2019.08.09 – Open Broadband News

Fiber, fiber and more fiber – UK telcos set out recipe for success as Johnson calls for faster delivery

UK operators have outlined their requirements to make Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s demand for full-fiber broadband “for all” by 2025 a reality.

They prioritize four key issues and say that urgent action is required within 12 months if universal coverage is to accelerate.

An open letter from the telecoms industry said, “The industry stands ready to rise to this challenge, but we need a Prime Minister who can provide the direction, idealism and commitment to fulfil this ambition.” It was signed by the leaders of the Internet Services Providers’ Association, the Federation of Communications Services and Independent Networks Cooperative Association which represent the telecoms industry, including large infrastructure players, start-ups and suppliers.

Shop ‘till your signal drops! China Mobile Hong Kong opens first ever 5G experience store

China Mobile Hong Kong’s (CMHK) has opened its first-ever 5G experience store. The store was built to demonstrate and explain how 5G and other technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) open new opportunities.

Customers can experience 5G’s low latency and high-volume transmission over multiple simultaneous connections and learn about the importance of applying 5G technology to commercial and innovative technology sectors.

“We look forward to digitalizing the lifestyle of the public with our continuous effort in infrastructural development as well as a comprehensive network. We hope to further promote the implementation of 5G and the development of Hong Kong as a smart city connected by technology,” said CMHK chairman Li Feng.

He added: “Earlier this year, CMHK was assigned 26GHz and 28 GHz bands. Hong Kong is well poise to reap the benefits of 5G technology. CMHK will actively participate in the government’s 5G bands auction starting in October this year.”

One small step for satellite, one giant step for mankind

Using low-orbiting satellites, Canadian operator Telesat wants to end digital deserts, after a project was approved this week by the federal government of Justin Trudeau.

The deal provides government investment, over ten years, of a total of 600 million Canadian dollars in a fleet of satellites. An additional $85 million is to be invested in the opening of 500 new positions, research and development and the promotion of scientific, technological, mathematical and engineering (STEM) streams.

Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, said: “The announcement gives us a glimpse of what the future connectivity of rural and remote communities will look like. It will also ensure that innovative Canadian companies, such as Telesat and its partners, remain world leaders and create high-skilled jobs in Canada.”

Dutch provider looks to make its Voys heard in Germany

Dutch telecom provider Voys has started offering cloud telephony to companies in Germany. Voys offers its services in the Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa, in addition to Germany.

Voys provides a VoIP telephony solution, enabling customers to be reachable over the phone while working flexibly in different locations. Through the use of the online phone platform Freedom, German customers will be able to set up their telephony preferences to match their business needs.

The target customers of the firm in Germany are “start-ups, scale-ups, cloud-oriented and tech-minded companies in bigger German cities like Berlin,” said Mark Vletter, the founder of Voys.

To wire or not to wire? Google uses wireless to expand fiber in Austin

Google Fiber announced it is planning to expand its service in Austin by leveraging the fixed wireless company called Webpass, that Google purchased in 2016.

Google has been expanding its fiber offering in Austin since 2014 via the installation of wires to users’ homes and officers. That expansion is continuing – and Google now plans to extend its Austin coverage area further through wireless technologies.

Called Google Fiber Webpass, the company’s new service will wirelessly beam Google’s Internet services into big apartment buildings while offering the same speeds (1 Gbit/s up and down) and price.

A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum

Taking place August 30 in Mumbai, the 5G India Leadership Summit 2019 will soon be upon us, where Broadband Forum will discuss the acceleration of  networks and cloud evolution through development of an open framework called Open Broadband. Broadband Forum APAC Ambassador Nikhil B. Shah will speak on a number of different initiatives to help make 5G a reality in India by 2020.

The Q3 2019 Broadband Forum meeting, sponsored by F-Secure, is also fast approaching – taking place September 2-5 in Milan, Italy. This is a meeting you won’t want to miss with activities ramping up across all work areas, and two special “Birds of a Feather” (BOF) session focused on some of the hottest topics in broadband today – Security and 5G. In addition, solutions innovator Outsys will be providing a proof of concept demonstration of Broadband QED solution! Visit the Information Page for more details and to register today! Additionally, we will be offering a limited number of guest passes to prospective members. If you have a candidate, please contact info@broadband-forum.org for details.

Broadband World Forum 2019 will be a key event for Broadband Forum. We will host our Interop Pavilion at the event which will take place at the Amsterdam RAI from 15-17 October. Broadband World Forum annually welcomes in excess of 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 curated content.

As part of the Interop Pavilion, Broadband Forum will be showcasing two demonstrations of Connected Home and Open Broadband – Broadband Access Abstraction (OB-BAA). The Connected Home demonstrations are rapidly coming together, focused on USP and Broadband QED. If you would like to participate, and gain the marketing value of being a thought leader in this space, please reach out to BUS Work Area leader John Blackford at john.blackford@commscope.com. The SDN/NFV Work Area is also looking for vendor and operator participation in developing and executing the CloudCO Demo. This follows the success of the OB-BAA demo last year which gained very high industry visibility. This year, Broadband Forum will take a major leap forward by leveraging Application Note 446 (APPN-446) which has been enhanced for multi-vendor capabilities that will be provided by the OB-BAA reference implementation. If you would like to be involved in pulling together this highly visible project, there is still time – see the description on the Wiki here.

Broadband Forum is a forum partner of SDN NFV World Congress 2019, taking place at World Forum, The Hague, Netherlands from 14-17 October. Broadband Forum will discuss key projects at the Multi-player Association Workshop, where there will also be extended informal Q&A sessions to allow the audience to engage with project leaders to better understand how initiatives and standards can help their specific business. Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh will also speak as part of the conference, exploring how operators can achieve seamless co-existence and cost-effective migration when implementing automated access networks.

Finally, Broadband Forum has confirmed the dates of two more of its highly popular BASe events. Two concurrent workshops on the Connected Home and 5G will kick-off Broadband World Forum 2019 on the morning of October 15. If you are planning to attend BBWF 2019, mark your calendars now and go here to see more detail on the Day 1 agenda! Additionally, Broadband Forum will host its annual BASe North America event prior to the stat of ConneXions 2019 in Las Vegas on October 26. Don’t miss this opportunity to catch up on the latest technology updates and best practices across 5G, Connected Home, Security, and Next Generation Access. Keep an eye out for more details soon at BASe home on the Broadband Forum website.