Kerlink supports LoRaWAN peer-to-peer network in IoT gateways
Kerlink, a French specialist in Internet of Things (IoT) technology, has added support for one of the world’s first peer-to-peer wireless IoT networks based on the LoRaWAN low power WAN (LPWAN) protocol to its indoor Wirnet iFemtoCell, and outdoor Wirnet iStation IoT gateways.
Called ‘The People’s Network’ and launched by US firm Helium, this global and distributed network of hotspots provides public, long range and low power wireless coverage for LoRaWAN-enabled IoT sensors and devices. This exploits Helium’s LongFi architecture that combines LoRaWAN with its own blockchain technology.
LongFi delivers roaming capabilities and supports micropayment transactions so customers only pay based on network usage without needing to deploy gateways or network servers. This development enables any LoRaWAN device to transfer data on the Helium Network.
Verizon and Honda team up to test edge-based 5G for self-driving
Verizon and Honda are evaluating use of edge-based 5G for reliable connectivity between roadside infrastructure, vehicles, and pedestrians.
The two are participating in the University of Michigan’s Mcity, a test bed for connected and autonomous vehicles under the banner of cellular C-V2X for wireless connected vehicle communications.
Verizon is providing the 5G connectivity and mobile edge computing (MEC) with “hyper-precise location’ services”, while Honda is donating the automotive safety platform, its SAFE SWARM platform. The latter uses C-V2X to share data gleaned from various sensors, including traffic speed and location.
Rohde & Schwarz builds 5G network to validate own testing products
Rohde & Schwarz has chosen its Teisnock factory in SE Germany for its first deployment of a private 5G wireless network, using spectrum set aside for industrial applications.
This will help optimize its own production processes with a robust and secure 5G network, and validate its own network testing technology, according to Meik Kottkamp, principal technology manager at R&S.
“It was a natural step for us to say, yes, let’s try this for our own purposes, and find out what we can do,” said Kottkamp.
This is a 5G Non-Standalone network using midband spectrum in the 3.7-3.8 GHz range, with the LTE anchor at 2.3 GHz, set up on the back of Nokia’s Digital Automation Cloud private wireless and edge platform.
Nokia expands Wavence microwave backhaul portfolio
Nokia has announced two new options within its Wavence microwave backhaul portfolio for 5G. It says it now covers the full range of microwave use cases, including indoor, outdoor, shorthaul, longhaul, E-band and software-defined networking (SDN).
The company will release two compact split-mount solutions for 5G, aimed both at operators and enterprises, the latter no doubt with an eye on its growing private networks business.
Nokia says the indoor units are the smallest on the market in this category and can cope with a wide temperature range, from -40 to +65 degrees Celsius. They are also designed to minimize maintenance calls with high automation and MTBF.
The company is also introducing a full outdoor nodal configuration which includes a new ultra-compact unit called a Networking Interface Module (NIM), which can be used equally for a new deployment or an upgrades to an installed base. The NIM can be plugged onto a standard Ultra-Broadband Transceiver (UBT) to upgrade its outdoor capabilities, offering multiple directions, multiple interfaces, and carrier aggregation.
Ericsson and Cosmote trial W-band for backhaul
Also in the field of backhaul, Ericsson and Deutsche Telekom’s Greek subsidiary, Cosmote, have conducted a field trial in the W-band around 100 GHz.
The participants said the trial showed that frequencies above 100 GHz can be as effective for backhaul as the more commonly used E-band, which is in 70/80 GHz.
The trial at Cosmote headquarters in Athens, Greece, used pre-commercial equipment to demonstrate a W-band (92-114 GHz) wireless hop over a 1.5 kilometer range. It was installed alongside a 1.5km E-band hop to compared performance. Speeds of 5.7Gbps were recorded over the 1.5km distance, and 10Gbps over just 1km.
“The result proved that W-band (92GHz -114GHz) can perform on the same level as the E-band (70/80GHz), which is currently the only frequency band supporting 10Gbps wireless backhaul capacities for 4G and 5G,” Ericsson said. “The W-band is expected to add more untapped spectrum needed for high capacity wireless transport.”
Bosch hoists 5G industrial flag at Hannover Messe
Bosch has stolen the headlines around this month’s Hannover Messe fair by announcing an “intelligent factor floor” product featuring 5G, automation and flexible configuration.
The German industrial giant is renowned as the scourge of mobile operators with its promotion of private 5G networks for industrial IoT applications deployed by enterprises in direct collaboration with infrastructure providers. The company has stated that it is now testing such private 5G networks in around 10 of its plants worldwide, including one at its Stuttgart-Feuerbach flagship site with Nokia.
Bosch was among the first manufacturers to acquire a ‘vertical’ spectrum license from German regulator BNetzA, to run factory operations in local chunks of the 3.7-3.8 GHz band in the country.
Saudi Arabia designates whole 6 GHz band for unlicensed use
Saudi Arabia has designated the entirety of its 6 GHz spectrum band (5.9-7.1 GHz) for unlicensed use.
Like the USA, it is denying calls by the GSMA and some operators and vendors to earmark some of the band for licensed spectrum, especially for 5G.
Of course, the spectrum could be used by any unlicensed technology, including LTE-LAA or 5G-Unlicensed, but the dominant connectivity is likely to be WiFi because of the maturity of its platform – while LAA has scarcely been deployed and 5G-Unlicensed has only just been standardized, the WiFi Alliance has developed an extension to the WiFi 6 standard specifically to take advantage of the new spectrum (6E), and triband chipsets are already in the works.
Two private equity firms reported to be lining up bid for KPN
Two private equity firms are expected to make a bid for Dutch incumbent telco KPN soon. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that EQT and Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners were putting together a bid worth around €12.6bn.
Rumors that EQT was interested in KPN first surfaced in October, when KPN was valued at around $11.1bn, its price having fallen by about 15% during 2020. No formal offer was made, however, but now a joint bid with Stonepeak, and possibly a third partner, is in the offing.
In 2019, an expected bid by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management also failed to materialize.
Despite falling revenues in a very competitive Dutch market, KPN insists it does not want to be acquired and still has a strong balance sheet and liquidity position. KPN has the advantage of a mechanism that allows it to issue and acquire new shares, helping to fend off hostile takeover bids. This was the barrier that halted a bid in 2013 by KPN’s largest shareholder, America Movil.
Etisalat partners with Parallel Wireless for Afghan Open RAN
The Afghan subsidiary of Middle Eastern operator Etisalat has become the latest to plan an Open RAN deployment, working with Parallel Wireless, Intel and Supermicro.
This is the first Open RAN deal announced in central Asia. Mobile services are growing quickly in Afghanistan, which Etisalat entered in 2013 when only 1% of the population could access mobile broadband. By 2019 this figure had risen to 22%.
Etisalat will first replace existing 2G, 3G and 4G systems with a single-RAT Open RAN system and then implement remote radio units that can be upgraded to 5G in future.
The basebands will run cloud-native network functions on servers from Supermicro while the radios will be based on white box hardware, said Parallel.
This is the latest Open RAN trial by Etisalat, which launched an open vRAN in its home market, the UAE, last January, in a trial with Altiostar, NEC and Cisco.