NEC selected for Bay to Bay Express subsea cable system

NEC has been selected to build a high-performance submarine cable connecting Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. A consortium composed of China Mobile International, Facebook and Amazon Web Services is backing the Bay to Bay Express Cable System (BtoBE). Construction of the nearly 16,000-kilometer optical submarine cable is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2020. NEC said the BtoBE system will utilize multiple pairs of...

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DOCOMO tests live, 360° 8K video streaming

NTT DOCOMO is previewing the world's first 8K virtual reality (VR) live video streaming and viewing system 360° 8K video. DOCOMO said its 8K VR system uses FPGAs for extra-fast processing and an algorithm for high-density mounting (maximizes FPGA processing) at 30 frames per second (fps).  A head-mounted display is used to view the 360° 8K video. The system stitches together five 4K fisheye videos from five outward-facing cameras in real...

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O-RAN approves architecture, sets WGs, elects AT&T's Fuetsch as chair

The O-RAN Alliance has approved its overall O-RAN architecture plan and established an initial set of seven working groups to drive the work forward. These are: WG1: Use Cases & Overall Architecture WG2: Radio Intelligent Controller (RIC) (non-Real Time) & A1 Interface WG3: RIC (near-Real Time) & E2 Interface WG4: Open Fronthaul (FH) Interface WG5: Stack Reference Design and F1/V1/E1/X2 WG6: Cloudification and orchestration WG7: White...

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Nokia to set up R&D lab with China Mobile in Hangzhou

Nokia and China Mobile signed a MoU to establish a joint laboratory in Hangzhou, China to study the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning to 5G. The new laboratory promises to foster an open RAN and 5G ecosystem working with third parties. The team will use the Nokia AirScale Cloud RAN, AirFrame OpenRack, open edge server and ReefShark chipsets, as well as Nokia-developed AI middleware to access embedded intelligence. Nokia...

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ZTE names XU Ziyang as new president

ZTE confirmed the appointment of Mr. Xu Ziyang as the President of the company, and the appointments of Mr. Wang Xiyu, Mr. Gu Junying, and Ms. Li Ying as Executive Vice President of the company. Ms. Li Ying will also serve concurrently as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Xu Ziyang (徐子陽), born in 1972, graduated from the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China with a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He joined ZTE in 1998 and served...

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Orange brings 5G tests in 3.7 - 3.8GHz to Marseille

Orange has received regulatory approval to begin 5G testing in the 3.7 - 3.8GHz frequency band in the city of Marseille. Orange will use equipment from Nokia for this trial deployment. Orange's 5G strategy has three components: improved high-speed mobile broadband, high-speed fixed broadband access and new uses - notably through connected objects to support the digital transformation of different business sector...

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Carrier Blockchain Study Group gains members

The Carrier Blockchain Study Group (CBSG), which was formed in September 2017, added several new members including Axiata, Philippine-based PLDT, Indonesia-based PT.Telekomunikasi Indonesia International, Turkcell, Vietnam-based Viettel, and Kuwait-headquartered Zain Group. The Consortium is also announcing the creation of an additional blockchain working group that will focus on global remittance services. Blockchain technology is well suited...

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Russia's MTS demos 5G in St. Petersburg

Russia's Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) demonstrated a series of 5G scenarios including HD video calls, ultra-low latency video games and high-definition video streaming at an exhibition at Popov Central Museum of Radio Communications, one of the world’s oldest museums of science and technology, in St. Petersburg. The demonstration utilized Samsung’s 5G end-to-end solutions including 5G routers (CPE, Customer Premise Equipment) and prototype tablets,...

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