Nokia has announced the world’s first Generation 6 broadband platform, designed for a ‘fiber-for-everything’ world where fiber broadband networks evolve to become a single infrastructure for all services. The new Lightspan MF-14 platform extends the upper end of Nokia’s fiber broadband portfolio, bringing unmatched capacity, low latency, intelligence, six nines reliability and the highest power efficiency, enabling operators to address broadband needs for the next decades.
Nokia has announced that it has successfully piloted its 4G and 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) network slicing with mobile operator Safaricom on its live commercial network. This is the first time 4G/5G network slicing has been successfully achieved in Africa. The trial utilized a multi-vendor network environment and included RAN, transport and core as well as software upgrades to a range of Nokia’s products and services.
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced its latest premium-tier XR platform – Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 1 – which is set to fuel the next generation of mixed and virtual devices, targeting metaverse customers.
CommScope reported its results for the second quarter of 2022, showing an 8.5% year-on-year (YoY) increase in core net sales. Momentum continues to build in the Connectivity and Cable Solutions segment as net sales increased 26% year-over-year (YoY).
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and ZTE announced the world’s fastest 5G mmWave standalone data connection, achieving impressive results in two scenarios: nearly 7Gbps peak rate for downlink and 2.1 Gbps for uplink. 5G standalone mmWave allows for the deployment of 5G mmWave networks and devices without using an anchor on LTE or sub-6 GHz spectrum. This gives operators more flexibility to deliver wireless fiber broadband access with multi-Gigabit speeds and ultra-low latency to residential and commercial customers. The use of mmWave standalone without an anchor also enables green field fixed wireless access deployments for all use cases.
Nokia has announced that they have signed a five-year 5G deal with AST SpaceMobile, Inc., the company building the first and only space-based cellular broadband network accessible directly by standard 4G or 5G mobile devices. Under the deal, Nokia and AST SpaceMobile will work to achieve their joint ambition to expand universal coverage and connect underserved communities around the world. The launch of AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 test satellite later this year will kick off global testing with mobile network operators on six continents.
Three Shenzhou-14 Chinese astronauts (taikonauts), who are currently in space, took part in a dialogue with students from several African countries via video link. The success of this globally livestreamed event was due to the unwavering support provided by Huawei Cloud Meeting, which ensured a smooth video connection between all participants.
Ericsson announced the launch of its Together Apart Hackathon in Nigeria. The hackathon’s objective is to identify innovative solutions using technology and connectivity, creating tomorrow’s solutions from today’s challenges and is inspired by Nigeria’s 5G deployment.
Ericsson announced a strong mobile subscription result in Q2 2022. About 70 million new 5G subscriptions were added globally during the second financial quarter of 2022, the latest update to the Ericsson Mobility Report reveals. The additions brought the total number of 5G subscriptions globally to 690 million as of the end of the second quarter, 2022.
Nokia announced research that forecasts 5G subscriptions reaching 263 million in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region by 2026. The 5G subscription growth will primarily be in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain. Additionally, subscribers in South Africa, Nigeria and North African countries will increase adoption following the release of new spectrum. This trend is triggered by the increasing use of high-bandwidth consumer applications and industrial use cases.
