5G Focus is a weekly global feature including notable 5G trials, launches, use cases and major equipment supply contracts. It also features in-depth analysis of strategies, expansion plans, business models and other related initiatives.
This edition features news on a push by aircraft companies to delay Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc.’s rollout of 5G wireless services and Nokia Corp.’s 5G network and equipment deals with Elisa Oyj’s Estonian unit and Qatar-based operator Ooredoo.
US AND CANADA
* The CEOs of Airbus Americas Inc. and The Boeing Co. sent a joint letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urging him to support postponing the deployment of 5G wireless services by Verizon and AT&T, Reuters reported. The executives said interference from 5G services on C-band spectrum could impact the ability of aircraft to operate safely.
* SaskTel started rolling out its 5G wireless network, with its initial coverage spanning parts of the city of Regina in Canada’s Saskatchewan province. The Canadian regional operator plans to expand its 5G coverage to Regina and Saskatoon in the spring of 2022.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* China gained an additional 35 million 5G subscribers in November, Telecompaper reported. China Telecom Corp. Ltd. led other local telcos in terms of subscriber growth, with a net increase of 700,000, ending the month with 371.94 million customers.
* Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission teamed up with Siriraj Hospital and Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s Thailand-based unit to launch a 5G smart hospital project, which will enable the use of 5G, cloud and artificial intelligence technologies to improve patients’ experiences. Siriraj Hospital and Huawei will also form a joint innovation lab for the development of more than 30 5G applications.
* Telecom operator PT Indosat Tbk, or Indosat Ooredoo, rolled out 5G commercial services in the city of Kalimantan on Borneo island, Indonesia.
* Australian telco Telstra Corp. Ltd. achieved an upload peak rate of 986 Mbps in a live 5G demo using hardware and related products from Ericsson and Qualcomm Inc. unit Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* The Angolan Institute of Communications granted 5G licenses to operators Africell (Pty.) Ltd., Movicel Telecomunicacoes Lda. and Unitel, Telecompaper reported, citing Mercado. The operators will use spectrum in the 3.3-3.7 GHz band to run their respective 5G services.
* Italian broadband services provider Linkem SpA is seeking an investor to aid its plans to upgrade networks and improve 5G rollout, Reuters reported, citing three sources.
* The Estonian unit of telecom operator Elisa signed a five-year deal with Nokia for a nationwide 5G Radio Access Network deployment and a replacement for the existing 4G infrastructure.
* Elisa expanded its 5G network to Isoonkyrö, Pyhäjoki, Merijärvi and Kärsämäki in the mid-west regions of southern and northern Ostrobothnia in Finland.
* Sweden-based operator Tele2 AB secured 5G frequencies in the 700 MHz spectrum auction in Latvia for €2.42 million, allowing it to start the rollout of nationwide 5G and upgraded 4G in the country, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
* Deutsche Telekom AG expanded its fiber network, adding 1.2 million connected homes in 2021 and doubling its expansion performance over 2020. The German telco also said over 63,000 antennas are transmitting with 5G, in line with a goal to cover 90% of the map by 2025-end.
* The European Investment Bank agreed to loan €70 million to Telekom Srbija a.d. for the latter’s expansion of its 4G network and rollout of its 5G network.
* Ooredoo tapped Nokia as a supplier of 5G customer premise equipment and whole-home mesh Wi-Fi products for 5G wireless access and Wi-Fi solutions in the Middle East and North Africa. Nokia will supply 5G customer premise equipment and whole-home mesh Wi-Fi solutions to residential and enterprise customers.
* The Norwegian Communications Authority is inviting industry players to conduct 5G tests in the 3.8 GHz to 4.2 GHz frequency bands.
* DigitalBridge Group Inc. said fund affiliates of DigitalBridge Investment Management closed their purchase of telecom tower portfolios owned by Sýn hf. and Nova hf. The acquisition of the portfolios formed ÍslandsTurnar, an independent tower company that will support the two Icelandic mobile network operators in executing their 5G deployment plans.
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