Danbatta commends Swedish Govt, Ericsson for sustained, remarkable partnership - ITREALMS

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The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has commended the Swedish Government and Ericsson for their commitment and consistency in a strategic partnership with NCC on capacity building which has strengthened the Commission’s regulatory activities.

Speaking at a workshop jointly organised by NCC and its Swedish partners within the framework of the Swedish Programme for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Developing and Emerging Regions (SPIDER), Danbatta stressed the significant strides made by NCC in the field of ICT.

Ericsson: 5G to top 1bn subscriptions in Dec'22 - ITREALMS

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The North America has been forecasted to lead the world in 5G subscription penetration in the next five years with nine-of-every-ten subscriptions in the region expected to be 5G by 2027. 

The forecast is contained in the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report, which also predicts that current global 5G subscriptions will pass the one billion milestone by the end of 2022.

Ericsson tops Frost Radar on 5G network infrastructure market ranking - ITREALMS

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For the second consecutive year Ericsson has been ranked as the leader in the Frost Radar™: 5G Network Infrastructure Market 2021 report. This shows the company’s ability to scale its innovations and growth in the field consistently from 2G, 3G, to 4G and now 5G.

By ranking the highest in the latest Frost Radar™ report, Ericsson confirms its status as the leader in terms of both innovation and growth in the 5G network infrastructure market which, according to business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, spans 5G radio access networks (RAN), transport networks, and core networks.

Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks, Ericsson, says: “The Frost Radar™ report recognizes Ericsson’s investments in technology leadership for customers’ benefit. By focusing on constant innovation and 5G portfolio development, we aim to stay ahead of the curve and provide our customers with the solutions they need for building the future networks.”

The Frost Radar™ independently evaluates companies with a significant influence on the market in a particular industry. As highlighted in the Frost Radar™ methodology, the Innovation and Growth scores are used to rate a company’s focus on continuous innovation and ability to translate the innovations into consistent growth.

The report plots top industry participants, standing out among companies positioned as the overall market leaders, leaders in a market segment, or thought leaders in certain segments.

Commenting on Ericsson’s top result by the Growth Index, Troy Morley, Industry Principal, Frost & Sullivan’s Information & Communication Technology group, and the author of the report, says: “Ericsson has spent the last few years adjusting its overall strategy to focus on profitability. The company has indicated that its strategy has been successful, even with the challenges brought by the pandemic. As a leader in the 4G infrastructure market, Ericsson enters the 5G market with a large customer base. The company has done an excellent job keeping its current customers and adding new customers.”

On top of the *5G commercial agreements already announced, Ericsson still maintains a significant pipeline of customers who are expected to move to 5G over the coming years.

Regarding Ericsson’s top positioning based on the Innovation Index, the report highlights the company’s ability to consistently scale its innovations on the global level across generations of mobile technologies – from 2G to 5G. The **108 live 5G networks powered by Ericsson’s products and solutions in 48 countries, which is the highest level that Frost & Sullivan has seen publicly reported, come as credible proof to the Frost Radar™ assessment.

“Ericsson invests significant amounts in R&D, which is essential in a market where technology is always evolving,” says Morley. “Having CSP market as the primary focus, Ericsson’s 5G portfolio includes all areas of 5G network infrastructure, previous generations of network infrastructure, as well as private networks.” Ericsson’s 5G network infrastructure portfolio comprises 5G RAN, dual-mode 5G Core, and 5G Transport that address all aspects of 5G deployment – from providing low latency and higher bandwidth, ensuring instant response times for users and the future readiness of the network for CSPs. Ericsson’s 5G network offering also includes Ericsson Radio System, 5G Carrier Aggregation, Ericsson Spectrum Sharing, network slicing, service automation and 5G monetization. CSPs are empowered with 5G solutions that enable the modular approach when switching to the cloud-native 5G network or expanding their network for new business opportunities.

Vodafone Egypt restarts business support system deal with Ericsson - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Vodafone Egypt has extended partnership with Ericsson to transform the service provider’s Business Support System (BSS) into an industrialized, real-time converged environment, reports ITREALMS.

In addition, upgrades to the latest versions of Ericsson Charging and Ericsson Mediation will facilitate a seamless evolution towards 5G/IoT readiness by helping Vodafone Egypt meet customer demands with new offers, strengthen competitiveness, enable flexibility to meet market demands, and reduce co sts through streamlined operations.

