BROWSING: APAC

China grants spectrum licenses for 5G indoor coverage

  The Chinese government has granted new licenses to state-run mobile operators to share spectrum for 5G indoor coverage, Chinese press reported. China Telecom, China Unicom and China Broadcasting Network will share the 3.3-3.4 GHz spectrum for 5G indoor coverage, according to the Ministry of Industry...

Bharti Airtel may skip India’s 5G spectrum auction due to high prices

  Indian telecom group Bharti Airtel may not participate in the country’s upcoming spectrum auction, which includes 5G airwaves, due to the high prices set by the Indian government. India expects to award spectrum worth about $74 billion in an auction scheduled in the first quarter...

Korea’s KT ends 2019 with 1.42 million 5G subscribers

  Korean telecom operator KT ended 2019 with a total of 1.42 million subscribers in the 5G segment, the company said in its earnings statement. However, the operator experienced a slowdown in the adoption of 5G subscriptions as net additions during the last quarter of the...

South Korea sees lower demand for 5G subscriptions: Report

  South Korea ended November 2019 with 4.35 million subscribers in the 5G segment, but demand for the technology is currently experiencing a deceleration period, Korean press reported, citing government data. After an initial accelerated demand for 5G, subscriber growth rates fell to 9.3% on a...

StartHub, M1 to submit joint bid for 5G license in Singapore

Singapore telecom operators StarHub and M1 have signed an exclusive agreement to cooperate and submit a joint bid for a 5G license. In a joint statement, the companies said that they are working towards the February 17 closing date for 5G proposals. Earlier this month, telecommunications...

NTT DoCoMo targets 2030 for commercial launch of ‘6G’

  Japanese telco NTT DoCoMo aims to launch commercial "6G" technology by 2030, the carrier said in a release. The Japanese operator has released a white paper on the topic of 6G technology that incorporates DoCoMo's views in the field of 5G evolution and 6G communications...

Japan announces plans to kick off ‘6G’ research: Report

  The Japanese government announced plans to put together a comprehensive strategy regarding future "6G" wireless communications networks, and it set up a panel to start discussions on the topic later this month, Japanese press reported. The 6G panel will discuss and analyze technology development, potential...

Huawei CEO: ‘We are more confident that we can survive further attacks’

  Huawei CEO Ren Zhengfei said that the Chinese vendor is now “more confident” that it can survive further sanctions by the U.S. government. “This year, the U.S. might further escalate their campaign against Huawei, but I feel the impact on Huawei's business would not be...

Optus tests Ericsson’s Spectrum Sharing technology with 5G video call

  Australian operator Optus said it has successfully implemented spectrum sharing technology from Ericsson to made an end-to-end 5G video test call while simultaneously streaming video content on a 4G device. Using the Optus 5G network in Australia and Singtel’s pilot 5G network in Singapore, the...

Taiwanese carriers secure 5G spectrum following competitive auction

  Taiwan's 5G spectrum auction came to an end on January 16, after 261 rounds of bidding with total bids reaching NT$138.08 billion ($4.6 billion), according to information provided by Taiwan’s National Communications Commission (NCC). NCC confirmed that Taiwan’s operators Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Taiwan Mobile, Far...

U.S. government studies new rules to restrict shipments to Huawei: Report

  The U.S. government expects to soon publish a new rule that would expand its powers to block sales of foreign-made goods to Chinese vendor Huawei, Reuters reported, citing two sources with knowledge of the matter. In May 2019, the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei...

Indian operators submit applications for initial 5G field trials

  Indian carriers Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and BSNL have submitted their applications for 5G field trials with the Department of Telecom (DoT), The Economic Times reported. According to the report, Vodafone Idea and Airtel have submitted their applications with Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and ZTE, while Reliance Jio has submitted an application for...

SK Telecom launches ‘Global MEC Task Force’ with Asian operators

  Korean telco SK Telecom announced the launch of the ‘Global MEC Task Force’ with Bridge Alliance member operators, including Singtel, Globe, Taiwan Mobile and PCCW Global, for cooperation in 5G mobile edge computing (MEC). Under this new partnership, SK Telecom will share its lessons-learned in...

Nokia reaches 63 5G contracts globally

  Finnish vendor Nokia announced that it has reached a total of 63 commercial 5G contracts worldwide. The company said that some of the customers include AT&T, KDDI, Korea Telecom, LG Uplus, NTT DOCOMO, O2, SK Telecom, SoftBank, Sprint, STC, T-Mobile US, Verizon, Vodafone Italy and...

Telstra starts to rollout 5G services in 26 cities across Australia

Telstra tallies 800 5G sites, sees opportunity with Wi-Fi 6 Australian operator Telstra has started to rollout 5G technology in 26 cities across the country, the operator said in a statement. Telstra said that its 5G network currently operates 800 sites across Australia. The company’s 5G...

Spirent supports China Mobile’s testing of mission-critical 5G network slicing transport

  Testing and assurance company Spirent Communications announced that it will collaborate with China Mobile to assure readiness of mission-critical 5G applications via network slicing transport standard testing and validation. In a release, Spirent Communications said that the newly-launched Spirent FlexE-100 test module has been chosen...

Qualcomm and ZTE claim 5G landmark with Voice Over New Radio call

  Qualcomm Technologies and ZTE have achieved a 5G-enabled Voice over New Radio call, the U.S. chipmaker said in a release. The call was performed in compliance with 3GPP Release 15 specifications over the 2.5 GHz spectrum band by utilizing a ZTE’s 5G NR base station...

China grants 5G test license to China Broadcasting Network

  The Chinese government has awarded a 5G trial license to state-owned cable TV operator China Broadcasting Network with the aim of accelerating the nationwide deployment of 5G in the country. Through this license, the broadcaster will be allowed to run trials in the 4.9 GHz frequency...

France officially kicks off application process for 5G auction

  French communications regulator Arcep officially opened applications for the sale of 5G spectrum licenses, Arcep said in a statement. Interested operators will have until February 25 to submit their applications. This announcement follows the confirmation of pricing and terms released by Arcep in mid-December. Arcep also confirmed...

Huawei expects 2019 revenues to grow by 18% y-o-y despite US pressure

  Chinese vendor Huawei expects to reach total revenues of CNY850 billion ($121.6 billion) in 2019, which would represent an increase of approximately 18% year-on-year, Huawei’s rotating Chairman Eric Xu said in a statement. “These figures are lower than our initial projections, yet business remains solid...

Nokia inks agreement with Vodafone to rollout 5G network in Australia

Vodafone Hutchison Australia announced a partnership with Nokia for the deployment of its 5G network in the country, the vendor said in a release. Nokia confirmed that the 5G network rollout is expected to begin during the first half of 2020. Vodafone’s Chief Executive Officer, Iñaki...

NTT DoCoMo promotes Japanese 5G gear in Asia Pacific trials

NTT DoCoMo plans to deploy 10,000 5G base stations by 2021 Japanese telecommunications operator NTT DOCOMO has recently completed trials in Thailand and Singapore aimed at expanding the global adoption of Japanese mobile network equipment for 5G  and advanced network services, the telco said in...

Japan to award licenses for local 5G network soon: Report

  Japan's communications ministry confirmed it will start accepting applications for the deployment of local 5G networks next week, Japanese press reported. Spectrum designated for local 5G will be released in Japan at the end of 2019. Companies, local governments and universities are expected to apply to...

Vodafone launches commercial 5G in New Zealand

  Vodafone New Zealand has launched commercial  5G services in parts of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Queenstown, the telco said in a release. The operator has already installed a total of 100 5G sites across the country. As part of an initial commercial offering, Vodafone New Zealand...