Nokia and Dell extend partnership for network cloud transformation

Nokia and Dell Technologies have announced the extension of the companies’ strategic partnership in order to ‘advance open network architectures in the telecom ecosystem and private 5G use cases among businesses’.

This amounts in effect to utilising each company’s area of expertise; infrastructure solutions from Dell and private wireless connectivity solutions from Nokia.

Nokia will use Dell as its preferred infrastructure partner for existing customers of Nokia...

15 February 2024 | Digital Transformation

SK Telecom unveils ‘AI pyramid’ strategy and plans to triple AI investment

SK Telecom (SKT) has set a date of 2028 to become a global AI leader, with plans to triple the proportion of its AI-related investments and a revenue target of KRW 25 trillion (£15.1bn).

The operator currently devotes approximately 12% of its investment towards AI and related disciplines, based on 2019 to 2023 figures. Between 2024 and 2028, this number is expected to rise to 33%.

SK Telecom’s AI pyramid has three layers. The bottom layer is AI infrastructure, which...

26 September 2023 | Digital Transformation

Ericsson teams up with Google Cloud again to expand Cloud RAN offering

Ericsson and Google Cloud have further expanded their partnership with the former offering its Cloud RAN (radio access network) solution on the latter’s distributed cloud – and an additional benefit for operations improving their AI and automation capabilities.

Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) enables the opportunity to extend Google Cloud’s infrastructure and services to the edge, while Google Distributed Cloud Edge (GDC Edge) is a fully managed offering which enables CSPs to...

21 September 2023 | Networks

Telcos competing with hyperscalers on emerging services ‘unrealistic’

Telcos have various irons in the fire for strong future potential, from digital gaming and online video to eHealth and financial services – but they will continue to feel the pinch from Big Tech hyperscalers.  

That is the verdict of analyst firm Omdia who argues in its latest report that while telcos have already invested in areas around TV and online video entertainment, there are other markets to explore, but competing with hyperscalers is ‘unrealistic’. The report,...

13 April 2023 | Operators

Nokia rebrands at MWC to tout ‘networks meet cloud’ vision

Nokia has shown off a new logo and brand at MWC Barcelona – and says the time is right to assert what it believes is a strong hand in the networking technology space.

“We’re unleashing the exponential potential of networks and their power to help reshape the way we all live and work,” the company said in a breathless tweet. The more measured version, from Nokia president Pekka Lundmark, notes that this move is a culmination of the past couple of years, in which the company...

28 February 2023 | 5G

SpaceX signs up with Google Cloud for Starlink connectivity

Google Cloud and SpaceX have secured a partnership to provide businesses with 'seamless, secure' access - through the former's cloud infrastructure and the latter's connectivity.

Under the partnership, SpaceX will locate Starlink ground stations within Google's data centre properties. This will provide a benefit of security, low latency, and reliable delivery of data from more than 1,500 Starlink satellites.

"Google Cloud's high capacity private network will support the...

14 May 2021 | Rural Telecoms

Virtyt Koshi, Mavenir: On waves of innovation, OpenRAN, 5G, and more

Dr Virtyt Koshi, SVP and general manager EMEA at cloud-native network software provider Mavenir, recalls a video telecommunications system pioneered by BT which he used in his lab at the University of Oxford in 1995. It had "everything that Zoom had and much more", he explains. Unfortunately, carriers in general did not capitalise on innovation, and these days for example, BT is valued at around a $20 billion market cap, whilst Zoom is around $100bn.

The change is continuous - and...

29 March 2021 | Open RAN

Vodafone builds first UK ‘standalone’ 5G network for Coventry University

Vodafone has claimed an industry first with the launch of the UK's inaugural 'standalone' 5G network built for Coventry University.

Coventry, which maintained its top 15 ranking in the Guardian's most recent university league tables, was recognised by the operator for its 'innovation and excellence in digital teaching'. The network will be used to trial virtual reality (VR) learning technologies for student nurses and allied health professionals.

The announcement was...

6 July 2020 | LTE

Small Cell Forum publishes two new 5G physical layer API specifications

The Small Cell Forum (SCF) has published a set of key documents that are focused on stimulating a competitive ecosystem for 5G-era small cell hardware, software and equipment vendors. 

These new documents, which extends last year’s 5G Physical Layer API specification, allow small cells to be assembled using components from different vendors to address a mix of 5G use cases relatively easily.

The new release also includes two new specifications, SCF223: 5G NR FAPI...

14 April 2020 | Hot Topics

SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom team up in blockchain for identity play

MWC19 Compared to other technologies, such as big data, artificial intelligence and the ubiquitous 5G, blockchain is expected to have a lesser role to play at MWC Barcelona this year. Yet a few stories are showcasing this aspect - and one in particular from two of the telco industry's biggest players.

There's something of an irony in this reasoning. Previously, blockchain had not exactly made the biggest impression at Mobile World Congress because, well, it wasn't...

25 February 2019 | Operators