Wi-Fi Alliance begins Wi-Fi 7 certification

The Wi-Fi Alliance has begun the certification process for Wi-Fi 7, ushering in a new era of wireless connectivity. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 7 provides confidence to end-users they’ll benefit from new features designed to enhance performance and connectivity across various environments.

The latest iteration of Wi-Fi promises significant advancements, catering to emerging technologies such as multi-user augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and extended reality (XR). The...

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...

Apple’s new iPhones could feature emergency satellite communications

Apple is reportedly developing at least two features that will enable users to communicate using satellites in a rural emergency.

If you’re high up a mountain, or in the middle of the ocean or dense forest, the likelihood is you don’t have a cellular signal. However, there’s a good chance you’ll be in the range of several satellites—especially if 1,000+ launches per year becomes the new norm.

Cupertino has been exploring the use of satellite technology since at...

5G smartphone sales revenue will grow 210% over the next four years

Revenue from 5G smartphone sales is expected to increase by 210 percent over the next four years.

A study from Juniper Research suggests that 5G smartphones will account for over 50 percent of sales revenue by 2025.

5G smartphone sales revenue for 2021 is expected to reach $108 billion and increase to $337 billion in 2025.

Newly-introduced 'right-to-repair' laws – designed to help tackle environmental waste and make it cheaper for customers to keep their...

Huawei’s revenues plummet following global pressures

Huawei has reported its biggest-ever revenue drop as sanctions and other global pressures continue to weigh heavy on its business.

The Chinese giant has faced international sanctions over national security concerns in addition to the problems faced by its rivals, including the pandemic and global chip shortage.

As a result, Huawei’s revenues dropped 30 percent in H1 2021 compared to the same period last year. The company’s H1 2021 revenue was 320.4B yuan (£36B) so...

Nokia expands its AirScale portfolio with several new 5G solutions

Nokia is expanding its AirScale small cells portfolio for indoor and outdoor 5G coverage with several new solutions.

The headline addition is Nokia’s new micro Remote Radio Heads (mRRH) that will help to boost the capacity and coverage of outdoor 5G networks in dense urban environments. 

The small footprints of mRRHs enable operators to densify their 5G networks in areas where macro cells would be unsuitable. Their lower power consumption also reduces operational...

Nok-picky: Nokia partners with Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure

Nokia has announced a flurry of new partnerships with all three of the major cloud providers—Google Cloud, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Microsoft Azure.

The Finnish telecom giant’s partnership with Google Cloud will see the companies develop 5G solutions together which combine Nokia’s Radio Access Network (RAN), Open RAN, and Cloud RAN, with Google’s edge computing platform to deliver additional 5G monetisation opportunities for CSPs.

Bikash Koley, VP, Google...

Eight 5G solution providers join Ofcom and Digital Catapult-led OpenRAN initiative

Eight 5G solution providers have joined an OpenRAN initiative led by UK telecoms regulator Ofcom and innovation centre Digital Catapult called SONIC.

The vendor-neutral and interoperable equipment OpenRAN delivers is seen as being the solution to disrupting the perceived monopoly held by the large telecoms vendors—helping to drive innovation, improve security, offer flexibility, and reduce deployment costs.

SONIC (SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre) is a...

Ericsson launches new Massive MIMO and RAN Compute solutions

Ericsson launches new Massive MIMO and RAN Compute solutions

Ericsson is launching a range of Massive MIMO and RAN Compute solutions to help accelerate 5G mid-band rollouts.

Three new radios are being added to Ericsson’s Massive MIMO portfolio in addition to six RAN Compute products.

Per Narvinger, Head of Product Area Networks at Ericsson, says:

“After the first rollouts of 5G networks, now is the time to scale up 5G by leveraging Massive MIMO to a much larger extent.

With our new portfolio, communications...

British mobile operators will be banned from selling locked phones

Telecoms regulator Ofcom has banned mobile operators from selling locked phones after December 2021.

Locking mobiles to specific networks often causes confusion for consumers and prevents them from switching at the end of their contracts.

Selina Chadha, Connectivity Director at Ofcom, said:

“We know that lots of people can be put off from switching because their handset is locked.

So we’re banning mobile companies from selling locked phones, which...