The U.S. “has done a great job of limiting the presence of Chinese telecom equipment domestically, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg” and “there’s still a great deal that must be done both domestically and internationally,” FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said Thursday during a Hudson Institute webinar. He is seeking recognition that Chinese technology that’s not considered telecom equipment still “poses a substantial risk when it’s included as a component of a larger cyber and telecom ecosystem.” The U.S. must go deeper than communications equipment and focus also on AI, automated systems and the “cyber environments” for pipelines, manufacturing plants and vehicular controls, he said. Chinese telecom “poses a threat to the private sector as well,” Simington said. “We have to remain at the forefront of telecommunications and its integration into technologies,” he said. The FCC issues licenses for undersea cables but can’t issue or revoke a license without State Department approval, he said. The U.S. “has taken significant steps to limit the use of Chinese-built undersea cables,” but China’s HMN Technologies still supplies more than 10% of cable infrastructure worldwide, he said. China lays less undersea cable than the U.S., France and Japan, “but not an insignificant amount -- and increasing,” he said. Starting in 2022, the U.S. government “exerted influence” to prevent some new cables from connecting directly between the U.S. and China, he said: “This has led to a quiet cable-laying rivalry between Southeast Asia [and] all the way into the Middle East and Western Europe.”
The FCC signed a memorandum of understanding Wednesday with Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority to "strengthen cross-border efforts to combat unsolicited and unlawful communications," the agencies announced Thursday. The agencies agreed to work together to "enhance cooperation in regulatory enforcement" of scams. "Robocall scams do not respect international borders and are a problem for consumers and businesses around the world," said Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel: "It is critical that we work closely with partners like our colleagues in Singapore." IMDA Chief Executive Lew Chuen Hong said the agreement "builds on the strong ties" between Singapore and the U.S. in "working towards safeguarding our digital environment."
Forcing over-the-top services to pay network costs for carrying content isn't supported by many stakeholders other than some e-communications network (ECN) providers, a European Commission consultation on the future of the ECN sector and its infrastructure found (see 2303220017). Its report on the results of the poll said "while the majority (mostly digital platforms, [content delivery networks], consumer organisations and citizens) of the respondents expressed opposition to a mandatory mechanism of direct payments from [content application providers/large traffic generators (LTGs)] to contribute to the financing of network deployment, other respondents (primarily ECNs) supported the system as a tool to address the imbalanced bargaining power between them and LTGs." ECNs that want a mandatory mechanism for direct payments said LTGs generate revenue without helping with network costs, while ECN providers struggle to recover investments. For them, the mechanism could reduce that investment gap, incentivize traffic generation and benefit consumers. Such a mechanism would involve introducing the obligation to negotiate, a dispute resolution mechanism and price monitoring. The large majority of respondents to the question said if the mechanism is introduced LTGs should be the main contributors. Most of those who supported a payment mechanism -- "mostly ECN providers," the EC noted -- said network providers should benefit from the direct payment to the extent that they invest in network infrastructure in Europe. ECN providers said the payment would offer many benefits, but others, such as digital platforms, content providers and consumer groups, said introducing such compensation could undermine the principle of net neutrality, potentially cut incentives for innovation, particularly for small traffic generators, and mean higher consumer prices. The results prove "the vast majority of stakeholders agree: introducing network usage fees would be an unnecessary and damaging regulatory intrusion that is neither required nor justified." The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association, which backed fair share legislation earlier this month, didn't comment. The EC noted the views presented in the report are those of the respondents, not its official position.
Germany’s Deutsche Telekom is working with Mavenir on network slicing, using the provider’s 5G stand-alone network. The companies announced Friday the launch of DT's 5G Live Video Production Service, with RTL Deutschland, “for stable broadcasting of live events using 5G stand-alone and network slicing technologies.” DT also is working with Mavenir on a network slicing proof of concept (PoC). “Our enterprise customers are demanding tailored and flexible connectivity services,” said Torsten Griesche, DT vice president-network data core: “We are proud that our pioneering work on 5G SA Slicing can now be experienced by our customers with the launch of 5G Live Video Production.”
