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• Eight months after Huawei CFO freed, Canada bans Chinese telco gear
  in Government Tech Policy
  By Sam Varghese

  Nearly eight months after it freed Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou in a prisoner swap with China, Canada has announced that it would ban the use of products from telecommunications equipment vendors Huawei and ZTE in its 5G networks.

  François-Philippe Champagne, Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said in a statement on Thursday: "Today, the government of Canada is ensuring the long term safety of our telecommunications infrastructure.

  "As part of that, the government intends to prohibit the inclusion of Huawei and ZTE products and services in Canada’s telecommunications systems.

  “This follows a thorough review by our independent security agencies and in consultation with our closest allies.

  {loadposition sam08}“As a result, telecommunications companies that operate in Canada would no longer be permitted to make use of designated equipment or services provided by Huawei and ZTE.

  "As well, companies that already use this equipment installed in their networks would be required to cease its use and remove it.

  "The government intends to implement these measures as part of a broader agenda to promote the security of Canada’s telecommunications networks and in consultation with industry.

  “Our government will always protect the safety and security of Canadians and will take any actions necessary to safeguard our critical telecommunications infrastructure.”

  Meng was arrested in Toronto in December 2018, on a request by American authorities, with the reason being that she had allegedly violated US trade sanctions against Iran.

  Meng is the deputy chairperson of Huawei's board and the daughter of the company's founder, Ren Zhengfei.

  She was finally freed in a deal with the US. Two Canadian citizens, who were taken into custody by China, allegedly for spying, and also sentenced to prison terms, were freed and returned to their home country.

  The US has been conducting a campaign for at least the last four years to get countries it considers allies to ban the use of Huawei equipment from their 5G networks.
• Boost Mobile doubles market share, wins awards, offers 5G and aims at 1m customers
  in Telecoms & NBN
  By Alex Zaharov-Reutt

  Founded by Peter Adderton, Boost is the best pre-paid provider on the full Telstra network, and thus arguably the best pre-paid provider in Australia, with over 700,000 customers, new awards for customer satisfaction, network reliability and being most recommended, in what is a great boost for Boost Mobile.

  Having now offered 5G since earlier this year, in selected areas on compatible devices, Boost Mobile is arguably the best value pre-paid provider in Australia.

  Boost Mobile styles itself as "the world’s largest youth-focused telco brand," and with its announcement today of doubling its market share over the last four years, such that it now has more than 7% of the Australian prepaid market, this traveler to more than 700,000 customers.

  Naturally, Boost Mobile says this represents very significant growth, and places it well on its way to its target of more than 10% of the prepaid market in the short term, alongside the finalisation of other "plans to expand into new areas of the market."

  The company notes much of this growth has come "at a time of immense pressure on both Australian customers and businesses, with Australians responding to the high value prepaid product offerings available on Boost Mobile, including long-life products that have proven especially popular."

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  While the pandemic delivered unique challenges for all Australians, and naturally the planet, Boost says the rising cost-of-living continues the importance of the company's "mission and commitment to create value and fight for the customer by delivering products that are relevant and good value, and ensuring customers are engaged in an authentic way from the brand," and seeing as the company has experienced growth, things are clearly on the right path.

  There's also the fact Boost Mobile has a strategic and long-term network partnership with Telstra, which naturally gives confidence in Boost Mobile, as being on the full Telstra network, and not just on the wholesale network as other pre-paid operators on Telstra have limited themselves to, gives consumers the peace of mind that makes all the difference when the full network covers more than one million square kilometres more than any other mobile network.

  Indeed, it's one of the reasons why Vodafone did a deal with Telstra to access part of that network for its rural and regional customers, but Telstra was smart to not give all of that coverage away to Vodafone (when that roaming deal starts up, as it hasn't as yet), although Boost has no worries there as it does have full access.

  Adding to that peace of mind is the fact Boost renewed the network partnership with Telstra for a further 10 years in July 2021, which reinforces Boost Mobile’s position in Telstra’s broader multi-brand strategy.

  So, with official data showing that in the period up to December 31, 2021, Boost Mobile had 7% of the Australian pre-paid market, the company's target of 10% in the short term seems very achievable, which also dovetails nicely with previously announced plans to expand its brand and reach beyond the prepaid market, which we've seen the start of with sales of refurbished smartphones, iPads and smartwatches.

