Spirent, Nokia Open 5G Lab as a Service

Spirent Communications and Nokia today now offer a 5G Lab as a Service, a move expected to accelerate Nokia’s releases of virtual network functions and physical infrastructure. The 5G LaaS also streamlines the use of shared lab resources across teams and geographies, delivering dramatically improved efficiency and cost savings, as well.

The Nokia facility in Oulu will use Spirent Velocity as the foundation of the LaaS platform. A key feature of the 5G LaaS is the self-service portal, accessible by hundreds of simultaneous users across the globe.

The portal also supports thousands of devices and tens of thousands of connections for both 5G and legacy infrastructure. Utilizing the portal, Nokia engineers can rapidly spin-up, tear down and reuse 5G hybrid test beds from anywhere in the world. Deployments of the 5G LaaS to additional Nokia facilities are already underway.

5G test automation requires integration of a complex mix of layer 1 optical and RF switches, layer 2 and virtual switches, power control units and test management software, Spirent said.

Aruba Finds High IoT Deployments

Use of internet of things is quite widespread, a new global study published by Aruba (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) suggests, at least in industry companies and healthcare,

The Internet of Things: Today and Tomorrow study reports that 85 percent of respondents say they plan to implement IoT by 2019, though some might question the definition of “internet of things” that was used. The report notes that “our research found conflicting definitions of what IoT means, what IoT devices are connected and how to extract value from them.”

Nor is it clear how much of the installed base includes older industrial sensing systems such as SCADA that might, or might not, fit a definition of IoT.

About 72 of surveyed enterprise organizations report they have introduced IoT devices and sensors into the workplace, ranging from air conditioning and lighting systems (56 percent) to personal mobile devices (51 percent).

Enterprise respondents cited indoor location-based services as their leading use case for IoT, as well as remote monitoring of utilities, such as energy usage.

With a 62 percent adoption rate, leaders of industrial organizations reported using IoT  devices such as chemical sensors (62 percent) and picking systems (46 percent) to reduce operational risk and address downtime. IoT has the greatest impact on the sector when it is used to monitor and maintain operating infrastructures (31 percent).

About 60 percent of healthcare organization respondents also indicated they are using IoT, with patient monitors (64 percent) and X-ray/imaging devices (41 percent) among the main devices connected to the network.

The biggest IoT benefit for healthcare companies comes from using sensors to monitor and maintain medical devices (35 percent cite it as the top benefit). But with growing pressure on healthcare infrastructures and resources, efficiency is paramount. Perhaps this is why 22 percent of respondents gave their number one IoT use case as ‘remotely tracking assets by location’.

Just under half (49 percent) of global retailers say they have deployed IoT technology, and a large number of those (56 percent) are allowing personal mobile devices to access the network in order to create new and engaging retail experiences. A leading application of IoT is to create store location services that deliver personalized offers and product information to shoppers (30 percent). A further 18 percent are using IoT to remotely control environmental factors, such as heating and lighting.

Some 42 percent of government respondents indicated they use IoT now. Some 35 say they are connecting building security systems (57 percent), street lights (32 percent) and vehicles (20 percent).

The study questioned 3,100 IT and business decision makers across 20 countries.

You Tube Launches Sreaming Service

YouTube TV, a streaming service heavy on live programming, rather than pre-recorded video (movies, for example). The service will sell for about $35 a month for a package of 40-plus channels, including live TV streaming from ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, regional sports networks and dozens of popular cable networks.

Subscribers can add Showtime or Fox Soccer Plus for an additional charge

A cloud DVR, with no storage limits, also is part of the service. YouTube Red Originals, offering series and movies, are included. Six accounts per account are supported, and three concurrent streams can be viewed at a time.

YouTube TV will be available soon in the largest U.S. markets and will quickly expand to cover more cities across the country. Visit tv.youtube.com and sign up to find out when we’ll launch in your market.

Moore's Law Now Drives Advance in Spectrum Use

You can credit Moore’s Law for much of what you now see happening in terms of spectrum policy and access. Shared spectrum in 3.5 GHz (Citizens Broadband Radio Service), the ability to run Long Term Evolution 4G in unlicensed spectrum, use of unlicensed 5-GHz Wi-Fi spectrum as though it were part of an operator’s licensed spectrum, and the vast amounts of new 5G spectrum (and also unlicensed spectrum in millimeter ranges), are possible only because continuing advances in signal processing and computation now allow us to do all those things affordably.

source: Electronic Design

Where in the analog domain millimeter waves would have had cost and distance limitations, we now can process signals at low cost, and code and reconstruct signals at distances that are economically useful and realistic.

That is why the Federal Communications Commission is opening up nearly 11 GHz of spectrum (capacity),  in the bands above the 24 GHz frequency range, for mobile use. The FCC also currently considering whether to open up even more spectrum in the millimeter wave bands for 5G and other uses, for perhaps a total of 29 GHz of new spectrum (capacity).

“Within living memory, it was thought that spectrum above 3 GHz (frequency) could not be used for mobile communications,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “Today, one can use millimeter wave spectrum to produce multi-gigabit speeds.”

One Way Comcast, AT&T and Verizon All Have Similar Strategies

Whether AT&T and Comcast are right or wrong about their business strategy, both have one clear view of what has to be done. In addition to operating access networks with a “dumb pipe” character, both companies believe they absolutely must own at least some of the apps delivered using their pipes.

For both firms, that means owning major content creation assets and programming networks.

