FIRA WIRE, DAY 0: GSMA warnings, holographic assistants and more

MWC 2018 Fira GSMA
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MWC18 news from Day 0: GSMA warns of megacity broadband doom; Nokia takes Facebook’s Terragraph global; Ericsson and China Mobile do Industry 4.0; HKT and Huawei make a DPTC; and SK Telecom’s Nugu assistant now available in hologram form

Megacities will drown in data overload unless regulators obey GSMA: report

Megacities will will face a significant gap between mobile data traffic demand and available network capacity unless regulators and governments adopt supportive policies that enable cellcos to get on with the business of rolling out networks however they see fit, says a new GSMA/Boston Consulting Group report. The report highlights that regulatory reform will be critical in closing the projected supply-demand gap and unlocking the economic potential of next-generation mobile broadband. Failure to do so invites economic woe, the GSMA says.

The GSMA makes six key recommendations for policymakers to promote infrastructure investment:

  • Release additional affordable spectrum
  • Facilitate deployment of fronthaul and backhaul infrastructure
  • Provide more access to advantageous macro-cell and small-cell sites
  • Allow network sharing agreements
  • Enable small-cell deployment
  • Harmonise power density limits.

Nokia to take Facebook’s Terragraph FWA tech global

Nokia and Facebook are working to accelerate the adoption of 60-GHz fixed wireless access technologies to deliver gigabit services and connect more people, faster. To that end, Nokia will combine its wireless passive optical network (WPON) with Facebook’s Terragraph technology to launch global gigabit broadband trials in 2018 with select customers.

Nokia’s wireless passive optical network (WPON) technology provides a wireless gigabit drop to the home for broadband access networks. Facebook’s Terragraph technology is a 60 GHz, multi-node wireless system that delivers a low-cost solution for high-speed wireless access. Combining WPON with Terragraph’s mesh-routing and multi-hop capabilities allows broadband providers to wirelessly deliver gigabit services over wider areas with high reliability and meet growing demands for ultra-broadband access.

Ericsson and China Mobile take on Industry 4.0

Ericsson and China Mobile have signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement at Mobile World Congress 2018 to develop IoT opportunities in industry and enterprises. Ericsson and China Mobile will jointly build an Industry IoT Cooperation Center to plan for and develop IoT Connectivity and IoT ecosystem solutions in areas such as manufacturing, industry, health, and intelligent transportation. Built on China Mobile’s Co-Space and Ericsson Garage, the CMCC-Ericsson Garage aims to jointly hatch new cutting-edge technologies and applications.

HKT and Huawei make a Digital Transformation Practice Center

HKT and Huawei have announced the establishment of the Digital Transformation Practice Center (DTPC), which aims to share the experience and practices of HKT gained during its digital business transformation journey and to help guide the digitalization process of other carriers. The DTPC will be set up by mid-2018 in Hong Kong. Members of the HKT and Huawei digital business transformation project team will provide on-site sharing of the experience and practices gained in the transformation journey with visitors. HKT will also mirror its digital transformation products, services and operations platform to the DTPC, together with Huawei Cloud Open Labs, to allow visitors to gain hands-on experience on the transformed services and agile capabilities of HKT’s cloud platform.

SK Telecom to turn its Nugu assistant into a hologram avatar

SK Telecom will unveil ‘HoloBox’, an AI hologram device at Mobile World Congress 2018. HoloBox is a service which allows users to communicate face-to-face with a virtual AI avatar by combining SK Telecom’s Nugu AI platform with hologram technology. The HoloBox avatar stays with the user even outside of the house via augmented reality technology in their smartphones.

holobox
Image credit: SK Telecom

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