Page 96 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2019

TECHNOLOGY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

SETAR and Nokia Bringing 5G to Aruba

SETAR – the telecoms group on the Centralized RAN and AirScale Cloud 60%
Caribbean island of Aruba – has expanded Controllers to raise capacity while • introducing a shared data layer
an existing partnership with Nokia by managing network resources more increasing efficiency of subscription
selecting the Finnish vendor to implement efficiently and authentication services by a factor
an end-to-end 5G network transformation, • utilizing carrier aggregation, 256QAM of three
aiming for island-wide 5G connectivity and 4×4 MIMO to enable three-to-four • installing a virtualized Evolved Packet
within two years. A press release says times higher downlink speeds Core (vEPC) for a three-fold increase
that under a phased approach, Nokia • upgrading to 5G in initial selected sites in efficiency of mobility and gateway
will upgrade RAN access and modernize using Massive MIMO technology with functions.
elements of the core and data management 64 antennas to enable new broadband SETAR’s managing director Roland Croes
systems, thereby future-proofing SETAR’s use cases like 5G fixed-wireless access, said: ‘Through our partnership to bring 5G
infrastructure and enabling new business Augmented/Virtual Reality, Tourism 4.0 to the island, we will ensure Aruba has the
services in segments such as hospitality, and Smart Cities highest quality of services and maintains
healthcare and gaming. • deploying dual/triple-band AirScale itself as a desirable place to live for our
The network evolution project consists of: remote radio heads (RRHs) to reduce 110,000 residents and a top destination for
• enhancing network architecture with site space requirements by more than two million tourists a year.’

China Enters the 6G Fray with Government-Backed Initiative

State media in China said that government ministries and research
bodies had met to ‘kick off’ work on 6G. The report appeared in
the Science and Technology Daily, which is published by China’s
Ministry of Science and Technology. China’s three mobile operators
launched 5G services on 3 November. Two organizations will be
set up in China to propel the R&D. The 6G R&D Working Group will
have government representatives from different departments, and
will be responsible for the promotion and deployment of R&D. The
Experts Group is to include 37 scientists and technology experts
from academia, research institutes, and businesses. It will be
responsible for setting the research agenda for 6G, evaluating
the tech and advising on government policies. Work is already
underway in Finland on 6G, although 5G is only in the very early
stages of deployment in most countries, and 5G standards are
not yet complete. Finnish activity is centered on the University
of Oulu, and the 6G Wireless Summit 2020 is set to take place in wanted 6G technology in the US as soon as possible, urging US
March in Lapland. The 6G Flagship research program published firms to step up their efforts or get left behind. China had originally
what it claimed is the world’s first 6G white paper in September, said it would launch the 5G mobile internet access early next year
saying this “opens the floor for defining the 2030 wireless era”. but accelerated its plans as Sino-US trade dispute heated up.
To coincide with MWC2019 in February in Barcelona, the US Now China has upped the ante again.
President Donald Trump made global headlines tweeting that he

Beeline Kazakhstan Claims 3Gbps 5G Pilot Speed

Beeline Kazakhstan – part of the VEON end of 2019, and the cellco says it will draw large-scale network modernization project
group – reported on its website that it has conclusions based on the pilot’s results launched in the first half of 2019, involving
achieved a peak data speed of 3Gbps on its regarding the necessary investments in a complete analysis of coverage for
5G pilot network in Shymkent, consisting technology for developing 5G, and will optimal deployment of new base stations
of three base stations and core equipment evaluate the readiness of its networks to provide high speed mobile internet in
supplied by Nokia. The 5G pilot in the for widespread 5G adoption. Beeline’s cities without ‘blank spots’.
country’s third largest city will run until the ongoing preparations for 5G include a

96 NOVEMBER 2019