GSMA Open Gateway unlocks mobile network capabilities for developers

A new collaboration between the world's leading mobile operators will accelerate innovation across industries from finance and retail to transportation, healthcare, and beyond. The GSMA Open Gateway initiative provides developers simplified access to core network capabilities via open application programming interfaces (APIs).

Initially focused on security, new APIs for number verification and SIM swap detection are being implemented by operator groups across 42 countries so far....

23 February 2024 | 5G

75% of 5G networks to be upgraded to 5G-Advanced by 2030

ABI Research predicts that 75 percent of 5G networks will be upgraded to 5G-Advanced by 2030.

Global mobile network standards collaboration project 3GPP approved Release-18, the first release of the 5G-Advanced standard, in December 2021. The stage two functional freeze is planned for March 2023 before a stage three freeze in December 2023.

(Credit: 3GPP)

5G-Advanced is the next major evolution of 5G. Networks that upgrade to 5G-Advanced will benefit from...

6 July 2022 | 5G

ETSI releases a global standard for securing smartphones

ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) has released a new global standard for securing smartphones.

The standard – TS 103 732, or, more catchingly, “Consumer Mobile Device Protection Profile” – claims to identify key security and privacy risks for user data and provides appropriate protection.

Alex Leadbeater, Cybersecurity Chair at ETSI, said:

“Following the excellent improvement in security achieved with ETSI EN 303 645 for consumer...

25 November 2021 | Security

Germany warns that Open RAN poses a security risk

Germany doesn’t agree with the assessment that Open RAN (O-RAN) provides a more secure alternative to certain vendors.

A US-led campaign warning that Chinese vendors such as Huawei pose a security risk led many governments to ban or restrict the use of such equipment in national infrastructure. The exile of vendors that have provided equipment for multiple generations of networks has been costly for operators and set back their rollouts.

O-RAN has been hailed as the...

24 November 2021 | 5G

WBA: 83% of survey respondents plan to deploy WiFi 6/6E by 2022

A cross-industry survey conducted by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has found that 83 percent of respondents plan to deploy Wi-Fi 6/6E before the end of 2022.

The survey includes service providers, equipment manufacturers, and enterprises around the world and highlights the growing demand for WiFi 6.

“Service providers, equipment manufacturers and enterprises worldwide see more value than ever in WiFi,” commented Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the WBA.

6GHz...

5 October 2021 | IoT

ETSI launches ISG for 6G-bound Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces technology

Global standards body ETSI has launched an industry specification group (ISG) for Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS), a technology that’s expected to play a key 6G role.

RIS is a new type of system node that aims to leverage smart radio surfaces with thousands of small antennas or metamaterial elements to dynamically shape and control radio signals in a goal-oriented manner.

In practical terms, RIS will enable new use cases such as improving elderly care by...

4 October 2021 | 6G

Samsung powers the first 3GPP-compliant nationwide public safety network

Samsung has announced that it’s powering the world’s first 3GPP-compliant nationwide public safety network.

The PS-LTE network, initially launched in Korea, uses 700MHz spectrum and provides fast and reliable connectivity for emergency personnel in over 330 organisations including police, firefighters, medics, and the military.

Simultaneous transmission for up to 2,500 user devices per cell is supported by the deployment; more than double previous-generation...

26 April 2021 | Legislation & Government

Samsung can now access Nokia’s video standards innovations

Samsung will be able to access Nokia’s video standards innovations after the pair reached a licensing agreement.

Nokia has invested more than $154 billion in R&D over the past two decades and built a portfolio of over 20,000 patent families (of which, around 3,500 patent families are considered essential to 5G.)

Jenni Lukander, President of Nokia Technologies, said:

“We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Samsung which further validates...

11 March 2021 | Telecoms

The US will allow its companies to cooperate with Huawei on 5G standards

The US has softened its stance against Huawei to enable American companies to cooperate with the Chinese telecoms giant on 5G standards.

In a press release, the US Commerce Department wrote: "This action is meant to ensure Huawei’s placement on the Entity List in May 2019 does not prevent American companies from contributing to important standards-developing activities despite Huawei’s pervasive participation in standards-development organizations."

While there's...

16 June 2020 | Legislation & Government