WCA January 2020

Telecom news

between sites, instead of traversing multiple switches. Pico believes the system reduces latency and “operational complexity”. “With ever- rising market data rates and an increasing need for global data sets, it is important to provide clients with a solution that allows them to keep ahead of the bandwidth curve and retain their operating edge,” said Jarrod Yuster, Pico founder and CEO. International flavour to UK infrastructure Spanish Cellnex Telecom will acquire the telecommunications division of UK media and communications infra- structure and services group Arqiva. The transaction, estimated at a cost of £2 billion (a little under $2.5 billion), includes the acquisition of around 7,400 fully owned sites and the rights to market around 900 additional sites throughout the UK. Assuming antitrust authorities clear the deal, Cellnex will become the largest independent operator of wireless infrastructure in the UK. Under the terms of the deal, Cellnex can also use street infrastructure to locate telecom sites in 14 of the 32 London boroughs, a concession that could prove decisive in the network densification necessary for 5G. The transaction is projected for completion in the second half of 2020. The acquisition follows agreement between Cellnex and BT, made in June 2019, to grant Cellnex the rights to operate and market 220 high towers throughout the UK. When the Arqiva deal closes, Cellnex will manage a portfolio of around 53,000 sites across Europe, including rollouts forecast until 2027. Making plans for the end of 3G Telstra, Australia’s main wireless, fixed line and broadband provider, is drawing up plans to turn off its 3G network in June 2024, a move that will make more spectrum available for the 5G services currently in deployment. In a company communication, group executive - networks and IT, Nikos Katinakis, explained: “As we grow our mobile network around Australia, and upgrade it with the latest technology, we occasionally come to a point where it is necessary to say goodbye

US concerns regarding Chinese technology companies are nothing new, but the ruling of a California court could damage US leadership in 5G and hand an advantage to Chinese developers. Back in May, a California federal judge ruled in Federal Trade Commission (FTC) v Qualcomm that practices used by the wireless chipmaker to license its patented technologies to cellular device manufacturers are not permitted under federal antitrust laws. The judge ordered Qualcomm to completely reform its business model, and looked set to award substantial damages against them. An appeals court has temporarily stayed the trial court decision, but the ruling, if left in place, raises significant national security concerns for the United States at a critical moment for the future of its telecommunications infrastructure amid growing cyber security threats. Both companies and government in the USA have long been among global leaders in research and development, and Qualcomm has invested billions of dollars in the development of new communications technologies that it licenses to device manufacturers. By requiring Qualcomm to abandon its current business model, the ruling could jeopardise Qualcomm’s ability to invest in research and this, it is feared, will undermine the USA’s leadership in emerging technologies such as 5G. Viewed through the Huawei prism, in the absence of US alternatives China (and Huawei) could be in a position to bring pressure to bear on the industry to adopt its own technology. The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in a recent filing in the case that unless the court’s injunction is stayed the result would be to “put our nation’s security at risk”. That view is supported by Ellen M Lord, under-secretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment. In a statement that accompanied the DOJ filing, Ms Lord explained that “any measure that inappropriately limits Qualcomm’s technological leadership, ability to invest in research and development, and market competitiveness, even in the short-term, could harm national security.” Under-Secretary Lord concluded that a weakened Qualcomm could present a serious threat to the defence department’s “extensive networks, advanced telecommunications systems and, ultimately, its ability to control the battle space.” The Department of Energy’s chief information officer, Max Everett, wrote: “Qualcomm plays a central role in the US telecommunications infrastructure and supply chain, specifically in regard to its important role in the setting of international 5G standards and the supply of 5G chipsets that drive mobile devices.” Ellen Lord added: “5G technologies have significant military value, and will be foundational for new military capabilities such as robotics, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and a number of advanced sensing devices.” It seems the race is on to set standards for 5G and, without Qualcomm’s leadership, it is likely that Chinese companies, including Huawei, will gain ground. A 5G landscape dominated by Chinese companies and, ergo, the Chinese government, would require future US defence infrastructure to operate on a network over which China could exert significant operational control. Fears that a Federal Court ruling could undermine national security

Specialist network aims for the financial market sector Pico, a company operating from the USA, UK and Asia and specialising in technology and infrastructure for the financial sector, has opened a dark fibre backbone network to connect New York’s and New Jersey’s financial data centres.

The network, with a capacity of 10Tb per second, will form part of the company’s PicoNet initiative. PicoNet is a private global financial markets fibre network, said to offer low-latency, resilient connectivity to hundreds of liquidity sources, information providers, and counter- parties. PicoNet uses reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) to route traffic optically

Illustrations: BigStockPhoto.com • Artist: Asmati

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2020