5G Focus is a weekly global roundup of notable 5G trials, launches, use cases and major equipment supply contracts. It will also feature in-depth analysis of strategies, expansion plans, business models and other related initiatives.
A network security deal between the United States and Poland topped last week's roster of 5G stories. China's ZTE Corp. unveiled a global 5G strategy focused on telco partnerships, while two telecom operators performed 5G trials in Russia.
Chart Watch
As U.K. operators unveil 5G pricing strategies, data shows mobile service revenues and average revenue per user has been falling since at least 2014.

Must Read
ZTE ramps up 5G efforts, secures 25 commercial contracts globally: Chinese telecom equipment provider ZTE's global 5G efforts have seen it cooperate with more than 60 operators and secure numerous commercial contracts.
US AND CANADA
* The U.S. and Poland struck a cooperation agreement to secure 5G networks "from disruption or manipulation," The Associated Press reported. The agreement was signed by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. Meanwhile, Polish President Andrzej Duda confirmed prosecutors are probing network activity detected by the country's counterintelligence officials "that could be of espionage nature."
* Sprint Corp.'s "True Mobile 5G" wireless service is now available in parts of Los Angeles, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The U.S. carrier added OnePlus Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd.'s OnePlus 7 Pro 5G smartphone to its lineup of compatible devices.
ASIA-PACIFIC
* South Korean operator KT Corp. switched on 60,000 5G base stations nationwide, with an aim to cover 80% of the country by end-2019, ZDNet Korea reported Sept. 1.
* LG U+ signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sejong city government to cooperate on nurturing autonomous driving businesses, Newsis reported Aug. 29. The two parties will work together to introduce a 5G-based autonomous driving shuttle bus service in Sejong in June 2020, starting with selecting a pilot drive area in October this year.
* Thai telco Advanced Info Service PCL signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Finnish tech giant Nokia Corp. and ZTE on 5G research and development in Thailand, Techoffside reported Aug. 28.
* KT teamed up with Belgium-based Tessares to standardize "Access Traffic Steering Switching and Splitting" technology, which is a network ability to configure policies to manage multiple accesses, and conducted a test on 5G commercial networks, ET News reported Aug. 27. The telco verified that additional accesses can be added regardless of the configuration of 5G networks.
* The pending appointment of an auctioneer and work on draft auction documents is expected to delay the spectrum sale in India, including that of 5G airwaves, to early 2020, The Economic Times (India) reported Aug. 27. The spectrum sale was originally scheduled for December this year.
* Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said Huawei is interested in investing in Thailand's 5G rollout, The Standard reported Aug. 27.
* China's Guizhou province will launch a 5G network trial this year, ahead of a comprehensive launch in 2022, Xinhua News Agency reported Aug. 26. The local government is looking at related investments worth over 50 billion Chinese yuan in the next three years.
EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA
* Telecom Italia Sparkle SpA and Etisalat UAE teamed up to enable 5G roaming between Italy and the United Arab Emirates, according to an Aug. 30 statement. The partnership would allow both Telecom Italia SpA and Etisalat mobile customers to use 5G while traveling abroad.
* Russian operator Mobile TeleSystems PJSC launched the first pilot of its 5G network using the 28 GHz band in Moscow, Telecompaper reported Aug. 30.
* MegaFon teamed up with Qualcomm Inc. unit Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and Nokia to conduct tests of 5G infrastructure using the 30 GHz to 300 GHz bands, Telecompaper reported Aug. 30. The tests were done at MegaFon's federal research and development center in St. Petersburg, Russia.
* Telia Co. AB teamed up with Nokia, Nordkapp, Finnish Environment Institute SYKE and Vaisala Oyj to conduct real-time monitoring and analysis of blue-green algae in the Baltic Sea, according to an Aug. 29 news release. The processes involved the transmission of drone-shot videos and the use of computer vision technology over 5G.
* Ericsson is boosting production and investments at its Tczew plant in Poland to support the rollout of 5G networks across Europe, Reuters reported Aug. 29. The Swedish tech giant is aiming to get the facility "in full service for the European market" by the first quarter of 2020.
* The British government expects to make a decision on whether to allow the use of Huawei equipment on its 5G networks in the fall, Reuters reported Aug. 27. U.K. Digital Minister Nicky Morgan said the decision will apply long-term and aims to ensure the security of Britain's networks.
* Portugal is aiming to free up the 700 MHz band for 5G services within the January-June 2020 period, Advanced Television reported Aug. 23, citing the National Communications Authority.
Featured Research
Netherlands mobile: Consolidation, 5G auctions to revive falling revenues: Dutch operators have been preparing for their 5G services despite the delay in 5G spectrum auctions, with the government now expected to sell off 700 MHz, 1.4 GHz and 2.1 GHz frequencies in 2020.
Global markets update — Spain: Vodafone Group PLC chose Spain to be one of the first markets to launch 5G consumer packages in June, well ahead of Orange SA and Telefónica SA, which stated they will not be launching 5G before 2021.
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