2019.02.22 – Open Broadband News

Alexa, Alexa on the wall; whose Wi-Fi is the fairest of them all? 

Qualcomm Technologies Inc has announced the industry’s first development kit for mesh Wi-Fi networks, qualified by Amazon, to integrate the Amazon Alexa Voice Service.

The Qualcomm^® Mesh Networking Development Kit offers manufacturers the necessary building blocks to quickly and cost-effectively create mesh Wi-Fi systems with Alexa built in, bringing the convenience of voice control to connected devices throughout the home.

These voice capabilities perfectly complement mesh Wi-Fi networks, which are designed to deliver robust and consistent connectivity to nearly every corner of the home, provide unprecedented simplicity of use, and incorporate powerful security and device-management features.

“Mesh networks have become the new standard to support the best possible connected experience in the home,” said Nick Kucharewski, Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Infrastructure and Networking, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “By adding Amazon’s advanced voice capabilities through the Alexa Voice Service, we are unlocking new opportunities for customers to enable exciting new smart home experiences controlled with the simplicity of voice.”

At the coalface of change: Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh talks 5G, IoT and digital transformation with SiliconRepublic

From 5G to IoT, Broadband Forum CEO Robin Mersh outlines the most pressing tasks ahead for the industry.

As ongoing digital transformation sees more expected of the internet connectivity many of us depend on to work and live our lives, there are a number of organisations at the coalface of this change.

Robin Mersh, CEO of Broadband Forum, a major industry consortium and non-profit that develops various broadband standards, spoke to Siliconrepublic.com about how connectivity will evolve in the near future.

Industry gets revved up over transport networks

Mobile World Congress 2019 is likely to see a flowering of transport network schemes designed to support 5G as it really starts to ramp up network capacity requirements, according to TelecomTV.

For many networks, transport networks may not be required for a period as non-standalone New Radio is deployed on the back of existing 4G infrastructure. But however long the 4G assist period, eventually new investments will have to be made to support the predicted growth in traffic from 5G, with planning and vendor relationships needing to be established years ahead.

Network slicing, the technique that underpins the business case for advanced 5G deployment, is another important transport network task identified by TelecomTV as requiring careful integration between 5G radio network providers and transport network companies.

To learn more about transport in the 5G sector, take a look at this video with Dave Sinicrope, Area Director Routing & Transport at Broadband Forum.

Deutsche Telekom’s new IoT solution is just the biz!

Deutsche Telekom has launched the IoT Solution Optimizer, a scalable online tool that provides technical consultancy and customer onboarding services for reliable and cost-effective IoT solutions. This will enable businesses around the world to model and optimize the performance of Internet of Things (IoT) applications in numerous vertical industries such as smart city services, security or asset tracking.

The service brings together the hardware, application and network feature elements necessary to assess IoT solution designs. Users can either model their own custom design or try a standard IoT offering off the shelf – all in an easy to follow, step-by-step experience that takes only minutes.

“Deutsche Telekom’s IoT Solution Optimizer is the first service which pairs technical IoT consultancy with a comprehensive solutions shelf. It is extremely easy to use, offering reliable guidance and exceptional choice throughout the process. Our clients can now make fact-based decisions before rolling out their intended IoT solutions, significantly improving time-to-market, while minimizing cost and risk,” said Ingo Hofacker, Senior Vice President, responsible for the IoT business at Deutsche Telekom.

Wunderbar! Gfast accelerates in Munich roll-out 

German service provider M-net has extended a partnership with regional energy utility Stadtwerke München (SWM) to build out a Gfast network to 50,000 additional homes in Munich.

M-net and SWM have been working together to build out fiber networks in Munich since 2010 and connected some 400,000 homes within five years.

The phase two expansion is set to run until 2021, which will see 70% of all homes in Munich connected to a FTTB/H network. M-net is using Gfast technology to connect FTTB to end-users within apartment buildings, with a focus on FTTH in certain areas.

5G connected cars make driving wheely safe for road users

The streets of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat will be the scenario of the connected car and 5G assisted driving use cases in a real environment thanks to the joint work of Telefónica, SEAT, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, Ficosa, ETRA e i2CAT, and with the collaboration of CTTC and UPC.

Ericsson and Qualcomm Technologies Inc also participated by equipping both vehicles and their surrounding elements with technology that enables them to exchange information with the main objective of increasing road safety. The project is framed within the 5G Barcelona initiative, aimed at consolidating the city of Barcelona as the reference 5G hub in Europe.

The two technologies bringing these use cases to life are C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle to Everything) and .C-V2X technology that allows the vehicle to communicate with all the elements around it, such as – cars, traffic lights, traffic signals, pedestrians, cyclists, motorcycles.

Broadband Forum adds to 2019 events line-up

Broadband service leaders Verizon, Google, SK Broadband, and AIT Greece will be among speakers at the next Broadband Acceleration Seminar (BASe) on March 7, 2019 at OFC in San Diego. This seminar is focused on ‘NG-PON2 Roadmap and Evolution – A Universal Platform for Residential, Business and Wireless/5G?’. For the full detailed agenda of the seminar, please see the link.