Canada
|
|
|
February 7, 2019 – The 5G Canada Council recently conducted another successful 5G Canada Conference in Ottawa, exceededing the size of the original venue to become CWTA’s largest 5G event to date. Panelists covered leading-edge topics including 5G trialling and deployment, IoT innovation, cybersecurity, personal privacy and 5G regulatory developments in Canada, the U.S. and around the world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 25, 2019 – To facilitate the increased innovation, connectivity and jobs that 5G technology will bring, the federal government has announced a $40 million investment in Nokia Canada. The investment will support Nokia’s 2,000-plus workforce in Canada, as well as its network-management projects valued at over $214 million. It will additionally support Nokia’s development of cybersecurity tools and a new Nokia Bell Labs facility to research 5G telecommunications needs.
|
|
|
|
|
Global 5G
|
|
|
January 29, 2019 – Verizon has announced that it may take longer than expected for New Radio (NR) equipment to be included in its 5G Home Internet product, which launched in four cities last October using a propriety standard. The company plans to transition to 3GPP NR for its fixed expansion, but CEO Hans Vestberg indicated that smartphone launches currently take priority. Verizon’s standards-based 5G Home equipment will likely be released in the second half of 2019, with handsets due in the first half.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 25, 2019 – The European Commission (EC) plans to harmonize its 3.6GHz spectrum to enable 5G services before the end of 2020. The EC has identified 3.6GHz as the primary band for 5G. Network deployments will also rely on 700MHz and 26GHz spectrum until 2020, as well as mmWave and sub-6GHz bands. Up to 35 cities in 14 European countries are set to receive 5G by 2020, with major urban areas and transport routes targeted for 2025.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 25, 2019 – 87% of mobile users plan to upgrade to 5G-enabled devices, according to a new survey by Matrixx Software. 78% of respondents said that they would pay more for such devices, while 88% said they would pay more for 5G network access. Among the 4,048 users surveyed, 70% told Matrixx that 4G services in the US and UK are currently too slow, not available enough, or else too unreliable. Of the 16% not yet planning to upgrade, the main reason given was that existing services are effective enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 25, 2019 – The FCC's first mmWave auction closed on January 24, with provisional bids totalling $702.6 million. The 28GHz auction began on November 14 and lasted 176 rounds. A 24GHz auction is slated to follow, despite the possibility of further U.S. government shutdowns. The 24GHz auction is expected to be more popular and cover more metropolitan areas. A ‘major spectrum’ auction will also be held later in 2019 – incorporating 37, 39 and 47GHz bands.
|
|
|
|
|
|
January 16, 2019 – The U.S. and Switzerland are leading several countries planning to auction 5G spectrum in 2019. The U.S. has already auctioned over $702M of 28GHz, with a 24GHz auction set to follow. Switzerland is beginning its own auctions of 700MHz, 1.4, 2.6 and 3.5GHz bands. The WRC-19 conference in October will further influence the availability of 5G worldwide, including 24.25-86GHz mobile broadband. 10 countries have now licensed at least one 5G band, and 16 have plans to allocate 5G frequencies by 2020.
|
|
|
|
|
|
