CommsDay magazine summer 2020/21

magazine Summer edi on 2020‐21

2021: The year of 5G Is work‐from‐home the new normal for telcos post‐pandemic?

Interviews with Ericsson, AMTA and NBN Co plus CommScope, Vodafone, videostreaming

In this issue 5

What Richard Alston took to Cabinet twenty years ago

7

Vodafone backs space‐based cellular network covering 49 countries

8

The rise and rise of streaming

9

INTERVIEW: NBN CIO Debbie Taylor on a new digital transformation

11 NBN declared complete 12 INTERVIEW: AMTA CEO Chris Althaus 14 INTERVIEW: Ericsson ANZ CEO Emilio Romeo on 5G 17 CommScope on network convergence

About Communications Day (including the Line of NZ) Communications Day is the telecommunications news bible of ANZ. Published daily since August 1994, CommsDay is expertly written and edited by a team of industry writers with a combined 125 years experience in telecoms across Australia, NZ, Asia, the United States and Europe. CommsDay is available by subscription only and read by up to 10,000 industry executives as well as policymakers and parliamentarians every week day.

PUBLISHED BY DECISIVE PUBLISHING Mail: PO Box 490 Milsons Point NSW 1565 Website: www.commsday.com THIS PUBLICATION IS COPYRIGHT AND ITS CONTENT CANNOT BE REPRODUCED OR DISTRIBUTED WITHOUT OUR EXPRESS PERMISSION. OFFENDERS CAN BE PROSECUTED. ALL RIGHTS WILL BE EXERCISED. Contacting CommsDay Chief Editor: Simon Dux: Simon@commsdaymail.com Executive editor: Rohan Pearce: Rohan@commsdaymail.com Editor at large: Tony Chan, Tony@commsdaymail.com Columnist: Kevin Morgan, kevinlmorgan@bigpond.com CEO: Grahame Lynch, Grahamelynch@commsdaymail.com Subscription renewal inquiries: Linda Salameh, linda@commsdaymail.com New subscriptions, advertising and event bookings: Amy Carswell, amy@commsdaymail.com CommsDay Summit/Congress/Edisons sponsorship: Veronica Kennedy-Good, veronica@mindsharecomms.com.au Satellite Forum sponsorship: Kevin French, kfrench@talksatellite.com DOLLAR REFERENCES IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE TO AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED. WE REFERENCE DOLLARS AS AUSTRALIAN IN ARTICLES DEALING WITH MULTINATIONAL OR MULTICURRENCY TOPICS.

From the founder Communications minister Paul Fletcher has described the coming year of 2021 as the year of 5G. From his point of view, that is very much the case with high band and low band spectrum auctions scheduled at either end of the year.

But it is also the case from the point of view of the market. While Telstra leads Optus and TPG for sheer scale of coverage, 4G remains the dominant paradigm nationally. That will ϐirst start to change this year as Telstra aims for 75% coverage by mid year. And on the handset side, things can now get moving with Apple releasing its 5G iPhone range before Christmas. This was always a pre-requisite to 5G success in Australia given Apple represents around half the market.

In this issue we feature an extended chat with the head of Ericsson in ANZ, Emilio Romeo, who tells us about the view of 5G from his unique regional and global perspective.

Elsewhere in this issue we catalogue the rise and rise of streamed video.

One of the interesting ϐindings of new Juniper research is that over 70% of streamed video sessions in the next ϐive years will occur on smartphones, thanks to the emergence of social videos on platforms like TikTok. Fixed broadband networks will continue to the heavy lifting but the Juniper work also shows that mobile operators will need to think as much as about guaranteed minimums as much as they think about occasional maximums, as is currently the case.

As we went to press, Telstra revealed that its top ten bandwidth consumption days in 2020 were all associated with Call of Duty and Fortnite updates with the exception of 25 July when two exceptionally close AFL matches also fuelled record demand.

With that in mind, CommsDay will turn more of its attention to covering the games industry in 2021.

Happy new year!

Grahame Lynch

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Cabinet telecom discussions from 2000 What Richard Alston took to colleagues on 3G spectrum and more

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abinet papers from 2000 newly released by (SingTel, Telenor).” the National Archives of Australia offer a With respect to the 800MHz spectrum up for glimpse of the inner workings of the Howard grabs, the submission said no competition limits ministry on several key moments for the telewas the preferred option because it was preferacommunications sector, including preparations ble to facilitate 3G deployment rather than for the 2001 auction of 3G spectrum. “creating the potential for competitive tension”, The cabinet papers from 2000 include the de- noting that “Telstra has a strong commercial cision in November of that year --noting the driver of providing most extensive geographic “disposition” of the then communications minis- coverage” with AAPT’s coverage plans “far more ter, Senator Richard Alston, to set out competimodest.” tion limits for the 2GHz auction. No limit was imLimits in the band would risk services not beposed for the two lots of 2x2.25MHz of 800MHz ing rolled out, and besides “it is likely that a comspectrum, and the competition limits set by the petitive market will develop in regional centres minister would not take account of existing hold- where the services deployed in the 800MHz band ings, the papers note. compete with those offered in the 2GHz band…

