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5G standalone gathers momentum
Wednesday 5 July, 2023 | 5G Digest | Latest News | Networks
Vodafone has announced the launch of its 5G standalone (5G SA) service in the UK, branded ‘5G Ultra’. The service will initially be available to customers in selected cities, but there are plans to expand across the UK over the coming years. Meanwhile, in the US, Verizon has ...
Transport networks are the next stop on the 5G journey
Monday 19 June, 2023 | 5G Digest | Latest News
Telefonica Deutschland, Ericsson and Vantage Towers have joined forces on a project to devise ways to provide high-quality 5G connectivity across Germany’s rail network. The trio will work with rail operator Deutsche Bahn on the initiative, which carries €6.4 million of ...
Drones poised for lift-off with 5G
Monday 12 June, 2023 | 5G Digest | Latest News
T-Mobile US has partnered with Valmont Industries to use 5G-enabled drones for long-distance flight trials that provide aerial inspections for a variety of potential critical use cases – a key part of the digital economy. This partnership, which enabled drones to fly nearly ...
Mobile operators target 5G coverage expansion
Monday 22 May, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News | Networks
China’s four major mobile operators have announced they will jointly launch the world’s first 5G cross-network roaming trial in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The service enables users to access other operators’ 5G networks when their operator does ...
Private 5G networks enabling grand events
Tuesday 9 May, 2023 | 5G Digest | Latest News | Networks
Vodafone UK has dedicated a slice of its public 5G standalone (5G SA) network to TV production company ITN to broadcast the coronation of King Charles III. It claims to be the first operator to dedicate a slice of public 5G SA network to broadcast a major event in the ...
Industry moves to execute on open RAN potential
Monday 24 April, 2023 | 5G Digest | Latest News | Open RAN
Among recent open RAN developments, Verizon announced it is preparing for open RAN field trials in 2023 that could lead to deployments later in the year, while Virgin Media O2 is working with Mavenir to include an open virtual RAN (vRAN) solution as part of its network ...
Expanding 5G networks and services globally
Tuesday 18 April, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News
Last week we saw several important developments on 5G networks and services. The UK government is targeting 5G standalone (SA) coverage in all populated areas of the country by 2030, while Rogers is acquiring BAI Canada to roll out a 5G network across Toronto’s subway. ...
GSMA Foundry Excellence Award Winners 2023
Tuesday 28 March, 2023 | Foundry
The annual GSMA Foundry Excellence Awards provide us with an opportunity to recognise some of the most innovative and significant projects completed in the last 12 months. In 2023 we identified five projects which met the judging criteria as well as each showcasing their own ...
US looks to free up additional spectrum and introduces regulation for satellite-to-mobile services
Monday 27 March, 2023 | 5G Digest | Latest News | Networks
The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has launched a process of identifying at least 1,500 MHz of spectrum that can be repurposed to address current and future needs for fixed and mobile broadband, as well as satellite communications and ...
Securing home court advantage in chipsets
Tuesday 21 March, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News
Chipsets have increasingly become an asset of national strategic importance in the 5G era, with announcements this week from South Korea (Samsung) and China providing further evidence. Samsung’s announcement is of enormous scale, with five new factories set to produce ...
Orange and Ericsson private 5G solution for ArcelorMittal goes live
Monday 13 February, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News
ArcelorMittal France has announced the operational launch of ‘5G Steel’, which it claims to be the largest 4G/5G private network in an industrial environment. The network, deployed by Orange Business and Ericsson, will improve sustainability and help reduce carbon emissions ...
Open RAN momentum continues to grow in Europe and North America
Monday 6 February, 2023 | 5G Digest | Latest News | Open RAN
Vodafone has reported progress with its urban open RAN trials, which began in the UK in late 2022. The operator added it is on track for its open RAN request for quotation (RFQ) process to begin in 2024. Bell Canada is also conducting open RAN trials. As part of this, it ...
Operators continue to prove the value of 5G across verticals
Monday 23 January, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News
There is growing momentum behind operators piloting network services across different industry verticals and building use cases that leverage the capabilities of 5G. In the area of defence, AT&T’s 5G network has been employed by US defence contractor Northrop ...
European Commission identifies four focus areas for AI and robotics projects
Monday 23 January, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Future Networks Digest | Latest News
The European Commission (EC) has identified smart cities, agriculture, manufacturing and healthcare as focus areas for a series of AI and robotics projects earmarked for a total of €200 million in funding. The funding recognises these areas as important to building an AI ...
CES 2023: sustained interest in the metaverse as the ecosystem gears up
Monday 9 January, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News
Announcements from CES on mixed-reality hardware launches, innovative displays and enterprise metaverse application platforms point to sustained interest in the metaverse. For example, TCL unveiled various wearable displays, including AR glasses that show navigational ...
Verizon marks 3G sunset in the US
Monday 9 January, 2023 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News
Verizon is the last of the major operators in the US to shut down its 3G network, fully decommissioning it at the end of 2022. AT&T’s 3G network, T-Mobile’s 3G UMTS network and Sprint’s 3G CDMA network were all closed down in 2022. More than 99% of ...
The growing importance of tower companies
Monday 19 December, 2022 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News
China’s three major mobile operators have approved five-year rental agreements with China Tower, which will allow the trio to continue the build-out of high-efficiency networks and accelerate the construction of low-carbon infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ Globe ...
Open RAN momentum continues: playing the long game
Monday 12 December, 2022 | 5G | 5G Digest | Latest News | Open RAN
Vodafone has announced a raft of urban trials in the UK for its open RAN network infrastructure – a sign of continued momentum in the technology and its expansion beyond rural use. Vodafone is one of the leading companies in this space; it has committed to eventual open RAN ...
Operators and vendors continue to drive digital transformation in Africa
Monday 21 November, 2022 | 5G | 5G Digest | Digest | Latest News
Orange recently launched its first 5G network in Africa in Botswana, while the Samsung Wallet has gone live in South Africa. Recent industry events in Africa, including the GSMA’s MWC Africa event in Kigali and the Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, have showcased the ...
Vodafone and IBM announce quantum tech partnership
Tuesday 15 November, 2022 | 5G | 5G Digest | Digest | Latest News
IBM has announced a partnership with Vodafone on quantum-safe cybersecurity to help validate and progress potential quantum use cases in telecommunications. Vodafone will explore quantum computing for a variety of telco use cases, including how to apply IBM Quantum Safe ...