In the soap opera that has become contemporary politics, every idea seems to generate vast amounts of polarized hysteria. Take, for instance, the seemingly innocuous announcement by Britain’s opposition Labour party in the run-up to the forthcoming general election of a plan to provide every home and business with a fiber broadband connection. That idea was simultaneously decried as a crackpot communist scheme and heralded as a visionary idea to revolutionize the country.

It was, of course, neither. But what it did—intentionally or not, and whatever your personal politics—was highlight the indispensable role that fiber broadband plays in the future of every developed and developing nation.

The future of communications is wireless, but the future of wireless is fixed.

The politics of 5G

It’s true that the future of communications is wireless, but the future of wireless is fixed. 5G mobile technology is going to be the star, there’s no doubt about that. But without fiber supporting it, 5G’s star will not shine nearly as bright nor as far as it should.

The technical arguments for why 5G needs fiber have been well documented and, fundamentally, come down to the simple math of needing high-capacity backhaul for the massive amounts of low-latency, high-bandwidth traffic that 5G will create. What’s less well documented are the economic and political arguments for supporting 5G with fiber.

Firstly, there is a simple fact that better communications increase GDP. From the invention of the telegraph to successive generations of mobile technology, each period of augmented connectivity is accompanied by an economic boost. Consequently, there is a clear correlation between a nation’s wealth, its mobile performance and fiber penetration. In other words, the regions benefiting the most from wireless communication have the best fixed access networks.

In providing that connectivity, it is the converged operators—those operating both fixed and wireless access networks—that demonstrate the best returns. Convergence tends to bring operational efficiencies, cost efficiencies and more customer value in the shape of bundled wired/wireless offers. In recent years, these returns have been driving M&A activity between mobile-only and fixed-only operators.

High fiber availability = faster 5G deployments = faster time to market

These macro-level observations on the mutually beneficial relationship between fiber and 5G are backed up by some micro-level explanations.

Firstly, avoiding 5G is not an option, at least not for long. ARPUs from current mobile services are falling around 2 percent per annum. 5G is expected to provide a 3 percent per annum uplift through innovative business applications and premium consumer services. But to realize these new 5G revenues, operators must invest not only in 5G but in mobile backhaul as well.

There are only two backhaul technologies that can cope with the high-throughput and low-latency demands of 5G: microwave and fiber. Microwave is the lower-CAPEX option but can only cope with 5G performance levels for a single hop in the range of about a kilometer. What’s more, 5G networks will require significantly more radio cells than 3G or 4G due to the increased capacity and reduced range of 5G. As a result, the density of backhaul capacity for 5G is many times higher than 4G. Whether operators choose an all-fiber or a hybrid microwave–fiber backhaul strategy, there will always be a need for a significant investment in fiber.

Richer nations with well-developed fiber networks can look forward to a 25 percent return on capital within 11 years.

So how do operators turn a buck? Some detailed analysis from Nokia Bell Labs paints a difficult picture. While every 5G deployment will make a loss during its first few years, the richer nations with well-developed fiber networks can look forward to a 25 percent return on capital within 11 years.

However, operators that need to deploy a significant amount of fiber could see a 60 percent drop in their return on capital in the first five years. That’s an untenable prospect, so it’s no wonder that the early 5G announcements are primarily coming from operators in countries that already have high fiber availability. Everyone else needs to come up with some innovative fiber investment strategies if 5G is going to take off.

Sharing is caring

The obvious solution is for the fiber investment to be shared somehow. The idea behind any common infrastructure investments—be they road, rail, electricity or communications—is that it makes economic sense for the cost of the network deployment (which has a long payback period) to be communized and for profits made from delivering innovative services by competing service providers to be privatized.

In our future 5G world, a common fiber network would ensure that operators and enterprises have open and economical access to fiber for 5G backhaul needs and so they can focus on the rapid development of service innovations for industrial customers.

