News
The very latest 5G news sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise
5G is going to change the world. From technical breakthroughs to emerging partnerships, follow all the latest updates from the 5G space here at the 5G Daily
January 13th
• Port of Felixtowe to trial private 5G network, courtesy of Three and the UK government
• Zain KSA begins to deploy the second phase of its 5G network
• Nokia and M1 partner for standalone 5G core in Singapore
• AT&T reportedly aim to raise $14 billion for upcoming 5G spectrum auction
January 12th
• 5G could save over 250 million tonnes in CO2 emissions in 2030 through accelerating the move to wind and solar energy, according to STL Partners
January 11th
• Bahrain announces nationwide 5G coverage from two of its three operators
• Sweden’s Tele2 has chosen Nokia for its 5G core network
December 15th
• Irish operator Eir has announced having topped 53% population coverage with 5G, as well as providing the new tech to Croke Park
• Sunrise wins praise for its 5G network in Switzerland, one of the most competitive 5G markets in the world
• RootMetric’s CEO says South Korea’s 5G market is not a "It’s not a 5G race, its a technology experience race"
December 11th
• Intel says the pillars of telco transformation in the coming years will be 5G, AI, the IoT, and the edge
December 9th
• Etisalat breaks 5G speed record
December 8th
• Bharti Airtel’s CEO Gopal Vittal says that the push for India to create its own 5G standardisation is an existential threat to the country’s telcos
• Reliance Jio is ramping up its 5G efforts, aiming for a rollout in the second half of 2021
• Nokia have won a contract with SoftBank to support them in standalone 5G
December 7th
• An EU-funded project named Hexa-X has been set up to help foster collaboration for the development of 6G, including big names like Telefonica, Nokia, Ericsson, and Orange.
• The GSA notes that the number of 5G devices now available has topped 500
• Huawei‘s legal challenge over its banning in Sweden postponed the Swedish 5G auction, but now the company is looking to meet regulators in the middle
December 4th
• Brazil is trialling 5G in an agricultural setting using Huawei tech at a soy farm
• November’s 5G-aliser shows more momentum for Open RAN and private 5G network deployments
December 2nd
• Taiwan Star to build 5G smart industrial parks
• Bosch to deploy 5G in 250 plants worldwide
• Filipino operator Now Telecom partners with Nokia for standalone 5G
December 1st
• Orange outlines plans for its French 5G rollout, as Bouygues Telecom also launches
• Three has extended their UK 5G network to 154 UK towns and cities
November 25th
• Canada’s TELUS names Nokia as 5G partner
• Magyar Telekom is boosting 5G coverage in Budapest using Ericsson spectrum sharing technology
• Telus is set to build out its 5G network without Huawei
• China Mobile has partnered with China State Construction Engineering Corporation to bring 5G to the construction sector
November 24th
• The UK government is tightening cybersecurity laws for telcos, including surrounding 5G networks, threatening them with large fines if they break the rules
• China Mobile has gained more than 15 million 5G subscribers in October and has built more than 385,000 base stations nationwide
November 23rd
• SK Telecom and Samsung have combined to create a cloud-native 5G core network system
• General Motors is installing a private 5G network from Verizon in Factory ZERO, a facility dedicated to producing the next generation of electric vehicles
November 20th
• A Wireless Broadband Alliance survey of service providers, equipment manufacturers and enterprises, shows 79% have adopted or plan to adopt the WBA OpenRoaming standard
• NEC Corporation today announced the establishment of its Global Open RAN Centre of Excellence (CoE) in the UK
November 16th
• Huawei’s VP Victor Zhang says the UK should consider revising its ban on Huawei 5G now that President Donald Trump is to be replace by Joe Biden
November 13th
• Sweden’s regulator appeals the reversal of its decision to block Huawei from the nation’s 5G networks
• Vodafone‘s German 5G coverage tops 10 million people ahead of schedule
November 12th
• EE is launching its own branded 5G Wi-Fi-based mobile broadband router
• Deutsche Telekom picks Nokia for 5G IP network
• Altice Portugal has threatened to cease some of its investment projects in the country after ANACOM‘s 5G auction rules will allow new entrants to the Portuguese market under favourable terms
• October’s 5G-aliser update takes a deep dive into Fixed Wireless Access and how it will grow alongside 5G
November 11th
• Lacroix Electronics is working with Orange and Ericsson to build a ‘factory of the future‘ using a private 5G network
• Huawei are building a 5G testbed in Cambridge, saying they remain committed to the UK
• Estonia’s first 5G network is switched on, courtesy of Ericsson and Telia
November 10th
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise‘s Group Manager for Hybrid IT Telco Solutions, Rashan Thekkekunnel, explains the value of interoperability for telcos and why it is so important for the future of 5G
• Elisa has chosen Keysight‘s cloud infrastructure to help virtualise their 5G network
November 9th
• Sweden delays 5G spectrum auction following Huawei objections
November 6th
• Portugal’s regulator has announced the terms for its 5G spectrum auction
• Huawei is set to appeal Sweden’s ban on their technology
• T-Mobile is told to be careful of the wording of its latest advert surrounding 5G
• IBM is creating a cloud platform for telcos to rival the likes of Google, focussing on 5G
November 5th
• French regulator Arcep says French 5G networks may begin commercial operations from November 18th
November 3rd
• Vietnamese operators Viettel and MobiFone are given licences to commercially test 5G
• BT has installed a 5G network at the University of Warwick
• Vodafone is set to build a 4G/5G private network for Horiba Mira, to be used to test self-driving cars
• DISH partners with Intel for 5G infrastructure
November 2nd
• India’s spectrum auction delays could leave the company lagging behind in 5G – but could this be a blessing in disguise?