In the ongoing contract, Ericsson is responsible for solution design and deployment as well as competence development. Ericsson’s BSS solution enables Vodafone Egypt to offer a wider range of unique services including real-time promotions and notifications, product and services cross bundling, real-time cost control for postpaid subscriptions, subscriber personalization, and flexible mobile wallets.

Alexandre Froment-Curtil, Vodafone Egypt CEO says: “In line with our commitment to innovate, and our strategy focusing on Digital transformation, Vodafone Egypt aims to ensure that we actively reduce time-to-market in a way that would not affect customer experience. Ericsson's billing solution has played a role in enabling our customers to enjoy our new services more quickly and efficiently.”

The extended contract allows Vodafone Egypt to focus its efforts on product development while having clearer visibility and more control over capital and operating expense.

Fadi Pharaon, President of Ericsson Middle East & Africa, says “As Vodafone Egypt's long-standing digital transformation partner, we are supporting them in realizing their vision of fully-converged business and differentiated customer experience. Our end-to-end convergent Digital BSS solutions enable our partners to meet the ever-increasing consumer demands, and secure more efficiencies through streamlined operations.”

Two billion subscribers are supported by the Ericsson’s world-class BSS offerings, helping service providers address new opportunities that demand the right offer at the right moment.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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STC, Ericsson to launch mid-band 5G network - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

The Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Ericsson announced that they are launching a mid-band 5G network in Saudi Arabia at a signing ceremony held at the Mobile World Congress 2019 event in Barcelona, reports ITREALMS.

STC is deploying a 5G network using Ericsson commercial hardware and solutions including radio access network (RAN), Packet core, transport and Ericsson Network Manager. This network modernization with latest technologies of wireless and fixed broadband, boosted speed and 5G deployment will operate on a 3.5 GHZ band. The 5G network will be deployed with a third-party, 3GPP-compliant user equipment.

Nasser Al Nasser, STC CEO, says: “We are excited to launch one of the fastest mid-band 5G field networks in the world. We have been working in close partnership with Ericsson on 5G for tests in the lab, field trials, and now initial deployment. Throughout this process, our customers and their service requirements are our top priority. Our aim is to build a network that caters for current and future services. 5G is considered as a very important step toward digitalization and connecting everything, which supports Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 toward economic diversification."

STC and Ericsson have a longstanding partnership to create a strategic roadmap for the evolution towards 5G technology.

Rafiah Ibrahim, Head of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, says: “5G holds an immense potential for driving industry digitization and pioneering innovation. Our collaboration with STC has enabled us to create a fast mid-band 5G field network based on real business needs, which supports STC in meeting their future customer requirements.”

5G at mid and high bands is well suited for deployment at existing site grids, especially when combined with low-band LTE. Adding new frequency bands to existing deployments is a future-proof and cost-efficient way to improve performance, meet the growing needs of mobile broadband subscribers, and deliver new 5G-based services.

In addition to facilitating the delivery of next-generation mobile broadband, cloud and providing support for massive Internet of Things (IoT) deployment, Ericsson’s 5G collaboration with STC will also enable new industry use cases thanks to increased throughput and reduced latency.

Eng. Emad A. Alaoudah, Procurement and Support Services Sector VP, STC, said: “STC has signed multiple Rawafed Local Content agreements under its flagship 5G Aspiration Project with Strategic Partners. These agreements will open new opportunities for the local supply market and build long term capability in the national ICT sector.

The 5G project with all partners will contribute more than SAR2bn to local industry, boost Saudization in vital next-gen technology and management positions by 50%, increase SME support by 20%, and double the direct innovation investment made by STC Strategic Partners for 5G industry development within KSA. The measures taken will ensure maximal knowledge transfer, training and development of the Saudi workforce in future 5G technologies.

STC and its Strategic Partners have agreed upon accelerating 5G use case development within the Kingdom leveraging innovation hubs and long-term sustainable innovation platforms. These plans will establish KSA as a future 5G regional center of competence.”

