News

The facility will bring together partners from universities, research institutes, and businesses across Germany 

Deutsche Telekom has opened a “Quantum Lab” facility based at its Berlin T-Labs, dedicated to quantum research and the integration of quantum technology into its telecommunications operations. 

The research facility is connected to over 2,000km of fibre optical network, allowing researchers to conduct quantum-optical experiments alongside partners across Germany. 

Deutsche Telekom notes that research at the facility will primarily focus on quantum entanglement, particularly its connotations for quantum cryptography and the creation of extra security in communications.  

According to the operator, this focus on quantum entanglement also could allow for a “quantum internet of things”, creating a higher-powered network of distributed and sensory applications. 

“The opening of our Quantum Lab is a clear signal that we are serious about bringing quantum technology to the commercial networks of telecommunications providers,” said Claudia Nemat, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Deutsche Telekom. 

“We explicitly invite the research and innovation community to join us in leveraging networks at the interface between R&D and commercial exploration like ours. To prove that innovative quantum technology solutions work under real-world conditions. And to usher in a new era of communications service.” 

In February, the company announced its leading position in the European Union’s PETRUS project, leading and coordinating the collaboration of 27 EU countries as they collectively build a quantum communications infrastructure that will run through Europe, named EuroQCI. 

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News 

The Indian operator is reportedly in discussions with financial services firm BNP Paribas to arrange the loans 

Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecoms arm of India’s Reliance Industries, is set to raise $2 billion in offshore loans, according to a report from the Economic Times. The capital raised will be used to fund the purchase of 5G network equipment from Ericsson. 

“BNP Paribas will provide $1.9–2 billion over a nine-month period during the course of which Jio will be paying back Ericsson, BNP, and some other banks,” noted an anonymous source. 

As part of the deal, Swedish export credit firm EKN has provided Jio with a cover of $2.2 billion, protecting the deal’s stakeholders from potential risks. 

The report did not mention the specific amounts that Jio will pay back to Ericsson, BNP, and others involved in the loan deal. 

Jio announced they had partnered with Ericsson for 5G RAN equipment in October last year. 

“We are delighted to partner with Ericsson for Jio’s 5G SA rollout. Jio transformed the digital landscape in India with the launch of LTE services in 2016,” said Akash Ambani, Reliance Jio’s Chairman in a press release last year. 

“We are confident that Jio’s 5G network will accelerate India’s digitalization and will serve as the foundation for achieving our nation’s ‘Digital India’ vision.” 

It should be noted, that Jio is also working with two of Ericsson’s rivals, Nokia and Samsung, when it comes to 5G equipment. The company signed a $1.5 billion 5G equipment deal with Nokia earlier this year, which was financed by several global banks, including HSBC, Citigroup, and JP Morgan. More recently, Reliance Industries issued a letter of guarantee to Samsung India worth roughly $932 million, aiming to support Jio in the procurement of 5G equipment.   

Jio’s aim to achieve nationwide standalone 5G coverage by the end of the year, which Ambani claims will be the fastest ever mass 5G rollout anywhere in the world.  

Indeed, the company is already making rapid 5G progress, recently noting it had topped 50 million 5G subscribers just nine months after the service’s commercial launch. 

How is the 5G Standalone market evolving in 2023? Find out at this year’s Total Telecom Congress, live from Amsterdam, 21-22 November 2023  

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Contributed Article

by IFS

If your company is considering adding electric vehicles (EVs) to service fleets, whether to save some green or be more green, you can now do so confidently with the help of disruptive technology.

As large telco operators with thousands of service trucks and vans look to incorporate electric vehicles into their fleets in the coming years, how can they manage all the intricacies of keeping an EV charged and on schedule?

While the benefits of EVs are great, allowing telecom organizations to reduce fuel costs and fulfill sustainability missions, the challenge of managing EVs in time-sensitive, intricate, and SLA-driven daily schedules have prevented companies from making the shift. As any EV car owner knows, you must plan your driving routes to ensure that you have access to charging stations and account for the battery recharging time. Now, multiply those requirements by thousands or tens of thousands of service vans and trucks, and you see the challenge.

This is why software designed using artificial intelligence and machine learning that optimises the planning and scheduling of field technicians is being updated to include EV fleet optimisation. As they are known in the field service management (FSM) software market, these scheduling optimization engines are popular amongst telco operators with large field workforces and service vehicle fleets. The solutions enable operators to efficiently plan and manage daily field engineer and long-range project schedules, ensuring that all consumer appointments are handled on-time and service level agreements with business customers are met. In essence, they can ensure that the right field technician with the right parts and skills is always sent to the right place at the right time.

Because these software solutions are infused with AI and machine learning, they can use powerful algorithms to process complex mathematical equations in a matter of minutes. For example, some of the most powerful optimisation engines can intelligently schedule 500,000 field service activities in under an hour. In other words, far faster than any human dispatcher can and without any error.

The benefits include reduced technician travel time by as much as 50% and higher first-time fix rates, all of which translates into lower labor costs, lower fuel costs, lower carbon emissions, and improved customer experiences. So, why not extend the intelligence of these workforce optimisation solutions to include fleets of electric service vehicles? That’s exactly what software vendors like IFS are doing.

Now, in addition to data inputs like customer service level agreements, daily appointment schedules, required drive time between locations, and even field engineer work breaks and time off, this planning software can consider everything needed to keep an EV on the road, including location of charge points, type, capacity, speed of charge and range. The software automatically plans EV charging requirements along with daily technician schedules, and it is nuanced enough to only use EVs in urban areas with more charging stations or for certain journeys that are shorter distances. The next wave of innovation will be supporting IoT-connected EVs that will have real-time battery usage tracking.

If your company is considering switching service fleets over to include EVs, you now can do so confidently. You can even prepare for that future with IFS’ embedded predictive planning tool that allows you to test how your business could cope with a wide range of scenarios including adding EVs into your fleet. It lets you easily visualize your simulated impact on resources, KPIs, and work demand.

IFS is proud to be pioneering innovation in electric vehicle fleet optimization, helping telco operators reduce operational costs, meet corporate sustainability goals, simplify ESG compliance and reporting, and drive efficiencies towards net zero carbon emissions.

Want to learn more about EV fleet and workforce scheduling optimisation from IFS? Meet the team in the IFS Café outside the Keynote Theatre at Connected Britain 2023.

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