• Vodafone UK is swapping some of the Huawei equipment it is mandated to remove with open RAN alternatives
• BT is bringing 5G to Belfast Harbour, hoping to create a smart port and boost the local economy
October 30th
• Telenor Sweden and Hrvatski Telekom both launch commercial 5G
October 29th
• At this year’s World Communication Awards, KT Corporation took home the 5G Business Award. Check out the full awards ceremony here
• What is digital sovereignty as it relates to 5G? A panel discussion from the Total Telecom Congress
• The US government may grant chip companies licences to supply Huawei, but not for 5G tech
October 27th
• Panel optimistic about telcos’ ability to tap new verticals through 5G at this year’s Total Telecom Congress
• China is boosting its domestic chip industry, with experts saying it will become self-reliant within two years
October 26th
• The Italian government has reportedly blocked a 5G deal between Huawei and Fastweb, suggesting national restrictions could be soon to follow
• The trade agreement signed between the UK and Japan last week could open the door for NEC to support the UK’s 5G rollout
• Nokia says it has been chosen by Telenor’s DNA and Telia Finland to deploy 5G RAN for their shared network venture
October 23rd
• T-Mobile’s Czech unit to begin commercial standalone 5G operations in Prague and Brno on the 1st of November
• Verizon, Ericsson and Qualcomm claim 5 Gbps 5G download speeds, just a week after hitting 4 Gpbs
October 22nd
• Orange’s Industry 4.0 campus at the Port of Antwerp is bearing fruit, from augmented field operators to connected tugboats powered by 5G
• Huawei announce new Kirin 9000 chipset alongside new Mate series of 5G smartphones
• O2‘s 5G network is now available in over 100 UK towns and cities, one year after launch
• SK Telecom launchs a 5G VR service for the early detection of anmesia
October 21st
• The US government extends $1bn incentive to Brazil if they ban Huawei from their 5G networks
October 20th
• Sweden is the latest country to ditch Huawei and ZTE for 5G
• The GSA says there are over 150 private 5G and LTE networks and spectrum deployments worldwide
October 19th
• Deutsche Telekom is working alongside Stratospheric Platforms Ltd to test aerial base stations
• 5G revenue has proven very resilient in the wake of the pandemic, according to a Juniper Research study. The study expects 5G revenues to swell to $357 billion by 2025
• India’s Reliance Jio is backing calls for the creation of country-specific 5G standards, but Bharti Airtel says this will cause major issues when working alongside international standards like 3GPP
• Verizon and Microsoft partner to offer private 5G mobile edge computing
October 16th
• China aims for even greater 5G rollout in the coming years, as current deployment falls flat
• Japan is resisting US pressure to issue a broad ban on Chinese tech and telecommunications firms
October 14th
• Verizon expands 5G coverage for millions of Americans and adds ultra wideband service for stadiums, airports and cities
• Next G Alliance looks at mobile technology for 6G and beyond.
