Network News

Nokia and Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”) announced a multi-year agreement to deploy Nokia’s SRAN solution across 9 circles in India, helping Airtel to enhance the network capacity of its networks, in particular 4G, and improve customer experience. The rollout, which will also lay the foundation for providing 5G connectivity in the future, will see approximately 300,000 radio units deployed across several spectrum bands, including 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz and 2300 Mhz, and is expected to be completed by 2022.

PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, and the Internet Association of Australia (IAA), a leading non-profit organization operating Australia’s largest Internet exchange network, today announced their API interconnect and bilateral collaboration.

Ericsson has signed an agreement with Telenor Pakistan for the transformation of its mobile backhaul network into an IP-based infrastructure to enhance the capacity of its network backbone and meet the growing traffic demand.

The broadband access divide still exists after years of broadband development

Restricted by the factors such as policy, cost, geographic environment, and fiber resource, the divide still exists in the home broadband market although broadband access has developed rapidly around the world. Some homes are able to enjoy stable and reliable 100M, multi-100M and even Gigabit broadband services over the fibers connected to their homes, while other homes are not served with broadband due to the lack of infrastructures. It is estimated that approximately one billion homes will be unable to access fixed broadband in the next two to three years.

Nokia has announced that it is working with one of the biggest operators in the world to upgrade its IP transport for 5G services. Nokia will help Korean operator LG Uplus automate its IP transport and core networks, allowing the operator to launch 5G services faster while providing subscribers higher speed and unprecedented quality, reliability and security.

Responding to the constantly evolving needs of its end users who require seemingly endless amounts of bandwidth to continually support web-scale demand for content, video and gaming applications, Southern Cross Cable Limited (“Southern Cross”) has once again demonstrated the adaptive nature of its network, connecting the first single-wavelength 800G across a live production network using Ciena’s (NYSE: CIEN) WaveLogic 5 Extreme (WL5e) coherent optics.

StarHub announced the launch of StarHub Smart WiFi, a new mesh WiFi networking system. This advanced mesh WiFi router offers unrivalled WiFi coverage and reliability for customers to enjoy the best broadband experience in any corner of their home.

Thailand has raised more than $3.2 billion in an auction of 5G licences, as operators race to snap up high-frequency spectrums needed for a commercial rollout of the next-generation technology.

Nine OECD countries – up from six a year ago – now have high-speed fibre making up 50% or more of their fixed Internet connections, according to an update to the OECD’s broadband portal.

Viettel Group is planning to accelerate 4G universalization in Vietnam by cooperating with vendors to supply smartphones under $65 and feature phones under $25. Additionally, Viettel will add around 2,400 base stations to fill 3,700 coverage holes across the country. With these two solutions, Viettel forecasts the number of 4G users in Vietnam to increase by 10 million.