  Boost Mobile states it is "the fastest growing independently owned mobile brand in Australia," and notes this growth has come from "organic customer acquisition and positions them alongside the more traditional network operators as a major brand in the local market."

  In addition to its network reliability and reach, Boost notes the recognition it has received for its high level of customer satisfaction and the willingness of its customers to recommend Boost to their friends and family, with Mozo today announcing Boost Mobile as a Mozo People’s Choice Award winner in 2022 for “Outstanding Customer Service”, “Most Recommended” and “Network Reliability”. These awards are determined solely by the votes of customers, gathered through a national survey.

  “For more than 20 years, Boost Mobile has made it its mission to fight for Australian customers, give them a great deal and make sure they know we are focused on them and their needs. Now more than ever before Australians are responding in record numbers,” said Peter Adderton, Founder of Boost Mobile (pictured).

  “While external factors are certainly important, we believe this is also a result of a very clear strategy and practical and authentic execution. This is about delivering products that are relevant to the consumer, are great value, making sure we engage with and support our customers, and knowing this is all done on the full Telstra mobile network.

  “Despite the marketing spin seen elsewhere, we know the great significance of the full Telstra network. It means we are for all Australians, not just some Australians, and that comes from being available with great service in more than one million more square kilometres than any mobile network. That matters and isn’t spoken about nearly enough.

  “We aren’t resting on our laurels. These latest figures show that Boost Mobile is taking it to the big guys and whether there is network ownership or not, we have a plan to make sure Aussies are getting the best deal, on prepaid and beyond. We also thank Mozo for recognising the support and loyalty of our customers and their willingness to recommend us,” Adderton concluded.
• Qualcomm unveils new features in Snapdragon X70 Modem-RF system
  in 5G
  By Chris Coughlan

  Qualcomm Technologies announced at the Qualcomm 5G Summit event new capabilities and milestones for the Snapdragon X70 5G Modem-RF System.

  Qualcomm says that this builds on the fifth-generation 5G modem-to-antenna solution announced in February at MWC Barcelona.

  Harnessing the power of AI for breakthrough 5G performance with 10 Gigabit 5G downloads, incredible upload speeds, low latency, coverage, and power efficiency, Snapdragon X70 offers ultimate flexibility to global 5G operators to maximise spectrum resources for the best possible 5G connectivity.

  Snapdragon X70 provides advanced capabilities such as Qualcomm 5G AI Suite, Qualcomm® 5G Ultra-Low Latency Suite, Qualcomm® 5G PowerSave Gen 3, uplink carrier aggregation, standalone mmWave and 4X sub-6 carrier aggregation to achieve unmatched 5G performance.

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  New features and achievements facilitated by the upgradable architecture of Snapdragon X70 include:

  Qualcomm Smart Transmit 3.0 technology, the company says this is an upgraded system-level feature licensed by Qualcomm Technologies that now extends support to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth transmit power management. It enables real-time averaging of transmit power across 2G-5G, mmWave, Wi-Fi (2.4GHz 6/6E/7), and Bluetooth (2.4) radios to superior radio performance.

  

  Qualcomm advises that Smart Transmit 3.0 extends 5G coverage and improve uplink speeds, optimising transmissions across cellular, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth antennas. Smart Transmit 3.0 helps devices smartly manage transmit power, allowing users to enjoy faster, more reliable connectivity.

  5G standalone mmWave connection <<bold>> , with peak speeds of more than 8 Gbps achieved using Keysight’s 5G Protocol R&D Toolset with a test 5G device powered by Snapdragon X70. Qualcomm stated that 5G standalone mmWave allows for the deployment of 5G mmWave networks and devices without using an anchor on sub-6 GHz spectrum. This gives operators more flexibility to deliver wireless fibre broadband access with multi-Gigabit speeds and ultra-low latency to residential and commercial customers. Through this product demonstration, Qualcomm says it illustrates its commitment to new and world-class 5G advancements for devices and networks.

