2019.05.10 – Open Broadband News

Pantastiko! HyalRoute to invest up to $2b in Philippines fiber project

Singapore-based shared fiber network provider HyalRoute has signed an agreement with the Philippines’ Department of ICT (DICT) to invest up to $2 billion expanding to the market.

The company’s subsidiary Philippine Fiber Optic Cable Network (PFCON) signed a memorandum of understanding with the department, committing to deploy the network in various phases between 2019 and 2028. The DICT has in turn agreed to provide assistance in providing the required permits and licenses, and to closely coordinate with PFCON on the implementation of the project.

HyalRoute was established with the goal of creating the first region-wide, independent shared fiber network platform in emerging Asia. The company currently provides domestic fiber solutions in Myanmar and Cambodia.

“There is a need for more fiber optic cables in this country, thus this partnership will greatly improve our telecommunication services. We can now have cable networks that anybody can use and this jives with our National Broadband Plan,” said, DICT Acting Secretary, Eliseo M. Rio Jr.

GoSEMO’s Fiber miracle for Missouri rural residents!

The broadband subsidiary of a Missouri-based electric co-op is building a new fiber network that delivers gigabit, cloud-based Wi-Fi services to rural residents.

Tired of telling people who called its offices that it only provided electricity to the region, SEMO Electric Cooperative wanted to expand its services, said Board Member Carla Moore, so it eventually created its own broadband co-op, GoSEMO. The new network will span six countries and about 16,000 homes, farms and businesses.

“Broadband is essential to the advancement of our communities, from taking care of our current members to providing economic development opportunities in the future,” said Sean Vanslyke, CEO of GoSEMO and SEMO Electric Cooperative.

First, co-op executives met with peers at other co-ops to learn from their successes and mistakes, said Brad Milam, Manager of IT and Engineering Services at GoSEMO.

These fellow co-op professionals shared vendor partners, things to avoid based on their mistakes and best practices.

UK Home Broadband ISP Speeds soar to new heady heights

The national UK telecoms regulator has published its 2019 study of fixed line home broadband Internet Service Provider (ISP) speeds, which reports that the average download rate has risen from 46.2Mbps last year ti 54.2Mbps now and upload speeds have hit 7.2Mbps (up from 6.2Mbps). But the gap between urban and rural areas has worsened.

Ofcom’s report is based off data gathered during November 2018 via specially modified routers from SamKnows, which were installed in around 4,918 homes (volunteers) across the UK. This method of testing is very accurate, but the limited sample size means that their study is only useful for reflecting the general performance of those who subscribe to the largest ISPs (BT, EE, Sky Broadband, KCOM, Plusnet, TalkTalk and Virgin Media).

However, despite the wide coverage of superfast services, around 35 percent of the UK still takes slower and less reliable pure copper ADSL2+ (up to 20Mbps) lines and this will drag the overall results down. The take-up of faster connections should improve over time, but some people are also discouraged by issues of cost, a lack of awareness or personal need and existing contract terms etc.

Belgium’s Newtec embarks on out of orbit mission with LEO satellite demo

Newtec has played a key role in the world’s first demonstration of 5G backhaul over a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite with global satellite operator Telesat and the University of Surrey.

The successful tests confirmed that LEO satellites will provide effective backhaul transport, including for future 5G networks. The live test connected the University of Surrey’s 5G Test bed network within its 5G Innovation Centre to Telesat’s Phase 1 LEO satellite. Video chat sessions, simultaneous 8K streaming and Internet browsing were tested within stringent Quality of Service (QoS) and slicing parameters.

“We are amazed at the opportunities this test opens up,” said Jo De Loor, VP Market Development at Newtec. “The seamless and very high-performance connectivity provided by Newtec technology validates the use cases for many new 5G applications in the strategic market verticals where Newtec is positioned. The work carried out is a guideline for future multi-orbit deployments and highlights the benefits of the unique combination of LEO constellations and 5G.”

Italians to cook up a feast to 60 percent of nation by 2024

Italian operator Fastweb has followed its announcement of a network sharing deal with Open Fiber by revealing a plan to expand its proprietary ‘5G’ Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network, with a view to bringing 1Gbps broadband speeds to 16 million homes and businesses, around 60 percent of the country, by 2024.

The infrastructure expansion project announced by Fastweb CEO Alberto Calcagno, is part of a three billion euro, five year investment drive and comes after the operator begun trailing 5G FWA technology in Milan in collaboration with Samsung earlier this year. The pilot conducted in the 26GHz band achieved peak download speeds of 1Gbps and proved that the systems can act as a viable alternative to Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections, said Fastweb.

Calcagno said the 5G FWA network will first be rolled-out in the pilot city of Bolzano in northern Italy in the coming months before continuing to the rest of the territory.

2019 calendar continues to grow for Broadband Forum

The Broadband Forum Ultra-fast Broadband Acceleration Seminar (UFBB BASe) promises to be a conference unlike any other in the industry – delivering a conference hosted by technology innovators for technology leaders.

Taking place on June 25-27 in Den Haag, The Netherlands, Broadband Forum has pulled together a world-class lineup of speakers for UFBB BASe that have been handpicked to provide the keen insights and depth of expertise that will allow you to bring actionable innovations back into your company. Recent additions Trevor Linney, Research Director of Openreach, “father of DSL” John Cioffi of ASSIA, Light Reading Editor-in-Chief Ray LeMaistre, and Orange VP of Wireline Access Christian Gacon will join executives from new sponsors Huawei, EXFO, devolo and the rest of a stellar agenda of service provider technology executives, analysts and regulators, and vendor sponsors will deliver a high value event designed for those who love being on the cutting edge of technology and best practices, and like to dive deeply into the topics that are driving success in the industry.

See our updated agenda here for the world-class line up of speakers and register today for this not-to-be-missed event that will examine many of the hottest topics and challenges in broadband today – from how to leverage the latest advancements in carrier grade Wi-Fi, the Connected Home, and cloud-based services to build a technologically advantaged network, to lessons in creating an operational model that can successfully leverage this advantage to deliver valued services with agility.

Broadband Forum will host a Wi-Fi 6 seminar, where both interoperability and performance test methods will be discussed. The seminar will cover test methods for throughput vs. range, OFDMA, interference, mesh, roaming and band steering. Attendees are invited to bring their own devices if they would like to run some tests after the seminar. To register, please visit: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ugy-1FAkSZ-fiYdANdXn2A

There is still time to register for the Broadband Forum Gfast Chipset & System Integrator Interoperability Plugfest, which takes place from Monday, May 13 to Friday, May 17. For more information about the event, please visit here.

In addition, at the Amsterdam RAI, 15-17 October, Broadband World Forum, the global communications’ industry’s biggest event is fast approaching and will return after two successful years in Berlin. The event annually welcomes over 4,000 attendees from around the world and is the perfect opportunity to connect with the entire fixed network ecosystem with a large floorspace and three days of curate content.