Consider Stockholm in Sweden, where a public body responsible for a city-wide fiber network currently reaches 90 percent of homes and 100 percent of businesses. It is no surprise that Stockholm was one of the first cities in the world to be 5G-ready. A recent FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) Council Europe study claims that where there is FTTH, the incremental cost to make the network 5G-ready are marginal: you virtually get 5G fiber connectivity for free.

Similar fiber/5G symbiosis can be found in Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Qatar. Different countries have, of course, different means and different starting points. Nevertheless, there are some common principles emerging:

• A community- or country-wide commitment to and prioritization of digital connectivity in order to drive economic prosperity and living standards.
• A joined-up approach to the infrastructure where transport, utility and communication networks are deployed in cooperation with and consideration of each other. This is perhaps where developing economies can play catch-up, building out their fiber networks as they develop other core infrastructure.
• Governmental organizations and private enterprises cooperating to ensure fair opportunity for incumbent operators, alternative operators, and investors.

The economics of fiber infrastructure suggest that 5G’s potential won’t be realized by relying on market forces alone. A concerted socio-political effort will be needed as well.

Click here to read the full article from Nokia.

Click here to read the full article from AT&T.

The government’s $42.5 billion investment in physical broadband infrastructure could be a game-changer for getting 5G to more places, from suburbs to rural communities.

During the pandemic, Liora Bram got even more accustomed to juggling work with family. As life began to open up in the spring, and her children returned to their regular routines of school and sports practices, Bram found herself running her small public relations business from her car as she waited for school pickup or on the sidelines at a baseball game.

She expected her new iPhone 13 and 5G wireless service from Verizon Wireless to help her take her home office mobile. But that’s not what happened. More often than not, she’s found herself unable to access critical apps like Microsoft Outlook because she can’t get a signal. Now she’s just accepted that in some parts of town she has no access.

Bram said she’s chalked up the poor service quality to the fact that she doesn’t live in an urban center and that the 5G signal just may not be robust enough yet. Her town of North Grafton, Massachusetts, is about 40 miles west of Boston. Her community of roughly 7,800 residents isn’t a dense suburban market, but she noted that it’s not exactly rural either.

“I just assumed that a 5G device and service would mean everything would be faster,” she said. “My phone is my lifeline for managing my work and my household. I just don’t understand why I can’t replicate the connection and experience I get at home wherever I am. That to me was the promise of 5G, and that’s not what I’m getting right now.

Kevin King, a director of communications for Verizon, said he isn’t sure why Bram is having issues, since the company’s coverage map shows that its 5G Ultra Wideband service is offered in her town. He also said the company is in the midst of expanding its C-band midband spectrum, which today covers more than 100 million people around the country and is expected to cover at least 175 million by the end of the year.

Still, Bram isn’t alone in her frustration. While we’re still a long way from seeing any of the much-hyped futuristic applications that 5G was supposed to bring, like autonomous vehicles or augmented reality, even the promised higher download speeds and super responsive networks have been inconsistent or simply unavailable to most people, especially those who live outside big cities or dense suburban communities.

But there’s a potential answer to her 5G coverage issue: more fiber.

Fiber-optic lines buried underground or strung on utility poles might seem counterintuitive when all you hear about are ads talking about wireless everything, but an investment in old-fashioned physical infrastructure is critical to ensure those wireless signals can get to more places and people.  That’s because those signals don’t actually travel that far — hopping between your phone and a local cell tower or base station that’s hooked into that physical infrastructure.

There’s reason to be hopeful on the fiber front. The federal government plans to pour more than $42.5 billion into broadband as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law in 2021. The money, which is being distributed through the US Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration directly to states, is supposed to ensure all Americans have access to affordable, consistent high-speed internet.

Experts have called it a historic opportunity to finally end the digital divide. While the program appears intent on getting fiber connected directly to people’s homes, wireless experts say it could also provide a much needed boost to core infrastructure that can be tapped for mobile 5G in less densely populated areas and rural regions.

Getting broadband — both wired and wireless — to more places is critical as the affordable housing crisis pushes more people beyond the suburbs in rural and exurban areas. That includes North Grafton, which is close enough to commute to a big city, but not dense enough to be considered a true suburb. Those regions have traditionally suffered from poor service because carriers worry there are too few customers to justify the investment.

