Telecom regulator ACMA also announced plans to re-farm the 900 MHz band for 4G services
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced it has started the processes to re-allocate spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band for future 5G services, and to move to more efficient arrangements in the 900 MHz band for increasingly advanced LTE mobile broadband technologies.
“The 3.6 GHz band is being looked at internationally as a pioneer band for 5G mobile broadband. We want to make sure Australia is well placed to realise the benefits 5G has to offer,” ACMA Chair, Nerida O’Loughlin, said.
“We have undertaken extensive consultations on the future of the 3.6 GHz band and considered the circumstances of current users and aspirant licensees in determining the proposed arrangements for this re-allocation,” the official said.
ACMA also announced plans to re-farm the 900 MHz GSM band and optimize its use for next-generation mobile broadband services such as 4G. “We propose to do this over a number of years to avoid disruption of existing services. We also plan to make available additional spectrum already planned for reallocation to mobile broadband in the 850MHz band,” O’Loughlin added.
Japan’s KDDI to launch SDN service
Japanese telecoms group KDDI announced that it will start offering KDDI SD-Network Platform, a network solution using software defined (SD) technology, to corporate customers in 37 countries and regions.
The telco said that the new offering will be commercially available in December. Some of the countries in which KDDI will initially offer the SDN solution include Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Mongolia, Myanmar, India and Australia.
KDDI said the service uses virtualisation technology from Versa Networks including the vendor’s Cloud IP Platform and SD-WAN and SD-Security solutions. These offer functions including multipath control, segmentation and a next generation firewall, it says.
“We are pleased that KDDI has selected Versa’s SD-WAN and SD-Security solutions to accelerate digital and cloud transformation for their business customers,” Kelly Ahuja, CEO of Versa Networks, said. “KDDI will be deploying Versa’s Cloud IP Platform to deliver a cloud-native and policy driven network and security architecture that delivers increased visibility & control, and enables enterprises to move faster.”