October 12th
• Nokia’s 5G readiness report claims that the new technology will deliver $8 trillion in value to world economies by 2030
• Telefonica chooses Nokia‘s subscriber data management software to support existing customers and 5G
• Optus announces that its mobile virtual network operator partners can now purchase its 5G services
October 9th
• Russian state-owned infrastructure company Avtodor and Huawei have signed an MoU to help create connected superhightways that will incorporate 5G and ultimately aims to facilitate autonomous vehicles
• The US Department of Defence is investing $600 million into 5G military projects in five bases around the country
• Nokia swoops in to win 5G contracts with Orange Belgium and Proximus as Huawei loses out
October 8th
• A UK parliamentary report says there is clear evenidence that Huawei is colluding with the Chinese government and asks that their ban from UK infrastructure be accelerated
• A report from ABI Research says that OpenRAN investment will outpace traditional RAN equipment by 2027, citing 5G RAN deployments by Rakuten
• Nokia outlines its commitments for "an ethical and sustainable 5G future"
October 6th
• Telefonica has added 10 more German cities to its list of those covered by 5G
• LS Cable & System completes 5G parts factory in India
• A study undertaken on behalf of ETNO shows the Europeans are positive about 5G, but misinformation still abounds
• Huawei plans to challenge Estonia over its high-risk vendor ban, arguing that such measures breach EU anti-discriminatory laws
• Nokia is working with Finland’s Tampere University to develop 5G chipsets
October 5th
• Virgin Media and O2 say that their merger will create around 4,000 jobs in the UK, with around 1,000 apprenticeships also being created to help in the future rollout of 5G
• All three of South Korea’s major mobile operators have reportedly ordered 28GHz 5G base stations from Samsung
October 2nd
• Total Telecom and STL Partner‘s 5G-aliser update for September shows that additional spectrum availability is helping facilitate the growth of private 5G networks, while Open RAN continues to build in prominence
• French 5G auction is complete, with all four major operators participating and Orange dubbing the result "well balanced"
• Nokia reaches milestone of 100 commercial 5G deals
• Germany’s SWR has launched a 5G broadcast trial to supply cars with audiovisual content while on the move
October 1st
• O2 is teaming up with the UK Space Agency to work on melding 5G with satellite communications to help facilitate autonomous vehicles
• OMDIA ranks South Korea as the leading the world in terms of 5G deployment
• Nokia has been selected by Elisa Finland to provide 5G RAN equipment
• A report from the Centre for Policy Studies, a right-leaning think tank, suggests that the UK’s policy to phase out Huawei by 2027 will cost the economy £41 billion
September 30th
• New German security law could see Huawei smothered in red tape, causing headaches for the nation’s major telcos which all rely heavily on the Chinese technology
• Israeli government awards 5G licences to Hot Mobile, Pelephone and Partner Communications
• Rakuten launches 5G at no extra cost to its customers, but is a price war brewing in Japan?
• US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was reassured by Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio that "Italy is fully conscious of (the need) to ensure the security of its 5G networks." Meanwhile, Huawei said it was prepared to reveal its "inner workings" to show its compliance
September 29th
• The French 5G spectrum auction is underway
• BT selects Nokia to fill the void left by Huawei when it comes to 5G
• TEOCO’s geo-analytics solution is now 5G ready
• Network slicing could be key to accelerating 5G deplyoment
September 28th
• Three Ireland’s 5G network goes live, around a year later than its rivals
September 25th
• Ericsson has partnered with Digital Catapult to launch the Industrial 5G Accelerator initiative, with Seagate, Siemens, and Tharsus all joining, The group presented their plan at this year’s Connected Britain.
