2020.12.20 – Open Broadband News

Oh, the connection outside is frightful, but the 5G future looks so delightful…Let it Grow, Let it Grow, Let it Grow!

International Data Corporation (IDC) has forecast that the number of 5G connections will grow from 10 million to 1.01 billion by 2023.

According to IDC’s first worldwide 5G forecast, several factors will help to drive the adoption of 5G over the coming years, including data creation and consumption, the increase of connected devices and real-time access.

By 2023, IDC expects 5G will represent 8.9 percent of all mobile device connections.

“While there is a lot to be excited about with 5G, and there are impressive early success stories to fuel that enthusiasm, the road to realising the full potential of 5G beyond enhanced mobile broadband is a longer-term endeavour, with a great deal of work yet to be done on standards, regulations and spectrum allocations,” said Jason Leigh, Research Manager for Mobility at IDC.

Altice Europe have the final sleigh and form fiber wholesaler in Portugal

Wholesale broadband networks are becoming all the rage in Europe, with the latest plan to offer fiber access infrastructure to retail service providers springing up in Portugal, where Altice Europe has struck up an equity partnership with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners.

Under the agreement, Morgan Stanley will acquire a 49.99 percent in Altice Portugal Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH), for an initial payment of €1.565 billion, with the deal set to close in the first half of next year. The agreement also includes further conditional, performance-related payments of €375 million in December 2021 and the same amount in December 2026.

All I want for Christmas is… a smart home!

Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant smart home devices have been a standout Christmas gift since the first Echo came to market in 2014. This year, reduced pricing and starter smart home bundles will again draw millions of dollars in consumer spending. But these devices also help determine the kind of smart homes that will be built around them.

Global tech market advisory firm, ABI Research finds that holiday spending will help convert over 128 million additional homes into smart homes by the end of 2020 and the impact of those devices will go even further.

According to the research firm, voice control applications will determine the connectivity in devices such as door locks, lights, sensors, key fobs, wireless security cameras, and more as they build out integrated smart home systems for millions of homes.

“With no clear standard and no interoperability between major smart home protocols means that each new smart home is a battleground for each connectivity protocol to gain a foothold, and, each additional device added cements a foundation that will underpin the adoption of more and more devices leveraging the same connectivity protocols,” says Jonathan Collins, Smart Home Research Director at ABI Research.

Chestnuts roasting on an Open Fiber, network speeding to your home

Italian operator Open Fiber has announced that its ZION fiber backbone network has reached a top speed of 600Gbps, up from 400Gbps last year.

According to a statement from Open Fiber, the speed is a record for a long-distance national backbone network built in Italy on an active infrastructure with the highest spectral efficiency ever reached.

With this in mind, the new performance has been improved due to the introduction of a new optical Digital Signal Processor (oDSP) by Huawei, that uses Artificial intelligence algorithms to encode and modulate the optical signal.

The system uses photonic technology to connect to the access network Open Fiber is building at around 7,000 Italian localities. Open Fiber added that Zion is, in fact, the only national backbone capable of transporting data without regenerating optical signals, with 100Gbps capacity over distances of up to 2,500 km, 200Gbps up to 1,500 km, 400Gbps up to 900 km, rising to 600Gbps up to 60 km.

On the first day of Christmas FCC gave to me, rural broadband for 21 states

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has authorized nearly $89.2 million in funding over the next decade to expand broadband to more than 123,000 unserved rural homes and businesses across 21 states, representing the eighth wave of support from last year’s successful Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Broadband providers will begin receiving funding later this month.

“Across the nation, we’re continuing to close the digital divide so that all Americans — no matter where they live — have access to affordable broadband connectivity and the digital opportunity it brings,” said Ajit Pai, FCC Chairman. “As this eighth round of funding demonstrates, the Connect America Fund Phase II Auction is doing so in a cost-effective way: because providers competed for Connect America Fund Auction support, finite universal service dollars reached many more homes and businesses at a much lower cost.”

Go! Go! Go! Canada’s TeraGo to use Nokia gear in 5G fixed wireless trials

Canadian telecommunications service provider TeraGo has announced that it will start technical trials in the Toronto and Golden Horseshoe area in the first quarter of 2020, using fixed wireless 5G millimeter wave equipment from Nokia.

