Broadband and mobile operator Virgin Media (O2) have today hailed the results of a new trial – delivered in collaboration with shareholder Liberty Global, which is said to have “successfully” deployed 4G and 5G “smart poles” on top of its existing fibre broadband cabinets in the UK to help boost mobile network coverage and capacity. […]

Good news. Broadband ISP Airband, which previously aimed to cover 400,000 UK premises in rural areas via a mix of fixed wireless access (FWA) and full fibre (FTTP) networks by 2026, has today announced that they’ve secured additional investment from abrdn to “accelerate rural broadband expansion” across West of England. The operator, which recently came […]

The UK telecoms regulator, Ofcom, has today concluded its investigation into Openreach’s Quality of Service (i.e. minimum standards for repairs and new line provision) targets, which found that they “failed to meet, by narrow margins,” 3 out of 35 of the QoS standards in the leased lines (Ethernet) and local wholesale broadband markets. As an […]

Insight

At MWC this year, Eric Zhao, the Vice President and CMO of Huawei Wireless Solution led a media discussion on 5.5G, sharing his insights on Huawei’s 5.5G development and innovation competitiveness

There is a general consensus, says Zhao that the 5.5G will begin commercial deployment in 2024. This is based on the progress in standard, spectrum, terminals and key technologies. 5.5G standard will be frozen, the spectrum is available, the terminals are mature, and the key technologies have been verified. Zhao notes that in Huawei’s opinion, 6G is still in the early research stage, and 5.5G technology is highly homologous to 6G. The deployment of 5.5G is also preparing for the evolution of 6G.

Zooming in closer to the standard, in 2021, 3GPP set R18, R19, and R20 as 5.5G standards. In particular, Release 18 will be frozen in the first half of 2024. R18 will improve spectrum efficiency, enhance XR capabilities. R19/R20 to follow will expand new capabilities, such as intelligence, energy saving, high-precision positioning.

Spectrum is vital for the achievement of the 10Gbps experience for 5.5G. Large bandwidth spectrums are the basis for 5.5G network capabilities, and millimetre wave and the upcoming U6GHz are important new frequencies, that can achieve a 10Gbps experience.

Operators worldwide are also actively verifying 5.5G technology and networking, and the Middle East is leading the way. “Key operators have achieved premium experience rate of 10Gbps, and are moving towards commercial 5.5G, especially for the FWA business,” said Zhao.

“In Europe, operators are also verifying 5.5G technology and exploring new business models, such as speed and experience-based pricing to achieve better business results. In China, operators are accelerating 5.5G technology verification and actively promoting application innovation, such as Redcap, V2X. 5.5G is expected to be commercial deployment in 2024,” he continued.

Huawei released a series of 5.5G products and solutions to support operators through this evolution. The products are designed and produced based off the concepts of Native 10 Gbps, Native Green, and Native Intelligence, which help to improve spectrum efficiency, energy efficiency, operation and maintenance efficiency.

The first of these were TDD products. In the current 5.5G era, operators will generally obtain more than one TDD large-bandwidth spectrum, including C-band, millimetre wave, and the upcoming 6GHz spectrum, but unlocking the value of this spectrum is the key to achieve 10 Gbps. Huawei’s unique ELAA technology (Extremely Large Antenna Array) is the key to solve it.

In terms of FDD, Huawei has recently launched the industry’s only triple-band Massive-MIMO and triple-band 8T RRU, which achieves three-band integration through GHz-level ultra-large bandwidth. Together with FDD Beamforming technology, this hugely improves FDD spectral efficiency and energy efficiency.

One of the most important topics in this field is energy saving, because 5.5G will introduce more services and frequency bands. The traffic volume as well as average power consumption will increase. Low power consumption equipment be the basis for adequate evidence saving.

Both the hardware and the software must be adapted to deliver upgraded efficiency. For example, sleeping during idle hours and waking up on demand are the keys to energy saving. Huawei provides advanced sleep technology during idle periods. In super-deep dormancy mode, the power consumption of the GigaGreen series is less than 10 watts. Additionally, it can be quickly woken up based on traffic detection. Also, energy savings can be achieved through millisecond-level shutdowns without compromising traffic operations. China Mobile has tested Huawei’s solutions on commercial networks, and their results show that energy savings per day were around 40% without affecting network KPIs and user experience.