The combined effort of the two partners aims to create significant value towards Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, targeting both consumer and business sectors to enjoy next-generation technologies.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Ericsson MediaFirst TV platform debuts on Amlogic's set top box chipset

ITREALMS:

The Next-generation TV operators can cost-effectively take their customers to new levels of personalized consumer experience satisfaction as a result of collaboration between Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Media Solutions and Amlogic to make Ericsson’s MediaFirst middleware available via Amlogic’s chipsets, reports ITRealms.

Supported by its high performance central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU), the integration of Amlogic’s S905X chipset solution enables consumers to speedily access content, including High Dynamic Range (HDR) content, across MediaFirst set-top-boxes. Operators can also provide increased choice of content, as well as boosting engagement and personalization experiences for customers.

Ericsson Media Solutions is a leading provider of personalized and converged multiscreen TV solutions for pay TV operators. Amlogic is a leading provider of System-On-Chip (SOC) for video streaming and smart home devices. Amlogic’s S905X chipset is operational in OTT and IP scenarios with major operators worldwide, offering high-end features at an optimized price. The integration with the MediaFirst middleware provides more choice and flexibility to operators.

The solution will be demonstrated by Ericsson Media Solutions at NAB Show 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada, from April 7-12. It offers advanced media processing that enables operators to deliver high quality user experiences by utilizing complex HDR schemes alongside its high-performance CPU and GPU. Advanced security technologies ensure that high value content is securely managed to meet the needs of content owners worldwide. The solution is already commercially available through most MediaFirst set-top-box manufacturers.

Ericsson Media Solutions’ MediaFirst TV Platform is an end-to-end media platform for the creation, management, and delivery of next-generation Pay TV. Built using leading-edge cloud-based architecture, it enables operators and content providers to deliver seamless, personalized and intuitive TV experiences to consumers anytime, anywhere and on any device.

James Xie, VP, Corporate Business Strategy, Amlogic, says: “The S905X chipset is ideally designed to meet operators’ requirements and to enable a high-quality user experience with MediaFirst. MediaFirst takes full advantage of our SOC capabilities to deliver a seamless TV experience to operators at price points not possible using current solutions.”

Marc Stauffacher, Head of Solution Area TV Platforms, Ericsson Media Solutions says: “Amlogic chipsets deliver an excellent user experience across all MediaFirst use cases, including Pay TV in-home and OTT services. By pre-integrating the MediaFirst TV Platform client with Amlogic we are adding more choice and value to Ericsson Media Solutions’ holistic MediaFirst ecosystem, enabling our global partner operators to rapidly go to market.”  

Nenye Dom/GEE

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Ericsson achieves 5G platform for operators

ITREALMS:

World leader in communications technology and services with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden,m Ericsson, has finalized 5G-readiness for operators by enhancing its 5G Platform with new solutions for the radio and core network, reports ITRealms.

The company also launched 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) commercial software, based on the recently approved first 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standard. It also introduces a new category of radio products called Street Macro – a new site type that addresses the need of operators to grow in cities with limited available radio locations.

ITRealms reports that to capture growth opportunities presented by new 5G use cases, Ericsson expands its 5G Core System offering with new capabilities to support 5G NR and also enhances its Distributed Cloud solution.  

Ericsson introduced its 5G Platform in February 2017 with additions made in September the same year. It comprises the 5G core, radio, and transport portfolios together with OSS/BSS, network services and security.

Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks at Ericsson, says: “Operators who want to be early with 5G now have the essential pieces for launching 5G networks already this year. With our expanded platform, they will get more efficient networks as well as opportunities to create new revenues from emerging consumer and industrial use cases.”

Giovanni Ferigo, CTO, TIM, says: “Ericsson is an important enabler of our 5G in-field innovation activities that span several cities in Italy. Together, last December – marking an Italian record - we activated a 5G NR cell in the mmW frequencies in the city of Torino, reaching speeds above 20Gbps. We are looking forward to testing Ericsson’s new solutions that will contribute to address the wide variety of use cases we are working on.”

5G software – enabling first-movers to launch 5G

ITRealms equally gathered that available in the fourth quarter of 2018, Ericsson’s 5G radio network software provides multi-band support for global deployment. It will allow operators to use new frequency spectrum as it becomes available.

The 5G radio network software announced today complements Ericsson’s already launched baseband and 5G radios. Operators can simply activate their 5G networks and take the first steps with commercial 5G capabilities and new applications leveraging advanced mobile broadband services.