The trials will be conducted on the 24 and 38 GHz frequency bands using both ISED developmental licenses and TeraGo’s owned licensed spectrum, customer trials are then planned to begin in the second quarter of 2020.

“International momentum for 5G fixed wireless services has been increasing and as a global leader in 5G technology, Nokia’s equipment is at the center of many of these networks deployments”, said Tony Ciciretto, president and CEO of TeraGo. “In Canada, TeraGo is uniquely positioned to be one of the first operators to launch commercial 5G fixed wireless services as the largest holder of millimeter wave spectrum in the largest urban markets. The ultra-high bandwidth and low latency capabilities offered by 5G will allow us to deliver new innovative communications solutions to our customers, improve the efficiency of our network, and open new market opportunities for the company.”

Oh come, all Ye abstracts … BASe OFC looking for presentations

The Broadband Forum BASe OFC “PON Reality Check 2020” event is opening its call for Presentation Abstracts – and they are DUE January 9!

Broadband Forum will be hosting a full-day Broadband Acceleration Seminar (BASe) OFC on March 11 at OFC 2020 in San Diego. This year’s seminar will build on last year’s highly successful seminar, where a packed room heard service provider perspectives and insights shared by Verizon, SK Broadband (Korea), BT, Google Fiber, and the Fiber Broadband Association, as well as from top tier analysts and leading vendors/suppliers. This year’s event will focus on the theme “PON Reality Check 2020”.

We are looking for service provider, vendor, and analyst perspectives and insights on:

• Innovative insights and projections on the market and the array of existing and emerging PON architectures (EPON, GPON, XGS, NG-PON2, WDM PON, 25/50G PON, Super PON…)
• Perspectives on the state of standards (Broadband Forum, ITU, IEEE…)
• Ecosystem readiness for emerging use cases and applications
• State of Fixed-Mobile Convergence (FMC) and 5G
• Best practices across the full spectrum of potential implementations – from SDN/NFV and network slicing to fiber extension technologies and whole home networking

Deliverables:

• Abstracts: Due by January 9
• Final agenda based on abstract selection: Due by January 21
• Final presentations: Due by February 28
• Event date: March 11 (8am-5pm) at OFC San Diego

Send Questions and Abstract Submissions (Include presentation title, one paragraph abstract summary, company name, and suggested presenter/title) to BASeChair@broadband-forum.org

A Series of Fortunate Events – by Broadband Forum

Become a BASe sponsor! Our BASe events last year at OFC in San Diego, ConneXions in Las Vegas, our 2 events at Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam, and our own UFBB BASe event in Dan Haag reached over 1000 key industry influencers and received stellar feedback. The industry’s premiere events created by technologist for technology leaders, BASe as carved out a clear niche for key insights into where innovation stands today, and where it is going in the future. We’d like to thank you 2019 sponsors:

We’d also like to like to thank our 2019 participant speakers, who have been essential to making these events uniquely insightful and valuable:

We are looking forward to taking our BASe initiative to even higher levels in 2020 and are looking for innovative and visionary vendors to participate. The Forum is actively recruiting sponsorships for its 2020 Broadband Acceleration Seminars (BASe).

You don’t want to miss out!

For more information, click on the links provided for details on the 2020 Global sponsorship and UFBB BASe sponsorship packages, or reach out to info@broadband-forum.org.

And don’t forget to market your calendars now for UFBB BASe 2020 – the premier communications industry event which focuses on the important policies, trends, technologies and opportunities that affect broadband in Europe and beyond. Unique in its balance of vision, real-world experience, and technical/operational insights, this former TNO Ultra-Fast Broadband seminar has developed a stellar reputation over the last decade for thought leadership, high quality speakers, technical acumen, and a collaborative and energetic vibe. This year’s three-day event will be taking place June 2-4 at the NH Hotel in Den Haag, the Netherlands. Stay tuned for more information!

Lastly – from all of us at Broadband Forum to you – have a w Wonderful Holiday. We are looking forward to Shaping the Future of Broadband with you in 2020!