• A Huawei research centre working on 5G has caught fire in Dongguan, with blaze is now extinguished and no casualties reported
• Greece starts tender for 5G spectrum auction, with Vodafone Greece lining up for a commercial launch of 5G services in Q1 of next year
• Telefonica prepares to launch 5G in Germany’s five largest cities next month
• 5G subscriptions set to be nearly 30% of global market by end of 2025 say the GSA
September 24th
• Ericsson reiterates the key role that 5G will play in the UK’s economic prosperity in a session at Connected Britain
September 22nd
• Nokia partners up with Gigamon to help optimise 5G network performance
• Dell Technologies, HGC, SmarTone, and VMware launch a Hong Kong 5G initiative, seeking cross-industry collaboration
September 21st
• Leaked memos show that some Orange employees have reservations about the company’s rollout of 5G, citing (misguided) health fears
• AccelerComm raises £5.8 million in funding to scale up its 5G IP
• As reliance on Chinese equipment shrinks, Bharti Airtel says both Ericsson and Nokia have committed to building 5G equipment in India
• Slow rollout of 5G could leave European supply chains uncompetitive and lead to a loss of investment, suggests Carl-Henric Svanberg, chairman of the European Round Table for Industry
September 18th
• Ericsson acquires Cradlepoint for $1.1 billion to expand its 5G offerings
• US Cellular complete successful 5G mmWave trials at distances of 5km with Ericsson and Qualcomm
• Indian government has no intention of excluding Huawei and ZTE from 5G infrastructure contracts, according to minister
September 17th
• Rakuten and Telefonica have formed a partnership to focus on Open RAN technology, with potentially major ramifcations for the 5G vendor space
• Ericsson, Qualcomm and U.S. Cellular achieve extended-range 5G data call over mmWave
• Scottish government unveil new £4 million funding package for the rollout of 5G
• The 5G Open Invitation Lab has seen a wave of 16 startups join its ranks, including FreedomFi, GenXComm, QuayChain
September 16th
• Romanian telcos are unlikely to be awarded 5G licences in the remainder of this year, says regulator ANCOM
• Spanish broadcaster TV3 plan to transmit live video of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship using cordless cameras connected to Vodafone’s 5G network
• MATRIXX Software releases latest cloud-native charging solution, streamlining path to 5G adoption
September 15th
• The Lithuanian foreign ministry is set to sign an agreement with the US tomorrow that may include the limitation or avoidance of Chinese tech
• India may eshew ITU 5G standards for its own domestically developed alternative, but the nation’s telcos are fighting back
• French president Macron defends the country’s 5G plans saying "France is the country of innovation… We are going to put to rest all false ideas"
September 14th
• With existing midband spectrum in short supply, will the 6GHz band be a long term solution to facilitating 5G?
• The GSA has reported that the number of 5G-capable devices available now exceeds 400
• Austria’s delayed 5G spectrum auction is complete, raising over €200 million
September 10th
• Singtel is using 5G to help enhance its customers’ contactless shopping experience, including AI-powered robot assistants
• Quortus has partnered with TLC Solutions for the creation of a private 5G solution
• Ribbon has developed a 5G hybrid slicing solution for next-generation networks in collaboration with Xilinx
• Telefonica’s Spanish 5G rollout plans to hit 75% of the country’s population by the end of the year, and Nokia and Ericsson have bloth pledged their support
• Vodafone Czech Republic plans to launch 5G on October 1st using Dynamic Spectrum Sharing
September 9th
• Joint deployment by China Telecom and China Unicom sees the nations haul of 5G base stations increase to half a million
• Huawei has concerns that Poland is drawing up plans to exclude it from the nation’s 5G networks
• Research suggests that the UK will face a loss of around £18 billion to its economy due to the three-year delay in 5G rollout as a result of excluding Huawei
September 8th
• Orange launches 5G in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Malaga, just days after Telefonica rolled out 5G across the whole country
September 7th
September 4th
• A 5G innovation hub is being established in Nottinghamshire
• Three is expandings its partnership with CityFibre in order to support its growing 5G network
September 3rd
• 5G-aliser August update – created in collaboration with STL Partners, shows that August has been a somewhat positive month’s for the world of 5G
• Nokia launches end-to-end 5G networking course
• The creator of Pokémon Go, Niantic has announced the launch of the Planet-Scale AR Alliance
August 28th
• France’s Bouygues Telecom set to remove 3,000 Huawei-built 5G towers in accordance with the French government’s stipulations to phase out the Chinese giant
August 27th
• Vodafone Germany is set to deploy 5G along the country’s major waterways, aiming to support the shipping industry
• India excluding Chinese vendors from participating in telcos’ 5G trials is causing upheaval for telcos
• Magyar Telekom is making progress with its 5G deployment, hitting around 40% of the Hungarian population after having launched back in April
August 26th
• Verizon completes the world’s first 5G data session on a fully virtualised network
August 25th
• Sky Drone working with China Mobile to create a 5G drone network
• Gartner’s Q2 report on the global smartphone market shows a decline in sales, with 5G not the major selling point it was hoped to be
August 24th
• Numerous Scottish 5G groups are joining forces for the Infralink programme to help rapidly rollout the new technology across Scotland
• Huawei’s 5G tech passes the GSMA’s Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme
• STC Kuwait trials 2100MHz 5G in a national first
• Russia’s Tele2 deploys 25,000 5G base stations with Ericsson, as Russia reportedly moves closer to cooperation with Huawei