This will cater efficiently for growing data traffic and enable access to multimedia content, such as 4K/8K video streaming and virtual reality/augmented reality. According to Ericsson’s new economic study of enhanced mobile broadband, evolution to 5G will enable 10 times lower cost per gigabyte than current 4G.

The radio offering is complemented with 5G Core commercial software optimized for 5G throughput, network capacity and scalability. Ericsson's Packet Core and Unified Data Management solutions will deliver enhancements throughout 2018 to efficiently support 5G services. These solutions can be further upgraded with new functionalities as the 3GPP 5G standard evolves. 

Chuks Egbune/GEE 

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Nigeria: Mobile broadband over riding Fixed broadband - Jejdling

ITRealms

Ericsson Consumer Lab in a new survey report contained in its 2015 consumer insight summary report 'Internet Goes Mobile', has discovered that out of the total number of people that use mobile broadband, more than 95 per cent of Nigerians are more at ease with the mobile broadband services, as it provides easy access on their Smartphone’s, across devices such as laptops, mobile phones and tablets, than the fixed broadband services from wireless fidelity (WiFi) technology, ITRealms reports.

Confirming the report, Head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa at Ericsson, Fredrik Jejdling said the findings would enable service providers to begin to consider expanding their internet broadband capacities, towards mobile broadband, so as to meet up with the increase in demand for mobile broadband that is expected.

He added that, “More Nigerians are beginning to use the mobile broadband services more than ever before, to upload and download contents and information, through the social media, while on the move.”

The study highlights the underlying desires of telecoms consumers, as well as their perceptions of current telecoms operations and services.

ITRealms gathered that in achieving this, it made use of data compiled through a total of 1,653 one-on-one interviews with Nigerians between the ages of 15 to 59 years, with a research sample representing 30 million people between social classes in metropolitan areas, which represent about 40 percent of Nigeria’s urban population.

It further revealed that 56 per cent of mobile phone users are satisfied with data speed and voice connection quality, while over 50 per cent of those who switch between fixed and mobile broadband, do so due to changing locations or the availability of connections.

To enable internet service providers meet up with the expected rise in the demand for mobile broadband services, ITRealms gathered that stake holders in the ICT sector has called on the government to act fast to increase broadband deployment in all nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

Daniel Nsolibe/Ed, Ops.

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Etisalat group, Ericsson team up on networked society initiatives

ITRealms:

The  Etisalat Group in collaboration with Ericsson to boost its high-speed communications and video delivery networks using Ericsson’s innovative technologies and services to offer more citizens access to public services from any internet-enabled mobile device, anywhere and anytime, ITRealms reports.

This, ITRealms gathered was in recognition of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) market transformation and the need to adopt the latest digital technologies to satisfy consumers.

Hence, Etisalat and Ericsson signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a new collaboration to enable a high-speed, responsive network, laying the foundation for next-generation infrastructure for m-government and smart city initiatives.

ITRealms also gathered that high-speed broadband connectivity is fundamentally changing the way people live, interact and do business; consumers expect access to information, entertainment and businesses with faster speeds.

Through this partnership, Etisalat Group will launch trials of innovative Ericsson technologies such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) Broadcast, Ericsson Radio Dot System, and Ericsson’s heterogeneous network solutions.

Mr. Hatem Bamatraf, Chief Technology Officer at Etisalat Group affirmed to ITRealms that over the years, Etisalat Group has demonstrated its ability to build and sustain the most advanced and innovative networks.

“Conducting such innovative trials is only the first step. This will pave the way for further collaborations and the eventual delivery of more advanced, reliable and faster broadband access to users across the region,” he said.

Additionally, ITRealms learnt that Etisalat will collaborate with Ericsson to roll out a mobile identity based service, and to explore opportunities for expanding these services across each of the countries Etisalat Group operates in.

Mobile identity, ITRealms said, is a key foundation for m-government, m-commerce and m-health services.

“The service allows subscribers to use their mobile identity securely via a one-click sign in, giving access to diverse applications, government services and websites, without the risk of being data-mined by the various ID providers,” Bamatraf hinted.

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Unitel, Ericsson demo first LTE-Advanced in Africa

ITRealms:

In effort at showcasing its advanced technology, Ericsson has partnered Angolan leading mobile operator, Unitel to demo on the first Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-Advanced) in Africa, reports ITRealms.

