Cloud, 5G and Internet of Things take the center stage at #mwc2017

The telecoms industry is in a crucial stage of digital transformation as new technologies emerge to drive a high quality user experience. A Better Connected World is dawning and the potential opportunities for the telecoms industry, which is the primary enabler of industry digitization, are beyond our imagination.

To compete in this new era, global operators are shifting from an “investment-driven” to a “value-driven” business model, where they are prioritizing the user experience, and the delivery of innovative services and greater value to their customers.

With this in mind, organizations are moving towars helping organizations actualize their value driven business model, through offering a wide range of products. As Mobile World Congress kicked off yesterday three technologies seemed to take the centre stage of this year’s congress; cloud, 5G and the Internet of Things.

In a media tour around the Huawei Booth, Huawei showcased a number of cloud activities under the theme of “Open ROADS to a Better Connected World”. Under this, Huawei is delivering an All Cloud solution that will enable them transform to a dynamic and on-demand approach that will lead to rapid expansion to meet customer demands.

Huawei also showcased its growth plans, business models and latest developments in themed areas: ‘Maximizing Network Value’, ‘All Cloud to Support 5G’, ‘Agile Digital Operations’ and ‘Cloud-based Digital Services’, including a complete range of All Cloud solutions (All Cloud core/wireless/bearer network solutions etc.).

Nokia on the hand, announced in a press statement that they had developed a solution that will allow operators to rapidly address the huge demands of connected people and industries.

Known as the Nokia 5G FIRST, the product comprises Nokia’s radio access network (RAN) including Nokia AirScale massive MIMO Adaptive Antennas, packet core and mobile transport solutions as well as a full service offer using Intel architecture and the Intel 5G modem for initial deployments starting in 2017.

While each operator has its own timeline for moving to 5G, some leading providers are eager to take advantage of the extremely high capacity and low latency connectivity it promises to deliver. To meet early-adopter demands Nokia will make its commercial 5G FIRST end-to-end solution available in the second half of 2017.

The radio access network components of 5G FIRST comprise new Nokia massive MIMO Adaptive Antennas for 3.5 GHz, 4.5 GHz, 28 GHz and 39 GHz frequency bands, the AirScale System Module, AirScale cloud RAN technology and software. Nokia has upgraded its AirScale and AirFrame platforms to 5G based on specifications developed by the KT Special Interests Group (KT SIG) and Verizon 5G Technology Forum and the platforms will be adapted to 3GPP as standards develop.

Leveraging Nokia’s end-to-end network capabilities, 5G FIRST also incorporates the multi-access Nokia Cloud Packet Core and the Nokia Shared Data Layer as part of a cloud-native core architecture to deliver the flexibility, massive scalability and performance operators need to rapidly and cost-effectively deliver 5G services. A comprehensive array of mobile transport offerings from Nokia address the critical capacity, reliability and latency requirements of the 5G era.

On its end, Ericsson opened Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 with three announcements featuring partners and major customers. These included network evolution towards 5G; an innovative new business model between content owners and operators to bring media to people more conveniently; and industry transformation in the transport sector.

During the Media and Analyst briefing, Ericsson President and CEO Börje Ekholm said that 5G will transform all industries, and customers are already gearing up for the future by evolving their current 4G networks. This is the key foundation to enable the automation and business transformation needed for the Internet of Things, as well as data-hungry services like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.

In a new study, Ericsson foresees a 1.23 USD trillion market in 2026 to be addressed by 5G. Ekholm said: “This means that industries see the value of 5G and we will be there to grasp that opportunity.”

Following up Ericsson’s launch of a suite of 5G products and services coming to market in 2017, Ekholm also announced new 5G New Radio (NR) trials in partnership with Qualcomm: NTT DoCoMo, Vodafone, and Telstra Australia.

Nokia on the hand, announced in a press statement that they had developed a solution that will allow operators to rapidly address the huge demands of connected people and industries.