• Dutch operator TDC plans commercial 5G launch in September with 80% population coverage
• Bucharest now has full 5G coverage courtesy of Orange
August 21st
• Samsung is reportedly developing small cells for Verizon’s 5G network
• Aussie telco TPG is ramping up its 5G coverage, aiming to deploy another 550 base stations to increase coverage by 2021
• ETNO’s Maarit Palovirta says that Europe can still take the lead in 5G, but stakeholders need to find a way to work together more effectively
August 20th
• SoftBank gets the ‘Clean Network’ seal of approval from the US State Department, with its networks having no reliance on Chinese tech
• Verizon has partnered with game-streaming service Twitch to explore the impact 5G can have on gaming
• Nokia and StarHub conduct first live 5G non-standalone network trial in Singapore
August 19th
• Verizon has announced that it no longer plans to charge extra for 5G service
• Huawei’s chances of doing 5G business in Israel are slipping away, as an Israeli deal with the US could see the Chinese giant banned
August 18th
August 17th
• 5G conspiracy theorists have managed to raise £100,000 to hire a lawyer in a bid to fight the UK government on its 5G rollout
• Israel and the US are reportedly nearing a deal that would see Chinese companies excluded from the former’s 5G network
• Verizon is teaming up with HERE to use its 5G network and real-time kinematics to produce hyper-precise location data
August 16th
• The small Welsh town of Lampeter is kicking up a fuss over 5G, citing health fears
August 13th
• US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, is visiting Slovenia to lecture them about Huawei and 5G security
• China Mobile reportedly has more than 70 million 5G subscribers, a figure the operator has been targetting for this year since 2019
August 12th
• With the completion of a new deal with Telekom Slovenije, Ericsson celebrates the milestone of 100 unique 5G contracts
• A new report from O2 suggests that 5G could help reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 269 megatonnes by 2035
August 11th
• Czechia begins the tender process for its 5G auction after much delay.
• LG U+ to roll out 5G-powered AR glass service with Nreal
• US government has agreed to clear an additional 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.5 Ghz range
August 10th
• Qualcomm is lobbying the US government for a licence to sell Huawei microchips. The US company warns that billions of dollars from Huawei will be directed to its competitors as a result of US sanctions
• Indian operators are set to get the go ahead to begin 5G trials, but not for those using Chinese equipment
August 7th
• SK Telecom and Microsoft are working together to bring 5G-supported cloud gaming to South Korea in September
August 6th
• Total Telecom Webinar: Unlocking 5G’s economic potential
August 5th
• Italian operators Fastweb and Linkem expand partnership to work on 5G fixed wireless access
• Vodafone to build private 5G network for UK gas plant
June 24th
• Hravski Telekom has selected Ericsson‘s Croatian arm, Ericsson Nikola Tesla, as its sole 5G RAN provider until 2024.
• Etisalat has announced it will focus on non-standalone (NSA) 5G for the next 2 years before launching a standalone a standalone 5G network.
• Verizon and Digital Catapult collaborate on 5G solutions for enterprisesnetwork.
June 22nd
• Wind Tre set to launch 5G in 10 cities this year despite market disruption resulting from COVID-19.
• NEC pitches itself as Huawei replacement in 5G rollout in Australia .
June 18th
• Deutsche Telekom says 50% of the German population, around 40 million people, will be able to access their 5G network by mid-July
• Ericsson‘s latest mobility report estimates 190 million 5G subscribers by the end of 2020, with the number rocketing to 2.8 billion by 2025.
June 17th
• Qualcomm launches ‘world’s first’ 5G and AI-enabled robotics platform
• The 5G-Virtuosa project completes initial technical IP-based studio set-up
• IDC European Consulting’s Angel Dobardziev suggests the telecoms industry is being too cautious with 5G, saying that "the mobile industry needs more ambition in both assessing and addressing the 5G opportunity"
June 16th
• The US ambassador to Brazil says that discussions are being had regarding the US financing Brazil’s 5G networks if they exclude Huawei. The diplomat says similar talks are being conducted in other countries around the world
June 15th
• Nokia and Broadcom have announced they are collaborating on semiconductor technology
• China Unicom has selected Nokia to support the build out of its standalone 5G core network in China
June 11th
• Singapore’s M1 is teaming up with Airbus to test drones connected to their standalone 5G network
June 10th
• Vodafone comes out in support of Huawei‘s place in the UK’s 5G infrastructure, saying that removing them could cost the nation is position of 5G leadership
• A report from SNS Telecom & IT suggests 5G will revolutionise public health via UHD video feeds, AR/VR, drones and robotics
• Openet has announced the latest version of its 5G policy controller, Openet Policy Controller 2.0
• O2 and Ericsson move forward with their 5G modernisation rollout
June 8th
• The French government has announced that their 5G spectrum auction will be rescheduled for September
• Croatia’s Hrvatski Telekom has begun applying dynamic spectrum sharing to expand the reach of its 5G network
• The results of Finland’s second 5G auction sees Telia, Elisa, and DNA each acquire one block of spectrum in the 26 GHz band
• Ericsson wins major 5G contracts with each of China’s three major operators
• T-Mobile Polska launches commercial 5G services in Poland
• Huawei has penned an open letter to the British public, pledging its ‘commitment’ to helping supply the nation with the best possible connectivity
• Huawei launches a 5G consulting wing
June 6th
• Canada postpones 5G auction
June 5th
• Nokia launches 5G liquid cooling technology with Elisa, reducing operating costs and lwoering CO2 emissions.
