| This email contains graphics, so if you don’t see them, {readonline}view it in your browser{/readonline}. | |
 | |
 Connect-World, the information and communication technology (ICT) decision makers’ magazine. We are the decision makers’ forum for ICT driven development. | |
| Connect-World’s Digest – Issue 55 – September 2016 | 13th November, 2016 |
Editorial Manager’s Eye, By Anthony Weaver, Editorial Manager Connect-World publications Welcome to the Connect-World Digest, which provides a summary of the news items that have caught my eye as Editorial Manager recently. For more information on the news items, please visit our press releases webpage detailed below. https://www.connect-world.com/index.php/press-releases
Trade Events
IBC Amsterdam, 8-12 Sept 2016 IBC2016 celebrates record numbers. The attendance figure of 55,796 over the six days from more than 160 countries is a new record. The exhibition featured over 1,800 exhibitors, including 249 companies at their first IBC. Another first was a special message from astronaut Kate Rubins in the International Space Station after NASA received the Judges’ Prize.
Ref: http://www.csimagazine.com/csi/IBC-2016-review-embracing-change.php
| Follow us on
|
Latest ICT Event
IoT Asia 2017 | |
Magazine regions • Global-ICT
| |
| IBC 2016 Review: Christy Media Solutions
The annual IBC exhibition closed a week ago, the stands have been packed up and the Christy Media team have all returned to the office, busy following up on the meetings we had at the show. Our team at the show this year included new trainees as well as IBC veterans, with everyone spending at least a couple of days at the 5 day exhibition. There were almost 56,000 visitors to IBC this year, from over 160 countries, exploring the stands of 1,700 exhibitors, across fifteen halls. New for this year were a number of Feature Areas that tied into the IBC Conference that runs alongside the exhibition. The Future Zone was popular with our team when they explored the show – it’s home to exhibitors displaying cutting edge prototypes and projects, usually hidden away from public view. The 8KTV, augmented reality graphics solutions, fun VR headsets, stunning holographic display and the visually impressive Pufferfish globes were all mentioned as “wow” moments. Our newer team members also really enjoyed finding out more about the green screen displays, watching how the presenter “interacts” with the graphics and seeing the technology they have read about in action for the first time. Key themes at this year’s show included: IP based production – with the new IP Interoperability Zone, IBC brought to life the reality of IP technology. The new zone showcased the work of the Joint Task Force on Networked Media (a combined initiative of EBU, AMWA, SMPTE and VSF). Verified technical interoperability over IP from more than 30 diverse companies was demonstrated, and during the show visitors were able to watch live IP production courtesy of the VRT-EBU Live IP Sandbox project, which featured a real studio, control room and data centre. VR – there were many impressive VR products and solutions on display, although it has been said that after the poor consumer uptake of 3D technology, the broadcast sector appears more cautious about embracing VR until there is a clearer consumer demand for it. Personalisation – In response to the continuing move to IP delivery systems and increasing personalisation of the end-user experience, the industry is focussing again on the issues of monetization of content and the predicted death of traditional TV advertising models. With the popularity of ad-blockers, and increasing on-demand viewing habits, advertisers and broadcasters are looking for new ways to personalise and deliver content to the end consumer and exhibitors like ContentWise and Singular.Live in Hall 14 and Kaltura in Hall 3 displayed products to serve these needs. The theme of the IBC Conference was “Transformation in the Digital Era: Leadership, Strategy and Creativity in Media and Entertainment” and more than 300 speakers were featured during the 6 day conference, sharing insights on key issues. This year the IBC’s Awards Ceremony honoured the movie director Mr Ang Lee with the IBC2016 International Honour for Excellence. As part of the IBC Big Screen Experience the audience were treated to a brief retrospective of his films and Mr Lee’s keynote speech was delivered to a packed auditorium. He commented during his speech that “In the past few years, I have come strongly to believe that new technology will upgrade film-making in terms of story-telling… IBC has done so much to bring together new technology and old-fashioned creativity… I am delighted to be part of this exciting dialogue.” IBC presented the Judges’ Prize to NASA this year, for its work collaborating with film makers, making content available and advancing the science and craft of imaging. The Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) was also presented with an IBC Special Award to recognise its centenary year and its