Archive for the ‘Mobile’ Category

Tech Focus – How Non-Terrestrial Networks Boost 5G Mobile

Friday, January 26th, 2024

5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) are on the verge of dramatically improving global connectivity. Dylan MGrath from Keysight Technologies shares his enthusiasm for 5G NTNs and their powerful use-cases for broadband and IoT applications.

How do non-terrestrial networks boost mobile networks?

How do non-terrestrial networks boost mobile networks?

Patchy coverage, dropped calls, voice distortions, and inconsistent data speeds are some common problems with current 4G and 5G networks.

Some of these issues are due to the inherent problems of terrestrial networks.

About the Author: Dylan McGrath is the industry solutions manager for 5G at Keysight Technologies. Prior to joining Keysight, Dylan spent more than 20 years in technology journalism and marketing. He spent more than 10 years as an editor at EE Times, including several years as editor-in-chief of the 50-year-old electronics industry trade publication. His career has also included stints at Electronic News, IHS Markit, and the Hoffman Agency.

About the Author: Dylan McGrath is the industry solutions manager for 5G at Keysight Technologies. Prior to joining Keysight, Dylan spent more than 20 years in technology journalism and marketing. He spent more than 10 years as an editor at EE Times, including several years as editor-in-chief of the 50-year-old electronics industry trade publication. His career has also included stints at Electronic News, IHS Markit, and the Hoffman Agency.

Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) can not only alleviate these problems but also potentially expand 5G coverage to the entire planet.

While NTN technologies use satellite systems or airborne platforms to provide telecommunication services in remote areas that are impractical for traditional terrestrial networks, a drawback of current NTNs is that they’re incompatible with traditional terrestrial networks.

For example, SpaceX’s Starlink is an NTN that provides internet access to millions of users around the world through its satellite constellation.

But even if users have smartphones and tablets equipped with perfectly capable radio transceivers, they still need an additional gateway device for Starlink internet access.

Fortunately, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), the organisation that creates mobile communication standards, is addressing this incompatibility by bringing the NTN ecosystem under the umbrella of the 5G standards.

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Event: Huawei Developer Conference 2020 – CEO Opening Keynote

Thursday, September 10th, 2020

Richard Yu, Executive Director and CEO of Huawei delivered the opening keynote address for the second annual Huawei Developer Conference in a live broadcast, unveiling the latest updates on HarmonyOS, Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) and EMUI11.

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group addressing the attendees at the Huawei Developer Conference. Image credit Huawei.

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group addressing the attendees at the Huawei Developer Conference. Image credit: Huawei.

During the keynote, Huawei announced upcoming major updates for:

  1. HarmonyOS 2.0
  2. EMUI 11
  3. HMS Core 5.0
  4. HUAWEI HiLink
  5. HUAWEI Research

A brief summary of the updates below.

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Bargain: Circles.Life offers free 20GB mobile pan in “try-before-you-buy”

Monday, October 16th, 2017

Get free 20GB mobile plan from today till 31 December, 2017 and then decide whether you want to continue with Circles.Life.

With the success of initiatives such as the 20 GB for S$20 data plus option and today’s unveiling of Circles Switch, Circles.Life is confident of hitting their local market share target of three to five percent 2 years earlier than expected.

With the success of initiatives such as the 20 GB for S$20 data plus option and today’s unveiling of Circles Switch, Circles.Life is confident of hitting their local market share target of three to five percent 2 years earlier than expected.

Circles.Life is offering the SIM-only trial in the region’s first “try-before-you-buy” telco business model.

From now till the end of the year, you can get a taste of the Circles.Life experience for free before deciding to buy a full plan from the company – all using your existing number.

“Since our launch last year, we have been single-mindedly focused on customer empowerment. In March, we shook the market with our 20 GB for $20 data upgrade plan (20/20 plan) which made bountiful data available to the customer at affordable prices. We are ready to challenge the status quo again and invite others still not on Circles.Life,” said Rameez Ansar, co-founder and director of Circles.Life.

Circles Switch offers customers a free SIM-only line stocked with 20 GB monthly local data, 100 minutes of talktime and 20 SMS messages.

There are no hidden costs – no delivery charges, no registration fees nor SIM card costs.

This new service is targeted at customers who are about to end their contracts, who don’t want to be tied to lock-in contracts and want to surf, post, game and stream on the move without constantly worrying about busting their monthly data caps or the inflexibility of contracts.

Circles Switch provides an inkling of how the company’s new “try before you buy” business model may be rolled out in the future.

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Day 1 of IFA GPC 2017 – Power briefs & discussion panels

Friday, April 21st, 2017

The first day of the IFA GPC 2017 comprises a series of power briefs by industry leaders and analysts on the latest trends and products in consumer electronics and home appliances. Here is a rundown on what transpired in those proceedings.

Finally getting down to business. Looking forward to hearing what industry experts have to share about the trends and predictions in consumer electronics and home appliances.

There are altogether eight power briefings and one discussion panel.

As I attend these sessions, I will post a brief synopsis of each session on Instagram and consolidate all the synopses here. So stay tuned!

Power briefing 1

Power briefing 2

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Cisco upgrades Cisco Spark and launches Cisco Spark Board

Tuesday, March 21st, 2017

Cisco Spark is the company’s cloud-based, unified communications platform, while the Cisco Spark Board is an interactive electronic whiteboard for the future workplace. Prices below.

