Matt Kapko | EditorFebruary 21, 2021 3:00 PM

The introduction of millimeter-wave (mmWave) spectrum for 5G networks presents network operators with a unique, and in many cases, first of its kind assortment of challenges and opportunities.

The vast majority of 5G deployments to date ride on mid- or low-band spectrum, but the dramatic gains that mmWave spectrum can deliver in speed, capacity, and lower latency are without compare in the context of mobile architecture.

However, the costs operators will have to endure to deploy robust and reliable 5G mmWave networks are massive. And therein lies the rub. At least until equipment, and specialized use cases can help offset those costs.

Much of the early hype around 5G focused on mmWave because executives could point to gigabit-plus speeds, lower latency, and fantastical use cases, but the economics don’t bear out and are unlikely to until later this decade.

Read more at: https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/sizing-up-the-gains-pains-of-5g-mmwave/2021/02/

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By John Xie October 10, 2020

Mounted on rooftops, utility poles and streetlights throughout China since last year are hundreds of thousands of high-tech wireless towers for 5G, a powerful sign of the country’s ambition to lead in new technology. Yet many of them are operational for only half the day.

China Unicom, one of three telecommunication operators, announced in August that its Luoyang branch in Henan province would automatically switch its 5G transmitter stations to sleep mode from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. because there were few people using them. The other two carriers quickly followed suit and since then have rolled out the same policies in other cities across the country.

“Shutting down base stations is not a manual shutdown, but an automatic adjustment made at a certain time,” Wang Xiaochu, chairman of China Unicom, said at the company’s midyear earnings conference.

5G is one of the biggest technology investments in China’s recent history. Touted as the next big leap forward in digital communication, the 5th generation mobile network technology is supposed to change the world and spur a new digital revolution.

China officially launched its commercial 5G networks in September 2019 with the promise of delivering unprecedented digital speed to support new applications from autonomous driving to virtual surgery. More than a year later, the biggest 5G market is now facing widespread complaints about network speed and skyrocketing costs of deployments.

Read more at: https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/chinese-5g-not-living-its-hype

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By Siphelele Dludla

 JOHANNESBURG – World Wide Worx said on Friday that the telecommunications regulator should look into lowering the price of the 5G frequency spectrum auction so that South Africa could enjoy the best quality internet services.

In a study released on Friday, World Wide Worx managing director Arthur Goldstuck said communications service providers were unanimous that a high price for bidding on spectrum for high-speed mobile broadband will have a direct impact on the quality of the service.

The World Wide Worx study was based on interviews with the country’s four major mobile network operators, and 21 internet and communications service providers.

Read more at https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/telecom-regulator-should-look-into-lowering-price-of-5g-at-auction-b81d0bb3-db3e-45f7-8d39-5b7ae432549a

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In a document outlining recommendations for the development of high speed fibre and 5G services across the economic bloc, it called on European Union countries to work on a common approach to address hurdles currently hampering deployments.

Included in the issues it aims to tackle are a reduction in 5G deployment costs, removal of unnecessary administrative hurdles, and support of cross-border services in the transport and industrial sectors.

It added it was essential to “avoid or minimise any delays in granting access to radio spectrum to ensure timely deployment of 5G”.

Among the suggested policies, the EC said a deadline of four months should be imposed for granting or declining permission for civil works associated with high-speed network deployment. It also called for “timely and investment-friendly access to 5G radio spectrum”.

Read more at: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/european-commission-pushes-for-action-on-5g

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Extract, to read the full article please see: https://theaseanpost.com/article/pandemic-hits-smartphone-market-hard

Plunged Demand

According to a recent report by GfK, in January to July 2020, the smartphone market value in the Asia-Pacific region declined by 20 percent to just over US$119 billion – almost US$30 billion less than the same period last year. 

“The region’s smartphone market was hardest hit in the second quarter when many countries here entered lockdown mode. This was also when we started observing new trends emerging and the corresponding shifts in consumer demand for durable goods,” explained Alexander Dehmel, Market Insights Lead APAC at GfK.

The report stated that although Taiwan managed to turn in marginal growth at one percent, the rest of the 15 markets reported declines in market value; Indonesia (-4 percent), Thailand (-7 percent), India and Singapore (both -42 percent).

“Supply and demand of smartphones plunged in China, slumped across Asia, and slowed in the rest of the world. It is a period the smartphone industry will want to forget,” said Neil Mawston, executive director at research firm, Strategy Analytics. 

Another key observation from the GfK study is that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered consumer spending on smartphones. Findings on the region’s smartphone market from the first half of 2020 showed the rising popularity of models from the entry and low to mid-range segments that offer good features at affordable prices.

Market analyst firm Canalys also reported that worldwide smartphone shipments had dropped 13 percent in May 2020 from the same time last year.

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HICKORY, NC — Fifth-generation wireless (5G) is the next major phase of mobile communications. 5G is set to deliver higher data transfer rates for mission-critical communications and will allow massive broadband capacities, enabling high-speed communication across various applications such as the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. According to a recent studyfrom market research firm,Market Connections, underwritten by CommScope, only 46% of respondents feel their current network infrastructure is capable of supporting 5G, but 68% think 5G will have a significant impact on their agency operations within one to four years.

Of the respondents who do not feel their current infrastructure is capable of supporting 5G, none have deployed 5G, 19% are piloting, 43% are planning to pilot, and 52% are not planning or evaluating whether to pilot 5G. According to the report, ongoing and initial costs are reported as top barriers for federal agencies wishing to implement 5G – 44% believe initial/up-front costs will be the biggest barrier and 49% are concerned about ongoing costs.

Read more at: https://www.bbcmag.com/breaking-news/study-reveals-interest-and-concern-in-us-5g-federal-environment

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A majority of Taiwanese are not inclined to switch to 5G service within the next six months, as most of them are waiting for the cost to drop, an online poll released on Thursday by 1111 Job Bank (111人力銀行) showed.

The nation’s three major telecoms have launched 5G services over the past two months.

The average cost of a monthly data plan is NT$1,399, almost twice the average NT$703 most consumers are prepared to pay, the poll found.

The survey found that 52.8 percent of respondents are not considering applying for 5G service in the near future, with 31 percent of them naming cost as the main deterrent.

People are also not motivated to switch to 5G service, because they think 4G is adequate for their personal use (24.9 percent), they are concerned that 5G base stations might not have enough coverage (21 percent) and the devices they own do not support 5G (18.8 percent), the poll found.

Read more at: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2020/08/24/2003742174

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