WCA November 2013

To Huawei, 5G is not a technology but an entire system and key to the ‘Internet of Things’ “Ever-ambitious Huawei Technologies Co Ltd has set out its 5G vision: a tenfold increase in speed to 10Gbit/s, a thousandfold increase in the required spectrum, and the end to the FDD/TDD tyranny.” Robert Clark, of Light Reading , was reporting on the recent assertion by Tong Wen, who leads Huawei’s 5G technology development efforts, that the Chinese telecom equipment provider has 200 researchers working on 5G, which he described as “one of [our] priority projects. It will really open up the ‘Internet of Things’ frontier for massive connectivity.” Ambitious, indeed. Mr Tong believes that the Internet of Things will drive the number of wireless connections worldwide to around 100 billion by the time 5G is mature in 2020, and that this could increase another tenfold by 2030. (‘Huawei Sets Out Its 5G Stall,’ 22 nd July). According to the Huawei fellow, the vendor sees 5G as an extension of 4G, 3G and Wi-Fi – not as replacing them. Over the next decade Huawei expects to address a number of issues, such as immersive connectivity, “with everything connecting into the network,” according to Mr Tong. Mr Clark noted that Huawei has been working on 5G since 2009, partnering with 20 or so educational institutions worldwide, including Harvard, Cambridge, and the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. Huawei describes itself as advanced in prototyping a device, having completed a demo at 50Gbit/s throughput. The introduction of 5G could also advance the introduction of wireless technology standard consolidation. Mr Tong speculated that full duplex (simultaneous bidirectional communication on the same frequency) would replace the discrete frequency division and time division modes that have fragmented 3G and 4G development efforts. ✆ But Mr Clark pointed out that such capabilities impose exacting demands.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barros said 11 th September that an overhaul of the fragmented telecom market of the Eurozone “is essential for Europe’s strategic interests and economic progress.” To that end, the European Union seeks to abolish cellphone roaming charges across the 28-nation zone. The proposed legislation would mean that, as of July 2014, customers will no longer have to pay for incoming calls when travelling in other EU countries, and it would end all roaming charges two years later. It also seeks to cap prices of EU-international fixed-line calls at the level of domestic long-distance calls. The plan, which must be approved by the European Parliament and the governments of the EU member states, is aimed at harmonising the bloc’s fragmented telecom market, cutting red tape, and encouraging investment in new high-speed networks to boost growth. Europe currently has hundreds of mobile and fixed telephony operators across a patchwork of 28 countries. More tellingly, it lags parts of the US, Asia and Africa in rolling out new mobile technologies such as fourth-generation (4G) service. “Lagos has 4G mobile,” the Commission noted. “But Brussels does not.” Neelie Kroes, the EU commissioner in charge of the legislation, said the goal is for people to incur the same phone costs regardless of where they happen to be in Europe. She asserted: “EU consumers should not pay more for calling abroad or when they travel abroad in the EU.” Ms Kroes discounted concerns that network operators could try to recoup their roaming losses by hiking their domestic calling prices. The sector’s fierce competition will keep prices low, she said, even as the new legislation gives consumers a wider choice of phone and Internet providers — including those from countries outside the Eurozone. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, declared that Europe ‘[cannot] afford to miss such a low-hanging fruit to power charge the digital economy of the 21 st Century.’ The EC claims that a single telecom market could add about one per cent (more than $132 billion) to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the region. ✆ The EC’s plans for the development of a single telecom market for Europe drew a negative response from the GSM Association (GSMA), whose membership of mobile operators and related companies support the existing protocols for 2G (second-generation) cellular networks. While acknowledging the commitment and dedication of Commissioner Kroes and her team in developing their proposals against a very tight timeline, the GSMA asserted that the focus of the EC should more properly be on measures that address the region’s growth, employment and competitiveness challenges. The GSMA report ‘Mobile Economy Europe 2013’ highlights the huge gains possible for Europe’s economy as mobile technology increasingly transforms such sectors as health, education, transport and energy. To maximise the potential of these developments, the association calls for a forward-looking policy and regulatory framework to boost investment, create new jobs, and drive innovation in the telecom industry. Anne Bouverot, the GSMA director general, said: “Reform will set the context for investment and innovation in Europe’s digital economy for the next ten years.” A plan by the European Union to abolish mobile phone roaming charges envisions a single, streamlined telecom sector

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Wire & Cable ASIA – November/December 2013