  

  “Snapdragon X70 gives operators the ability to deliver extreme 5G capacity, multi-Gigabit data speeds, and new use cases across devices from smartphones to laptops, fixed wireless access equipment, industrial machines, and more,” said Qualcomm Technologies senior vice president and general manager cellular modems and infrastructure Durga Malladi. “We look forward to working with industry leaders to advance 5G to power best-in-class connectivity experiences at the connected intelligent edge and transform industries across consumer, enterprise and industrial settings.”

  At the Qualcomm 5G Summit event, the company also demonstrated other Snapdragon X70 capabilities, such as AI-enhanced 5G performance, and 5G sub-6 GHz carrier aggregation across three TDD channels – delivering up to 6 Gbps peak download speeds. 5G carrier aggregation enables enhanced average speeds and more robust connections in challenging conditions, such as cell-edge far from the cellular base stations.

  

  Snapdragon X70 is currently sampling to customers. Commercial mobile devices based on Snapdragon X70 are expected to launch by late 2022. For technical details, please visit the Snapdragon X70 webpage here.
• Qualcomm a catalyst for smarter and safer autonomous robots
  in 5G
  By Chris Coughlan

  As 5G proliferates beyond the smartphone, Qualcomm Technologies is acting as a catalyst in enabling 5G to scale and revolutionise the robotics industry.

  At the annual Qualcomm 5G Summit event, the company unveiled an expanded roadmap of cutting-edge 5G and edge-AI robotics solutions with the introduction of the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 Platform and the Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference Design.

  Qualcomm says its latest advanced edge-AI and robotics solutions will support the creation of more productive, autonomous, and advanced robots.

  The solutions will help unlock new commercial realities including AMRs, delivery robots, highly automated manufacturing robots, collaborative robots, UAM aircrafts, industrial drone infrastructure, autonomous defense solutions, and beyond, the company claims.

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  The company says that bringing together its Qualcomm AI Engine and 5G capabilities will unleash cutting-edge applications and possibilities including the following examples to create smarter and safer robots and environments:

  • Enhanced autonomy for delivery robots roaming the streets.
  • Seamless fleet management coordination across AMRs in industrial spaces.
  • Real-time data and insights that empower critical decision making across manufacturing and logistics.
  • Next-generation intelligence to support safe and autonomous urban air mobility transportation.

  The Qualcomm Robotics RB6 Platform and the Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference Design will support evolving applications for OEMs and robot manufacturers looking to integrate ground robots in industrial use cases across sectors including government service applications, logistics, healthcare, retail, warehousing, agriculture, construction, utilities, and more, Qualcomm claims. The new solutions will accelerate the digital transformation of industries and serve as a key enabler for Industry 4.0.

  "Building on the successful growth and traction of Qualcomm Technologies' leading robotics solutions, our expanded roadmap of solutions will help bring enhanced AI and 5G technologies to support smarter, safer, and more advanced innovations across robotics, drones and intelligent machines," said Qualcomm Technologies drones and intelligent machines senior director of business development and head of autonomous robotics Dev Singh.

  "We are fuelling robotics innovations with 5G connectivity and premium edge-AI that will transform how we think and approach challenges and ever-evolving industry expectations in the digital economy."

  Unleashing 5G robotics innovation with expanded premium features

  Built on the foundation of the company’s leading robotics platforms, the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform sits at the premium tier of Qualcomm's robotics solutions.

  Qualcomm say the new solution delivers state-of-the-art 5G connectivity with support for global sub-6GHz and mmWave bands in mainstream, enterprise, and private networks.

  Qualcomm advised that their robotics platforms have flexible architecture with expansion cards to support evolving connectivity features allowing Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform to deliver support for 3GPP Release 15, and Releases 16, 17 and 18 features as cards become available in the future.

  Qualcomm goes on to claim the platform brings best-in-class, premium, edge AI and video processing capabilities through the enhanced Qualcomm AI Engine, with support for 70 – 200 Trillion-Operations-Per-Second (TOPS) (INT8).

  Qualcomm also claim that its RB5 AMR Reference design is the world’s first AMR reference design to offer tightly integrated enhanced AI and 5G-capabilities. They say that this new solution helps accelerate development for commercial, enterprise, and industrial robots, unleashing innovative possibilities for industries looking to adopt robotics solutions and realise the benefits of the solutions at the connected intelligent edge.