June 4th
• Rakuten and NEC are working together to develop their own standalone 5G core, which they hope to market commercially
June 3rd
• Just days after it was revealed that the Malaysian government had allocated 5G licences without a tendering process, the government has now announced that it will be revoking these licences due to ‘technical and legal issues’. It will reportedly follow the traditional tendering process after all.
• Bouygues Telecom have called for the French 5G auction to be delayed by 6 months to give operators time to focus on rural LTE development
• The GSMA have posted an update about the safety of 5G networks on their website, along with links to helpful resources and debunking some common myths.
• Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom has been awarded 5G spectrum and is expected to launch 5G services commerciall in the coming weeks
June 2nd
• Telefonica Deutschland has selected Ericsson for its 5G core network
• Hong Kong operator SmarTone has launched its commercial 5G network using dynamic spectrum sharing
• The Malaysian government is revealed to have quietly allocated 5G spectrum, without going through the promised open tender process
• South Korea has announced a $62 billion ‘New Deal‘, outlining their economic goals for the near future, with a strong focus on 5G and AI technologies
• Content delivery network specialist Broadpeak has announced a partnership with MobiledgeX, Inc. to boost 5G video services with edge compute infrastructure
June 1st
• The May update to STL Partners and Total Telecom‘s 5G-aliser shows the US-China trade war as a key driver for 5G development
• Philippines operator Globe Telecom is still planning its 5G launch for the near future despite coronavirus delays
• An extortionately priced USB stick claiming to protect your home from supposedly harmful 5G is being investigated as a scam by Trading Standards
• Financially struggling OneWeb has requested the FCC allow it to launch more low-earth-orbit satellites to support 5G
• T-Mobile says its 5G coverage now reaches 50 states
May 29th
• The UK is seeking to force a diplomatic alliance with ten countries to try and provide alternatives to Huawei’s 5G technology. The countries selected are the G7, plus South Korea, India, and Australia
• EE’s 5G network expands to 80 UK cities
• Proximus’ interim 5G is being rolled out in 23 new communes in Flanders, but not in Brussels and Wallonia after these regions raised objections
May 27th
• Another 5G mast has been torched, this time in Liverpool just days after its deployment
• Satellite operator Intelsat has signed a written committment to clear the C-band spectrum in preparation for US 5G, as ordered by the FCC
• SK Telecom has announced the creation of an autonomous 5G robot with OMRON Electronics to help perform contactless temperature screenings related to the coronavirus
• Research funded by the US army has reportedly developed a 5G frequency switch that is more than 50-times as energy efficient than those currently on the market today
• South Korean telco KT has began introducing 5G autonomous carts at its smartphone warehouses
• 5G disinformation is still spreading throughout the world, with Poland reporting two 5G masts torched in Lódz. Similar arson attacks are still taking place in the Uk, with reports of 5G mast set on fire in Derby over the weekend
May 26th
• Telia and Tele2 have both launched commercial 5G networks in Sweden
May 25th
• A1 and ZTE have announced they are testing a standalone 5G network in Belarus, the first to do so in the country
May 24th
• Thai prime minister heads up newly formed National 5G Committee to boost technology development
May 23rd
• The UK government is reportedly drawing up plans to see Huawei phased out of the country’s 5G networks in the next three years
May 22nd
• Romanian regulator ANCOM has announced plans to auction additional 5G spectrum in Q4 this year
• Perth’s Curtin University is partnering with Optus to develop a 5G-powered ‘smart campus‘
• Brazil’s 5G spectrum auction will be delayed as a result of the coronavirus
May 20th
• Iskratel and Telekom Slovenije are testing their co-built 5G network to enable a smart factory
• Ericsson is selected by China Telecom and China Unicom for 5G RAN
• Rakuten and NEC are now testing Altiostar‘s O-RAN 5G massive MIMO
• Nokia claims the latest 5G speed world record, reaching 4.7 Gbps
May 18th
• Rakuten Mobile is being forced to push back its 5G launch by 3 months as a result of pandemic-related delays
• Isotropic Systems has released a whitepaper outlining satellites role in a 5G future
• Nokia has been selected by Taiwan Star Telecom as their 5G network provider
• UK town of Glastonbury, famous for its eponymous music festival, has published a report on 5G that has been ‘hijacked by conspiracy theorists’
May 14th
• Canadian 5G is being slowed by the coronavirus pandemic, with only one operator managing to launch so far this year.