The demonstration, ITRealms gathered is the first Africa’s data transmission on combined 

1800MHz and 900MHz spectrum bands on a commercial network on the continent.

Vice President, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa, Magnus Mchunguzi, confirmed this to ITRealms, saying that by using LTE, operators could increase their network capacity and enhance the mobile broadband user experience, enabling up to 1Gbps data rates in the future.

“This demo places Unitel on the very limited list of operators in the world to demonstrate LTE-A in a live network using a commercial terminal. We are very proud to have partnered with Unitel in this achievement, further extending our long-standing relationship with Unitel,” Mchunguzi said.

Stressing that LTE advanced technology helps Unitel to match its spectrum assets, while enabling higher data speeds to increase network capacity and enhance end-user experience.

For the first time in Africa, Ericsson, together with Angola’s leading telecommunications provider Unitel, has successfully demonstrated LTE Advanced (LTE-A) Carrier Aggregation technology. The demonstration was done on both 1800MHz and 900MHz spectrum bands on a commercial network, using a commercial terminal, and took place on December 18, when Unitel transferred data across its live network in Luanda, Angola, carrying commercial traffic.

LTE Carrier Aggregation is the next step in the evolution of high-speed mobile broadband services, enabling operators to make the most of their existing spectrum assets by combining multiple spectrum bands to enable higher mobile broadband download speeds.

Amilcar Safeca, Deputy CEO of Unitel, said they will always innovate to enhance the customer experience. 

"With the global leap toward higher data access speeds for sophisticated video and mobility services; we are enhancing our network to ensure we continually provide high-quality services to our high-demanding subscriber base. With this demo, we are well on the way to launching the most advanced mobile network in Angola and perhaps Africa in the near future. We are working with Ericsson to make this happen,” Safeca said.

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Refugees United, Ericsson reconnect 135,000 on mobile platform

In continuation of the effort to raise awareness about the role that technology plays for underserved refugee populations, Ericsson and mobile operators supports of the United National Humanitarian and Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and Refugees United in their cause to help refugees find missing family members and loved ones.

A press statement from Ericsson showed that with 43 million people forcibly displaced around the world, family separation due to war, famine and natural disasters remains an enormous challenge.

He said, thousands of families are struggling to find their missing loved ones with whom they have lost contact.   

UNHCR in its annual report on the trends in forced displacement citing a record of 80,000 people forced to flee across borders. ”2011 saw suffering on an epic scape. For so many lives to have been thrown into turmoil over so short a space of time means enormous personal cost for all who were affected,” said António Guterres, the UNHCR Chief and High Commissioner for Refugees.

At the Rio+Social event in June, Hans Vestberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, António Guterres UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and Christopher Mikkelsen, co-founder of Refugees United, addressed a largely social media oriented audience about the plight of refugees, and asked the audience to use their collective force to spread the word about the refugee cause, and the Refugees United online family tracing service.

Today, the Refugees United family tracing service is available via web, WAP and Android applications to serve refugees with low-end handsets and lower speed connectivity as well as refugees residing in countries with a larger proportion of smart phones. 

DigitalSENSE News gathered that Refugees United and Ericsson have reached and exceed the challenging joint target of 120,000 refugees registered on the database within 2012 as the service is spreading and 800 new users are added every week.

Additionally, they said that Vodafone Egypt supports the cause, stressing that the spread and effectiveness of the tool is proven by a recent reconnection case were two Somali brothers in two different parts of the world found each other via the Refugees United platform after only 2 months of search supported by Kenya Red Cross.

According to the press statement, brothers fled an Al-Shabaab militia attack in 1998 and didn’t see each other since. The younger of the brothers, then 7 years old, travelled to Kenya while his older brother fled to Pakistan, from which he was resettled to the US.

Refugees United ambassador and award-winning actor Mads Mikkelsen says: “Family has always been very important to me, and being a father of two myself, I simply cannot imagine the hardships that these brothers must have gone through.

Separated from each other and the rest of their family when they were 7 and 13-years-old, just a few years younger than my kids are now, is just unbearable – and, at the same time, the reality for thousands and thousands of refugee families. Refugees United and partners are using technology to solve a pressing problem related to family – something that we can all relate to”.

Remmy Nweke
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