“It’s a big deal,” said Ben Moncrief, executive vice president of C Spire operations in Alabama. The Mississippi-based regional service provider has been building a fiber network throughout Mississippi and Alabama to support its own regional wireless network and deliver fiber broadband to homes and businesses. “This kind of money, especially in rural areas, could accelerate 5G networks and help lots of small carriers get to places they otherwise weren’t able to get to because the population density is too low.”

But wireless experts concede that access to fiber isn’t the only help needed from the feds to make 5G in rural areas a reality.  Rural and smaller wireless carriers still need federal programs to help fund the deployment of next-generation service in these markets, too.

“Fiber alone is not going to get us nationwide 5G,” said Tim Donovan, senior vice president of legislative affairs for the Competitive Carrier Association. “It’s an important part, but there’s a lot more to it.”

5G needs fiber

It doesn’t matter which “G” or generation of wireless technology we’re talking about, all wireless networks need to hand off traffic to high-speed, hardwired infrastructure.

“The first rule of building a wireless network is to get signals out of the air and into the ground at the first available point,” said Gary Bolton, who heads the Fiber Broadband Association. “It’s like building a house, you need a strong foundation of infrastructure. And fiber is key, because it’s future proof.”

It’s this future-proofing that led C Spire to start investing in fiber infrastructure in the early 2000s. More than 20 years later, the regional carrier, which operates throughout Mississippi, the Memphis metropolitan area, the Florida Panhandle and parts of Alabama including Mobile, has several thousand miles of fiber-optic cable it uses for backhaul for its wireless business as well as a fiber-to-the-home broadband service.

“The company leadership recognized a long time ago that fiber was essential to improving the quality of the customers’ wireless experience,” Moncrief said. “It’s just capable of carrying such huge capacity.”

The investment has allowed the company to keep up with larger national players AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile in offering the latest 5G service.

There are two big technical reasons why fiber backhaul is critical to 5G. First, because 5G is able to connect more devices and will eventually offer real-time feedback to fuel applications, like self-driving cars and advanced augmented reality experiences, it needs lots of capacity to carry all that data.

Second, true 5G relies on a mix of so-called midband and millimeter wave spectrum that operate at much higher frequencies than the low-band spectrum used to deploy 4G LTE. Because this spectrum is higher frequency, its transmission range is considerably shorter than low-band frequencies used for 4G. This means 5G networks that use midband frequencies in rural areas will need many more cell towers. And those cell towers will need access to more fiber backhaul.

“The future of 5G networks and really any next-generation network depends upon our ability to densify, enrich and build out as much fiber as quickly as we can,” said Chip Pickering, a former Republican congressman from Mississippi and now CEO of Incompas, a trade association advocating for competition policy across all networks. “Whether it’s 5G, low-orbit satellite, fixed wireless, small cell wireless network; the more fiber we have around the country, the more it enables all the other types of network technologies to be high capacity, highly reliable, and redundant.”

The promise of federal money

Building wireless and broadband networks in rural America is incredibly expensive, and in some places, it’s nearly impossible due to the terrain. But in most cases, the real barrier is low population density. Broadband and wireless providers simply won’t offer service if they can’t get enough customers to pay for it.

It’s a problem that policymakers have faced for decades as they try to close the digital divide. Despite billions of dollars being spent by the federal government to subsidize the cost of building infrastructure throughout the country, the lack of connectivity in rural America still persists.

This is where NTIA’s Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program and other programs funded by the Jobs Act come in. The Jobs Act allocated $42.5 billion to go toward building broadband access in areas of the country where it doesn’t yet exist. NTIA has also established another $1 billion program to provide funding for middle mile projects, which is the part of the internet infrastructure serving regional networks.

As part of its rules, the agency stated it will prioritize projects that will “provision service via end-to-end fiber-optic facilities to each end-user premises.” The main objective by making fiber a priority is to ensure that federal dollars are being spent on infrastructure that can be easily and affordably upgraded in the future. But NTIA also noted the importance of leveraging the fiber for other technology, like next-generation wireless because “new fiber deployments will facilitate the deployment and growth of 5G and other advanced wireless services, which rely extensively on fiber for essential backhaul,” the agency said in its published rules.

