WCA September 2018

Telecom news

Ø Ø As reported Advanced Television (27 th June), Consumer Technology Association (CTA) research found that smartphones are now owned in 87 per cent of USA homes, second only to television sets at 96 per cent ownership. As laptops reached their highest ownership level ever at 72 per cent, CTA’s 20 th Consumer Technology Ownership and Market Potential Study was also able to show that, for the first time, the top three most commonly owned tech products are screen devices. Steve Koenig, vice president of market research at CTA said that “the three screens” – smartphones, TVs and notebook computers – answer to the desire of American consumers to be “connected and entertained, anytime and anywhere.” He also suggested that smartphone ownership in the USA may match that of TVs within the next five years. Ø Ø NTT DoCoMo Inc, the major mobile phone operator in Japan, announced that on 2 nd July it would inaugurate an eSIM solution that enables cross-vendor SIM profile switching from DoCoMo to China Mobile. This is intended to allow Japanese DoCoMo customers with Internet of Things (IoT) equipment in China to switch the mobile numbers (profiles) of their IoT equipment from DoCoMo to China Mobile, even when the two operators have engaged different SIM vendors. Presumably it will eliminate the need to replace physical SIM cards. Until now, mobile operators were required to use the same vendor to overwrite eSIM profiles when switching between their mobile networks. The new GSMA 3.1 specifications of the DoCoMo solution reportedly will allow the overwriting of eSIM information of operators who use different SIM vendors. The company believes that this makes its eSIM solution and global (“Globiot”) IoT solution the world’s first multi-vendor eSIM system. in

Ø Ø Professor Vivek Goel, vice- president of research and innovation at the University of Toronto, said in an op-ed in the Globe and Mail that commercial partnerships are important in ensuring that research breakthroughs are taken into the market. He noted that the university has entered into agreements with around 250 multinationals in the past decade to “bridge the chasm” between research ideas and commercialisation. “In these collaborations, we negotiate intellectual property rights that allow us to continue our research and educational work,” wrote Dr Goel. Elsewhere in telecom . . . Ø Ø The Philippines ranks No 12 worldwide in the total number of Internet users. On 24 th June, the Manila Standard reported that Makati City Rep Luis Campos Jr urged Filipinos to “follow the signal from Canada,” which has declared broadband essential for enabling all citizens to access high-speed Internet. Mr Campos was referring to the Canadian government’s declaration that broadband or high-speed Internet access is a basic telecommunications service, putting it in the same category as the landline telephone. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission also ordered all telecoms to offer Internet connection speeds of at least 50 Mbps to consumers in all parts of Canada. “High-speed Internet access has become essential for every Filipino family to enjoy a superior quality of life, and for small businesses to succeed,” Mr Campos said. His remarks came shortly after reports that plans of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte for bringing in a third telecom have been delayed anew, with officials still unable to agree on how they should be carried out. According to the Standard, the administration is counting on the new player to rev up market competition and improve broadband services.

“It seems to me their bodies are in the information age but their minds are still in the agrarian age,” Mr Xu said during an interview with Light Reading in Shanghai in June. (“Huawei Boss Slams ‘Ignorant’ Rubio on Research Restrictions. 27 th June) Senator Rubio, Rep Banks, and two dozen other members of Congress had written to Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, calling for an inquiry into Huawei’s campus partnerships, which they claim give China access to advanced technologies. As to Mr Xu’s response, he said: “Their behaviour shows not just their ignorance of science and innovation but also their own lack of confidence.” Huawei’s US opponents cite earlier episodes in Canada to explain their unease. According to an investigation by Toronto’s Globe and Mail newspaper, the Chinese vendor managed to acquire the rights to a number of 5G-related technologies developed by Canadian researchers. (It was not apparent whether these acquisitions related to Huawei’s relationships within academia). Ø Ø But Mr Xu insisted that Huawei’s joint research projects are focused on basic science, not on commercial products ready for deployment. He said: “It often takes decades or even hundreds of years of effort in research and development to translate science and theories into something that’s available in the market.” Again according to Mr Xu, universities have welcomed Huawei’s collaboration with aca- demic researchers, and Huawei has not enjoyed exclusive access to the research results. Findings from joint research efforts have been shared openly through dissertations published by professors and students, he told Light Reading . “This approach of Huawei is recognised by universities around the world that we work with,” said Mr Xu. “They welcome the enhanced partnerships and greater support in terms of facilities, equipment and financial support so that together we can work on – and hopefully resolve – those big problems faced by humanity.”

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2018