• Verizon’s CEO has downplayed the company’s upcoming nationwide 5G network, suggesting that it will initially offer only a small improvement
May 13th
• New Zealand has scrapped its upcoming 5G auction, instead opting to allocate the spectrum directly for a cheap price. The government hopes that this will help boost investment in the industry and mitigate the coronavirus’ economic impact.
• Austrian regulator RTR has announced that its postponed 5G spectrum auction will take place in the second half of August.
May 12th
• The Nigerian Communications Commission has quashed rumours circulating this weekend that they a 5G switch on in Lagos was taking place at the start of this week, saying they have not authorised any operator to use 5G.
• Polsat’s mobile unit Plus is the first operator to launch 5G in Poland.
• Telia Norway launches commercial 5G using Ericsson equipment
May 11th
• Satellite operator Dish has scrapped its IoT network plans in favour of 5G. The company plans to purchase Sprint’s Boost over the next couple of months.
May 8th
• The USA and the Czech Republic have signed an agreement on 5G security, pledging strict standards for examining foreign equipment.
May 7th
• Norwegian regulator Nkom has started its 5G spectrum auction, with six bidders currently recorded. The regulator has put back the payment deadline to November to help operators cope with the financial impact of the pandemic.
• The US Department of Commerce is reportedly close to finalising new rules that would allow US tech giants to work with Huawei once again to develop 5G standards. Some US companies had stopped working with Huawei to develop these standards after the Chinese company was blacklisted.
May 6th
• IBM is teaming up with its Singaporean partners to test 5G use cases, focussing on AI and augmented reality for smart manufacturing.
May 5th
• Africa’s first mobile 5G network has gone live, courtesy of Vodacom in South Africa. The operator says nationwide coverage will soon follow.
• T-Mobile has announced achieving a range of significant milestones for standalone 5G, alongside a range of partners including Nokia, Ericsson, Cisco, and Qualcomm. The list of ‘firsts’ can be found here.
• Research from Omidia and BearingPoint//Beyond show that CSPs are being outpaced by enterprises when it comes to providing B2B 5G solutions.
May 4th
• O2 is set to legally challenge Ofcom over the proposed rules of the upcoming 5G auction. The operator wants the regulator to defragment the nation’s spectrum, rather than leaving it to the operators to work out between themselves. The legal challenge could delay the auction by up to 18 months.
• Vodafone and Metaswich claim industry’s first 5G Wireless Wireline Convergence tests.
• Reading is the latest town to see the deployment of a 5G tower delayed, after a unanimous vote by the local council slowed the project citing health fears, despite a mountain of evidence showing 5G radiation to be well within safety limits.
• India’s Finance Ministry have released a report suggesting that the Department of Telecommunication’s recommended 5G spectrum price for the upcoming 5G auction is too high. India’s telcos have been vocal about the high prices, with Bharti Airtel saying they will not bid unless prices are reduced.
• Telstra‘s Australian 5G network is now standalone using Ericsson equipment.
• The 5G infrastructure market is estimated to grow from $12.6 billion in 2020 and projected to reach $44.9 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 28.97%, according to ResearchAndMarkets. The projection for 2025 is 22.79% lower than compared to pre-COVID-19 estimates.
• Investment management firm Neuberger Berman is launching a new fund specifically aimed at 5G. The fund currently has $4.2bn in assets under management.
• China continues its 5G push with Xi’an positioned to build 25,000 5G base stations by 2022.
April 30th
• Singapore’s nationwide 5G licences go to Singtel and a joint bid from StarHub and M1, leaving Australian telco TPG without the capability for nationwide 5G deployment.
• The Swiss government’s resistance to installing upgraded antennas is significantly hindering the rollout of 5G, according to Swisscom.
