This week’s roundup highlights major developments and collaborations shaping the global telecommunications sector. Asian carriers are accelerating network rollouts and international expansion: China Mobile is fast-tracking its 5G-Advanced deployment, while Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom has created a new European hub. At the same time, international cooperation on 6G is gathering momentum, with the United States and Sweden announcing a coordinated effort to advance next-generation wireless technology.
Although 5G remains in global deployment, research into 6G is already underway and is expected to reach commercial availability around 2030. Governments, research institutions and private companies are investing heavily in 6G research, and leading efforts are coming from China, the United States and the European Union.
In August, Sweden and the United States announced a joint plan to cooperate on advanced wireless technologies, including 6G. The declaration, welcomed by Ericsson, reflects both countries’ intent to combine resources, research capabilities and industrial strengths as they pursue new connectivity technologies.
According to a joint statement from both governments, cooperation will span 6G research and potential funding, spectrum allocation and introducing new technologies in existing frequency bands, global harmonization of 6G frequency ranges, development of internationally aligned standards, encouragement of a broad 6G ecosystem, and leveraging 6G technologies to help bridge digital divides.
Earlier in April 2024, the US National Science Foundation (NSF), Sweden’s Vinnova (the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems) and the Swedish Research Council announced a five-year memorandum of understanding to strengthen innovation research partnerships across industry, academia and research institutions. That partnership targets areas such as artificial intelligence, 6G, machine learning and quantum technologies.
Shortly afterward, on April 5, 2024, the United States and the European Union unveiled a joint 6G Vision to deepen transatlantic cooperation on emerging technologies—a move also welcomed by industry leaders including Ericsson’s Chief Technology Officer.
China Mobile accelerates 5G-Advanced rollout
In March 2024, China Mobile announced the commercial launch of 5G-Advanced (5G-A), initially targeting 100 cities for 5G-A commercialization. The operator aims to build the world’s largest commercial 5G-A network, furthering China’s efforts to enhance internet infrastructure and to stimulate innovation across industries.
Following the 3GPP Release 18 specifications published earlier in the year, China Mobile has positioned itself as an early global adopter of 5G-Advanced. The company set a goal to expand 5G-A coverage to 300 cities by the end of 2024 and has already launched commercial services in Beijing and during MWC Shanghai in June 2024.
China Mobile reports it has upgraded more than 7,000 5G base stations, achieving broad coverage in Beijing and delivering peak downlink speeds up to 5 Gbit/s—about five times faster than typical 5G speeds. These launches in major metropolitan areas allow the operator to demonstrate 5G-A capabilities and test commercial use cases.
To reach its user targets, China Mobile plans to sign up millions of 5G-A subscribers by year-end, a strategy that depends on collaboration with device manufacturers and application developers to expand handset availability and create new services. Local sources indicate approximately ten 5G-A capable devices from brands such as Vivo and Xiaomi are already on the market, and China Mobile expects that number to surpass 20 before the end of the year.
Chunghwa Telecom opens European hub in Frankfurt
Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom has established a new subsidiary in Frankfurt, Germany, marking a significant step into the European market. This expansion strengthens the company’s international service footprint across Europe, the Americas and Asia and reinforces its position as Taiwan’s leading telecom operator with global reach.
Chunghwa Telecom says it aims to support Taiwanese companies operating in Europe and views Germany as a strategic gateway. The carrier is actively pursuing partnerships with European operators and ICT firms; one example is its cooperation agreement with Poland’s Exatel signed in July 2023.
Asian carriers back Bridge Alliance API Exchange for global integration
Thirteen major Asian telecom operators—including Airtel, China Unicom and Singtel—have endorsed the Bridge Alliance API Exchange (BAEx), a platform created to aggregate and expand telco APIs across the region. Launched in collaboration with Singtel, BAEx builds on initiatives such as the GSMA’s Open Gateway and Project CAMARA to provide developers with standardised network interfaces.
BAEx currently provides silent network authentication APIs and plans to roll out additional capabilities such as eKYC and Quality of Experience (QoE) related services. By offering common, accessible APIs, BAEx aims to foster mobile service innovation, accelerate developer access to network functions and support global integration among operators.
(Image Credit: Ericsson)
Singtel and SK Telecom forge partnership to pioneer 6G development
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