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• Nokia lands five-year fibre deal with AT&T
  in Business Telecoms
  By Kenn Anthony Mendoza

  Finnish telco vendor Nokia has signed a five-year agreement with AT&T to deploy fibre access technology.

  While the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, this is a solid deal for Nokia, given that AT&T opted for rival Swedish telecoms equipment provider Ericsson’s open RAN equipment in 2023.

  The deal will see Nokia provide its Lightspan MF and Altiplano platforms to support AT&T’s fibre networks in the world.

  The Lightspan platform supports PON technologies including 10Gb/s, 25Gb/s, 50Gb/s, and 100Gb/s.

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  Nokia’s Altiplano Access Controller will also help drive higher levels of automation in AT&T’s network and service operations.

  “Ultimately this can help operators like AT&T make the most of their existing fiber broadband networks today and in the future. Together, we're paving the way for a more connected and responsible future,” said Nokia president fixed networks Sandy Motley.

  The deal also includes fibre network upgrades.

  AT&T will use Nokia’s fibre solutions to establish a network capable of meeting demand for capacity and broadband services.

  Nokia previously stated that its fibre products are compliant with the Build America, Buy America program, which requires products to be manufactured in the US.

  “This expansion will not only enhance broadband access for millions of customers but also sets the stage for the next wave of digital innovation, including Industry 4.0, smart cities, IoT applications, and ultra-high-definition streaming,” commented AT&T head of network Chris Sambar.
• NBN Co slashes power consumption across fixed wireless network by 5%
  in Telecoms & NBN
  By Kenn Anthony Mendoza

  Wholesale broadband operator NBN Co claimed it reduced power consumption across its fixed wireless network by 5%, estimated to deliver a reduction of 850 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions.

  Based on data collected since its “energy-saving” feature embedded in its hardware was introduced in November 2023, NBN Co expects to save 1.3GWh of power annually, which may bring energy to 200 Australian homes.

  NBN Co credits its energy-saving consumption to Ericsson’s equipment supported by Microsleep Tx software on its 2,400 fixed wireless towers across rural and regional areas.

  Aside from reducing environmental impact, Ericsson head of ANZ Emilio Romeo says the software will “create operational cost savings, enabling NBN Co to focus on meeting the growing needs of homes and businesses in regional Australia.”

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  NBN Co chief technology officer wireless networks Jason Ashton says the company reduces the power consumption of the fixed wireless network in the middle of the night when customer usage is low.

  This allows the company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

  “Radio unit transmitters on the fixed wireless towers are flipped into sleep mode when they are not active, reducing network energy consumption,” NBN Co said in a statement.

  “As the radio components can switch on again in microseconds, network performance is not compromised.”
• US Cellular picks Ericsson for 5G rural upgrade
  in 5G
  By Kenn Anthony Mendoza

  Regional US carrier US Cellular has deployed the technology of Swedish telco equipment provider Ericsson to support its 5G network infrastructure upgrade in rural areas.

  US Cellular tapped Ericsson’s Router 6000 portfolio including model 6671 to bolster its 5G transport infrastructure.

  “This collaboration is about more than just connectivity – it’s about empowering communities while boosting local economies and enabling modern digital services,” says US Cellular vice president of technology, strategy, and architecture Narothum Saxena.

  “From supporting fixed wireless access solutions and enhancing mobility to improving access to essential services like online education and healthcare, together with Ericsson we are committed to transforming rural America’s digital landscape.”

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  The collaboration also leverages Ericsson’s advanced cell-site router technology to provide the necessary transport infrastructure for efficient utilization of mid-band spectrum for radio access network (RAN) deployment that both companies embarked on in 2023.

  Ericsson claims the routers are designed for rural deployments, stating they can provide secure backhaul, site deployment flexibility, optimised port speeds and density for traffic aggregation, and advanced synchronisation for RAN performance.

  “By using our advanced Router 6671 alongside New Radio Time Division Duplexing (NR TDD) technology, US Cellular is delivering unprecedented connectivity and broadband speeds in its markets,” says Ericsson North America vice president and chief technology officer for customer unit regional customers Bill Chotiner.