important continuing role within the industry. The IBC Innovation Award for Content Creation was awarded to The LIVEIP Studio project, with trophies presented to EBU and the Flemish broadcaster VRT for hosting the project. BT Sport won the award for Content Delivery for its launch of an Ultra HD channel last year, and the Content Management award went to Endemol Shine Germany. As well as touring the exhibition halls and meeting with a huge variety of visitors at our stand, IBC also enables the team to socialise with our clients, away from our stand. This year our favourite post-show parties included our IBC neighbour Object Matrix’s annual Welsh Evening (this year featuring the Welsh bagpipes – a lesser known instrument than its Scottish cousin!), FileCatalyst’s Hard Rock Café party and the Imagine Live! Party in Hall 4. The show is massive and as usual, sore feet were the biggest complaint we had from our team, as they did their best to see as much as possible during their time at IBC. We’d like to thank everyone who stopped by the stand to say hello, have a beer or take a pen or two; we’ve had a great show again this year and it is largely thanks to you all. We’re looking forward to next year’s event already! Ref: http://christy-media.com/ibc-review/
Press Releases
Friday 30th September Telefonica and Huawei Launch Open Cloud and Cloud Server in Brazil, Mexico, and Chile to Boost Cloud Services Telefonica Business Solutions, a leading provider of a wide range of comprehensive communication solutions for the B2B market, and Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, have launched their Open Cloud and Cloud Server services in Chile, Brazil and Mexico.
This launch is carried out in the context of the comprehensive partnership agreementestablished between the two companies to drive the migration of customers’ traditional IT services to the cloud. Huawei provides innovative hardware and software including servers, storage, networking and Cloud operating systems as well as expert technical support for the Open Cloud and Cloud Server services.
Open Cloud is a public cloud service based on OpenStack technology and hosted in Telefonica’s data centers in Chile, Brazil and Mexico. The service represents Telefonica’s commitment to an open and secure cloud and provides a broad range of services ranging from computing, storage, networks and databases to more advanced application development, security and analysis services.
One of the main advantages of Open Cloud is the ability to connect to customers’ private networks, as well as the connectivity to additional Telefonica data center services. All of this enables customers to have hybrid cloud environments in a fast and easy manner in accordance with a countries’ local laws and regulations.
Similarly, Telefonica’s Cloud Server service, is already commercially available in Brazil, Chile and Mexico, running on Huawei’s cloud operating system FusionSphere. Cloud Server makes it possible to deploy a cloud server quickly and easily without much technical knowledge. This enables companies to focus on their business and delegate the management of infrastructure to Telefonica. Cloud Server is Telefonica’s solution to cover the basic IT needs of customers in the small and medium enterprise sector.
Telefonica Business Solutions and Huawei continue to work together under the existing global partnership agreement established between the two companies. The next countries in which these services will be launched are Peru, Argentina, and the USA to support Telefonica’s international customers operating in that market.
José Luis Gamo, B2B Products and Solutions Director at Telefonica Business Solutions, said, “The launch in record time of the Open Cloud and Cloud Server services in Chile, Mexico and Brazil is a huge joint milestone for Telefonica and Huawei. Huawei are a strategic technology partner for Telefonica that enables us to provide a better Cloud solution in the market with the best features at the best price and with the latest technology.
“With this release, which represents Telefonica’s commitment to an open and secure cloud, we are moving towards our goal of providing the best products for Cloud services, while driving our customers’ digital transformation.”
Yelai Zheng, President of Huawei IT Product Line, said, “We are honored to have the global cloud strategic partnership with Telefonica, the strategic alliance aims at delivering advanced public cloud services for all Telefonica enterprise customers. By combining Huawei’s long-term and sustained investment in global information and communications technology, with Telefonica’s leading B2B market development capabilities, both companies aim to transform the traditional industries by providing high-quality, innovative, and industry-oriented cloud services, to enterprises.
“Cloud is a key strategic new business for Huawei, and we are committed to growing more and more in this area. Working together, Telefonica and Huawei can build key differentiators to succeed in the market.”
