Telecom Industry News
What a year 2020 has been, challenging us in many ways while advancing us in others. In this final issue of Telecom Industry News for the calendar year, we offer some of the top headlines of the month and the top trends of 2020. Worldwide, 5G deployments, advancements and milestones made news. Studies captured the increasing shift of our lives online, as we work, learn, spend and purchase in new ways and demand (and expect) more from our digital connections with and to each other.
The top telecom industry news stories from the month are summarized below. To view all the news as it breaks, check out Pipeline’s News Center or subscribe to receive our telecom industry news summary.
Top Trends News
Some of the year’s top trends were evident in the research and report headlines that rolled in during this month.
The November 2020 Ericsson Mobility Report estimates that by the end of this year, more than 1 billion people—15 percent of the world’s population—will live in an area where 5G coverage has rolled out. Another study focused on a benefit of this network evolution: Nokia and Telefonica released the results of a study that finds 5G 90 percent more energy efficient than 4G.
Juniper Research offered insights from several new reports this month. The analysis firm has found that the number of digital identity apps in use will exceed 6.2 billion in 2025, from just over 1 billion in 2020. The research found that civic identity apps, where government-issued identities are held in an app, will account for almost 90 percent of digital identity apps installed globally in 2025; driven by the increasing use of civic identity in emerging markets and the lasting impact of the pandemic. Another new Juniper Research report predicted that the total number of mobile money users in emerging markets will exceed 1.2 billion in 2025, up from 980 million in 2020; equating to just under 30 percent of all mobile phone users across emerging markets.
According to a new report from Dell’Oro Group, the market for microwave transmission equipment grew six percent year-over-year in 3Q 2020 following a steep decline in the first half of the year. Dell’Oro Group also revealed that revenues for the 5G Core market are accelerating the rate of growth for the mobile core network market that began in 2018.
Network Evolution News
Network evolution news included updates on advancements in fiber network usage as well as network expansion worldwide. Nokia has launched the world’s first 25 Gbps symmetrical PON fiber broadband solution to enable communications service providers to supercharge their networks and enhance fiber network usage. MYCOM OSI was selected by Magenta Telekom in Austria to support the assurance of network performance across fixed and mobile domains, for both consumer and enterprise services. SSE Enterprise Telecoms, one of the UK’s leading connectivity providers, has selected Infinera’s XTM Series for the second phase of its UK-wide network expansion to bring 5G across the UK.
SITA and Orange Business Services have implemented a multi-tenant edge SD-WAN platform at more than 60 airports globally through SITA’s shared connectivity platform AirportHub.
Stateside, the Federal Communications Commission has adopted new rules for the 5.9 GHz band (5.850-5.925 GHz) to make new spectrum available for unlicensed uses, such as Wi-Fi, and improve automotive safety. The agency has also selected SomosGov, Inc. as the next administrator responsible for various telephone number management responsibilities. Cambridge Broadband Networks Group (CBNG) has launched an A2/A3 variant of its VectaStar Flex solution to unlock the potential of high capacity, low latency, long range backhaul and fixed wireless access (FWA). This new variant will allow the current 39 license holders in the US to operate in a band that has been underutilized until now.
5G News
In 5G news, CommAgility and Wireless Telecom Group achieved full end-to-end data transfer over a wireless link, a milestone that advances 5G RAN development.
Broadband Forum published three new standards, marking a major step forward to unlock a new wave of 5G innovation and prepare telcos for the mass adoption of 5G. The three new specifications will allow telcos to build their 5G networks with open, cloud-native platforms that utilize software and hardware components from different vendors and deploy new 5G services faster, more securely and in a more flexible way.