Access to fiber could be especially beneficial to smaller rural carriers, most of which can’t afford to build their own fiber backhaul networks.  According to a cost model analysis commissioned by CCA in 2021, the total price tag to offer ubiquitous 5G coverage in unserved rural markets would be about $36 billion. Access to fiber backhaul would put a big dent in that cost.

“If the fiber is readily available for carriers to access for backhaul, we can take that cost down by $6 billion,” CCA’s Donovan said. “So that’s a significant savings that can help get 5G built everywhere, even in the most rural and remote areas.”

Not as easy as it sounds

If NTIA is able to fulfill its mission of getting fiber deeper into more communities, it could be a game-changer for 5G in rural markets. And 5G in these markets means that the aspirational applications like autonomous vehicles or round-the-clock mobile medical monitoring can actually become reality, because to truly make these applications useful, a network needs to be ubiquitous even for folks just driving or passing through those regions.

But Donovan offers one big caveat: Small carriers still need access to this infrastructure, which is easier said than done. He said there are places today in rural areas where fiber already exists, but smaller carriers still can’t get access to it.

“If a fiber provider won’t make it available for a reasonable price, you basically have an interstate highway without an on-ramp,” he said.

Donovan also emphasized that backhaul is only one piece of the puzzle. Smaller rural carriers still need federal funding and support through the Federal Communications Commission’s Universal Service Fund programs to make 5G a reality in rural and less densely populated regions of the country.

“We’ve been building wireless networks for 40 years now in this country,” he said. “If there’s a place that hasn’t been served yet, there’s probably a reason. Financial support through USF and other federal programs specific to the 5G deployment are still going to be an important part of fixing this issue, along with having access to wireless spectrum.”

For Bram and the hundreds of thousands of others out there waiting for 5G to truly come to their town, the ubiquitous coverage can’t come soon enough.

“Right now it feels like things were actually better with my old 4G phone and service,” she said. “And that’s really frustrating. All I want is for things to work consistently, so I can stop stressing.”

Click here to read the full article from CNET.

Apple’s long-expected switch to internally developed 5G modems is clearly moving forward. The iPhone maker has struck a “multibillion-dollar” deal that will have Broadcom develop components for 5G and other wireless connectivity. Some of the parts will be made in American facilities, including a key Broadcom manufacturing base in Fort Collins, Colorado.

The companies didn’t say which products would use the 5G tech, but the arrangement isn’t necessarily limited to the iPhone. Apple is believed to have started work on in-house 5G in 2020, a year after buying the majority of Intel’s phone modem business. The company hasn’t been shy about its plans, as it has recruited 5G developers and set up shop in Qualcomm’s hometown of San Diego. It also established a wireless-focused office in Munich.

Rumors suggest Apple’s 5G modems will first reach shipping products in late 2024 or early 2025. Neither Apple nor Broadcom has confirmed this, but Qualcomm told CNBC in March it assumes it won’t provide iPhone modems in 2024.

This could be a significant blow to Qualcomm. While the company has diversified its chipmaking with in-car tech and low-power hardware, it’s still heavily dependent on cellular modem sales and counts Apple as one of its largest customers. It will have to lean more on Android phone makers to bolster its bottom line. Qualcomm chips for Windows PCs have struggled to compete against x86-based equivalents.

Apple’s anticipated move isn’t surprising. The company has long tried to reduce its dependency on third parties, most notably switching to its own CPUs starting with the A4-based iPad in 2010. While Apple may need Broadcom’s help, it won’t be closely tied to Qualcomm’s hardware release schedule — and might not risk expensive patent disputes, either. In theory, Apple could claim a technological edge by building 5G modems uniquely optimized for its devices.

Click here to read the full article from engadget.