Intelligence can be used here to further increase energy efficiency. By incorporating Huawei’s IntelligentRAN, which introduces the communication model at the cloud layer and the digital twin system at the network layer, customers can flexibly input scenarios and goals, such as high priority for daytime experience or high priority for night-time energy saving, to optimize the service experiences and network energy efficiency.

In his closing address, Eric Zhao concluded that “with all elements for 5.5G getting ready, we believe that this year, 2024, is the first year of 5.5G commercial deployment. Huawei provide innovative GigaGreen and IntelligentRAN solutions to help operators evolve to 5.5G smoothly and efficiently. Let us look forward and embrace 5.5G era, start a new wireless journey together!”

 

Customers of mobile operator Lyca Mobile, which is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) on EE’s platform in the UK, have spotted that the company has finally introduced support for two popular service features – Wi-Fi Calling and 4G Calling (VoLTE) – as part of the recent 3G switch-off. In short, 4G Calling is a […]

In an expected development, broadband ISP Zen Internet has confirmed that they’re “working towards” launching packages based off Openreach’s latest 1.2Gbps and 1.8Gbps speed full fibre (FTTP) products in the “coming months“, with some customers being told by the provider’s support teams to expect this in “April/May“. Openreach recently confirmed that their two new multi-Gigabit […]

Network builder and broadband ISP Grain (Grain Connect), which has been gradually deploying a new gigabit-capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network across parts of the UK, has confirmed to ISPreview that they’ve had to make a small number of further redundancies as part of adopting a more regional build focus. In case anybody has forgotten, Grain first […]

According to our sources, the Government’s Building Digital UK (BDUK) agency has this afternoon informed UK network operators that their Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme (GBVS), which was originally due to end in March 2025, has been extended up to financial year 2027 to 2028, and “possibly beyond if needed“. The GBVS generally offers grants worth […]

Mobile and broadband ISP Vodafone UK has today announced that they’ve promoted their existing Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Max Taylor, to take on the top job of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from 2nd April 2024. The company’s current UK CEO, Ahmed Essam, will instead become CEO of European Markets and Germany Executive Chair. Max has […]

News 

The announcement comes “in light of increasing public concern” of telegraph pole deployment 

This week, Julia Lopez MP, Minister for Data and Digital Infrastructure, penned an recent open letter directed to all fixed-line operators, cracking down on the installation of new telegraph poles in the UK, suggesting that the infrastructure should be shared. 

According to the letter, many MPs have highlighted the issue, as constituents have grown frustrated the duplication of overhead fibre networks. They have advised that their constituents feel they have no control over how infrastructure is deployed in their local area, and this can negatively affect the overall perception of full fibre deployment. 

While these concerns are more pronounced in specific regions (especially rural areas), she emphasized their resonance across the nation, urging fixed-line operators to heed and address these issues promptly. 

Therefore, the government wants to implement a refreshed set of guidelines that makes sure that “communities feel engaged in the deployment of new broadband infrastructure, whilst still allowing operators to continue deploying their networks.” 

“Telegraph poles are a key piece of infrastructure bringing faster connectivity to communities and businesses across the country,” said Lopez. 

“Most telecoms companies are doing a fantastic job in delivering that connectivity with the support of those communities, by sharing existing infrastructure and taking into account surroundings when putting up new poles. But we know that there are some firms that are losing that vital community support by inappropriately or unnecessarily throwing up new infrastructure.” 

Lopez confirmed that she had written to operators asking them to share existing infrastructure. Of particular note was Lopez’s announcement of forthcoming revisions to the Cabinet Siting and Pole Siting Code of Practice. This which provides guidance on ways operators can ensure that telegraph pole and cabinet installations are placed appropriately, and that local authorities and communities are engaged with regarding proposed installations. 

The new changes will make sure that communities feel engaged in the deployment of new broadband infrastructure, whilst still allowing operators to continue deploying their networks, bringing faster connectivity and greater choice to consumers. 

The epistle culminated with expressions of gratitude for operators’ tireless efforts in advancing the country’s connectivity goals, underscoring the pivotal role of infrastructure sharing in rallying public support and expediting broadband deployment. 

In response to Lopez’s the letter, telecom operators are set to reassess their deployment strategies, placing heightened emphasis on infrastructure sharing and community engagement.  

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