News
Rakuten Mobile to use ‘platinum’ band in 2024 for cheap
Japan’s upstart MNO Rakuten Mobile says it hopes to introduce services over the so-called ‘platinum band’ (900 MHz) from March 2024 – at minimal cost. Read more…
4G
News
BSNL may consider Jio Platforms for its 4G/5 upgrade
BSNL may be considering Jio Platforms to supply its 4G/5G network upgrade – which would be a blow to the TCS-led consortium currently pegged to win the deal. Read more…
News
BSNL union blasts minister’s ‘perform or perish’ warning
An employee union for BSNL argues that government policies are making it difficult for the state-run telco to keep up with its private-sector rivals. Read more…
News
Rakuten Mobile is bleeding users after dropping free data plan
Rakuten Mobile is dropping its free plan for users whose monthly data usage stays below 1GB, prompting an exodus of subs to its rivals. Read more…
News
India’s Airtel to remove ZTE, Huawei from 4G network to be a ‘clean telco’
Bharti Airtel has reportedly begun its ‘clean telco’ journey in India gradually reducing exposure to Chinese telecom vendors Huawei and ZTE. Read more…
News
India delays 4G auctions despite Jio’s push for an immediate sale
India is set to defer 4G spectrum auctions to the first quarter of 2021 despite an aggressive push from Reliance Jio for an urgent sale. Read more…
News
2G still relevant: India’s regulator backs Airtel and Vodafone Idea
India’s telecom regulator has backed the country’s older service providers Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea saying that legacy 2G technology. Read more…
Off the Wire
Singapore 4G beats 5G download speed and video experience of others
Report reveals that even with 4G Mobile Networks, Singapore provides better mobile network experience than countries with 5G. Read more…
News
Nokia wins big in India – bags $1bn 4G deal from Airtel
Nokia has won a major multi-year network expansion contract from Bharti Airtel in India that will further consolidate its presence. Read more…
News
Hutch Lanka has 90% of population covered by 4G, plans 5G
Sri Lanka’s Hutch Telecommunications Lanka (Hutch) has completed its island-wide deployment of 4G services, blanketing 90% of the population. Read more…
News
Smart sees massive rise in LTE data use on network upgrades
PLDT’s mobile arm Smart Communications has reported a sharp spike in 4G LTE data customers on the back of its aggressive network upgrade program. Read more…
Features
Singapore approaches 90% 4G availability
Analysis of 4G availability in Singapore has shown an upward trend in the past 12 months for all three national operators, especially Starhub. Read more…
Views
5G won’t beat the 4G experience with patchy coverage
Commercial 5G is faster than 4G. but real question is: can it beat the 4G experience? And the answer to that is: “I hope you’re sitting down.” Read more…
Views
Early performance of 5G is clearly inferior to 4G
Early performance of 5G is clearly inferior to 4G on speed, latency and jitter now Verizon has a nasty chicken and egg situation. Read more…
Views
How 5G will solve congestion problems in today’s 4G networks
Some say 5G deployments will not be so different from 4G, but this confuses potential initial 5G teething issues with the real importance of 5G for the future. Read more…
Off the Wire
4G availability dramatically increases in the Philippines: report
4G availability in the Philippines has increased dramatically in the last two years. Users can now find an LTE connection more than 70% of the time. Read more…
Features
5G operators will rely on 4G/LTE networks for years to come
Operators are investing heavily in LTE/LTE-Advanced/LTE-Advanced Pro technologies as the global de-facto platform for delivering mobile broadband services. Read more…
Views
4G is faster than Wi-Fi, and now your offload model is broken
ITEM: The days of Wi-Fi serving as a superior connectivity alternative to mobile broadband are drawing to a close, which means cellcos are going to have to rethink the role that Wi-Fi plays in their Read more…
Views
4G network performance had better match 5G marketing
5G marketing will no doubt push faster network speeds. But when there’s handover from 5G to 4G, what will be the customer experience in terms of speed? Here’s why operators must beef up 4G performance Read more…
Off the Wire
India’s mobile user base officially tops 1 billion, says COAI
India’s mobile market has officially passed the 1-billion subscriber mark according to local mobile industry coalition COAI, which counted 1.049 billion mobile subscribers in its April 2018 report. Bharti Airtel continues to hold the top Read more…