MediaTek and Intel Advance Partnership to Bring 5G to Next Generation of PCs

MediaTek T700 modem successfully performs 5G standalone calls MediaTek have announced advances in its collaboration with Intel to bring 5G experiences to next-generation PCs with the successful development and certification of its 5G modem data card.

MediaTek’s T700 5G modem, which will be used to bring 5G connectivity to Intel-powered PCs, completed 5G standalone (SA) calls in real world test scenarios. Additionally, Intel has progressed on system integration, validation and developing platform optimizations for a superior user experience and is readying co-engineering support for its OEM partners. MediaTek and Intel are both committed to delivering a superior user experience.

“Our partnership with Intel is a natural extension of our growing 5G mobile business, and is an incredible market opportunity for MediaTek to move into the PC market,” said MediaTek President Joe Chen. “With Intel’s deep expertise in the PC space and our groundbreaking 5G modem technology, we will redefine the laptop experience and bring consumers the best 5G experiences.”

“A successful partnership is measured by execution, and we’re excited to see the rapid progress we are making with MediaTek on our 5G modem solution with customer sampling starting later this quarter. Building on our 4G/LTE leadership in PCs, 5G is poised to further transform the way we connect, compute and communicate. Intel is committed to enhancing those capabilities on the world’s best PCs,” said Chris Walker, Intel corporate vice president and general manager of Mobile Client Platforms.

The MediaTek T700 modem supports non-standalone and standalone Sub-6 5G network architectures to deliver consistently faster speeds and more reliable connectivity. Whether consumers are at home or on the go, they can browse, stream and game at ultra-fast 5G speeds. MediaTek’s modem is also highly power efficient to extend the battery life of laptops so consumers can go longer in between charges. MediaTek is rolling out its advanced 5G technology across the PC, mobile, home, auto and IoT segments to make super-fast connectivity accessible to everyone. The first laptops enabled by the MediaTek and Intel 5G modem solution are expected in early 2021.

Source: MediaTek

5G smart roads are coming to the West Midlands

One of the things that 5G will help deliver is smart roads and smart cities, and the West Midlands looks set to start working on that soon, as £3 million is going to be spent on 5G sensors along key roads in the region.

The project will be funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and will involve the installation of roughly 280 5G road network sensors across the Key Route Network (KRN), which includes roads such as the A34, A38 and A45.

According to a tender submitted by the WMCA, looking for bidders for the project, these sensors would use the increased speed, reliability, and lower latency of 5G to deliver accurate data on transport habits across the West Midlands.

This data would then be used to “facilitate better real time planning of the region's road network, resulting in a safer, more efficient, well maintained and managed network.”

While the tender doesn’t go into much more detail, it’s easy to imagine that this could mean improving traffic flow, tweaking road layouts, and being aware of problems as soon as they emerge.

Unlocking 5G's potential

And that might just be the beginning. The WMCA also says that this will help with “unlocking potential new mobility business models and services which rely on accurate network intelligence”, and “provide the opportunity to test new capabilities provided through 5G communications.”

Indeed, while not mentioned here, 5G-powered smart roads will be key in the roll out of driverless vehicles, so that could be one potential result of this work, beyond just making travel smoother, safer and more environmentally friendly through optimisations.

However, this is still going to be years away, as even the sensors aren’t expected to be fully placed until August 2023. But it’s a promising look at the potential of 5G technology beyond faster smartphone data, and along with other projects, such as the UK's first 5G accelerator, it could help make the West Midlands a 5G powerhouse.

Source: James Rogerson-5g.co.uk

Nokia accelerates availability of Open RAN technology to lead the open mobile future

• Nokia Open RAN (O-RAN) solutions will deliver world-class performance and security to the O-RAN ecosystem

• Availability this year with full suite of O-RAN-defined interfaces expected in 2021.

• Combined with the recently announced Nokia's 5G AirScale Cloud RAN in vRAN 2.0 configuration, with full baseband in cloud, CSPs can build a flexible network architecture that maximizes performance, efficiency, and scalability

• Nokia's leadership in O-RAN R&D demonstrates commitment to an open innovation ecosystem and robust telecom supply chain

• Nokia is the only global RAN supplier fully committed to O-RAN with commercial 5G Cloud-RAN networks 

Nokia have announced that it is enhancing its industry leadership in open solutions by rapidly ramping up the adoption of Open RAN (O-RAN) interfaces in its AirScale portfolio. This enhancement to its radio access network (RAN) portfolio aims to enable an open ecosystem of innovation and a robust telecom supply chain, while ensuring world-class network performance and security.

These new O-RAN capabilities, which include open interfaces, will be built on top of Nokia’s existing AirScale software, providing the same high-level performance, expansive functionalities and robust security standards of Nokia's current radio products. By taking the approach of building the open interfaces on top of its existing solutions, Nokia is helping to prepare for the network architecture of the future, regardless if CSPs choose to pursue an O-RAN path or not. An initial set of O-RAN functionalities will become available this year, while the full suite of O-RAN-defined interfaces is expected to be available in 2021.

As the only global RAN provider to commit to O-RAN, Nokia's accelerated investment in and firm commitment to O-RAN provides CSPs as well as regulators and political decision-makers with greater assurance that they can embrace openness to secure their telecom supply chain, without concerns about the competitiveness and/or security of their 5G infrastructure. Nokia has already made significant investments in O-RAN by leading the early deployment of the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) and the open fronthaul.

Nokia also recently announced the next generation of its AirScale Cloud RAN portfolio. As Nokia's solutions utilize the same software trunk across RAN, Cloud RAN and O-RAN, Nokia customers will benefit from the ultimate flexibility to define their network architecture without sacrificing network features, performance, or security.

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia, said: "Nokia is committed to leading the open mobile future by investing in Open RAN and Cloud RAN solutions with the aim of enabling a robust telecom ecosystem with strong network performance and security. Nokia’s Cloud RAN solution leads the market and is continuing to evolve to a cloud-native architecture. We have ​the scale and capabilities to address the increased customer demand for this technology, underpinned by the world-class network performance and security that only Nokia can deliver." 

Joe Madden, Principal Analyst at Mobile Experts, said: "Several operators have now committed to Open RAN,  due to the enhanced flexibility that O-RAN can bring. New operators are fully committing to Open RAN and alternative hardware vendors throughout their networks, and legacy operators are using O-RAN to create opportunities for innovative new products to fit into their complex networks. This overall trend strengthens the ecosystem and allows for specialty radios to address the infinite variety of real-world applications. Nokia is the only major vendor that has fully committed to actively developing the O-RAN interfaces, ensuring that its 5G RAN solutions will support the future open ecosystem the operators are seeking."

Source: Nokia