“The proposed arrangements involve striking Outside those centres the scope for competitive the right balance between promoting sustainable provision is limited by market size.” competition in telecommunications, including In the end, Telstra swooped in and picked up facilitating efϐicient market entry and enabling the 800MHz spectrum for the reserve price of ϐirms to acquire spectrum to introduce new tech- $7m, after AAPT pulled out of the auction. nologies; promoting levels of service in regional In the 2GHz auction, six bidders picked up Australia broadly spectrum: Telstra, equivalent to those Limits in the 800MHz band would risk services not being Vodafone, Optus, rolled out, warned a submission from Richard Alston Hutchison, 3G Inin metropolitan Australia; and obvestments taining an appropriate ϐinancial return for the (Australia) Pty Ltd and CKW Wireless Pty Ltd. Commonwealth,” a November cabinet submisAAPT did not pick up any of the spectrum. sion from Alston said.

The released papers also cover the ill-fated On competition limits, the submission noted Universal Service Obligation contestability pilots. that the market had changed since earlier that “Carriers were required to supply any individyear: “Telecommunications stocks have deual requesting a service within the nominated creased in value. Most Australian players are fac- area, which meant that potential competitors ing their own difϐiculties and uncertainty. Apart were required to have a network capable of supfrom One.Tel, existing mobile carriers have indi- plying every individual within the area,” an Auscated their intention to bid, as has Primus tralian Competition and Consumer Commission (although Hutchison has indicated it will not submission to a 2007 review of the USO scheme make a ϐinal decision until auction arrangements later noted. are announced).”

Other papers cover the government’s support “While it is difϐicult to estimate intentions, all for Telstra passing on the cost of the GST to its players will need a 3G strategy at 2GHz. At this customers and a proposal from Alston to seek point, owning and operating a network provide tenders for providing untimed local calls in re[sic.] the highest yields, but there is increased mote Australia, as well as the decision to launch discussion about the possibility of separating in- the Besley inquiry into telecommunications serfrastructure and service provision. There are in- vices, as part of the Telstra privatisation process. dications of some interest by overseas operators Rohan Pearce

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Vodafone backs space cellular network AST Space Mobile will offer 4G, 3G via satellite in 49 countries

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ST & Science, which brands itself AST SpaceMobile, said it has secured an initial tranche of funds equalling up to US$462 million to move forward with its plans for a space-based cellular network.

According to AST SpaceMobile – backed by Vodafone along with Rakuten, American Tower and Cisneros, the funds will now support its initial plan to launch 20 satellites to offer “seamless, low-latency mobile connectivity” covering some 1.6 billion people across 49 countries in equatorial regions by 2023.

What sets AST SpaceMobile apart from other low Earth orbit systems such as Starlink is its patented satellites – deployed at 700 kilometres – is designed to be accessed with unmodiϐied smartphones and devices using standard cellular with NASDAQ-listed New Providence Acquisition technologies, including 4G and 5G. “For the ϐirst Corp., described as “a publicly traded special purtime ever, mobile subscribers will be able to au- pose acquisition company.” At the closing of the tomatically roam from land networks to a space transaction, AST SpaceMobile will become a pubnetwork… without having to invest in expensive, licly traded company under the symbol “ASTS.” The transaction specialised hardware,” The company will deliver its services with telco will provide up to according to the compartners on the ground on a “50/50 revenue US$462 million in pany’s website. share” model, starting with Vodafone. gross proceeds, comThe company will prised of US$232 mildeliver its services with lion of cash held in trust by New Providence Actelco partners on the ground on a “50/50 revequisition and a US$230 million fully committed nue share” model, starting with Vodafone. AST SpaceMobile has also signed a commercial agree- private placement of common stock at US$10 per ment with AT&T, as well as memorandum of un- share to its existing shareholders as well as a derstanding with Telstra, Telefonica, tigo, Indosat broad base of ϐinancial institutions.

Vodafone will be one of the ϐirst customers of Ooredoo and Liberty Latin America. the AST SpaceMobile network and plans to inte“AST SpaceMobile’s low-latency, space-based platform will allow hundreds of millions of peo- grate the technology into the services provided ple across the world to access high-speed, cellu- by its Vodacom and Safaricom units as well as lar broadband service in areas where there was other operations in DRC, Ghana, Mozambique, previously no such service,” said AST SpaceMobi- Kenya and Tanzania.

SpaceMobile will also be applying in India to le CEO Abel Avellan.

“Working directly with our strategic partners, deliver services there as part of its Phase 1 plans.

According to an investor presentation, AST we are on track in executing on phase one of our SpaceMobile’s eventual plan, outlined over 4 commercial launch as we set the stage to bring our game-changing space network for global mo- phases, is to have 58 satellites in orbit that will support global multiple input multiple output bile connectivity.” coverage with faster data rates.