Wednesday 28th September ZTE launches world’s first OTN-based quantum encryption transport solution ZTE Corporation a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, today announced the launch of the industry’s first quantum encryption transport solution based on an optical transport network (OTN). This solution successfully achieves shared-fibre transmission of quantum paths and traditional paths.
This solution will elevate the telecommunication information security sector. Moreover, with features such as high adaptability, strong practicability and absolute security and reliability, this solution has acquired wide-spread attention from the industry.
With the successful launch of the Mozi quantum satellite, quantum telecommunication technology is attracting wider attention and so far, it is the only telecommunication security technology that has been verified under strict conditions for its security capability. Based on the indivisible, non-cloning and unmeasurable features of quantum, it can generate secure and reliable keys by transmitting digital information and using a single photon. It can also transmit communication information securely and reliably by timely key updates. Its secure transmission capability and anti-decoding capability are far higher than any traditional information encryption method.
ZTE proposed to implement quantum encryption transmission by OTN equipment following in-depth analysis on network security and encrypted telecommunication requirements. This solution has a number of innovations. Firstly, it implements the shared-fibre transparent transmission of quantum paths and traditional paths on OTN equipment and provides a quantum encryption function when not occupying a new fibre resource. Secondly, it adopts standard quantum key service interfaces to form open quantum telecommunication architecture. Thirdly, it provides the added security value delivered by quantum encryption telecommunication technology without changing the current network service system. This facilitates the construction of commercial sites.
In 2016, ZTE made a number of innovative achievements showcasing the company’s technological strength in the optical transport field. In January, it successfully completed the 400G transmission test in cooperation with TMA and recorded the longest transmission distance in the industry. In June, ZTE achieved the record for the longest transmission distance of a single-carrier 800G 16QAM in the world. In July, thanks to the advantages of its product differentiation, ZTE’s 100G OTN equipment passed Jiangsu Telecom’s current network VC cross-connect test. And most recently, in September, ZTE became the first provider to launch an OTN-based quantum encryption technology solution, laying a solid foundation for the optical telecommunication sector to enter the quantum era.
Monday 26th September Nokia and Europe’s first drone-based Smart City traffic management test facility collaborate to ensure safe global aerial operations Nokia is to support Europe’s first dedicated testing facility for the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for traffic management. The facility, at Twente Airport, near Enschede in the Netherlands, will enable Nokia to develop and trial its UAV Traffic Management (UTM) system for the use of drones in proximity of urban areas, people, manned aircraft, other drones and hundreds of other objects.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Municipality of Enschede, the Province of Overijssel, Unmanned Systems Center B.V. and Area Development Twente, Nokia will design and deliver the infrastructure to test and develop the Nokia UTM system at Twente Airport through real-life simulations and commercial demonstrations.
The Nokia UTM solution will provide the flight automation, no-fly zone control and beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) capability that will be vital for the safe operation of UAVs in densely populated cities, as well as remote rural areas. UAVs must be able to operate without endangering manned aircraft operations, requiring the development of highly dynamic no-fly zones together with enforcement of civil aviation regulations.
The Nokia technology is underpinned by a combination of expertise in LTE and 5G development, a well as Mobile Edge Computing, to ensure the extreme low-latency and ultra reliability required for UAV traffic management. Drones equipped with Nokia’s UTM modem (comprising an LTE modem, GPS transceiver and other telemetry modules), combined with the computing and processing power of the Nokia AirFrame platform, monitor airspace and, flight paths. They can also handle the exchange of telemetry data as well as extablishing dynamic no-flight zones, ensuring safe operation around other civil airspace users. A Nokia UTM smartphone app, working with the UAV Traffic Management interface, provides drone operators with real-time flight permissions, real-time no-fly zone information as well as information about local regulatory rules, giving an extra degree flexibility and awareness.
The Nokia UTM platform can also be adapted to the individual regulatory requirements of different countries, potentially providing the basis for global standardization of such systems.
