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5G Focus: US spectrum battle; rollout in Ireland; product plans from China

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5G Focus: US spectrum battle; rollout in Ireland; product plans from China

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.

Last week saw a rift among major U.S. telecom industry players about the allocation of 5G spectrum. Across the pond, a tie-up between a Vodafone Group PLC unit and Ericsson enabled the launch of 5G in Ireland. Meanwhile, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and DouYu International Holdings Ltd. are hoping 5G could boost their latest online and mobile products.

Chart Watch

In Latin America, total spectrum for six covered markets Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru totaled 2,893 MHz at the end of 2018, up by 120 MHz compared to 2017. The year-over-year gain follows Mexico's June 2018 2.5/2.6 GHz auction. On average, each country holds about 482 MHz each for mobile services, with Colombia ranked sixth in terms of spectrum allocation at only 365 MHz, while Brazil ended 2018 with the most at 620 MHz of total spectrum.

SNL ImageMust Read

Battle over 5G spectrum pits industry giants in satellite vs. fiber debate: Major players in the U.S. video delivery market are divided over how to open up key spectrum for next-generation 5G wireless use, with some groups calling for aggressive action on infrastructure and others urging more caution.

FCC chairman formally recommends approval of T-Mobile/Sprint deal: U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai formally recommended the approval of the proposed merger between T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp., after receiving commitments from the wireless companies around the deployment of the next-generation 5G service.

DouYu CEO: 5G ushering in a 'new dawn' for gaming, livestreaming: DouYu CEO and founder Shaojie Chen said the upcoming era of 5G technology will usher in a "new dawn" for its esports and livestreaming platform.

Huawei wisely avoids Android clash with targeted operating system, analysts say: Huawei's decision to deploy its new operating system HarmonyOS 1.0 is in line with company expectations that the 5G rollout could boost demand for the internet of things due to faster data speeds.

US AND CANADA

* Dell Technologies Inc. and AT&T Inc. are working together on an initiative related to open source edge computing and 5G software infrastructure. Under the partnership, the companies will work to accelerate open source technologies supporting Dell infrastructure within AT&T's Network Cloud and to offer open source automation capabilities, among other initiatives.

ASIA-PACIFIC

* OnePlus Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. is working on a global launch of its new 5G device this year, London's Financial Times reported, quoting company CEO Pete Lau.

* The board of Thailand's National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission approved a plan to hold two separate multiband 5G spectrum auctions in 2020, Manager Online reported. The commission plans to auction 26 GHz, 2600 MHz and 700 MHz packages in early 2020, and a 3500 MHz and 1800 MHz package by end-2020.

* 5G mobile communication is expected to be deployed for firefighting and human rescue missions for the first time in South Korea, ET News reported Aug. 12. The large-scale superspeed data transmission technology, an aspect of 5G, will be used for the purpose.

* LG U+ bested rival operators KT Corp. and SK Telecom Co. Ltd. in terms of 5G network performance in South Korea, according to a report by IHS Markit Ltd.'s RootMetrics. The report said LG U+'s 5G network provided the "most impressive" combination of fast speeds, low latency and strong data reliability among the three telcos.

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA

* Hutchison 3G UK Ltd. rolled out its 5G home broadband service in parts of London, according to an Aug. 19 blog post.

* Telecom Italia SpA said Aug. 18 that it launched its 5G service in Rimini, Italy The telecom operator demonstrated immersive virtual reality and other 5G use cases.

* The Portuguese government will present its 5G strategy in a Sept. 13 industry gathering, Telecompaper reported Aug. 16, citing sources mentioned by Economia Online. Meanwhile, the country's National Communications Authority is reportedly likely to grant new 5G licenses through an auction.

* Swisscom AG expects its 5G network to cover 90% of its home market of Switzerland by year-end, CEO Urs Schaeppi said. The telecom operator rolled out 5G services in April.

* VEON Ltd.'s Russian operator unit Beeline has entered into a three-year partnership with CJSC Metrocom to develop 5G projects leveraging virtual reality, augmented reality and internet of things technology, Telecompaper reported Aug. 15.

* Vodafone Ireland Ltd. teamed up with Ericsson to launch commercial 5G services in parts of Irish cities including Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. The Vodafone unit is eyeing full 5G rollout across Ireland, including hard-to-reach rural locations, by end-2020, Dublin's The Irish Times reported.

* Slovakia is aiming to launch a spectrum auction intended for the 5G network this year, Telecompaper reported Aug. 13, citing sources mentioned by Zive.aktuality.sk. The planned auction may include the 700 MHz and the 1500 MHz bands.

* Serbia will not launch commercial 5G networks until 2021, despite activating its first 5G test base station in Belgrade in June, Telecompaper reported Aug. 13, citing a statement by Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services Director Vladica Tintor to Blic Biznis.

* Telefónica UK Ltd. has warned British telecom regulator Ofcom that the rules governing an upcoming 5G auction are unfairly tilted in favor of rival mobile operator Three, London's The Daily Telegraph reported Aug. 12. The Telefónica SA unit claimed Three could obstruct competing telcos from using bigger, contiguous blocks of mobile spectrum.

Featured Research

Kenya poised to shrink to 2 national players; Safaricom taps Huawei for 5G: Safaricom PLC tapped Huawei to replace its 100G fiber backbone network with 400G, which would allow the Kenyan operator to offer 5G services in selected cities.

HSD takes center stage in 10-year US cable revenue outlook: Kagan anticipates that rising competition from 5G-based wireless alternatives will constrain annual gains in total U.S. cable revenue in the outgoing years.

Private market spectrum M&A dried up in wireless over past year: A combination of quiet periods occurring before and after FCC's spectrum auctions and T-Mobile's absence from the M&A market while it has been fully engaged in pushing through its merger with Sprint has reduced private market spectrum sales to a trickle.

Kagan is a group within S&P Global Market Intelligence's TMT offering, providing exclusive research and commentary.

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