Researchers from the University of York, in collaboration with the Quantum Communications Hub and euNetworks Fiber UK, said they demonstrated that quantum communications “is possible over the long geographical distance that separates England from Ireland.” The signal had to travel 140 miles on a new, ultra-low loss fiber cable between the two countries. “Many large companies and organizations are interested in quantum communications to secure their data, but it has limitations, particularly the distance it can travel,” said Marco Lucamarini, experimental quantum communications professor at York. “The longer the distance, the more likely it is that the photon -- the particles of light that we use as carriers of quantum information -- are lost, absorbed or scattered in the channel, which reduces the chances of the information reaching its target,” he said: “This presents a problem when organizations need to send private digital information to other cities or other countries, where the additional challenge could also be an ocean between the communications’ start and end point.”
The Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecom Services Sector didn't object to Intermountain Infrastructure Group's transfer of control request to WRA II-Pioneer, NTIA said Thursday in docket 23-85.
Japanese provider NTT Docomo said it fully launched its open radio access network ecosystem experience (OREX) portfolio. Docomo said Wednesday it’s leveraging its experience in ORAN. OREX was “developed in collaboration with multiple global vendors,” the company said: “It can be customized to address the unique challenges of each customer” and “is expected to reduce clients' total cost of ownership by up to 30% when the costs of initial setup and ongoing maintenance are taken into account. It can also reduce the time required for network design by up to 50%.”
Samsung Electronics announced a collaboration with AMD on 5G virtualized radio access networks. “The two companies have completed several rounds of tests at Samsung’s lab to verify high-capacity and telco-grade performance using [frequency division duplex] bands and [time division duplex] Massive MIMO wide-bands, while significantly reducing power consumption,” Samsung said Monday. “Samsung has been at the forefront of unleashing the full potential of 5G vRAN technology to meet rising demands, and we look forward to collaborating with industry leaders like AMD to provide operators the capabilities to transform their networks,” said Henrik Jansson. Samsung corporate vice president.
An agreement between Netflix and two South Korean telcos won't end the debate over whether content providers should compensate networks for transmitting their data but is relevant to the discussion, emailed Alessandro Gropelli, director-general, European Telecommunications and Network Operators Association. Monday's announcement by Netflix, SKBroadband and SKTelecom outlined a "strategic partnership to provide better entertainment experiences to their customers." The telcos said they want to help customers access Netflix shows and films on mobile devices and IP TV more easily and with payment options. They will offer various price plans and products, including bundled packages, and all the companies will explore opportunities to leverage AI technologies to create better offerings. The agreement ends three years of feuding between SKBroadband and Netflix, which began when Netflix's traffic on the network ballooned and Netflix refused to negotiate with the operator for cost recovery, wrote telecom consultant John Strand. Netflix then sued SKBroadband, claiming it had no obligation to pay or make a deal for network usage. When a court disagreed, Netflix appealed, and the litigation continued through 10 court hearings, Strand wrote. The new deal is a mutual decision that the companies said "stems from both parties' shared foundational principle that prioritizes customers." "Ostensibly this means that in future, Netflix users of SK networks would purchase Netflix through their broadband subscription," Strand said. "This would appear to be the way to ensure that the usage cost of Netflix on SK's network is covered," suggesting a revenue share between Netflix and the network operator. Nevertheless, Strand said, the debate over how to recover costs for continued investment in next-generation networks continues in South Korea. Asked whether the agreement has implications for efforts by European telcos to win network usage costs from content providers, ETNO's Gropelli said it "shows that a regulatory and legal nudge is necessary to achieve successful agreements." The arrangement is "interesting and relevant also for us" despite the different market and policy contexts in Europe, he said. Gropelli predicted the policy debates "will remain separate, but it definitely proves that better commercial deals are possible in environments in which network investment is prioritised."
The U.S. and Vietnam are exploring ways to collaborate on semiconductor production and investment, the State Department announced Monday. The Biden administration is partnering with the Vietnamese government through the Chips Act’s International Technology Security and Innovation Fund. The department was granted $500 million through the fund to promote the development of telecommunications networks and semiconductor supply chain security. President Joe Biden wrapped up his visit to Vietnam on Monday. "This collaboration strives to identify new opportunities that attract industry investments and expand the technical workforces in both countries," the department said.