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5G Focus: Network sharing in China; trials in Pakistan; esports in Asia

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5G Focus: Network sharing in China; trials in Pakistan; esports in Asia

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.

The 5G spotlight turned to Asia last week. A pair of Chinese telecom operators are looking into sharing 5G networks to save costs, while mobile operator Zong is conducting 5G trials in Pakistan. Meanwhile, industry watchers believe 5G would help bridge esports initiatives in several Asia-Pacific markets.

Chart Watch

As faster mobile networking technology arrives in the Asia-Pacific countries, the region's fragmented multiplayer online gaming sector stands to benefit from new investments by livestreaming platforms and gaming companies. Industry-watchers predict that new 5G networks, which offer faster, more reliable mobile streaming capabilities, will usher esports into the mainstream, making the video games sector ripe for a new "Netflix-like" platform that would bring together various gaming opportunities.

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Xiomi CFO: New brand strategy weighed on Q2 revenue growth: Xiaomi Corp. CFO Chew Shou Zi said the company needs time to adjust to the new brand strategy and to adopt a new strategy to prepare for 5G.

US AND CANADA

* Verizon Communications Inc. rolled out its 5G Ultra Wideband Network in Greater Phoenix. The U.S. carrier teamed up with Boingo Wireless Inc. to roll out the service indoors and to public areas such as airports, stadiums and more as part of its 5G network expansions.

* Qualcomm Inc. entered into a global patent license agreement with South Korean equipment manufacturer LG Electronics Inc. Under the five-year, royalty-bearing agreement, Qualcomm granted LG Electronics a patent license to develop, manufacture and sell 3G, 4G and 5G single-mode and multimode devices.

* T-Mobile US Inc. set up a 20,000-square-foot facility to test smartphones and other devices that connect to the company's network using any technology available, including 5G. The new device lab includes more than a dozen testing areas where T-Mobile engineers test network signal quality; voice call and sound quality; and video optimization.

* Virtual Network Communications Inc. is working on a new 5G solution, which will integrate with Hughes Network Systems LLC's JUPITER platform, company CEO Mohan Tammisetti said. The two companies teamed up to announce a service that extends mobile network connectivity using helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* South Korean operator LG U+ will provide its long-term evolution and 5G networks to KB Kookmin Bank's upcoming mobile virtual network operator services, ET News reported Aug. 25, citing a source from the telco. The company is in the process of closing the deal with a plan to announce final details in September, according to the report.

* KT Corp. applied battery-saving technology, C-DRX, to its nationwide 5G networks, adding up to 4 hours and 21 minutes to the battery utilization time, ZDNet Korea reported Aug. 25.

* China Telecom Corp. Ltd. is willing to team up with competitors to bring down the costs associated with building a 5G mobile network, Reuters reported Aug. 22. Chairman Ke Ruiwen said the company reached a tentative agreement with rival China Unicom to jointly build a 5G network where they would share part of the infrastructure. The two carriers said they are also open to working with China Mobile Ltd.

* Fujitsu Ltd. and Qualcomm Technologies Inc. trialed non-stand-alone 5G New Radio data calls on sub-6 GHz and mmWave spectrum bands, according to an Aug. 21 statement. The trials were made as part of network-device vendor testing for Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp.-owned NTT Docomo Inc.

* China Mobile Pakistan Ltd., doing business as Zong, conducted 5G trials in Pakistan, Dawn reported Aug. 22. Zong also signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. to establish a 5G innovation center in Pakistan, according to the report.

* South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT will allocate an additional 5 billion South Korean won for national internet of things and 5G infrastructure projects to support the country's digitization and innovation efforts, Digital Daily reported Aug. 21.

* ZTE Corp. formed a joint venture with Chinese automaker Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. to develop connected cars powered by 5G technologies, Tencent News reported Aug. 20. The joint venture will also explore pairing technologies such as cloud computing and cellular vehicle-to-everything, or C-V2X, with driving and smart manufacturing.

* The Chinese government unveiled plans to build a national 5G network for radio and TV broadcasting by 2025, which will also function as a censorship machine.

* PT Smartfren Telecom Tbk teamed up with ZTE and the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Informatics to launch a 5G trial, which yielded maximum speeds of 8.7 Gbps, CNN Indonesia reported Aug. 19.

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Tele2 Russia Telecom achieved speeds of 2.1 Gbps in a 5G test conducted via the 28-GHz band on a pilot area in Moscow, Russia, Telecompaper reported Aug. 26, citing Cnews.ru. The trial was performed using Qualcomm's Snapdragon mobile platform and equipment from Wistron NeWeb Corp.

* Vodafone Group PLC unit Vodafone Deutschland GmbH launched a 5G-optimized cloud gaming platform in partnership with Hatch Entertainment. The Hatch Cloud Gaming app will be available via the Google Play Store, with the premium version to be available to Vodafone customers free of charge for three months.

* Spanish operator MásMóvil Ibercom SA is in talks to form a tie-up with Orange SA on global 5G and fiber-to-the-home network services, Advanced Television reported Aug. 21, citing Expansión. A deal would see the two companies sharing mobile networks in big cities, providing a roaming discount and acquiring fiber-optic networks.

* Vodafone Portugal teamed up with Portuguese broadcaster TVI to transmit a holographic broadcast of the program "Jornal das 8" over the Vodafone unit's 5G network, Digital TV Europe reported.

* Nokia Corp. will work with telecom operator du to develop new cloud-based use cases for 5G and IoT in the United Arab Emirates, Total Telecom reported Aug. 19. The research initiative will focus on exploring the benefits of 5G-ready cloud-based future network architecture.

Featured Research

Telecom Egypt's network preferred by competitors, raises $700 million: Fixed-line incumbent Telecom Egypt became the new entrant to Egypt's mobile scene, while rival operators Vodafone Egypt and Etisalat Misr are preparing their networks for 5G.

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