What’s up with… China Mobile & ZTE, Ofcom and Singtel

• China Mobile’s green telco cloud
• UK poised for mmWave auction
• Singtel doubles down on quantum security

In today’s industry news roundup: China Mobile and GSMA lead the green network news during COP26; the UK licks its lips over another spectrum auction; Singtel doubles down on quantum security; and much more!

Befitting the start of the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan this week, the telecoms industry is once more flexing its green credentials. So well done to those who have made the effort and released some news – we look forward to receiving many more via our email clients over the next 10 days. We may even list all those supporting companies at the close of COP29, although we don’t anticipate a long list...

And so we start with news from China Mobile and ZTE, which have launched their AI-driven ‘Green Telco Cloud with Diverse Hardware Architectures’ solution. The partners say that they have used their experience in telco network energy-saving technologies and focused on the application of artificial intelligence to enhance energy efficiency in telco cloud environments. The solution uses deep neural network models to monitor and analyse key parameters, such as server load and network traffic, in near-real time and is capable of instantly identifying and deciding the optimal computing requirements. During a recent live network verification at China Mobile’s Anhui and Hunan regions, operating within an ARM telecom cloud resource pool environment, ZTE said, “The solution achieved precise control over the energy consumption of core network elements, with the highest single-machine, energy-saving ratio reaching up to 25%.” By conducting energy-saving verification on live commercial 4G/5G networks, they reportedly achieved zero call loss in communication network services, with no impact on surrounding equipment and systems. The plan is now to roll out the solution across the entire China Mobile network. For further details, see this press release.

Leave it to the GSMA to step up to the COP26 plate. The association’s latest report, Rural renewal: Telcos and sustainable energy in Africa, advocates for renewable energy solutions to expand connectivity in rural Africa. As if that wasn’t enough reading for one day, it has published a further report, looking at how mobile and digital services are accelerating economic growth and advancing social progress across South Africa, fostering opportunity, and promoting inclusivity across the country. It says that when taken together, these reports offer a strategic roadmap for inclusive digital progress, underscoring mobile technology’s role in advancing South Africa’s socio-economic landscape. The Rural Renewal report focuses on the significant energy challenges that are limiting digital connectivity in rural Africa, where grid access is sparse and operational costs are high. As has been the case for far too many years now, off-grid sites often rely on costly and polluting diesel generators. The GSMA continues to advocate for the deployment of sustainable solutions, such as solar-powered mini-grids, and innovative new models such as energy-as-a-service (EaaS). “Digital transformation in South Africa holds tremendous potential to enrich lives, enhance economic resilience, and foster greater inclusion,” said Angela Wamola, head of sub-Saharan Africa at GSMA. “By harnessing the power of mobile and digital services, we can open up meaningful opportunities, particularly for rural communities, empowering them to participate fully in the nation’s digital future.” 

And for those willing to dig deep into the numbers, Analysys Mason has issued guidance on how technology, media and telecoms (TMT) companies can better report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a more sensible way to both upstream suppliers and downstream customers. The firm notes that sustainability reporting requirements have come into sharper focus on a widespread basis, particularly in the European Union, with more stringent sustainability reporting requirements demanded from 2028. The problem is, this is all rather complicated. A company must not only have a comprehensive view of its own footprint but also be aware that other businesses in its value chain will likely be dependent on its reporting to measure their own Scope 3 emissions. “Allocating emissions to services is undoubtedly challenging since the service portfolio of a TMT company can be highly diversified,” explained Matthew Starling, principal at Analysis Mason. “However, the TMT sector’s experience with regulatory cost allocation suggests a possible way forward,” he added. “In principle, many of the techniques within cost-modelling frameworks could be used for CO2e [carbon dioxide equivalent] allocation.” 