AST SpaceMobile’s funds were secured Tony Chan through a “business combination agreement”

The rise and rise of streamed video Advertising supported business models will drive growth

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orecasts by Juniper Research say that there will be nearly 2 billion active subscriptions to on-demand video services in 2025; a 65% increase over the end of 2020.

The primary engine for this growth will be from traditional broadcasters, who are increasingly turning to streaming services in order to extend their reach and compete with online video giants such as Netϐlix and Amazon Prime Video.

The new research, OTT TV & Video Streaming: Evolving Trends, Future Strategies & Market Forecasts 2020-2025, notes that traditional broadcasters are turning to hybrid services, a combination of subscription- and advertising-supported monetisation, such as NBC’s Peacock, and CBS All Access, which offer tiered services that still generate subscription revenue but show advertisements in lower-priced bands in order to keep end user prices down.

Juniper Research anticipates that these services will account for $1.4 billion in advertising spend in 2025.

Juniper Research’s report notes that, as subscription services become increasingly prominent, particularly in the US, different models will be needed to combat subscription fatigue. The report estimates that in 2020 there was an average of four SVOD subscriptions per household in the US, but with growth slowing signiϐicantly from 2021.

“Thanks to this high level of market saturation, streaming providers need to keep their offerings competitive to retain subscribers”, said research co-author Nick Hunt. “Hybrid monetisation is one way that VOD providers can keep their offerings low-cost, and therefore less likely to be dropped.”

The report shows that over 70% of streamed video sessions in the next ϐive years will occur on smartphones, thanks to the emergence of social videos on platforms like TikTok. However, these do not yield a high number of advert slots per video watched, meaning that smartphone advertising spend will only grow at

an average rate of 2% each year over the forecast period. Likewise, in Australia, research shows that consumption of subscription video services such as Netϐlix and Stan only tells part of the story about streamed video.

New research from Roy Morgan shows 16.2 million Australians aged 14+ (77%) access entertainment and amusement services online in an average four weeks including watching videos, listening to music, playing games, uploading photos, downloading music, watching TV, streaming

or downloading video clips, TV programs, games, feature length movies and more.

Watching videos online using sites such as YouTube is the most popular online entertainment and amusement activity done by over 13.2 million Australians (63%) in an average four weeks and is slightly more popular with men (65%) than women (61%).

Over 9 million Australians (43%) listen to music online in an average four weeks and this activity is also slightly more popular amongst men (44%) than women (42%).

In third place is participating and playing games online which is done by 7.9 million Australians (38%) and perhaps surprisingly women (40%) are more likely to be playing games online than men (36%).

NBN plans three year IT transformation CommsDay’s Grahame Lynch talks with NBN Co CIO Debbie Taylor about a three year $200m plan to overhaul its IT systems—and ask RSPs to help co-design it

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ebbie Taylor has been performing the role of Chief Information Of icer at NBN Co since January 2019. She joined NBN Co in May of 2014 and her role as CIO follows her tenure as Executive General Manager, Technology Design and Delivery.

Taylor has more than 30 years of experience in the Technology and Telecommunications industries, holding leadership roles at PwC and Vodafone where she has led teams to drive major IT transformation projects and delivered complex new technology programs.

She has a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York in Albany with a double major in Finance and Management Information Systems and a minor in computer science.

all about simplifying and modernising our architecture. This is a key enabler for us at NBN for our broader digital transformation. And it will enable things like better customer service experiences between us and the retailers, it will enable us to deliver new digital capabilities and to be more cost-effective in how we deliver the new capabilities and how we run our IT environment.

It’s got three pillars associated with it. The ϐirst pillar is about re-imagining how the telco industry can transform the customer experience, obviously in collaboration with the retailers, by end-to-end digitisation of the customer service delivery experience, something we're calling virtually vertically integrating our systems so they act very seamlessly as one.

The second pillar is about streamlining our systems architecture by reducing the number of Debbie Taylor: This is an area that I'm very pas- applications that we have and modernising and sionate about. And we’re calling the program in- simplifying our IT landscape of the future. This ternally our systems digital roadmap, or the SDR. will lead us to a more lean operation. This will be We love our three letter acronyms. And I’m really more beneϐicial, but also for the industry as a passionate about it because this is the largest IT whole and will enable us to deliver new and more capability quicker. transformation that we’ve undertaken. And it’s

The third pillar is really about how we attract and retain the best people.

And we know that the war for talent isn’t new, it's been around for quite a while. But the difference now is that through COVID, many organisations have realised and recognised that they probably need to look their digital capability so now they’re dipping into the same pool.

So there’s more demands on the same pool, which means it's harder to get those people. And we believe that because we’ve been planning this transformation for quite a long time, well before we went into COVID, it is very comprehensive which means that for technologists, it’s working with all the new technologies, techniques, tools, methodologies, coupled with the fact that our purpose is so strong of lifting the digital capability of Australia. We really do feel like we have a competitive edge to not only attract, but also retain the best people.

CommsDay: This is quite a conceptual leap in how telcos approach these issues. What led you to this point? Are there any international examples that you've perhaps been benchmarking from?