Cisco showcased its upgraded Cisco Spark – the company’s cloud-based, all-in-one messaging, meetings, calls and conferencing platform designed for the workplace of the future.

The new version of its flagship collaboration solution includes a simplified user interface, more features, and seamless linking to Cisco’s wide portfolio of corporate phone systems, WebEx meeting and video conferencing technologies.

The launch was held at the Impact Hub Singapore, a coworking community with over 670 members comprising both ideation stage startups to billion-dollar “Unicorn” ventures.

Cisco also launched for Asia its Cisco Spark Board, a new plug-and-play, all-in-one device for team collaboration that lets users wirelessly present, whiteboard, and video or audio conference whether you are in the physical conference room or not. (Prices below.)

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Opening: Thomson Reuters Data & Innovation Lab in Singapore

Tuesday, February 21st, 2017

Thomson Reuters continues expansion of its global labs network by opening its sixth in Singapore. Its first lab in Asia, the Singapore Data and Innovation Lab will serve customers across the Asia Pacific.

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer at Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) officiating the opening of the new Thomson Reuters Lab in Singapore. In addition, Kiren Kumar, Assistant Managing Director, Infocomms and Media, Singapore Economic Development Board commented, “We welcome Thomson Reuters into our fast-growing digital innovation ecosystem, and are glad that the Singapore Data and Innovation Lab is collaborating with various partners to create new products for the region and beyond. We are also pleased that the Lab presents exciting career opportunities in data science, software development and user experience design.”

The Thomson Reuters Lab in Singapore will collaborate with the government, customers, tech startups and universities to build partnerships and create innovative products and solutions for professional markets throughout the Asia Pacific region.

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Event: Cloud Expo Asia, Data Centre World & Cloud Security Expo in Singapore

Friday, October 14th, 2016

The 2016 installments of the Cloud Expo Asia and Data Centre World returned to Singapore (12-13 October) for the fourth year running, with new co-located event Cloud Security Expo this year.

Three three expositions are hosted at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, attracting an industry gathering of business technology professionals in Asia.

Three three expositions are hosted at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, attracting an industry gathering of business technology professionals in Asia.

Also new is Smart IoT Singapore, focused on showing how the Internet of Things is transforming the business world, with presentations from the region’s leading partners, including AWS, Digital Reality and SP Telecom.

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IoT: LILEE Systems announces fog computing gateways and cloud network solution for distributed, mobile, and industrial enterprise environments.

Monday, September 19th, 2016

The new TransAir STS Series Gateways and T-Cloud Management Platform combine to offer high-performance IoT (Internet of Things) innovations to new markets.

LILEE STS gateways offer multiple wired and wireless connectivity options and are installed in distributed assets, such as a bus or retail store.

LILEE STS gateways offer multiple wired and wireless connectivity options and are installed in distributed assets, such as a bus or retail store.

LILEE Systems, provider of advanced mobile connectivity solutions and emerging innovator in cloud-based network solutions, announced today its new platform for mobile and fixed distributed enterprises, such as bus fleets and retail franchises, which includes multiple first-to-market capabilities.

“A new generation of intelligent connectivity, provisioning, and management solutions are needed to drive adoption of IoT into a wider range of markets, such as first responders, retail, and smart cities,” said Vikrant Gandhi, industry director of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) at Frost & Sullivan.

LILEE’s TransAir STS series gateways and T-Cloud platform enable organisations to more rapidly and reliably network, track, control, and interact with their mobile and fixed assets to improve operations and reduce costs.

LILEE STS gateways offer multiple wired and wireless connectivity options and are installed in distributed assets, such as a bus or retail store.

They include an onboard application engine that enables enterprise applications to run in a fog-computing architecture; i.e., integrating on-site and in-cloud computing.

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IoT to overtake mobile phones by 2018 – Ericsson Mobility Report

Friday, June 3rd, 2016

The Ericsson Mobility Report forecasts that 16 billion connected devices are expected to join the Internet of Things by end 2021.

Between 2015 and 2021, the number of IoT connected devices is expected to grow 23 percent annually, of which cellular IoT is forecast to have the highest growth rate.

Between 2015 and 2021, the number of IoT connected devices is expected to grow 23 percent annually, of which cellular IoT is forecast to have the highest growth rate.

Internet of Things (IoT) is set to overtake mobile phones as the largest category of connected device by 2018.

Between 2015 and 2021, the number of IoT connected devices is expected to grow 23 percent annually, of which cellular IoT is forecast to have the highest growth rate.

“IoT is now accelerating as device costs fall and innovative applications emerge. From 2020, commercial deployment of 5G networks will provide additional capabilities that are critical for IoT, such as network slicing and the capacity to connect exponentially more devices than is possible today,” said Rima Qureshi, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, Ericsson.

Of the 28 billion total devices that will be connected by 2021, close to 16 billion will be IoT devices.

Western Europe will lead the way in adding IoT connections – the number of IoT devices in this market is projected to grow 400 percent by 2021.

This will principally be driven by regulatory requirements, for example for intelligent utility meters, and a growing demand for connected cars including the EU e-call directive to be implemented in 2018.

Smartphone subscriptions continue to increase and are forecast to surpass those for basic phones in Q3 this year.

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