Despite recently reported negativity around high-frequency spectrum services, the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom has announced plans for millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum auctions. The official text, if approved, will be enacted and become law in early 2025. Ofcom intends to release spectrum in the 26GHz and 40GHz bands, specifically 6.25GHz of spectrum between 25.1-27.5GHz and 40.5-43.5GHz. There is a slight caveat, though, as Ofcom wants to restrict licensed use to what it calls “high-density areas” in the UK. These comprise 68 cities, major towns and transport hubs, and there are lots of maps here. Naturally, there will be an auction. Potential buyers can bid for 27 separate lots – 12 are in the 26GHz band and have a reserve of £2m per lot, and the remainder are in the 40GHz band and come with a modest £1m reserve. You don’t need ChatGPT to tell you that’s an expected minimal haul of £39m for all licences. The UK’s most recent 5G auction took place in May 2021 and raised £1.38bn, which was considered somewhat modest at the time… Still, for those interested parties who are considering participating in the auction (do they accept crypto?), Ofcom has plenty of reading material, from practical guidance to specifics about the spectrum. “This is high frequency and well suited to carrying large amounts of data in densely populated towns and cities,” said Ofcom in its announcement. “It is particularly appropriate for places where there are lots of people, like stadiums, busy streets, concert venues and train stations.” Yes well, be that as it may, turning this additional 5G investment into a viable commercial business is somewhat challenging. Just ask T-Mobile, which last month handed back some of its hard-won allocation to the Federal Communications Commision (FCC), stating it was “not feasible to effectively deploy... in a way that would benefit the public.”

Singtel has expanded its suite of quantum-safe offerings to help protect its enterprise customers against cyber attacks and to help them scale more securely in the quantum age. This involves integrating what’s called post-quantum cryptography (PQC) technology, a set of algorithms designed to resist the huge computational power of attacks from quantum computers. The technology is being provided by leading cybersecurity solutions providers, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet, and is being integrated into Singtel’s nationwide Quantum Safe Network (QSN). Palo Alto Networks will provide its PQC IPSec virtual private network, and Fortinet will integrate  PQC and quantum key distribution (QKD) to support the development of a secure, scalable, and commercially viable QSN for Singtel. “Quantum computing presents a significant threat to traditional encryption methods, and has the potential to disrupt our digital economy by potentially decrypting sensitive data, exposing businesses to significant risks,” warned Keith Leong, managing director for enterprise at Singtel Singapore. “The addition of Palo Alto Network and Fortinet’s enhanced software solutions to our QSN ensures our enterprise customers get more industry-leading choices to secure their business against both current and future quantum threats, regardless of their hardware requirements.” Singtel launched the country’s first QSN with ID Quantique, following the decision last year by the Infocomm Media Development Authority to fortify Singapore’s resilience against quantum threats. Jess Ng, country head for Singapore and Brunei at Fortinet, added: “As quantum computing evolves, so must our approach to cybersecurity.”

UK operator Virgin Media O2 says it has successfully delivered the country’s first Shared Rural Network Total Not Spot (TNS) site, as part of the government-funded second phase of the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme. The 4G site (not 5G, as it was decided to target 4G instead... go Britain!) is situated in the Outer Hebrides – a group of islands off Scotland’s west coast. “This new site in South Uist, which will bring mobile signal to local residents, major roads and visitor attractions that were previously disconnected, illustrates how the Total Not Spot programme can transform lives when we invest in the right locations,” said Jeanie York, chief technology officer at Virgin Media O2. “Targeted investment like this will provide the greatest benefit to consumers, help close the rural/urban divide and deliver growth across the country,” she added. The operator said it faced significant challenges in building the remote site, with bad weather conditions making delivery and access to the island exceptionally difficult (you don't say?, Ed). Virgin Media O2 worked with build partner WHP Telecoms to deliver the site in six weeks, and explained that it has already delivered more ‘partial not-spot’ sites than any other operator to successfully complete the first phase of the SRN programme. A TNS is defined by the politicos as an area that receives no 4G coverage from any mobile network operator, and currently accounts for 9% of the UK by geography. The government is providing additional investment of £500m to eliminate these TNS areas, to bring 4G service from at least one operator to 95% of the country. Maybe it could double this when it receives the proceeds from its mmWave auction? Perhaps not...

– The staff, TelecomTV