Page 86 - SAMENA Trends - May 2020

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Mitsubishi Electric Demos ‘Local 5G System’ in Japan

Japan’s Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
has revealed that it has kicked off a
demonstration test of a local 5G system
in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. The utility
company is using spectrum at 28.2GHz-
28.3GHz to conduct the tests – a different
band than that currently employed by
Japan’s mobile network operators – via a
limited area license granted by the Ministry
of Internal Affairs and Communications
(MIC). The tests are reportedly designed to
verify wireless transmission between local
5G base stations and Mitsubishi Electric’s services and businesses incorporating 5G systems to enable local governments
Factory Automation products. Going a wide range of Factory Automation and and companies to meet diversifying
forward, Mitsubishi Electric says it seeks other products’. In December 2019, MIC communication needs.
to deploy local 5G systems ‘to deliver new began accepting applications for local

Intertelecom Carries on Regardless with CDMA to LTE Switch

Ukrainian CDMA mobile network operator the radio frequency resource 9-11, 14-15 had allocated to Intertelecom in February,
Intertelecom issued an update to its users CDMA channels in Transcarpathian, Ivano- as the CDMA provider still owed UAH193.6
on 20 May 2020 detailing its progress in Frankivsk, Lviv, Volyn, Ternopol, Rivne, million (USD6.88 million) in license fees,
switching to 4G LTE technology, involving Chernivtsi, Khmelnytsky, Zhytomyr and having handed over just UAH1 million.
refarming 850MHz band spectrum, Vinnitsa regions, and implemented 43% However, the Kiev District Administrative
despite having missed the payment measures for refarming in six areas.’ The Court suspended the decision, and all
deadline for its LTE license, with a court company says it aims to finish spectrum concessions remain valid until the court
case pending on the matter. The update refarming ‘by the end of autumn 2020’ while makes a final decision on a lawsuit filed
informs subscribers: ‘Most Intertelecom stressing that in most areas it will continue by Intertelecom against the NCCIR.
base stations can operate simultaneously to provide services based on CDMA2000 Intertelecom’s latest announcement
in CDMA-850 and LTE-850 without 1xEV-DO Rev A/Rev B standards alongside claims that the NCCIR will issue the LTE
replacement of [end user] equipment; for LTE until 2025. On 1 April 2020 Ukraine’s license under previously agreed conditions
others you need to buy a new [LTE user National Commission for State Regulation once the operator makes the final payment,
device and/or SIM card]. Following the of Communications & Informatization although it did not disclose an expected
refarming plan, we have already freed up (NCCIR/NKRZI) cancelled the LTE license it payment date.

China 5G Subscriber Numbers Exceed 65M

China Mobile and China Telecom picked up more than 17 million
5G subscribers in April, taking their combined tally to 65.45 million
six months after introducing the new service. Market leader China
Mobile added 12.02 million, ending the month with 43.7 million.
It had a net gain of 432,000 mobile subscribers in April for a total
of 946.7 million. Deputy GM Jian Qin said it aims to have 100
million 5G subscribers by the end of the year and had deployed
124,000 compatible base stations in 56 cities as it targets a total
of 300,000 by the year-end, C114.net reported. China Telecom
added 5.09 million 5G subscribers in April, taking its total to 21.7
million: net additions of 1.97 million took its overall user base to
338.5 million. Third-ranked China Unicom has not released April
subscriber figures and did not issue 5G numbers over the opening
three months of 2020.
86 MAY 2020