Debbie Taylor: I’m glad you asked that question because we actually spent quite a lot of time planning this, and we did look globally what was happening. And we got some learnings from some of our global counterparts, but actually, Grahame, the one that resonated with us the most was Services New South Wales and their transformation.

And the reason why that was the one that we gravitated towards is because Services New South Wales took a very much outside in approach. They started with the customer in mind, and then they worked their way in. And that’s exactly what we want to do that. We want to focus on that customer service experience and then deCommsDay: Now the obvious question from an liver the capability needed to enable that. And the RSPs point of view is what does it mean for them? way that Services New South Wales went about it How will dealing with NBN feel and look different was actually quite considered and clever. And so we’ve been speaking to some people who were as this is implemented? the architects of that, which has been really enDebbie Taylor: Yeah, so the way that it will look lightening in helping us to design what we’re doing and helping us with the execution as well. differently is that the retailers will have much richer and more depth of This is really about transforming CommsDay: Have you the data and the inforthe IT landscape, making it simpler, been working with any mation that they need in a making it modern. outside partners on this? much more simple way so that they could then leverage that to create better customer experiences to, Debbie Taylor: To develop the original plan, we for example, be able to solve customer problems did work with some experts. But we’re actually quicker and easier. It’s as if our systems are con- leading the delivery of this, so we’re not having nected with their systems. And we do need to go someone else do this. We’re certainly leveraging skill sets from our core partners that we have in into consultation and work with them to work out how... We’re going to co-design this together. the IT space. It is absolutely internally driven, but But for them, it will be as if the NBN systems are it’s also driven by the way we’re working with the industry and how we want to work more part of their broader ecosystem of systems.

And so things like retail being able to provide closely with the retailers. an app for a customer to enable them to do simCommsDay: Okay. Now you just used the phrase ple transactions like change a speed tier, that’s co-design with the RSPs. Can you talk me through the type of thing that we want to do. And ultimately we want to be able to provide the founda- what has to happen now to make that happen in tion and create the ability to do what Uber did for terms of process and timing? the taxi industry, do something similar for the telco industry where Uber has put the power in Debbie Taylor: So we’ve ϐloated the idea with the hands of the rider, and we want to be able to some of the retailers and it’s very getting very put the power in the hands of the consumer, positive feedback. We need to go into a consultathrough the retailers. tion period early in the new year, which we will do to understand what the retailers need to cre-

ate better experiences, better digital experiences.

And the consultation period will take between three and six months. It’ll be driven by how much feedback we get.

And then we’ll look at what's the most common themes, and we’ll start to work with the retailers on those common themes to enable more richer information and leveraging the interfacing that we’re putting in place to uplift it for their needs so that they can deliver those experiences onto the customer.

Debbie Taylor: Yeah, I would say that's true. I'd say this is the largest transformation that we've had. Up until now, it's really been all about building capability to enable us to go out and build the network and activate customers. So it's all been about that capability to build and scale the network. This is really about transforming the IT landscape, making it simpler, making it modern.

CommsDay: And is it easier to do this now that the customer numbers are stabilising? You just talked about the rapid growth there and incrediCommsDay: In your experience with working ble numbers and some of those years in terms of with RSPs to date, are they broadly consistent in growth, but obviously that's leveling off a bit terms of the way they operate with their IT sys- now. Is it now a little bit easier to approach this, tems or do they all have wildly disparate and dif- now you don't have to deal with all that growth fering approaches to these issues? and so on?

Debbie Taylor: They’re actually quite different Debbie Taylor: It is right timing for us to do that depending on the type of retail. Some of them are because before that, we were really trying to more mature, some less mature. So what we're make sure we had the capability in place for the trying to do is go with the scale. So you’re right, this is Before we were really trying least common denomina- to make sure we had the capability in the right time for us to do tor, really. So provide dathis. It is easier. I think if place for the scale. ta in simple to use foryou’re just directed with mats, provide dashboards to retailers. So really needing to build the capability for us to make enabling them to use the information in the way sure everyone had access to high-speed broadthat best suits their underlying systems, as opband, it’s much more difϐicult. So yeah, it’s the posed to what best might suit NBN. And making it right time. really simpler and easier for the retailers.

The program is three years and it is 200 million. So I just want to be transparent about the CommsDay: NBN has now been around in some cost as well. We think that’s a good price for shape or form for about 10 years. Would you what we're delivering. And of course the value characterise this as the biggest overhaul of your that it will create will be signiϐicant. systems in that decade?

Fletcher declares NBN Co build to be complete, with 35K lines to go Communications minister Paul Fletcher declared that the National Broadband Network is fully built and operational, with 99.7% of all premises ready to connect as of New Years’ Day. His action followed the submission of a 72 page report from NBN Co outlining the reasoning for why the network could be considered complete.

According to the report, the number of premises able to connect to the NBN is over 11.86 million premises.

The August 2020 status of 100,000 complex premises yet to be made ‘ready to connect’ is now reduced substantially and was around 35,000 as at 31 December 2020, and with new premises continuing to be built the network’s completion

has to be signed off at some point.

