WCA July 2018

Telecom news

China’s smartphone market drops off sharply, but a prompt recovery is expected Eight of the top ten smartphone vendors in China declined in the first quarter, with only Xiaomi and Huawei showing growth. Canalys, the Singapore-based global technology market analyst firm, attributed the drop to the pitched battle the vendors have waged among themselves over the past five years. “The level of competition has forced every vendor to imitate the others’ product portfolios and go-to-market strategies,” Canalys research analyst Mo Jia told Ian Scales of TelecomTV . “But the costs of marketing and channel management in a country as big as China are huge, and only vendors that have reached a certain size can cope.” (“Slip-Sliding Away: The Bottom Drops Out of China’s Huge Smartphone Market,” 26 th April) The quarterly drop, the biggest-ever for China’s smartphone market, would appear to justify Mr Scales’s comment that the vendors have essentially “beaten each other senseless.” He noted that the number of smartphones sold in China has dived by a staggering 21 per cent annually to 91 million units – “a number the market passed on its way up in 2013.” Specifically, according to Canalys, Gionee, Meizu and Samsung shrank to less than half of their respective Q1 2017 numbers; second-placed Oppo and third-placed Vivo bore the brunt of the overall decline, with shipments falling by about 10 per cent to 18 million and 15 million units, respectively. As to those bucking the trend, Xiaomi raised its shipments by 37 per cent to 12 million units, overtaking Apple to take fourth place. Front-runner Huawei (including Honor) grew its shipments by only two per cent, but this was enough to preserve its lead and to consolidate its market share to about 24 per cent, with shipments of over 21 million smartphones. “While Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi must contend with a shrinking Chinese market, they can take comfort from the fact that it will continue to consolidate,” said Mr Jia. “And that their size will help them last longer than other smaller players.”

According to data and analytics company GlobalData (London), sluggish speeds, high latency, and lower reliability – in comparison with traditional fibre and digital subscriber line (DSL) options – have restricted satellite’s role. It has essentially become a provider of last resort, relegated to serving ultra-rural areas beyond the reach of other technologies. However, GlobalData asserts that, by augmenting 5G mobile networks with next-generation satellite capabilities, satellite operators are positioned to exploit a changing set of circumstances. With the advent of upgraded satellite technology, capacity and performance requirements are expected to be addressed in the 5G era. In GlobalData’s view, the standards governing true 5G services, likely to be ready to deploy by Q3 2018, are much more satellite-friendly than previous long-term evolution (LTE) and 3G networks. Glen Hunt, principal analyst of telecom technology at GlobalData, pointed out that the next generations of satellites – high-throughput satellites (HTS) – are being built on open architectures. “They are much more flexible and easier to integrate into 5G networks,” Mr Hunt told Advanced Television . “With HTS, satellite operators can expand beyond rural broadband and become an integral part of the 5G ecosystem.” (“GlobalData: 5G May Usher in Wave of Sat-Comms,” 25 th April) A combination of factors is seen as making HTS deployments dramatically less expensive than those of prior generations of satellite – including new advances in launch vehicles, miniaturisation of components, and correspondingly lower power consumption. Meanwhile, according to Advanced Television , regulators are anxiously searching for opportunities to clear spectrum bands for 5G and satellite communications. The London-based site noted the example of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which recently granted the application of Higher Ground for a blanket earth station licence to operate up to 50,000 earth stations (“SatPaqs”) to communicate with the multiple USA-licensed satellites. “The timing may be just right,” commented Mr Hunt. “Open network architectures, coupled with a broad spirit of cooperation among satellite, wireless and fixed operators, may help usher in the next wave of satellite communications.” Ø Ø Another satellite item from Advanced Television was less encouraging. On 30 th March it reported that an Indian satellite, GSAT-11, arrived at the French Guiana spaceport to be prepared for a 25 th May launch. The satellite, built by India’s Space Research Organisation, had to be sent back to India for examination. No official reason was given, but local speculation has it that either the satellite was faulty, or it requires adaptation or modification to head off problems of the kind that occurred with its sister craft GSAT-6A. That satellite was found on 29 th March to have suffered post-launch problems and it is considered lost. Arianespace, the French commercial launch service provider, must find a replacement satellite to share the later launch, intended also to carry Intelsat-38. If it can come up with a new co-passenger, the postponed launch is considered likely to go forward in August. Weighing 12,940 pounds, GSAT-11 would have been India’s largest-ever satellite. Opportunity beckons for satellite operators to become major players in the emerging 5G ecosystem

Illustrations: BigStockPhoto.com • Artist: Asmati

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Wire & Cable ASIA – July/August 2018

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