In today’s interconnected world, access to the Internet has become increasingly crucial for social, economic, and educational opportunities. However, a significant digital divide still exists, separating those with reliable internet access from those without. The emergence of 5G technology has raised hopes for bridging this divide and creating a more inclusive digital landscape. This article explores the impact of 5G on the global digital divide, analyzing its potential to bridge the gap and provide equal opportunities for all.

Understanding the Digital Divide

The digital divide refers to the gap between individuals and communities with access to modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) and those without. This divide encompasses various factors, including infrastructure, affordability, digital literacy, and socio-economic disparities. Without proper access to ICTs, individuals and communities are limited in their ability to access information, educational resources, job opportunities, and social connections.

Verizon this week slimmed down the number of its 5G pricing options. But the operator continues to position its speedy midband 5G network as a premium offering that customers need to pay extra for.

That, according to one financial analyst firm, may not fly in an industry where Verizon’s competitors aren’t charging extra for fast 5G.

“Trying to convince customers they have to pay extra for 5G UWB [ultra wideband] service is likely a losing battle as consumers are likely aware other providers will provide midband 5G for free,” wrote the financial analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets in a note to investors of Verizon’s new pricing plans.

But the executive driving Verizon’s new 5G strategy argued that the operator is making the right decision by putting 5G at the heart of its new pricing gambit.

“It’s the network,” said Verizon’s new Consumer Group CEO, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, during a recent investor event, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. He said Verizon’s “ultra wideband” 5G network is the operator’s “advanced network with all the bells and whistles.”

He added: “We have the best network on Earth.”

That, of course, is up for debate. Although Verizon continues to cite research showing the superiority of its 5G network, its rivals also make the same argument based on other competing research.

Broadly, Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T are all in the midst of upgrading their 5G networks with midband spectrum in an effort to offer faster connections. But T-Mobile has enjoyed a headstart on the effort, and partly as a result is gaining customers amid an improvement in customers’ perception of its network.

Going from six to two

In its new announcement this week, Verizon said it would replace its previous pricing plans (dubbed “Mix & Match” and stretching across six options) with a new offering called “myPlan” that offers just two choices: Unlimited Welcome for $65 per month for one line of service, and Unlimited Plus for $80 per month for a single line of service.

The main difference between the two choices is that Unlimited Welcome doesn’t give customers access to Verizon’s “ultra wideband” 5G network and Unlimited Plus does. Unlimited Plus also offers 30GB of hotspot data and won’t cap or slow customers’ speeds. Unlimited Welcome presumably will include caps and throttles, though Verizon officials didn’t provide details. Update: After the plans launched, Stetson Doggett noted on Twitter that Unlimited Welcome will connect to Verizon’s “ultra wideband” network but will throttle speeds to 25 Mbit/s.

Verizon’s “ultra wideband” 5G network runs over its midband and highband, millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum holdings, while its standard 5G network only works on its slower, lowband network. (The operator is poised to add more midband spectrum into its network later this year thanks to ongoing C-band clearing efforts.)

Verizon doesn’t specify exactly how fast its various 5G options are, but noted that its “ultra wideband” 5G network is 10x faster than its 4G network.

After customers choose which flavor of Verizon 5G they want, then they can add “perks” to their plan ranging from international data to additional hotspot data to the Disney+ streaming service. Each “perk” costs $10 per month. Verizon’s Sampath said Verizon earns an average of 30% gross margin on the sale of such perks.

The wider context

Verizon’s new pricing plans come at an important time for the company.

First, the company is struggling to reverse almost a year of customer losses. Those losses stand in stark contrast to the millions of new customers that T-Mobile, AT&T, Charter Communications and Comcast have gained during the same period.

In part to address the situation, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg recently put Sampath in charge of Verizon’s consumer business after a short stint leading the company’s business division, among other executive shuffling. And the changes appear to continue to ripple through the company; Verizon’s longtime marketing chief, Diego Scotti, recently left the company, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Sampath, for his part, appears to be making a big bet on Verizon’s new plans. He argued they would help rekindle growth among Verizon’s customer base.

Moreover, like other executives in the space, he predicted that overall growth in the wireless industry will slow in the coming months. He said he expects the industry to eventually grow by 5-6 million customers each year, rather than the 10 million-customer-per-year pace it’s been growing in recent years.