Fletcher says: “In my view the evidence before me shows it is appropriate to make the declaration that the NBN should be treated as built and fully. Of course the government recognises that there are some premises which have not yet been made ready to connect – and I expect NBN Co to work as speedily as possible to make the network available to those premises.”

“The government also recognises that there is continuing work to enhance the capabilities of the network. Earlier this year we announced a $4.5 billion upgrade to the NBN; the work to deliver that upgrade will be carried out over several years.”

Leaving at the top of the charts Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association CEO Chris Althaus is leaving his post after 15 years at the top of the industry association. In this interview with Grahame Lynch, he re lects on the success of the local sector and the challenges which lie ahead.

CommsDay: So, ϐirst question, why now after 15 years? What determined the timing of this?

Chris Althaus: Look it’s never a good time. I remain completely committed to the mobile sector and have just had a complete blast working in this space for 15 years. But I looked at a moment to leave and there’s never a good time, but I ϐigured that 5G, the momentum is now really established. And I wanted to make sure that AMTA and the industry where we’re moving strongly in that direction and I believe we are. So I guess that was one of the prerequisites for me. And I feel like we’re in a reasonable position. It’s never going to be perfect, but I feel like we’re in good shape.

700 meg spectrum into the mobile space. I think that was the start of that critical infrastructure agenda and expansion of holdings of spectrum that was going to really put a great platform under the 3G era, and of course, carry it on into 4G and beyond. So that’s a big ticket item for me.

And the other one I think that stands out GraCommsDay: You've seen a lot of change over that hame is this, when we began our research ecotime. I'm guessing when you started, 3G was still nomic research program at AMTA, we were the a new thing. What were some of the standout mo- ones that were trying to prosecute this enabling capacity of the technology in terms of productiviments of those 15 years? ty. Nowadays, we don't need to prosecute that Chris Althaus: Well, you're right 3G was the ϐla- agenda anymore, because it's now well estabvor of the month when I began. I think one of the lished and well-known. So getting that economic things that I work hard at over the journey Gra- platform in place was incredibly important. hame, was to try and minimise the politics in moCommsDay: What was the most difϐicult chalbile space. I always felt that I had a very strong lenge? reaction to the level of unity that the industry brought together under the AMTA umbrella, and a really strong reaction to that from both major Chris Althaus: Look, it's the unity ticket that is parties. The individuals concerned when you go always the golden dust of an industry group like back, it was Coonan and Conroy and Turnbull and AMTA. And to the great credit of the members of Rowland and Fiϐield and Fletcher. the industry, most of the time when they get So that bipartisanship, I think, has been a real- around the board table, the intense, competitive ly good thing that I pursued. If you want individu- nature of the sector is parked at the door and we al moments where it’s a standout, I go back to the come together, and we think about the sector as a whole. And that’s always worked incredibly well. digital dividend and getting 126 megahertz of

higher levels of infrastructure in their built environment in the community. They absolutely crave the connectivity that we offer, the data services that we offer, and that is going to continue at a pace. But we've got to get the balance right.

And the balance is between the regulatory settings and industry’s own communication activities in the community, to bring people along with us. They perhaps won't always like it, but they always want the connectivity. And I go back to what made the evolution of mobile such a success. And that was the federal government stepping in with things like schedule three, like powers and immunities, within the act that gave us a CommsDay: Now, Australia is ranked in terms of pathway for efϐicient deployment. That is never been more relevant than it is today in the 5G mobile connectivity measures number one.

What's the secret to our national success in mo- space, given the agenda that we’re facing. bile?

CommsDay: Do you have any plans for the future Chris Althaus: We are a mobile nation. The level or at this stage? of competition has driven the industry to be incredibly innovative and aggressive in their offer- Chris Althaus: Look Grahame, it’s no secret I’m ings to the consumer and the customer. Take, for going to take a break. I can’t envisage stepping too far away from the sector, to be honest. A couexample, the GSMA mobile connectivity index. ple of my directors have chided me that they We’ve ranked number one can’t see me getting off the for the last six years. And We’ve had suf icient lexibility to you look at the paramejust get on with it and let the market leash that easily. So I’ll be around, but clearly I’m not ters that are assessed to and dynamics play. out there on the hunt for a form that index, we’ve got full-time role, but I still have a passion for the great infrastructure, we’ve got great content, sector. I hope I might get an opportunity to give we’ve got a market that is ready for us. more in the coming months and years.

