WCA May 2018

Telecom news

Among them: Ø In Europe, FTTH/B infrastructure is having a positive environmental impact, yielding 88 per cent lower greenhouse gas emissions per gigabit compared to other access technologies Ø In the Dutch town of Nuenen, where the second case study was conducted, fibre is playing a role in what FTTH Council Europe termed “a demographic challenge.” It facilitated new services in domotics or domotica (automation for a “smart home”), helping elderly FTTH network-connected residents of the area Ø In France, 4.8 per cent more start-ups were created in muni- cipalities equipped with ultrafast broadband compared to those with slower access Ø The degree of digitisation possible with FTTH is accelerating the adoption of “smart farming” techniques, yielding efficiency gains in the day-to-day business of agriculture. (“Study: Socio- Economic Impact of FTTH,” 15 th February) An especially large claim for FTTH was made by the director general of FTTH Council Europe, Erzsébet Fitori, who asserted that it is “the only future-proof foundational infra- structure that will enable the new technologies and services we cannot even imagine.” Ms Fitori urged European policy-makers to foster fibre roll-out “by striking the right balance between investment incentives and ensuring a competitive market.” At Mobile World Congress 2018, an executive of one of the world’s largest wireless network operators links populism and job fears “All the signs are positive for us to build a better future,” proclaimed Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao in his keynote speech at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, from 26 th February to 1 st March. At the same time, he acknowledged a global increase in “technofear”, with its concerns that such technologies as artificial intelligence (AI) and driverless cars will reduce the number of jobs available to the populaces of the world.

“The first to experience the future of wireless technology, well before most humans, will be South Korea’s wild boars.” The reference, by Bloomberg ’s Sam Kim and Sohee Kim, was to the world debut of 5G at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February. The fifth-generation wireless network saw service warding off porcine marauders in the mountainous region around the Games “with fast-acting systems that shoot rays, spew gases, and emit tiger roars.” The reporters provided other examples of South Korea’s first-ever commercial use of 5G technology. Shuttle buses at the Games, running with no humans at the wheel and using 5G to navigate the roads, were equipped with interior video screens showing live coverage of events. Tiny 5G-linked cameras attached to bobsleds streamed live video from the point of view of the pilots. And 360-degree images of figure-skating events in real time allowed viewers to stop the action to view twists, turns and jumps from every angle. All of this was enabled at 10 gigabits a second by wireless networks some 100 times faster than achievable with 4G. (“5G Is Making Its Global Debut at the Olympics, and It’s Wicked Fast,” 12 th February) The Pyeongchang extravaganza, engineered by South Korea’s KT Corp, anticipated the 5G roll-out set by the country’s wireless carriers for 2020. It utilised technology from Samsung (South Korea); Intel, of the USA; and Sweden’s Ericsson – but none from China’s Huawei, which is also in the global race for development of 5G technology. Post-Olympics, the South Korean technology went offline to enable the developers to analyse data and work out kinks. (A spokesman for the Pyeongchang Olympics Committee confirmed that, on opening day on 9 th February, a cyber attack had paralysed Internet networks covering the Games.) Ø Bloomberg took note of sporting events of the past that helped usher in new technology, such as the high-speed trains unveiled at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Colour television also went mainstream after those Games, holding promise for the Summer Games in Japan, in 2020, as a springboard for future marvels. Due to its speed, wrote Mr Kim and Ms Kim, 5G “opens possibilities that even engineers still aren’t aware of, much like the explosion of apps after the release of the iPhone.” Ø According to research from Ericsson and IHS Markit, cited by Bloomberg , about a billion people worldwide are likely to be 5G-enabled within five years – leading to $12.3 trillion in global economic output by the mid-2030s. 5G technology is not set for a global roll-out until 2020, but South Korea jumped the gun at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics

A European trade group asserts large socio-economic benefits from ‘future-proof’ FTTH A recent study by FTTH Council Europe examined the perceived benefits of fibre-to-the-home in Sweden and the Netherlands, as identified by means of case studies and a survey of 1,018 Swedish FTTH subscribers. The mission of the Brussels-based trade association is to accelerate the adoption of FTTH networks in Europe.

The results published in February by FTTH Council Europe suggest a generally favourable attitude toward fibre-based connectivity in the sur- veyed communities of FTTH users. Its conclusion – that, for the majority of respondents, “fibre is about higher speed and better value for money” – will come as no surprise. But the study also looked at the impact of fibre on society and the economy. Here, its broader conclusions are more instructive.

BigStockPhoto.com • Photographer: Krishnacreations

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Wire & Cable ASIA – May/June 2018

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