Malicious data traffic has grown as a threat to mobile network operators (MNOs) and the full extent of security vulnerabilities in the signaling network is only now being exposed. In response, this month digital communications services provider Xura announced the availability of its new signaling fraud management system designed to protect mobile operators’ signaling networks from security threats, as well as safeguard their subscribers’ privacy and data security. According to Xura, the new system is capable of detecting and preventing fraud on MNOs’ core networks and securing them against any type of protocol vulnerabilities.

The China factor

China loomed large in world news this month and that held true for the telecommunications world, too. Playing off the climate change summit held this month in Paris, Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment manufacturer, announced its commitment to reduce its CO2 emissions 50 percent per customer by improving the energy efficiency of its network. Huawei was joined in its pledge to reduce carbon emissions by French multinational telecommunications company Orange. The two companies have been working together to reduce power consumption and CO2 emissions since 2013 and have developed energy-saving features for fixed and mobile networks, some of which Orange has begun to roll out.

In other Chinese telecomm equipment manufacturer news, two major device makers, Tianyu and Haier, have been granted patent licenses by Qualcomm to manufacture and sell 3G WCDMA and CDMA2000 as well as 4G LTE devices for use in China. In making the joint announcements, Qualcomm reiterated its support of Chinese companies such as Tianyu and Haier as part of its long-term collaboration with China’s mobile industry which, according to Qualcomm senior vice president, Eric Reifschneider, is flourishing and the company’s patent licensing is “an example of our ongoing commitment to support the growth of Chinese companies and the development of wireless networks, devices, and applications.”

Even more Chinese manufacturers are getting into the smart device game. Chinese WiFi networking products provider TP-LINK announced this month that it’s making a major leap into the mobile device market by launching a line of smartphones to expand its line of products from fixed equipment to mobile devices.

With the growth of the Chinese telecommunications industry comes a related increase in data traffic between China and the West. To meet the increased traffic demand, Transtelecom JSC, one of the largest service providers in the Republic of Kazakhstan, has deployed 100G DWDM optical transport equipment from Ekinops across its country-wide optical network to the border of China. Kazakhstan is located at a strategic junction and this terrestrial network provides an alternative route to submarine cables linking China to Western Europe.

In other international news…

International mobile service continues to improve both technologically as well is in customer experience. This month, Canada’s Roam Mobility introduced a new mobile plan enabling international travelers to avoid expensive roaming fees when visiting Canada by getting a local SIM card with unlimited nationwide talk and text plus 4G LTE data. With international travel to Canada increasing 8 percent this year, the company was looking to tap into this potentially lucrative market with a dedicated wireless service designed specifically for international visitors.

Canada will also be receiving the most advanced LTE technology as Nokia Networks announced this month it will be the sole supplier for LTE and cloud-based core technologies to Canada's WIND Mobile with a five-year deal to provide comprehensive end-to-end deployment of new radio LTE, LTE virtualized core, and OSS. 

Norway’s national broadcast system got a major boost in December when government-owned NRK, Norway’s largest media organization, announced it selected Thomson Video Networks to power a complete upgrade of its broadcast infrastructure including satellite, terrestrial, cable, and IPTV operations.

In Germany, consumers can now choose their routers and modems for broadband connections as the country’s Association of Manufacturers of Terminal Equipment in Telecommunications announced this month that German consumers will now be free to choose what broadband terminal devices they use as the government abolishes ISP locking to encourage competition. As in mobile communications, where there are a multitude of mobile phones and smartphones to choose from, users will now also be able to choose their terminal device for DSL, cable or fiber optics according to their needs and wishes.