• Nokia have won a much needed portion of China Unicom‘s 5G contract, alongside Huawei and ZTE.
• The Croatian Presidency is calling on the EU Commission to adopt revised 5G and 6G Action Plan to help improve European connectivity, the limits of which have been exposed by the coronavirus pandemic.
• Watch Communications chooses Ericsson for its Evolved Packet Core, to provide 5G for their customers in the USA’s Midwest.
• TeraGo‘s 5G fixed wireless trials begin in Toronto, Canada
April 29th
• STL Partners and Total Telecom announce the release of The 5G-aliser, a benchmarking tool to assess the latest movements in the 5G space. What do you consider to be the key drivers for 5G development? Let us know via email or social media how you would move the levers of the 5G-aliser!
April 28th
• The West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has appointed Mark Stansfeld, co-founder and former chairman of Giffgaff, to chair the West Midlands 5G board of directors.
• Vodafone plans to launch the first 5G network in the Netherlands later today, ahead of the nation’s 5G spectrum auction, by making use of its existing spectrum via Ericsson‘s Spectrum Sharing.
• As T-Mobile begins to integrate their 5G network with Sprint‘s, some Sprint customers could in fact lose their access to 5G.
• UK security experts tell MPs that delays to 5G to would be harmful to Britain and that they must ‘face up‘ to China becoming a 5G superpower.
April 27th
• When it comes to 5G patents, Huawei applied for the most in 2019, but it was Samsung who had the most granted.
• Thailand’s True Corporation has selected Ericsson to provide its 5G RAN.
• Austria’s telecoms regulator RTR has drafted security regulation for 5G networks, which is now open for consultation.
• Switzerland will keep its current safety standards for 5G, despite public misunderstandings about the technology’s safety.
April 26th
• Deutsche Telekom aims to expand its 5G coverage to 50% of the German population this year.
April 23rd
• Twitter has announced it will be taking a tougher stance on tweets promoting 5G conspiracy theories.
April 22nd
• AT&T has announced its 5G network has gone live in 90 new locations and now covers more than 120 million people.
• Newly merged T-Mobile is beginning to make the changes necessary to incorporate Sprint‘s 5G network with its own.
• Ericsson‘s quarterly results show remarkable resistance to the impact of the coronavirus, but there are concerns that 5G deployment is being significantly delayed. The company, naturally, said that "governments should encourage 5G investments as a way to restart economies".
• Vodafone Germany launches 5G in 700 MHz band.
April 21st
• Despite the coronavirus having a dramatic impact on profits and overall mobile subscriptions, China Mobile reports doubling their 5G customer base in March to over 30 million.
• China Mobile is working with Huawei to bring 5G to Mount Everest. They aim to have coverage reach the summit on Saturday.
April 20th
• Shenzhen, China plans to add 30,000 5G base stations this year, adding to the 15,500 they build last year.
• US operator GCI has brought 5G to Alaska for the first time.
• Verizon says it’s still "on track" to deploy 5G in 30 additional cities this year despite disruption from the pandemic.
April 17th
• Ofcom have released an updated 5G electromagnetic frequency report, which again shows the radiation levels to be safe.
• Polish regulator, the Urzad Komunikacji Elektronicznej (Office of Electronic Communications), has confirmed the delay of its upcoming 5G spectrum auction due to the coronavirus. No alternative plans for the auction have been presented at this time.
April 16th
• Samsung has announced its partnership with Xilinx to make use of the latters adaptive compute acceleration platform for their 5G solutions.
April 15th
• Turkcell taps Mavenir for virtualised IMS solution for voLTE and future 5G networks
• BT selects Ericsson for 4G and 5G core components, but seems to be in no hurry to remove the Huawei equipment.
• The UK5G Testbed & Trials Working Group have launched a Security-Sub Group focussing on the development of security policies and principles for the new technology.
• China Mobile‘s annual report shows 50,000 5G base stations built in 50 cities and 15.5 million 5G subscribers.
• Bad news for 5G conspiracy theorists as French spectrum angency ANFR publishes preliminary report showing 5G exposure from pilot projects, even at full power, is well below the regulatory limit.
• Proximus is pausing its 5G deployment in the city of Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve until it can allay the residents healthcare concerns about the new technology.
April 14th
Eamonn Holmes full statement on 5G remarks: "Many people are rightly concerned and are looking for answers, and that was simply what I was trying to do. For the avoidance of any doubt … no scientific evidence to substantiate any of those 5G theories." pic.twitter.com/Gsu57yfkUB
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) April 14, 2020