All of these things have gelled together to make a really, really strong sector. I particularly go back to the attitude of government, they’ve CommsDay: Well, I think everyone who knows allowed that co-regulatory model to remain in what you’ve done for the industry would agree place. We’ve had sufϐicient ϐlexibility to just get that you’ve made an enormous contribution. And on with it and let the market and dynamics play. especially from our view here at CommsDay, And of course, that has been a great outcome for you’ve participated in most, if not all of our concustomers, it's been a great outcome for industry, ferences over the past 15 years. So you probably and it's been a great outcome for the nation beactually hold the record as the speaker with the cause it's such an enabling technology. highest appearances. So thank you from CommsDay for what you’ve done with us and for CommsDay: Now, you mentioned some of those the industry generally. challenges and vulnerabilities before, do they in any shape or form, threaten our ability to stay as Chris Althaus: Well, and right back at you Graa top ϐive or top three mobile nation in the hame, because there’s nobody in the sector that world? doesn’t avidly look every morning at what CommsDay is covering for the day. And your Chris Althaus: Certainly as we continue the mo- events and your service to the sector, is unparalmentum in the 5G era, we can't escape the reality leled. And I’ve been a very willing and very gratethat networks are going to need to become dens- ful participant in that. So, really appreciate that er. We are going to need to ask more of the com- opportunity that you've afforded me. munity, in terms of their willingness to accept When that doesn’t work well, the challenges really go up a notch, but for the most part, we’ve done extremely well in that space.

If I go back and I look at disappointments and things that I wish that they’d gone a bit better, probably some of the deployment related regulatory reform agendas that we’ve been prosecuting, I wish they’d moved more quickly and been better understood by government.

Because I still think that’s a point of vulnerability that we have and of course, that is very much in play right at this moment when the evolution of 5G is continuing.

Why 2021 will be the year of 5G In this interview with Australia’s leading mobile network supplier by market share, we look at what will be driving 5G adoption in the new year. CommsDay’s Grahame Lynch spoke with Emilio Romeo, the ANZ MD of Ericsson

CommsDay: There are two large spectrum auctions planned in Australia this year. How important are they for the success of 5G technology in Australia?

Emilio Romeo: The upcoming two spectrum auctions are critical in ensuring that Australia has access to a pipeline of globally aligned spectrum for 5G across low, mid and high band. To date, 5G in Australia has only been deployed in the mid band allocations.

And the April auction will be for the high band spectrum in 26 gigahertz, also known as the millimetre wave band, and that will deliver super fast speeds and great capacity over short distances. And then in the later half of 2021, we will see the in market low band spectrum in the 850 and 900 megahertz band reconϐigured to support the broader geographic coverage.

The full mix of spectrum is required to deliver across the four major use cases of enhanced mobile broadband, ϐixed wireless broadband, massive IoT and critical IoT. And in fact, according to our latest mobility report, at least one gigahertz of high band and 100 megahertz of mid band spectrum would be needed to really fulϐill the potential of 5G and to unlock the economic beneϐit that it brings. So we're well positioned on that after these auctions.

CommsDay: Well, outside of spectrum, what else do you see as a prerequisite that is needed for 5G to be a success?

Emilio Romeo: Yeah, as a country, Australia is in

an advantageous position where we can reap the And then as you know, last year we launched beneϐits of 5G. We're rapidly approaching a futhe southern hemisphere’s ϐirst 5G network that ture powered by 5G before the networks that was deployed by Telstra in partnership with Erhave been rolled out. There will not only allow icsson. And then in November we followed existing industry to pivot and transform and re- through with Optus launched 5G. generate, but also to encourage innovative new And one thing your audience might not be ventures to develop and thrive. And beyond the aware of is that Ericsson was the inventor of spectrum allocations mentioned previously, it's Bluetooth before we opened it up to the world. really important that 5G is posited in an ecosys- And he was one of our employees, Dr. Jaap tem that will allow us to bring the 5G potential to Haartsen, who in Sweden was given an internal fruition. And fortunately, this is a sentiment that project to remove cabling from the PCs and whatis reϐlected across the Australian government as ever else was connected in the ofϐice. And of that well with signiϐicant investment being put into came about Bluetooth, which he named after one the development of these trials, across industry of the Swedish Vikings, just a little bit of trigger sectors like agriculture and mining, logistics, there for your audience, but that’s some of the manufacturing, and the 5G innovation initiative innovation that we’ve seen over the year that by the Australian government which will be inwe're really truly proud of. vesting $22 million into 5G trials is a great example of that.

CommsDay: We can’t talk about what’s happenHowever, there's still progress to be made es- ing in tech generally without reference to the pecially when it comes to articulating the beneϐits worldwide COVID pandemic. From the Ericsson of 5G to both consumers The use cases are linked to immersive point of view, how do you see and businesses. And an services with virtual reality, augmented COVID in terms of how it’s impacted the use of mobile educated understanding reality, mobile cloud gaming and technology generally? of the technology will be pivotal in uncovering the future 5G use cases and I'd love to say that leveraging the great technolo- Emilio Romeo: There’s no doubt that COVID has gy position that we have in the country and really reinforced the importance of the telecommunications' industry and being connected. I think it focusing on leveraging what we already have, we'll be great for the 5G success beyond the tech- was the Vodafone CTO in India who said back in April, that connectivity is like oxygen during nology. these times of the pandemic and how true it was.