That slowdown might be a good thing for Verizon, he said. “It’s actually better for an incumbent like us to continue driving more pricing power in the market,” Sampath argued.

Some remain skeptical.

“Verizon’s new rate plans will raise prices for many consumers who opt to purchase add-on services,” wrote the KeyBanc analysts. “Both of these are likely headwinds for gross additions. Verizon’s basic pricing is still 2x+ the comparable offering of the Cable providers. Further, Verizon has been trying to convince investors of their ability to migrate consumers to higher tier rate plans, and while this could be ARPA [average revenue per account] accretive if multiple ‘perks’ are purchased, we don’t believe consumers receive incremental value or allow Verizon to capture incremental value.”

Click here to read the full article from Light Reading.

5G is a game changer for mobile connectivity, including mobile connectivity to the cloud. The technology provides high speed and low latency when connecting smartphones and IoT devices to cloud infrastructure. 5G networks are a critical part of all infrastructure layers between the end user and the end service; these networks transmit sensitive data that can be vital for governments and businesses, not to mention individuals. As a result, 5G networks are a prime target for attackers. For this reason, cybersecurity has been a key consideration in developing the 5G standard.

5G encompasses robust security features that guarantee confidentiality, integrity, and availability of network services and user data. In this article, Seva Vayner, Product Owner of Gcore’s Edge Cloud service, gives a deep dive into five of 5 G’s cutting-edge security measures. He also delves into the pivotal performance capabilities of 5G, accompanied by use cases that demonstrate how contemporary, cloud-native enterprises can leverage this transformative technology to their advantage.

What Is 5G

5G is the new standard of wireless networks that supersedes 4G (LTE). It is designed to connect people and devices at fast speeds with low latency.

The throughput of 5G far exceeds the throughput of 4G. In theory, 5G offers up to 20 Gbps in the downlink. In comparison, 4G only offers up to 100 Mbps, 200 times less than 5G. According to the 2023 CELLSMART survey, in practice, outdoor tests show that 5G operators in the US and EU provide close to 1 Gbps for the downlink channel.

As for 5G latency, it can be up to 10 ms (vs. 30 ms in 4G)—but only in a test environment. In reality, latency depends on many factors. For example, Ericsson’s tests in the US showed that 5G latency is typically around 20 ms but no more than 50 ms, which is virtually unnoticeable to humans. This is good news for gaming, where latency higher than 50 ms is critical.

5 Must-Know Security Features of 5G

Essential 5G security methods and technologies include encryption, privacy protection, authentication and authorization, network slicing, and network equipment security assurance. Let’s look at them in more detail.

1. Encryption

Encryption protects user data and network traffic from eavesdropping, interception, and tampering. 5G uses strong encryption algorithms such as AES, ZUC, SNOW 3G, and HMAC-SHA-256. The encryption features include a separation of the security keys between the core network segments. Also offered is fast synchronization of the security contexts in the access network (base stations) and the core network.

2. Privacy Protection

In 5G networks, privacy protection is ensured through the use of encryption and various other techniques. These strategies effectively guard against significant threats like IMSI/TMSI-catchers, which attackers commonly use to identify and track network subscribers. Mobile operators can implement the Elliptic Curve Integrated Encryption Scheme mechanism to conceal and regularly update a subscriber’s temporary identifier (TMSI). In addition, operators can detect false base stations, which are often the source of IMSI/TMSI-catchers.

3. Authentication and Authorization

Authentication and authorization in 5G is based on the Authentication and Key Agreement method (5G AKA). It includes a robust authentication mechanism to verify the identity of users, devices, and network elements. Unlike 4G, 5G doesn’t require physical SIM cards for credentials, but also supports pre-shared keys, certificates, and tokens. Mobile operators can choose the authentication credentials and authentication methods best suited to their customers and IoT devices. For example, traditional SIM cards are suitable for mobile phones, while digital credentials are more appropriate for simple IoT devices equipped with eSIM.

