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Huawei defies US to grow market share as RAN decline ends – Omdia
The worst is now behind vendors in the market for mobile network equipment, with Omdia forecasting slight growth outside China this year.
Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: MVNO Effortel lands bank job; EU considers new 'security paradigm'; European lobby groups want more flexibility on privacy regulations.
Swiss operator Sunrise has set what it and project partner Huawei claim is a 5G network speed record, with a top downlink rate of 3.67 Gbit/s being achieved with multiple 5G smartphones and one 5G cell in Zurich. The test was carried out in the 100MHz C-Band on Sunrise's commercial network, using commercial Huawei equipment conforming to 3GPP standards. According to Huawei, Sunrise is already providing 5G coverage in more than 262 locations throughout Switzerland. (See Sunrise & Huawei Jointly Announce 5G FWA 'Pioneer' Users in Switzerland.)
Effortel, a Belgian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), has been chosen by Russia's VTB Bank to develop and manage its mobile service offering, VTB Mobile. The platform, says Effortel, facilitates targeted marketing and cross-promotion of both VTB's banking and mobile products, and also supports a customer loyalty program.
European Union member states have published a report into the challenges presented by the rollout of 5G networks, which together, they believe, form a "new security paradigm." Among the risks identified are those born of reliance on a single supplier, and the likelihood of non-EU states or state-backed actors presenting a growing threat to the security of mobile networks. The next step is for a "toolbox" of mitigating measures to be agreed upon by the NIS Cooperation Group, which is composed of representatives of EU member states and other interested parties.
European telecom industry groups ETNO, GSMA and Cable Europe have issued a joint statement asking EU lawmakers to take a more flexible, "risk-based" approach to e-privacy legislation, saying that: "Rules for processing communication metadata need to be more future-proof and not focus disproportionately on consent … This is crucial for Europe to compete on the global economic stage, and at the same time allow it to export European fundamental principles." Or, to put it another way: Guys, all this GDPR stuff is frankly cramping our style. (See Top 4 GDPR Misconceptions.)
UK regional operator KCOM has completed the rollout of its Lightstream FTTP network in Hull, making it the first full-fiber city in the UK, according to KCOM. Around 200,000 homes and businesses in the city and its environs will have access to gigabit broadband. The Lightstream rollout began in 2012 and has cost £85 million (US$104 million).
UK-based Colt Technology Services has upgraded its universal customer premises equipment (uCPE) offering, which the company says brings the benefits of network functions virtualization (NFV) to enterprises. Colt's cCPE makes use of ADVA's Ensemble Connector as its virtualization platform and offers a range of virtual network functions.
— Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading
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