CommsDay: And of course Australia is hardly an But on the impact side of things, our latest mobility report has demonstrated that how existing overnight success here. Ericsson can date its digital infrastructure has met communication presence back to the 19th century! needs in times of crisis and particularly when it Emilio Romeo: Having been in Australia for the comes to keeping societies running and families last 130 years, Ericsson has truly witnessed connected. And then the impact hasn't been so ϐirsthand how Australia has embraced that telco much as a decline, but it's probably in some countries an increase on the technology side when it innovation and each iteration of the new telco technology has been a real turning point which comes to subscriptions. have transformed lives and industry and really To put into context, 15% of the population society as a whole. If you look at some of the key worldwide will have access to 5G coverage by the proof points, just to mention a few, we built the end of 2020, that's one billion subscribers overall ϐirst public telephone systems in Queensland in will have access to 5G. And the forecast period of 1959. And then in 97, Australians were making the report, which is by 2026, 5G subscriptions their ϐirst mobile calls on 1G using Ericsson’s ad- are expected to signiϐicantly grow faster than 4G, vanced mobile phone service, also known as which was launched in 2009. But a number of key AMPS. Then we launched the 3G network we’ve factors that these countries such as Korea and had to send it. For the ϐirst time Australians could China and the US are growing very fast on 5G. browse the internet on the go and work remoteBy the end of 2026, 60% of the world's populy. That was at 2001. And we then delivered Aus- lation will have access to 5G coverage. And we're tralia's ϐirst 4G LTE network in 2011 to deliver now also looking at ϐixed wireless access and the them faster speeds.

connections for ϐixed wireless access are forecast to grow more than threefold and to reach 180 million by the end of 2026 accounting for about 25% of the total mobile network data trafϐic globally. So overall, we actually have increased all our forecasts for the past two surveys we've done being June and November, despite the pandemic.

The impact has been a positive one or has not really impacted negatively when it comes particularly to 5G.

maybe they’re not getting now?

Emilio Romeo: What we’re seeing is there's no doubt that apart from the low latency, apart from the fastest speeds, it’s really all about the digitisation of services and more consumers asking for it.

It’s attracting them to the immersive services, being able to sit on the couch and have control of which player do the following on a football game and really putting the control into their hands.

What we’re seeing is that the technology will underpin nearly 31 trillion US dollars in cumulative CommsDay: Now you just mentioned a ϐixed wireless there, and obviously in Australia, that's consumer revenues by 2030, and the service proone of the major products that come out of the 5G viders this get probably 3.7 trillion out of that.

And across 17 markets that we surveyed, 25% deployments, but can you tell us about some of the other use cases that 5G speciϐically can enable of the consumers said they are likely to upgrade that maybe were not possible with the older gen- to 5G smartphones and 50% of Australians, for example, our existing iPhone owners who are erations of mobile? looking to upgrade to 5G models. And so service providers can directly generate 131 billion by Emilio Romeo: Yeah, there’s no doubt 5G will not only give rise to new areas of use for consum- 2030 from digital services revenues by proactiveers, and no doubt it will The service providers could grow 34% ly developing a marketing 5G transform entire indushigher 5G ARPU by 2030, for example, use cases, and the opportunitries. And when it comes where growing this consumer revenue ties come through enhanced to consumers, what we're at a CAGR of 2.7% by then, as opposed to videos, advertising in-car connectivity and extended seeing is that the use cashaving lat revenue. reality. That’s what consumes are linked to immersive services with virtual reality, augmented real- ers stand to get. ity, mobile cloud gaming. And when it comes to And it’s about being proactive in driving 5G differentiation so that the service providers could the industry side of it, Ericsson’s involved in all the 50 industries which are looking at leveraging grow 34% higher 5G ARPU by 2030, for example, 5G for automation and for digitalisation as well. where growing this consumer revenue at a CAGR And likely we're already seeing use cases across of 2.7% by then, as opposed to having ϐlat revevarious key verticals. Some of these cases we've nue. So the service providers spend to gain a lot already seen and you know about this, we saw 5G and so do the consumers to the services they get. at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when we Ericsson has also established a list of key reclaunched 5G ahead of the 2019 AFL grand ϐinal in ommendations that some of the service providers collaboration with Telstra. might be interested in. And if I touch on a couple We also saw Ericsson partner with Telstra to just brieϐly, we see that service providers should explore what would the bank of the future look establish a high quality project coverage early. like when powered by 5G edge computing. And And we say that because half of the early mover then we see other cases across mining and manu- 5G carriers have already increased their market facturing is a great case where we’re combining share. And the consumer market is deϐinitely an 5G with cloud and edge computing to remove attractive 5G revenue opportunity for the service some of the ϐixed heavy, expensive infrastructure providers, but leveraging the ecosystem partnerand replacing with Automated Guided Vehicles ships to catch it and have a higher share of the 31 and replacing the smarts in robots, moving in in- trillion that will ϐlow from the 5G networks is anto the cloud, making the robots more affordable other recommendation. and more simpler to use. So there’s some of the Service providers we believe should use digital use cases we’re seeing and there’ll be plenty services as a way of differentiating their 5G offermore coming as well. ing and while 5G connectivity remain the biggest revenue driver, the greatest revenue boost will CommsDay: And ϐinally, what about for the aver- come from bundling that with the use cases. age consumer what will they get from 5G that

Driven.

