Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Report: Trump could sign executive order targeting Chinese vendors this week
The Trump administration has an executive order in the works that would ban the use of equipment from Chinese vendors in U.S. telecom networks, according to published reports. It could be signed as soon as this week. Politico cited three anonymous sources, including one “close to the administration” as well as an industry source familiar with the matter. The latter told Politico that there is “a big push to get it out before MWC,” sending a message to the international telecommunications industry ahead of the year’s biggest conference. Such an executive order would escalate ongoing trade tensions between China and the U.S. as well as the global debate over the security of Chinese network equipment. The Trump administration has vigorously pursued action against ZTE for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran — resulting in an export ban that led to the temporary shut-down of the company last year — and has accused Huawei of doing the same, as well as participating in corporate espionage. … Read more
UK says potential risk of using Huawei for 5G can be mitigated: report
The U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has concluded that the country has the tools to mitigate the potential risk from using Huawei equipment in 5G networks, the Financial Times reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The conclusions by the British intelligence represent a serious blow to U.S. efforts to persuade allies to ban the Chinese company from taking part in 5G contracts over national security allegations. One person familiar with the issue told the Financial Times that the British conclusion would “carry great weight” with European leaders, as the U.K. has access to sensitive U.S. intelligence via its membership of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network. “Other nations can make the argument that if the British are confident of mitigation against national security threats then they can also reassure their public and the US administration that they are acting in a prudent manner in continuing to allow their telecommunications service providers to use Chinese components as long as they take the kinds of precautions recommended by the British,” the person said. Robert Hannigan, former head of GCHQ, the U.K. signals intelligence agency, recently wrote in the Financial Times that NCSC had “never found evidence of malicious Chinese state cyber activity through Huawei” and that any “assertions that any Chinese technology in any part of a 5G network represents an unacceptable risk are nonsense.” … Read more
New Qualcomm 5G modem supports millimeter wave and sub-6 GHz
With Mobile World Congress Barcelona set to get underway next week, expect to see a number of 5G New Radio capable device launches to support early operator deployments. Almost all of this first wave of Android-based 5G handsets will be powered by Qualcomm’s X50 modem. And despite this first wave of devices just now being revealed, Qualcomm is prepped for a second wave with its X55 modem, announced today. The seven-nanometer chip supports both the 5G NR non-standalone and standalone variants in millimeter wave and sub-6 GHz frequencies, and TDD and FDD modes of operation. X55 supports up to 7 Gbps download speeds and 3 Gbps upload speeds. Qualcomm’s Ignacio Contreras, director of 5G marketing, called X50 “an instrumental piece” of the 5G kickoff with more than 30 design wins. “Just like X50, [X55] will be instrumental in the second wave of 5G devices” expected in the second half of 2019. Hints of an new 5G modem came out of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech Summit in December with AT&T announcing a 5G Samsung device to support its millimeter wave network in the first-half of this year, and a follow up device in the second-half as the carrier expands 5G NR to its sub-6 GHz holdings. … Read more
5G represents a complex exercise in data management and monetization
Enhanced mobile broadband will allow mobile users to more quickly consume more data, while massive support for the internet of things and ultra reliable low latency communications will similarly push a massive surge in the amount of cellular data consumed. As 5G is deployed and matures to support these three primary use cases, how can operators adequately scale and automate data handling and governance in a way that creates value for them and their customers? Frank Wilde, senior director of SAP’s Platform and Data Management Center of Excellence, discussed these issues in an interview with RCR Wireless News. “With 5G on the cusp, the data demands are going to be enormous. Data management and data governance is very much going to be a centerpiece and a strategic pillar of how a Verizon, an AT&T or a T-Mobile go to market.” He said 5G-related technologies like network slicing and reduced latency will foster new business models and new ways for operators to monetize data. “We’re in a position to help the carriers and help telcos think about being much more nimble and much more flexible in terms of coming up with new business models.” … Read more
Intel provides technologies for Rakuten’s cloud-native network in Japan
Intel has confirmed that it will provide technology to Japanese e-commerce and internet services provider Rakuten for a new cloud-native network. Intel said in a statement that the new network will be fully virtualized from radio access network (RAN) to core and will adopt an innovative 5G systems architecture from its launch. “Rakuten … has now built a mobile network from the ground up that runs on Intel Xeon Scalable processors and uses Intel FPGAs for acceleration. This end-to-end cloud-native, automated network is innovative in its approach, and will allow Rakuten to rapidly scale mobile services on an agile, software-defined network,” said Sandra Rivera, Intel senior vice president, Network Platforms Group, in a statement. Intel highlighted that this technology will also allow Rakuten to scale outside Japan. Initial end-to-end real-world tests of the new fully-virtualized network were conducted earlier this month in suburban Tokyo. A roving test successfully used the data network to conduct voice and video calls over the Rakuten Viber mobile messaging platform, the company said. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