  US Cellular is one of the biggest regional cell carriers in the US. It serves four million mobiles across 21 US states in mostly rural areas.

  Data Centre Dynamics reported that T-Mobile acquired around 30% of US Cellular’s wireless spectrum for US$4.4 billion. US Cellular will retain 70% of its wireless spectrum towers.

  However, six US Senators objected to this deal, arguing that this would discourage competition.
• Ericsson and 2degrees strike new agreement for RAN five-year partnership extension
  in Deals
  By Gordon Peters

  Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) and New Zealand communications services providers 2degrees, have announced a five-year extension to their existing joint radio access network (RAN) technology partnership.

  The new deal follows the 2021 agreement, where Ericsson and 2degrees first partnered to modernise the service provider’s RAN network with products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio.
  
  Ericsson says the products and services being deployed include all RAN 3G / 4G / 5G products available today from Ericsson’s portfolio (AIR, Basebands, RAN Processors, Ericsson Antenna Systems, Power systems including Lithium-Ion Batteries) and future products including Generator 4 RAN Processors.

  Under the terms of the partnership extension, Ericsson says it will continue to accelerate 2degrees’ network modernisation program with a focus on 5G deployment nationwide while replacing and enhancing mobile 3G and 4G infrastructure at sites - and the expansion of the nation-wide network modernisation project will see 2degrees gain greater capacity and performance, delivering better experiences and services to consumer and business customers throughout the country.

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  Mark Callander, CEO, 2degrees, says: “This agreement is testament to the important work we’ve done in collaboration with Ericsson to deliver an advanced mobile network in New Zealand. Ericsson’s technology underpins some of the world’s best 5G networks. The industry-leading technology 2degrees is rolling out in partnership with Ericsson will see our customers benefit even further from the cutting-edge innovation we have accomplished together.”

  Emilio Romeo, Head of Ericsson, New Zealand and Australia, says: “This partnership extension validates and further supports the strength of the work Ericsson has done to deliver on 2degrees’ vision to be the number-one performing network in New Zealand as it strives to set the industry benchmark for network performance. Through our collaboration with 2degrees, Ericsson’s RAN innovation is transforming the telecommunications landscape in New Zealand and providing a superior customer experience and service for all New Zealanders.”
• Optus deploys Ericsson’s Interference Sensing technology
  in Business Telecoms
  By Kenn Anthony Mendoza

  Australian telco Optus in collaboration with Swedish vendor Ericsson has piloted a live network using Ericsson’s Interference Sensing technology to improve performance by sensing and mitigating inter cell interference in real time.

  A feature within Ericsson’s Massive MIMO 5G Advanced portfolio, Interference Sensing uses Ericsson’s algorithm to sense and reduce inter cell interference, resulting in higher user throughput and network capacity.

  Optus claimed an average increase in user throughput of 22% was achieved during pilot testing, across multiple users and cells in a commercial network deployment, with the Interference Sensing functionality enabled.

  Ericsson’s solution aims to transform network operations, improve performance, and deliver user experience.

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  Optus said the Interference Sensing technology lays the foundation for Ericsson’s 5G advanced performance capabilities.

  The technology solves issues involving increased inter cell interference as 5G traffic load increases. The pilot in Optus’ live network showcased how Interference Sensing addresses inter cell interference issues as 5G networks densify.

  Aside from faster and better data experience for customer, Optus vice president access network strategy, planning, and quality Kent Wu identified the technology will allow the implementation of new and improved use cases for video streaming, enterprise, and consumer mobile cloud gaming services, stadium 5G service application.

  “Interference Sensing provides up to 40% capacity gain on existing Massive MIMO hardware with only a software upgrade – an achievement that has earned industry recognition,” claimed Ericsson Networks head of product line cloud and purpose-built 5G ran Sibel Tombaz.

  “It has been an immense opportunity to collaborate with Optus for this first demonstration of our technology on their network. This technology will enable Optus to unlock new capacity and speed capabilities, opening the door to exciting use cases for consumers and enterprises in the 5G Advanced era.”

  This first appeared in the subscription newsletter CommsWire on 2 July 2024.