Dynamic.

Dedicated.

Progress doesn’t happen by accident. It takes strong, committed partnerships to overcome obstacles to faster, more efficient communication networks. That’s precisely what you can expect when you work with CommScope.

For more than 40 years, we’ve helped our partners build the wired and wireless networks that connect the globe, the data centers that streamline our lives and the connected commercial spaces that let us all work smarter. Our culture of innovation— always in service to our partners—means we deliver more than just technology. We deliver results that matter. And that’s how now meets next.

Learn more at commscope.com

CommScope: The advantages of converging your assets into a simple, uni ied architecture This sponsored editorial from CommScope examines the potential of network convergence to overcome the disadvantages that come with the diminishing return on investments associated with new and incremental ibre builds.

N

etwork convergence isn’t a new idea, having less backhaul. And most importantly, this apϐirst been described, as far as CommsDay proach calls for the identiϐication of existing ascan ascertain, in 1993! But it’s an idea that has sets which can be leveraged and repurposed to been mostly observed more as an aspiration than support this goal. a reality in the intervening years.

One example from CommScope is the applicaThis can now change. Telcos can now apply tion of wavelength division multiplexing to ϐibre novel and low-risk strategies to repurposing and to create new operating modes. It is typical for reusing their existing network assets. This cretelcos to install ϐibre with a speciϐic purpose in ates multiple beneϐits: the standardisation of in- mind such as backhaul or local loop - and neglect frastructure, the simpliϐication of connectivity, a to take advantage of its multimodal capacities to boost to ϐlexibility, but most importantly, the cre- create new and discrete products. ation of new revenue streams and Applying WDM to the medium, optimisation of infrastructure whether in a new installation or a costs. legacy network, creates what These beneϐits take on an imperCommScope described as “valuable ative in current times where the surplus capacity” that is there for the number of users is increasing raptaking, or more speciϐically, the maridly but more importantly the keting for new products. number of devices and applications CommScope believes this has they use is increasing exponentialparticular appeal in cloud-RAN netly. works. This is because C-RAN archiThe rise of complexity in the detectures connect a cluster of distribErik Gronvall of CommScope mand for connectivity clearly begs uted connection points—such as celthe need for simplicity and innovation in the way lular sites, Wi-Fi access points or similar—and it is delivered. centralises their baseband functions at a remote And by adopting such a strategy, an operator location. The head-end could be kilometres from the end customer. Employing ϐibre fronthaul that even clears the way for enabling the leasing of uses a WDM technology allows vast amounts of currently unused excess capacity to other providnetwork trafϐic to ϐlow without compromising ers. This creates what CommScope describes as “a low-touch but extremely valuable incremental latency or bandwidth. revenue stream that can accelerate capital exCommScope VP Service Provider Strategy and Network Architecture Erik Gronvall told penditure offsets.”

CommsDay: “The ability to hang 5G small cells off CommScope’s vision calls for a genuine conthe edge of a network where you have ϐibre drops verged physical network architecture that handles both high-bandwidth applications and wire- going into homes and being able to use a WDM

overlay across the top of that PON? It's really, really attractive from that perspective. And it only takes, you know, a couple of small passive components at the central ofϐice head and end location to mix those signals in.”

Another key concept pushed by CommScope promotes the unique capabilities created by the physical characteristics of HFC. HFC has the inherent ability to provide AC power via the coaxial cabling. Typically, 15-amp service at 90 V is available, delivering more than enough power for wireless access points and 5G small cells. This becomes a very powerful tool in environments where network densiϐication is required but ϐibre deployment is either too expensive or slow - or both! Importantly, HFC also has an attractive upgrade path as it moves to future versions, massively expanding the available spec-

HFC was the ϐirst network that started to bring together different technologies onto one platform and deliver multiple services over one medium.”

The advantages of these two concepts become even more apparent when applied to operators with open access or wholesale models. This is because they create new revenue streams that enable a superior return on investment and capital at a time when ARPUs and yields are under pressure everywhere.

Gronvall points out that the beneϐits don’t just apply to legacy infrastructure but also in making the case for new builds.

“Milking those assets as much as you can helps your operational costs, but if you're looking to deϐine a case to put out ϐibre in your network today then these new services become a really attractive component of that business plan,” he said.

The way to approach network convergence is

We’ve had suf icient lexibility to just get on with it and let the market and dynamics play.

trum for bandwidth.

Gronvall elaborates, stating that he would argue HFC is an example of an original converged network.

“HFC started as a video distribution network, right? It moved on to residential and then for business services across that same platform, which was not what it was originally designed for. And that's really what we're talking about when we're talking about converged networks, we're talking about putting more services across the same existing platforms that are out there.

for operators to ϐirst examine their current infrastructure and then look at requirements.

To help operators identify what solution best meets their needs, CommScope has created an eBook on Network Convergence. This provides information on how to plan and build a converged network, offers vital technology insights, and helps operators prepare networks for the future.

Register here for a free Network Convergence eBook: https://www.commscope.com/da/apacbroadband-networks/