4. Network Slicing

Network slicing allows the creation of virtual networks for different services and applications. For instance, a subscribing company can use one network slice for high-priority employees with access to corporate services, and another slice for low-priority IoT warehouse sensors that transmit data to storage in a public cloud. Each network slice can be assigned specific security policies and protocols, helping to isolate and protect data and services.

5. NESAS

NESAS, or the Network Equipment Security Assurance Scheme, ensures the secure implementation of telecom equipment that mobile operators use in their networks, including 5G. Developed by 3GPP and GSMA, NESAS establishes security requirements and rules for successful infrastructure audits. NESAS takes into account both local and global cybersecurity regulations, for example, the EU cybersecurity certification framework. It is mandatory for vendors and mobile operators to comply with NESAS requirements.

How 5G Benefits Cloud-Native Companies

With its low latency, higher bandwidth, and extensive security measures, 5G strengthens the security of cloud connectivity. This upgrade enables secure and reliable transmission of sensitive information as well as real-time data processing. 5G allows organizations to confidently use cloud services to store and manage their data, reducing the risk of data breaches.

5G offers superior fault tolerance when compared to cable connections, primarily due to the inherent resilience of wireless channels in mitigating communication failures. With a cable connecting an office or factory to a provider, it might be necessary to build a backup connection through an optical fiber or radio. But 5G has a reserved channel from the outset. If one base station fails, others will take over automatically, making downtime unlikely.

In addition, 5G network slicing capabilities provide companies with dedicated virtual networks within their IT system. This enables better isolation and segregation of data, applications, and services, improving overall security. Enterprises can create customized network slices for specific tasks or particular departments. This feature ensures that critical data and applications remain separate and protected.

Where 5G Can Be Useful in Conjunction with the Cloud

Healthcare. Doctors can use tools like a cloud AI platform to remotely monitor patient health data in real time while remaining mobile via 5G. After the medical examination, high-resolution medical device images can be uploaded to the Cloud AI platform, processed, and returned to a doctor for further use. 5G also helps with ML diagnostics: a cloud ML application can receive images or other medical data over 5G for disease prediction, detection, and classification.

Secure access to corporate tools. With 5G data protection, access control management is enabled for each SIM card. Authorized employees can securely access corporate digital assets, data, and applications while working remotely without the need for a VPN or firewall is required.

Streaming. With 5G and cloud services like CDN, streamers, bloggers, and podcasters can enjoy uninterrupted, high-quality, live video and audio streaming. 5G facilitates the fusion of interactive elements within live video streams while instant video analytics generate real-time metrics that enrich the overall live event experience.

Smart factories. Manufacturers can predict maintenance needs and detect potential problems or failures by monitoring equipment data with IoT devices. They can use ML cloud services for analytics, while 5G provides a secure and fast connection to their cloud infrastructure.

Automotive IoT. Because of their performance capabilities, 5G networks are a superior means of data transmission in industries. In the self-driving vehicle industry, data from the vehicle’s sensors and cameras can be easily sent to the cloud at high speeds, and then processed by cloud AI tools.

Gcore’s 5G eSIM Platform

The 5G eSIM platform from the global cloud and CDN provider Gcore provides a powerful example of a collaborative 5G and cloud solution. The 5G eSIM platform offers access to IaaS, PaaS, AI infrastructure, a streaming platform, and other Gcore services over 5G. Gcore’s customers can securely connect to their cloud infrastructure via a direct private channel from more than 150 countries worldwide. 5G eSIM ensures secure data transmission through advanced encryption algorithms and security protocols.

Here is the architecture of the platform:

Figure 1. Gcore’s 5G eSIM Platform architecture

Besides the 5G security features that are built-in in the standard, the 5G eSIM platform provides:

• Control of traffic consumption for configuring a white list and a black list. These allow or deny specific protocols, URLs, and IPs.
• Workgroup management for assigning employees’ names to eSIMs and grouping them by function, seniority, or department.
• Detailed reporting system to view the report by group, period, eSIM, country, and more.
• Personal eSIMs for each employee to assign them a corporate mobile number. Employees can access the internet and internal resources from a remote location without the need for a corporate VPN and without roaming charges.
• Secured individual routing and traffic filtering to ensure protection against cyberattacks and data leakage.