  Empowering developers with ease

  The Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform is comprised of an extensive set of hardware and software development tools that are comprehensive, customisable, and easy-to-use. Developers have flexible software capabilities with a fully integrated, premium AI Software Development Kit (SDK), the Qualcomm Intelligent Multimedia SDK. This SDK brings together multimedia, AI and ML, computer vision (CV), and networking building blocks to support end to end deployment of robotic applications, the company continued.

  Global traction and ecosystem validation

  Qualcomm say it continues to collaborate with leading robotics, drones, and intelligent machines ecosystem leaders to drive innovation for premium 5G, and edge-AI enabled solutions including the likes of ADLINK, Akasha Imaging (an Alphabet company), Cyngn, ForwardX, FutureMind, Hyundai Robotics, inVia Robotics, LG Electronics, Microsoft Azure private MEC, ModalAI, Naver Labs, Pudu Robotics, Samsung Electronics, Teledyne Flir, Thundercomm, and more.

  To enable the next generation of robotics solutions and designs, Qualcomm Technologies is continuing to collaborate with TDK to further enhance the capabilities of the Qualcomm Robotics roadmap of cutting- edge solutions.

  Qualcomm says that TDK has added their enhanced sensor technologies for premium robotics applications as part of Qualcomm Technologies’ latest robotics product offerings.

  Qualcomm added that its RB5 AMR Reference Design is available for pre-sale now through ModalAI and the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 development kit is available for sale through Thundercomm.
• iTWireTV INTERVIEW: Artemis pCell vRAN leapfrogs existing 5G networks with 10 times more capacity - has 6G just been delivered?
  in Guest Interviews
  By Alex Zaharov-Reutt

  When Steve Perlman first introduced pCell technology to the world, using interference to deliver a precise cell of coverage to every connected device in a given area, it was a genuine breakthrough that was ridiculed - but Artemis Networks has just switched on its network at the SAP Center in San Jose with results that are undeniable.

  The headline announcement is that Artemis Networks is delivering >1 Gigabit in just 20 MHz of spectrum in both private and public LTE/5G Networks, at the SAP Center at San Jose the first venue with a Gigabit Private LTE/5G Network.

  My video interview with Steve Perlman is at the end of this article, and I believe it is an absolutely must-watch video, as are the others in this article, and the quotes below from people including former CEO of Apple, John Sculley, are mindblowing.

  Let me then remind us all it is said that "every breakthrough is at first laughable and ridiculous. In fact if it did not start out laughable and ridiculous, it is not a breakthrough."

  This reminded me of Gandhi being misquoted stating: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win."

  The original quote is said to be: "First they ignore you. Then they ridicule you. And then they attack you and want to burn you. And then they build monuments to you."

  Given what Artemis Networks has announced below, and how this announcement was treated when it first emerged in 2011 (as iTWire reported here) and in another article from 2015, which shows Steve Perlman explaining his technology at Columbia University and Stanford - this appears to be what has happened to Steve Perlman and Artemis Networks.

  His breakthrough in connectivity solves all of the problems of wireless technologies as we currently know them, and brings forth the era of next-gen wireless technologies - which works seamlessly with existing devices using LTE and 5G connections. There are now over 100 papers from academia verifying the technology works - and of course, the installation at the SAP Center in San Jose, as described below, is immutable proof, and cannot be ignored by the industry any longer, and if you ask me, it is the foundation upon which 5G's promises can be finally delivered upon, and upon which 6G will be built.

  So let's take a look at Artemis Network's video explaining what pCell technology is, and how it works:

  Ok, so what is the new announcement?

  It is of Artemis Networks now unveiling the pCell Multi-Gigabit LTE/5G vRAN (Virtualized Radio Access Network), which delivers 10x the capacity of conventional LTE/5G networks in the same amount of spectrum.

  As the company explains, while existing LTE/5G networks average less than 100 Mbps in 20 MHz of spectrum, a network powered by pCell with equivalent spectrum averages over 1 Gigabit/second, and over 7.5 Gigabits/second in 150 MHz, faster than any mobile network in the world.