During an opening day event of Space 53, the test area at Twente Airport, visitors will be able to see a wide range of demonstrations of UAV uses in agriculture, search and rescue, public safety and airport anti-bird protection.
Thorsten Robrecht, head of Advanced Mobile Networks Solutions at Nokia, said: “UAVs are rapidly becoming commonplace tools in many industries, enhancing safety, security, inspection, maintenance and many other activities. However, it is critical that they function faultlessly and safely in complex, real-world environments. This requires more than just a smart drone, but a system of intelligent traffic control that is thoroughly tested and fully developed. Nokia is the only communications vendor currently building such a system and we are working with regulators to achieve the necessary standardization.”
Onno van Veldhuizen, mayor of Enschede: “Space53 is a unique concept, which in turn is a necessity for the all the major players in the drone, autonomous, and unmanned systems sector. A test centre like Space53 will be required for the growth of this sector – not just here in the Netherlands, but worldwide. Nokia joining us proves the point, and we’re very pleased with their involvement as a technology partner.”
Wednesday 14th September Nokia launches Mission Critical Communications Alliance to drive global adoption of 4G LTE-based public safety technology Nokia has announced the formation of the Mission Critical Communications Alliance, a global collaboration of mobile operators, national and local-level public authorities and first response agencies to formalize standards in the use of LTE for public safety, while enabling new ideas and partnerships to bolster momentum in application of the technology in this area.
The Alliance will bring various stakeholders to a single platform with which to inform and guide policy makers on the benefits of LTE-based public safety solutions for the provision of high-quality and robust critical communications services. More than 10 leading service providers and agencies such as Mobile Radio Center from Japan and Vodafone Hutchison Australia are participating in the Alliance programme.
4G LTE provides public safety services including first responders with mission-critical features such as real-time high-definition video streaming, remote data access and location-based services. Several countries are already upgrading their public safety systems to leverage LTE technology, Nokia and Korea’s SK Telecom have recently demonstrated the capabilities of Ultra Compact Network, a portable small cell based LTE network that can provide 4G connectivity for public safety and other mission- and business-critical services in remote locations.
Tuesday 13th September STC Enhances VSAT Connectivity for Saudi Arabia’s Oil & Gas Market with Intelsat Satellite Solutions Intelsat, operator of the world’s first Globalized Network, powered by its leading satellite backbone, announced that Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC) has extended its relationship with Intelsat to use the company’s satellite solutions to support operations for the largest oil & gas producer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Under a multi-year agreement, STC, the largest telecom operator in Saudi Arabia, will use connectivity provided by Intelsat 10-02, located at 1° West, to provide satellite services to the oil & gas sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In 2016, STC and Intelsat continue to expand their relationship to support the growth of the VSAT sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The telecom operator uses multiple satellites in Intelsat’s Globalized Network to provide high-quality broadband networking for corporate customers in the banking, government and oil & gas sectors operating throughout the Middle East and Asia.
“The operations of oil & gas companies are important to Saudi Arabia and the global economy, and reliable broadband communications are a vital part of the sector’s daily operations,” said Walid Al Wabel, General Manager, Operations Management, STC. “Intelsat has been a valuable partner in our support of major oil & gas clients, delivering the satellite connectivity that ensures broadband services are always available. With Intelsat’s continued support, STC has the best available satellite infrastructure integrated into our network, allowing us to deliver the highest quality services to our enterprise customers regardless of location.” “Demand for VSAT connectivity in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East remains strong, demonstrating that satellite is the best option for delivering reliable communications services to large enterprises with hundreds of locations spread across vast and sometimes remote areas,“ said Shahrokh Khanzadeh-Amiri, Intelsat’s
Director of Sales, Middle East and North Africa. “Intelsat’s continuous efforts to improve its technology make sure end users can take advantage of the latest VSAT applications available. By selecting Intelsat again, STC validates our commitment to finding the best possible solution to support current and future requirements. This network exemplifies the enduring role that Intelsat and its customers play in connecting people and businesses in the Middle East and around the globe.”
