MWC-Day Two

Environmental initiatives were on Day 2’s agenda at Mobile World Congress, with Orange Business and Cisco partnering to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions – and Ericsson signing a similar agreement with Telkomsel. Visa and the GSMA launching a new financial inclusion initiative aimed at emerging markets, while the ITU confirmed that it plans to invest US$9 billion into connectivity initiatives.

Communications Today is a media partner.

Malaysia’s Maxis is set to integrate GenAI from Google, while Kyivstar has signed an Open RAN purchase agreement with Rakuten Symphony.

The group CEOs of Deutsche Telekom (DT), Orange, Telefonica and Vodafone Group pushed for changes in regulation in a joint keynote panel yesterday at MWC.

They argued that existing rules are stifling investment and hindering their ability to compete with the US-based tech titans. The line they’ve taken this year is that Europe Needs a new Deal. Leaders of the big four urged urgent changes to regulation as Europe is lagging other regions of the world in terms of digital innovation, investment and infrastructure.

DT’s Tim Höttges claimed that 60% of European operators do not earn enough to cover the costs of the capital they need to invest.

Telefónica’s José María Álvarez-Pallete stated that Europe has an investment gap of €200 billion. Vodafone’s Margherita Della Valle stressed that the operators are willing to “play our part” but “need a new deal”. She highlighted the issues around spectrum allocation and licences and market consolidation.

In a separate keynote, Commissioner Breton put forward plans for a different approach to allocating mobile spectrum. As a keynote speaker yesterday at MWC, he proposed that spectrum should be allocated to the operator that committed to the fastest roll-out of the network concerned rather than to the highest bidder. Breton argued that all of Europe should adopt the same policy for awarding spectrum in the interests of affordability and speed, and to “create a true digital single market. Looking forward he stated, “In regard to 6G, we cannot afford to encounter delays in the spectrum licencing process with huge disparities in timeline between member states. We cannot tolerate same the outcome as for 5G where the process after eight years is still not complete.” He complained that Europe’s 5G networks are not performing at the required standard with latency of about 200ms. And that €200 billion is needed just to complete the roll-out of 5G over the next five years or so.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin announced over US$9 billion in investment commitments from mobile operator groups to extend global connectivity. The new industry commitments raise to over US$46 billion the total current value of planned investment in infrastructure, services and support to ITU’s Partner2Connect Digital Coalition.

The commitments include US$6 billion from technology group e& (Etisalat and) between 2024 and 2026 for accessible and affordable network connectivity and digital services across countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

There’s also a commitment of over US$1.4 billion from China Telecom to roll out fibre-to-the-home (FTTH), providing high-quality information and communication services to over 80 million people in remote administrative villages across China.

US$1.1 billion comes from Qatar-based multinational telecommunications company Ooredoo for connectivity in developing markets ranging from North Africa to the Indian Ocean.

In addition US$600 million will come from multinational telecommunication services company Veon for building the infrastructure of Ukraine, in order to aid the provision of connectivity and digital services essential to the reconstruction of the country.

The enterprise division of the Orange Group, Orange Business and Cisco announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for a joint action plan to help reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The two companies have agreed to create an emissions baseline regarding the GHG emissions of Orange Business solutions that integrate Cisco products, allowing both organisations to measure GHG emissions across their shared portfolio.

Orange has set a goal to reduce its GHG emissions by 45% across all scopes by 2030, committing to reaching net zero by 2040. Cisco has set a goal to reach net-zero GHG emissions across its value chain by 2040 and has also set a goal to reduce absolute Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services, upstream transportation and distribution, and use of sold Cisco products by 30% by 2030.

The annual NGMN Press & Industry Briefing at Mobile World Congress 2024 took centre stage at the Deutsche Telekom booth showcasing a stellar lineup of senior industry experts representing different geo-regions of the globe. The Alliance underscored the significant advantages derived from its unwavering commitment to provide impactful guidance in the areas Route to Disaggregation/Operating Disaggregated Networks, Green Future Networks, and 6G. By fostering collaboration among Mobile Network Operators, Vendors, System Integrators, Research Institutes, and other players of the value chain, NGMN’s Work Programme is positioned to have a lasting impact on the trajectory of the mobile telecommunication industry, ensuring ongoing innovation and progress with value for end-users and ecosystem players.

The Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and SVP Group Technology at Deutsche Telekom, Arash Ashouriha, alongside Anita Döhler, CEO of the NGMN Alliance, conducted a comprehensive review of last year’s accomplishments and provided an overview of the strategy and agenda for 2024, including NGMN’s global biennial Industry Conference & Exhibition which will take place in September 2024 in Munich. Firsthand perspectives and expert insights on the two recent NGMN Publications ‘Cloud Native Manifesto: An Operator View’ and ‘6G Position Statement: An Operator View’ were shared by Board Members of the NGMN Alliance, including Carlos Fernandes (DT), Jerome Birot (TELUS), Laurent Leboucher (Orange), Luke Ibbetson (Vodafone), Narothum Saxena (UScellular), Takki Yu (SK Telecom), and Yuhong Huang (China Mobile).

Together, they delved deeper into key trends, innovations, challenges, and guidance, shaping the mobile industry. NGMN Board Members were available for a Q&A session afterward.

Arash Ashouriha, Chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board, underscored the Alliance’s remarkable achievements, noting, “Our Alliance has garnered international recognition for its contributions and the impact to the industry benefiting not only mobile network operators but also the entire ecosystem.” Additionally, he emphasized the significance of a collaborative approach within alliances like NGMN in today’s challenging landscape. Ashouriha highlighted that only by operators confronting industry challenges collectively, can the industry effectively overcome technical, economical and geopolitical obstacles.

Anita Döhler, CEO of the NGMN Alliance added: “We take pride in our diverse team of Board Members representing different geo-regions of the globe, a manifestation of our commitment to tackling the most pressing issues and opportunities and fostering genuine collaboration for the advancement of the global telecommunications industry. We extend an invitation to all stakeholders across the value chain to join our Alliance in our crucial endeavours.”

The briefing underscored the significance of two recent key publications by NGMN that are exerting a considerable influence on the industry landscape. The first, the Cloud Native Manifesto: An Operator View, delineates seven fundamental principles deemed essential for the realisation of open, interoperable, and highly scalable cloud-native networks. This manifesto steers the industry towards the effective adoption of cloud native technologies, emphasizing the transformative potential they hold.

Meanwhile, the 6G Position Statement: An Operator View represents a significant call to action within the mobile industry. It advocates for a paradigm shift in the approach to introducing new technology generations, particularly focusing on the impending transition to 6G. The statement offers comprehensive guidance encompassing various key requirements and principles vital for navigating this evolution. By providing a roadmap for future technological advancements and standards, the 6G Position Statement serves as a cornerstone in shaping the trajectory of the mobile industry’s development.

Some launches. Intel announced its new Edge Platform, a modular, open software platform enabling enterprises to develop, deploy, run, secure, and manage edge and AI applications at scale with cloud-like simplicity. Together, these capabilities will accelerate time-to-scale deployment for enterprises, contributing to improved total cost of ownership (TCO).

Vodafone’s Open RAN network-in-a-box, which was unveiled just ahead of last year’s MWC event, is in the final stages of commercial preparation and will become available in June, according to Yago Tenorio, Vodafone fellow and network architecture director at the operator.

CT Bureau