We’re expanding the relationship with our customers, seeking to increase their satisfaction, and opening new possibilities for them so that they can enrich their digital lives with us”.

Facebook, Microsoft, and UNICEF also participated in the presentation.

http://www.telefonica.com

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Qualcomm Expands 5G Modem Family to Support 5G NR

Qualcomm Technologies is expanding its Snapdragon X50 5G modem family to include 5G New Radio (NR) multi-mode chipset solutions compliant with the 3GPP-based 5G NR global system, supporting operation in the sub-6 GHz and multi-band millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum.

Qualcomm said its new modems are designed to provide a unified 5G design for all major spectrum types and bands while addressing a wide range of use cases and deployment scenarios. The Snapdragon X50 5G modem family is engineered to provide wider bandwidths and extreme speeds for enhanced mobile broadband. This includes support of both Non-Standalone (NSA) operation (where control signaling is sent over LTE), and Standalone (SA) operation (where all control signaling and user data are sent over 5G NR), and are designed to enable the next generation of premium-tier mobile cellular devices, while also aiding operators to execute early 5G trials and deployments.

The first commercial products integrating 5G NR modems from the Snapdragon X50 family are expected to be available to support the first large-scale 5G NR trials and commercial network launches starting in 2019.

“Qualcomm Technologies’ 5G NR chipset solutions will enable operators and OEMs to accelerate the worldwide deployment of 5G NR, delivering multi-gigabit-per-second data rates at a significantly lower latency and a unified connectivity fabric to meet the increasing connectivity requirements for mission-critical services, enhanced mobile broadband, and the massive Internet of Things,” stated Cristiano Amon, executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and president, QCT.
 
http://www.qualcomm.com

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Verizon Launches Exponent Services for Global Carriers

Verizon unveiled Exponent, its new business and technology venture offering a portfolio of software and internet platforms designed to enable carriers around the world to quickly deploy and launch next-generation solutions.

Exponent leverages Verizon's innovation and experience in building its own network to provide the same foundation for other carriers to fuel their digital transformation and expanding their Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), Media Services and Internet Services Delivery platforms.

"As carriers around the world seek to compete with new, emerging technology players and OTT service providers, Exponent provides a cost-effective way for them to leverage Verizon's investment and experience to diversify and help grow their revenue streams while relying on our tradition of innovation, reliability and excellence," said Guru Pai, Chief Product Officer at Verizon.

Exponent platforms provide a broad range of business and technical benefits to carriers including:

• Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Platform – designed to assist carriers to unlock and monetize their wealth of data through the application of advanced machine learning techniques, deep analytics, and artificial intelligence. This new groundbreaking platform enables service providers to utilize their unique data sets in the marketplace and open new business opportunities.
• IoT Platform – from silicon to vertical solutions, this platform eliminates many of the limitations carriers have traditionally faced in managing the known complexities of its IoT growth business. By integrating a wide set of capabilities, from managing all end user devices and connections to a developer and customer marketplace, carriers are empowered to accelerate their IoT use cases.
• Media Services Platform – through cross-platform video and advanced media services across multiple networks with different end point devices, this platform reduces complexity to a simple integrated end-to-end next-generation video technology, handling everything from content ingestion to the final user screen. These solutions allow carriers to easily process at scale any type of video content from linear TV feeds to live streaming, OTT and emerging formats such as 360 video and VR, at a very convenient cost structure, while delivering a rich and customizable user experience.
• Internet Services Delivery Platform – with the goal of managing the ever-increasing infrastructure demand, this platform provides a powerful and flexible real-time flow-based solution that helps operators launch revenue-generating internet services, create value-based pricing and consumer engagement plans, and deliver dynamic network optimization capabilities through a simple management interface.
• Cloud Computing and Storage Platform – designed and built with carrier-sized deployments in mind, this container-based architecture allows carriers to rapidly deploy new services with a focus on scale and security, all while optimizing for both performance and cost.

http://www.exponentplatforms.com
http://www.verizon.com

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