In 5G innovation news, SNCF and partners Orange, Nokia, and the Institut Mines Telecom will be launching a 5G Living Lab devoted to industrial practices to bring Industrial 5G to reality in France.

Drone news was a sub-theme in innovation news this month. Verizon announced the formation of Robotics Business Technology to expand enterprise solutions for aerial (drones) and ground robotics. In Europe, HHLA Sky and Telekom announced implementation of a campus network in the Port of Hamburg, Germany using drones to improve port control and safety. Also in Europe, Parrot has introduced the first drone to use 4G as the main data link between the drone and the operator, which is a game-changer for the drone industry.

Finally, under “interesting and worth noting” news, IDTechEx revealed the rapidly increasing adoption of battery-less solutions for electronics in a new report exploring the effects in IoT, 6G, and wearables. In collaboration with Northrop Grumman, FormFactor announced a fully automated cryogenic wafer probe system operating at 4 Kelvin and below to accelerate the development of superconducting compute applications. TESLASUIT introduced a human-to-digital interface designed in the form of a full-body XR suit for VR experience in the Somnium Space Community.

5G News

In 5G news, Beyond by BearingPoint, in collaboration with Omdia (formerly Ovum), released its annual enterprise 5G report revealing that the share of enterprise 5G deals led by communication service providers has fallen by five percent in 2021. In other 5G research, Viavi Solutions released new research demonstrating the accelerating pace at which 5G is growing, with coverage extending to an additional four countries and 301 cities worldwide since the beginning of this year. The new total—1,662 cities across 65 countries—represents an increase of more than 20 percent during 2021 to date. IDTechEx has revealed a new business intelligence report exploring the key technical and industry factors that are shaping the fast-growing small cell market. Small cells will be key to realizing the transformative power of 5G.

In new strategic alliances related to 5G news, Verizon Business and Mastercard announced a partnership to bring 5G to the global payments industry. Vodafone Spain has selected Ericsson to deploy the first precommercial 5G core standalone network in Spain. Ericsson and Verizon are embarking on a multi-year agreement to provide 5G solutions for Verizon’s 5G network in the US. Verizon Business also announced that its fixed-wireless 5G Business Internet is now available in 42 cities.

In connected car news, Foresight’s wholly owned subsidiary Eye-Net Mobile will be piloting a project to test its cellular-based vehicle-to-everything accident prevention solution. The pilot will take place in Japan. Huawei has reached a licensing agreement with one of Volkswagen’s suppliers to provide digital connectivity to its vehicles, and Mobileum announced that Audi is deploying its connected car testing solution to monitor end-to-end quality of service and customer experience.

Network Evolution News

In network evolution news, the Safer Buildings Coalition and the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies will be collaborating to create a new In-Building Public Safety Communications certification program for in-building wireless services.

AT&T and DISH have reached a strategic network services agreement, making AT&T the primary service partner for DISH MVNO customers, including the Boost Mobile, Ting Mobile, and Republic Wireless brands.

Network evolution news also included fiber expansion. Kinetic Wholesale by Windstream delivered fiber access to new macro tower sites in the company’s 18-state US footprint in the second quarter of 2021. Nokia announced an expansion of its