To address the growing appetite for cloud services among its enterprise customers, China Mobile Communications Company (CMCC) is expanding its software-defined networking (SDN) support for new private/public cloud services. China Mobile has tapped Nokia’s Nuage Networks Virtualized Services Platform for a suite of cloud-based services that include virtual machines, containers and bare-metal based servers. 

Mobile and Wireless

Juniper Research released two new studies this month that provide a peek behind the curtain of the digital future. Juniper’s study on consumer behavior predicts that by 2019, nearly 2.1 billion consumers worldwide will use a mobile wallet to make a payment or send money, up by nearly 30% from the 1.6 billion recorded at the end of 2017. The research firm’s second April release, Augmented & Mixed Reality: Innovation, Disruption & Future Prospects 2018-2022, found that the total number of MR (Mixed Reality) applications will reach 9 billion within 4 years, rising from an estimated 3 billion in 2018, a growth rate of 212% over 4 years. Commitment by Apple, Google, and Facebook will foster content development and propel the smartphone MR games market to a value of $2.3 billion by 2022.

EE announced that BT has secured 40MHz of 3.4GHz spectrum, which is suitable for 5G services and will strengthen EE’s mobile network leadership. 

The proliferation of irritating—and sometimes malicious—robocalls continues. To combat these calls, Verizon has introduced a new Caller ID tool, Spam Alerts, to help protect landline phone customers. Spam Alerts will now show “SPAM?” before a caller’s name on the Caller ID display if the calling number matches Verizon’s spam criteria.

Telenor Maritime has expanded its long-term partnership with Stena Line and announced the introduction of a mobile ecosystem onboard Stena’s passenger ships. The mobile ecosystem is based on a connectivity platform with Mobile/3G/4G, Premium Wi-Fi, Ka-VSAT and mobile broadband backhaul and augments the existing system to improve the customer experience. Stena is one of  the largest ferry companies in the world, with Europe's most comprehensive route network, consisting of 21 strategically located ferry routes across Northern Europe, operating in Scandinavia, the Baltics, the North Sea and the Irish Sea.

This month, ETSI released the Technical Specification TS 103 478. Developed by the ETSI special committee on Emergency Communications (EMTEL), the specification defines the requirements and architecture of Pan-European Mobile Emergency Applications (PEMEA). This new specification provides a solution that will enable emergency apps interoperability within Europe and beyond, freeing the hundreds of emergency calling applications currently in use across the continent from their restriction to a particular Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). 

NEC Corporation and Netcracker Technology announced that Etisalat has selected NEC/Netcracker as the prime solution provider for its multivendor telecom cloud program. Etisalat is the Middle East's leading communications provider, offering services to more than 160 million customers.

Connected Devices and the Internet of Things (IoT)

It’s been another exciting month for developments related to connectivity and IoT. A new study released by Juniper Research found that domestic aide robotics will drive revenues in the consumer robotics sector to increase by over 250% in the next four years, from an estimated $6.4 billion in 2018 to nearly $23 billion by 2022. Much of the growth will come from the increasing popularity of domestic aide devices from iRobot, Dyson and Samsung. These have been joined by lower cost devices, which will broaden the segment’s appeal.

In Japan, Nokia and KDDI have successfully demonstrated the use of LTE to deliver cost-efficient, low-latency connectivity for vehicles. These proof-of-concept trials evaluated the role of cellular technology in enabling safe, cost-efficient, low-latency car connectivity. The trials were the world’s first use of LTE broadcast for vehicle-to-network-to-vehicle connectivity and network Real-Time Kinematic for location awareness and accurate navigation.