Sony launches launches NB-IoT chipset courtesy of its Altair purchase
Sony Semiconductor Israel has launched the Altair ALT1255, a low power WAN chipset for the cellular NB-IoT platform. The chipset is designed for development of low power and affordable connected devices that can be deployed at large scale for monitoring, managing and controlling critical infrastructure, as well as for vertical sectors such as health care and logistics.
The ALT1255 was developed in-house by Sony in Israel, based on the existing LTE-M/NB ALT1250 chipset, with which it shares software architecture, modem application and networking layer, as well as APIs for integration within the Altair product family. The product line was acquired along with Israel-based device-side chip designer Altair in early 2016.
“The market shows a growing need for a feature-rich, fully integrated NB-IoT cellular chipset with 2G fallback,” said Dima Feldman, VP of product management and marketing at Sony Semiconductor Israel.
Airtel recruits Qualcomm to help accelerate 5G deployment in India
Indian telco Bharti Airtel has partnered with Qualcomm to accelerate 5G deployments in India, with emphasis on Open RAN technologies. This comes just after Airtel became India’s first operator to demonstrate 5G over a live commercial network in the city of Hyderabad.
Airtel will now use the Qualcomm 5G RAN Platform to roll-out virtualized and O-RAN based 5G networks. “The flexible and scalable architecture of O-RAN will create new opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to become viable players in the deployment of 5G networks,” the company said in a statement.
“In addition, Airtel and Qualcomm Technologies will collaborate to enable a wide array of use cases, including 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) that is designed to deliver broadband connectivity at gigabit speeds to homes and businesses.”
FCC edges towards support for Open RAN development
The US regulator, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC,) is considering how it might support development and deployment of Open RAN technology, with a vote coming up on March 17 on whether and how the US regulator might “foster its success, and support new entrant access to this emerging market”.
Such discussions have been prompted by the ousting of Huawei from the country’s emerging 5G infrastructures out of perceived national security concerns and subsequent over-dependence on just two or three dominant vendors.
“Open RAN has emerged as one promising path to drive 5G security and innovation in the United States,” said acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “With this inquiry, we will start to compile a record about how we can secure our vulnerable supply chains once and for all, and revitalize the nation’s 5G leadership and innovation.”
GSMA report raises China 5G sub forecast to 822m by 2025
China is now expected to reach 822m 5G subscribers by 2025, up from 202m subscribers at the end of 2020, according to the latest report from the GSMA. The report, ‘The Mobile Economy China’, estimates this will represent 47% of total mobile connections in China, up from 12% now.
Yet this will still not quite reach the 4G subscriber total, according to the report, as that is forecast to stand at 911m subscribers by 2025, down from the current 1.31bn.
“In 2020, the region added more than 200m 5G connections, taking its share of global 5G connections to 87%. Growth in 5G adoption in the region is supported by aggressive network rollout and a growing device ecosystem. Chinese operators deployed around 600,000 new 5G base stations in 2020 and have announced plans to deploy more than that number during 2021,” the report noted as grist for its forecast.