  Artemis also announced the first large-scale pCell vRAN installation in SAP Center, a 140,000 sq. ft. (13,000 sq. m), 20,000-seat arena that hosts 150+ events per year, including concerts, family shows, San Jose Sharks hockey, and the Panthers indoor football. The pCell vRAN makes SAP Center the world’s first venue with a Gigabit Private LTE/5G Network, deployed in just 20 MHz of free CBRS spectrum, far outperforming SAP Center’s existing carrier networks which require much more spectrum.

  “The pCell vRAN’s unique ability to multiply spectrum capacity by over 10x (and growing) will ultimately transform the lives of the billions of people who use mobile networks every day,” said Steve Perlman, Artemis Founder & CEO.

  “The pCell vRAN enables a new era in wireless communications, when fiber- class capacity, uniformity, and reliability are available over the airwaves. pCell vRAN delivers consistent 4K streaming in both directions, enabling a new class of applications, such as photo-realistic Extended and Augmented Reality interactively streamed to thousands of users, regardless of density.”

  The Artemis pCell vRAN delivers uniform high-speed data rates, enabling every arena seat to stream 4K video, while the existing carrier networks deliver widely varying data rates seat-to-seat, most too slow to stream HD video. The pCell Gigabit Private LTE/5G network is currently in use by beta test attendees during games and events and will open to all attendees later this year.

  “The Artemis pCell network opens up a wide variety of novel fan experience possibilities in high-density venues,” said Jonathan Becher, President of Sharks Sports & Entertainment.

  “Attendees at live events want to stream video down and up from any location in the arena but existing cellular and Wi-Fi systems don’t deliver the uniformity of pCell coverage. The pCell network’s performance and consistency allows us to leverage new technologies like Augmented Reality to deliver compelling experiences to fans.”

  Here is the Artemis pCell SAP Center Case Study video:

  pCell technology is based on a radical new approach to wireless that exploits, rather than avoids interference, resulting in a more than 10 times increase in network capacity per MHz of spectrum, while remaining compatible with unmodified LTE and 5G phones and devices. Over 100 academic papers have been published about the underlying technology since its invention.

  “pCell is the most innovative technology I’ve seen in wireless in a very long time, upending everything we’ve been taught about wireless,” said Craig Moffett, Senior Managing Director of MoffettNathanson, “We’ve all grown up thinking that spectrum is a scarce resource, but pCell breaks that equation, delivering over 10 times the performance of existing LTE and 5G technology.”

  Federated Wireless, the leader in private wireless and shared spectrum solutions, is an emerging Artemis pCell service delivery partner. Federated Wireless specialises in design and delivery of private wireless solutions that meet unique use cases and innovation goals. Federated Wireless currently has 100k connected CBRS devices across the United States and 350+ customers including the US Department of Defense, Carnegie Mellon University, the City of McAllen, Texas and over 140 Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs).

  “We’re excited to see innovative and disruptive technologies that are adopting CBRS,” said Iyad Tarazi, CEO of Federated Wireless. “Artemis holds enormous potential for high speed, low latency use cases and we look forward to seeing their success in this rapidly growing market.”

  With Multi-Gigabit speeds in free CBRS spectrum, uniform performance, and the ability to support 10s of thousands of users, pCell catapults the Private LTE/5G market from niche use cases to major venues, campuses, enterprise and hospitals, delivering 10 times carrier-grade performance.

  “Artemis pCell is one of the largest technology breakthroughs I’ve seen in my career,” said John Sculley, former CEO of Apple and a founding investor of MetroPCS, “But Artemis’ real genius is getting around longstanding barriers to entering the market by delivering vastly higher performance at far lower TCO via Private LTE/5G in the new CBRS spectrum. For the first time, large mobile customers including venues, campuses and enterprise can choose mobile infrastructure based on performance, quality and economics, and most significantly, enabling future applications. Breakthrough technology like pCell enables entirely new media experiences like Extended and Augmented Reality that are expected to be huge growth opportunities for mobile wireless in the future.”

  pCell vRAN Private LTE/5G installations are also neutral hosts for mobile network operators seeking the same 10x performance leapfrog to their subscribers, using CBRS or their own spectrum.

  Subject to availability of components, pCell systems will be increasingly available through 2022.

  For plenty more information, here is an amazing interview that Steve Perlman generously allowed me to film with him, with a follow-up interview to come!

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