5G news

In 5G news, Nokia launched its new Intelligent RAN Operations solution, designed to manage the increasing complexity of 5G networks through machine learning. It’s intended to boost 5G network quality, efficiency, and the subscriber experience while reducing operational costs, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions.

AT&T joined Ericsson's Startup 5G program, an innovation collaboration to leverage insights to develop new 5G consumer technology. AT&T is the first U.S. service provider to join the global program.

In another partnership, Deutsche Telekom and Ericsson demonstrated global availability of 5G end-to-end network slicing with quality of service. Telekom and the BMW Group are working together to enable 5G connectivity in vehicles, advancing the push to turn cars into another connected device in our smart ecosystems as how we move around rapidly changes.

It's not all roses though: new research from Nokia sounds the alarm that communication service providers are behind in having the right BSS software solutions in place to help them monetize their 5G networks with new services and network management tools.

Network evolution news

Field trials brought new advances in network news. ADVA announced that CSC-IT Center for Science, which operates the Finnish University and Research Network (FUNET) and the Swedish University Computer Network (SUNET), have conducted a world-first trial carrying data at 400 Gbps over more than 10,000 km. The trial shows how data-intensive applications can be connected over intercontinental distances using existing links. In Berlin, The Open Networking Foundation announced the release of its complete SD-RAN project to open source, further advancing the global open RAN movement.

In other world news, Vodafone Germany has expanded its Wi-Fi 6 offering with CommScope’s Touchstone TG6442 DOCSIS 3.1 cable gateways to deliver enhanced in-home Wi-Fi performance to millions of subscribers. Parallel Wireless is collaborating with Turk Telekom and Juniper Networks on a multi-vendor Open RAN initiative to deliver 4G and 5G broadband in Turkey. In Brazil, Hughes is piloting a three-month Community LTE service at five villages in Brazil to serve people who live outside the reach of cable, fiber and cellular networks with a mobile hotspot that connects to the Internet via satellite. 

Stateside, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency has tapped AT&T to modernize its communications capabilities, improving its ability to help people before, during, and after disasters.

Digital transformation news

A new analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that the limitations of 4G networks are enabling 5G technology to become a key catalyst for Industry 4.0, driving process industries to seek partnership with 5G providers. New research from Infosys Knowledge Institute reveals that digital adoption alone is no longer enough to meet business objectives and drive profits; companies must use digital to differentiate beyond traditional IT metrics. ABB released the findings of a new global study of international business and technology leaders on industrial transformation, looking at the intersection of digitalization and sustainability. The upshot is that nearly 75 percent of companies are increasing Industrial IoT investments and DT initiatives specifically to drive sustainability goals. What’s holding up the rate of digital transformation? A 2nd Watch survey found it is legacy applications: 80 percent of enterprises continue to run at least one-quarter of their business workloads and applications on-premises, holding them back from realizing key transformation benefits like lower TCO and better agility.