Eurobites: Mobile future is about 'value delivery,' not data volumes – Ericsson

The rate of worldwide mobile network traffic growth is declining but the overall amount of data flowing over the networks is still projected to grow almost three-fold between now and the end of 2030, according to the latest edition of the Ericsson Mobility Report. As the traffic growth rate declines, the key focus for communications service providers going forward will be "value delivery" rather than data volumes, says Ericsson – in other words, quality rather than quantity. It points to the likes of Elisa in Finland and T-Mobile in the US as examples of "early-mover service providers" who are attempting to do more in the way of "differentiated connectivity" rather than getting too hung up on data speeds and volumes. Ericsson also predicts that almost 60% of the 6.3 billion global 5G subscriptions expected by the end of 2030 will be 5G standalone (5G SA) ones.

Go-ahead operator Elisa (mentioned above) has launched what it claims is the world's first deployment of 800G Ethernet services over 800ZR coherent transceivers, in partnership with US-based Juniper Networks. The deployment is in the Helsinki metropolitan area's backbone network, using Juniper's PTX Series routers and an early release of its JCO800 coherent optics platform.

Amol Phadke has stepped down from his role as group CTO of Telenor for personal reasons. Cathal Kennedy, currently serving as SVP Cloud and AI within the CTO office, has been appointed acting group CTO. It's a year of management upheaval at Telenor: At the end of 2024 Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer will replace Sigve Brekke as CEO, Brekke's contract having stipulated retirement at that time.

Finland has begun repairing the Baltic subsea cable that was damaged in an incident last week, Finnish website YLE reports. The cutting of the 1,200km C-Lion1 cable between Helsinki and Rostock was suspected of being an act of sabotage, with Russia the prime suspect. It is hoped that the repair work will be finished by the end of the month. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the Swedish government has requested that a Chinese ship suspected of being responsible for damaging another cable, running between Sweden and Lithuania, return to Swedish waters to help with the investigation into that incident.

Nokia has completed a transport network slicing trial with UAE operator du. The trial, says Nokia, is the UAE's first live transport slicing deployment. Network slicing is meant to allow operators to flexibly allocate resources for maximum performance and quality within each slice.

The UAE has topped Airgain's Emerging Digital Powerhouse Index, with Finland placing second, South Korea third and the US fourth. The Index aggregates relevant data from a range of sources, including UNESCO and the GSMA.

The European Commission is seeking feedback on commitments made by Corning, the US maker of toughened glass used on smartphones and other devices, in response to the Commission's concerns over alleged anti-competitive practices. Earlier this month the Commission opened a formal investigation into the company, believing that Corning may have distorted competition in the market for Alkali-AS Glass by signing anti-competitive exclusive supply agreements with mobile phone manufacturers and with companies that process raw glass, known as "finishers."

South Africa's MTN has launched 5G services in Benin and the Republic of Congo. The operator has previously switched on 5G on its home turf as well as in Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia.

Deutsche Telekom, Qualcomm and Skylo have completed a trial of SMS send-and-receipt over GEO satellite. According to Deutsche Telekom, it is the first time in Europe that an operator's terrestrial mobile network has been integrated into a satellite network to enable texting based on the 3GPP Release 17 specifications for direct-to-handset (D2H) connectivity.

Vodafone has been updating the world on a couple of smart-energy initiatives it is pursuing. In the Czech Republic, the operator is developing a software-based system that can supply grid providers with spare capacity from the backup batteries housed within its mobile basestations. The pilot is initially testing the concept – called a distributed energy storage system – at a few mobile sites, each containing batteries capable of providing around 7.2 kilowatts per hour of energy. The other initiative, known as adaptive power backup, has seen Vodafone develop a technique to remotely extend the basestation battery backup time, potentially doubling it in certain scenarios, claims the operator.