Verizon, so far, is not as keen as the idea of owning content assets, but has a similar strategy in the connected car and other internet of things areas, where the objective is to own software service and content assets (app layer), not just the physical and network layers (layers one and two)

And AT&T (and most other access companies) likely agree that video will be the media type representing the overwhelming amount of network traffic. Video will be the dominant payload on future networks, says AT&T Entertainment Group CEO John Stankey.

As part of this movement, AT&T will transform from being a “phone and broadband distribution company to a company of tastes” he said. Substitute the word “personalization” or “customization” and you will understand where AT&T wants to go.

In the past,  pre-packaged solutions were wht AT&T sold, when customers increasingly indicate they want customization and personalization. Talking about video entertainment, for example, Stankey says “we added steps, hoops, rules, and requirements when simpler models were emerging everywhere.”

In the future, that is why over the top video entertainment eventually will win, and why other apps and services are likely to move towards more-flexible end user packaging.

The important broader point is that, going forward, most tier-one service providers will probably have to pursue a similar strategy. Since nearly all revenue-generating apps and services, for businesses or consumers, now run “over the top,” access providers have to operate at multiple levels of the stack: not just access, but also apps.

Will 5G be "Transformational?"

Though you might expect mobile executives to say such things, many believe 5G will be transformational, representing “an opportunity for operators to move beyond connectivity and collaborate across sectors such as finance, transport, retail and health to deliver new, rich services.”

In other words, 5G is seen as an important way mobile service providers can move up the stack into applications. In that sense, 5G also (it is hoped), will be part of the effort to create big and brand-new revenue sources to replace legacy services that are disappearing.

The GSMA expects 5G connections to reach 1.1 billion, some 12 percent of total mobile connections, by 2025. As a result, GSMA hopes, where mobile operator revenues are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.5 percent, reaching $1.3 trillion in 2025. But GSMA also hopes 5G will boost that growth rate by about double, to five percent CAGR.

GSMA believes three 5G usage scenarios are important, with platforms other than the mobile network playing a potential role in each.

Indoors coverage might well incorporate fixed wireless,  Wi-Fi, fiber to building or home, and  device-to-device communication, in addition to mobile network access.

Outdoors in dense urban areas might lean more heavily on 5G small cells.

In rural areas, it is likely 5G and 4G, as well as low earth orbit (LEO) satellites and other alternative network technologies are going to be used.

What is noteworthy is the formal recognition that access will use multiple networks, on a more heterogeneous basis than in the past.

In the early going, it is possible that enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) will be the key revenue driver, early on, with content apps and services providing the rationale (high-definition video for TV and gaming). At least that is what mobile executives expect. Some gains also will come from immersive communication (video calling and augmented and virtual reality) and smart city services.

Longer term, the most-important new use cases and revenue streams might come from internet of things (machine-to-machine communications), in several ways. All those billions of devices will represent incremental account demand for data connections. But that is likely going to be the lesser of the advantages. In the near term, revenue expectations for IoT are likely to be muted, if potential volume could match expectations later.

At least some tier-one mobile operators will create or acquire (the latter is more likely than the former) application or service assets, much as some will acquire content or other application assets. Many analysts now believe apps, devices and other integration services will represent as much as 75 percent to 80 percent of IoT revenue.

source: Bain

Spectrum Futures Conference Call for Content

Spectrum Futures, Bangkok

18-19 September

Call for Content and Participants

Spectrum Futures is an annual conference held by the Pacific Telecommunications Council focusing on the coming revolution in communications spectrum (shared, unlicensed, bonded, licensed, millimeter wave, 5G), with a key emphasis on how it applies across South Asia and Southeast Asia.

To be held 18 and 19 September, 2017, in Bangkok, Thailand, Spectrum Futures will include a half-day tutorial on key “spectrum revolution” fundamentals, followed by a 1.5-day conference.

For the first time, the event will be coordinated with PTC Academy, PTC’s training event for Asia telecom professionals. Students who attend both Academy and Spectrum Futures will earn a “5G/mobile” endorsement to their Academy certificate of completion credentials.

Spectrum Futures invites your recommendations for themes, content and speakers we should add or feature, with your recommendations for speakers to address those topics.

Overview: “Spectrum Revolution” is the overall theme.

18 September Format

Morning program: “Spectrum Revolution”  tutorials (for students who register for both SF and Academy, attending SF tutorials earns a “5G/wireless endorsement” on their Academy certificates of completion.

• The millimeter wave revolution
• Shared spectrum revolution
• Bonded spectrum revolution
• Unlicensed spectrum revolution

Afternoon program: 4 discussion sessions to mirror the morning tutorials

• The millimeter wave revolution
• Shared spectrum revolution
• Bonded spectrum revolution
• Unlicensed spectrum revolution

19 September Format

Morning program: panels or talks focusing on policy and business model implications of 5G, millimeter wave, spectrum sharing, unlicensed spectrum for regulatory policy in various countries.

• How do regulators plan to release licensed spectrum for 5G?
• Will spectrum sharing play a role?
• How will unlicensed spectrum policies unfold?
• How does release of new 5G spectrum affect thinking on competition, universal service, infrastructure sharing, taxes, fees, auctions?

Afternoon program: panels or talks focusing on how service provider platforms will change because of 5G, millimeter wave, spectrum sharing, unlicensed spectrum

• What new competitive platforms using new spectrum could develop?
• How will spectrum sharing affect business strategy, capital investment, network architectures,
• What new services, applications, business models could develop, based on new spectrum options?
• How important will bonding of licensed and unlicensed spectrum become?
• Can new or existing competitors consider new business models using unlicensed spectrum?

Please send any ideas and recommendations to gary@fatpipes.biz.