Thursday 8th September Oracle Continues to Drive Cloud Adoption in Africa ‘Africa Executive Summit’ hosted in Mauritius to drive awareness and highlight the impact of Oracle Cloud Solutions for business growth
Exchange of best practices and gaining expert insights from top cloud strategists was the key focus for Oracle (www.Oracle.com) customers who took part in Oracle’s two day long ‘Africa Executive Summit’ that concluded today in Mauritius.
Dozens of Oracle customers gathered to understand various aspects of the cloud adoption process including capacity building, innovation, security and the ability to leverage Internet of Things (IoT) for driving business growth with Oracle cloud solutions.
Janusz Naklicki, Vice President of the Russia, Africa and Central Europe, Oracle commented: “Cloud adoption in Africa is growing at a rapid pace as organizations now realise that cloud offers them speed, value and better ROI. Africa is a priority market for us and the Africa Executive Summit is in line with our commitment to further drive this interest and support our customers in Africa in their journey to the cloud”.
GSA confirms LTE connects 1 in 5 mobile subscribers worldwide: Q2 2016 September 8 2016: GSA, the Global mobile Suppliers Association, confirms that LTE is growing faster than any other mobile communications system technology. 19.5% of the global mobile base were connected to LTE systems by June 30, 2016.
LTE subscriptions reached 1.453 billion in Q2 2016 with 160.3 million net connections coming in Q2 2016. The rate of connections is about 4 times faster than 3G/HSPA systems. 3G/HSPA subscriptions grew by 40.5 million while GSM subscriptions fell 101.6 million in the same quarter.
Analysing mobile subscriptions data provided to GSA by Ovum Ltd for Q2 2016, GSA reports that over 684 million LTE subscriptions worldwide were gained over the past 12 months, which is equivalent to 89% annual growth.
Alan Hadden, Vice President, GSA said: “GSA now predicts that the number of LTE and LTE-Advanced subscriptions worldwide will pass the 3G/WCDMA-HSPA global total in 2019.”
The Asia region, with over 838 million LTE subscriptions, further grew its share of global LTE subscriptions quarter-on-quarter to reach 57.7%. Within the APAC figure, by June 2016 China had passed 591 million LTE subscriptions, adding 80.3 million in the quarter. North America is the second largest LTE market with 268.4 million and 18.5% of the global total. After APAC the European region gained the most LTE subscriptions during Q2 by adding 20.5 million and slightly growing its global share of the total to 14.1%.
The Latin America and Caribbean region added 13.3 million to reach 81.9 million 4G/LTE subscriptions, representing 19.4% growth. The Middle East has over 50 million LTE subscriptions following a 10% rise in Q2. Russia has 19.6 million LTE subscriptions. Africa, now with over 10 million LTE subscriptions, is the fastest growing region by percentage, following a 22.4% increase in Q2. India has 5.5 million LTE subscriptions.
Tuesday 6th September ITU’s global ICT Capacity Building Symposium opens in Nairobi, Kenya Focus on ICT training and skills development to empower youth to leverage new opportunities in fast-growing digital economy. Over 500 participants from government, business, academia, non-governmental organizations and the United Nations family are meeting in Nairobi this week to formulate and optimize human capacity building strategies for the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, to improve’ digital skills and empower countries to take full advantage of strong continued growth in ICT-related jobs.
Organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN specialized agency for ICTs, and hosted by the Communications Authority of Kenya, the global ICT Capacity Building Symposium (CBS-2016) provides an opportunity for stakeholders from across the world to discuss trends and developments in the sector and their implications for human and institutional capacity building, and to develop strategies to accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a time of major digital technology transformation.
For more information on the news items, please visit our press releases webpage detailed below. https://www.connect-world.com/index.php/press-releases For more information on each press release, please visit our press releases webpage detailed below and navigate to the relevant date: https://www.connect-world.com/index.php/press-releases Anthony Weaver |
|
What can Connect-World offer you?
For more information contact sales and marketing at: sales@connect-world.com | |
| Copyright © 2016 Connect-World. All rights reserved. | |
| If you wish to cancel your subscription to this newsletter, {unsubscribe}Click here to unsubscribe{/unsubscribe} | |
Connect-World’s Digest – Issue 55 – September 2016
previous post