Figure 2. Gcore’s 5G eSIM control panel

In addition, Gcore provides functionality within its Cloud to secure all customer services:

• Identity and access management
• Firewall with flexible security group configuration
• Secrets management
• IaaS protection

Customers can combine these cloud features with the benefits and features offered by the 5G eSIM platform.

Conclusion

5G has excellent performance capabilities and advanced security features such as encryption, network slicing, and 5G AKA. 5G networks are more resilient and flexible than LAN and WLAN networks; this makes 5G more effective in terms of technological advancements, business interests, and compliance with security requirements. As a result, 5G networks help businesses evolve faster without reducing the level of infrastructure protection.

Click here to read the full article from The Hacker News.

AUSTIN – Big 5G Event – Private 5G remains a hot topic, and it was certainly front and center here at the recent Big 5G Event. In this interview, Omdia analyst Pablo Tomasi discusses recent developments.

Tomasi, the principal analyst for private networks at research and consulting firm Omdia, says that private 5G players continue to discuss where and how developments will work at the network’s edge. Such discussions often revolve around whether enterprise customers will run their private network operations on their own premises or at a nearby computing location.

He also says that private 5G discussions often involve the role of Wi-Fi networks. Private 5G proponents have positioned their offerings as an alternative to Wi-Fi but increasingly are touting their offerings as a complement to Wi-Fi.

Finally, Tomasi says that private 5G providers will now address the role of open RAN technology in the space. But he cautions that it’s still early days for open RAN, particularly in private 5G.

Click here to read the article from Light Reading.

AUSTIN – Big 5G Event – Paradise Mobile is close to finishing its 5G network buildout and is ready to kick off the next step in its broad strategy: opening its operations to developers, said CEO Sam Tabbara.

Speaking here at the Big 5G Event, Tabbara explained that Paradise Mobile is building a cutting-edge 5G network across Bermuda. The network isn’t huge – it spans Bermuda’s roughly 20 square miles with a handful of transmission sites – but it runs mainly in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud using software and hardware from vendor Mavenir. That design is far different from most established telecom networks.

The initial goal of the Paradise Mobile network is to provide speedy 5G services to residents and tourists on the island. But Tabbara explained that the company also plans to offer its network to developers looking to test next-generation services on a cutting-edge, cloud-based network architecture.

Ultimately, Paradise Mobile hopes to offer its network as a kind of public test bed that others in the 5G ecosystem can use to prove out new technologies and business models that they can then export to other, bigger markets.

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From time-to-time, important technologies merge and change the world forever. This is what happened when cellphone, internet, digital camera and GPS technologies merged into today’s smartphones.

Smartphones were less the invention of a new technology than an economic and engineering innovation that integrated technologies previously considered quite separate. We may be on the verge of the next major technology integration with the merger of satellite communications (satcom) with cellular communications (cellcom).

Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened a complex, far-reaching proceeding in which it proposes to integrate satellite and cellular communications in a way that would allow smartphones to communicate through either a cell tower or a satellite. The proceeding is revolutionary because it proposes to integrate what has until now been considered two utterly different technologies and completely separate regulatory environments.

As recently as the 1990s, it could have been compared to combining a freezer with an oven or a hunting license with a driver’s license. This initiative would classify satcom using one’s smartphone as a “supplement” to one’s cellular service when no cell service is available. I believe, however, that it represents only the first step in the merger of these two important technologies.

This results from dramatic changes in the technologies, economics and applications of both satellite and cellular communications. Over time, it opens the possibility of redefining how we think about engaging in every online activity, from social media to telephone, video, browsing, email and online shopping, banking, voting, gaming and more. To understand why this is difficult and important, we need to understand why cellular and satellite communications have been considered so different.

Communications satellite and cellular communications technologies have both been around for decades but viewed as entirely separate from each other. (Full disclosure: I am author of a textbook on the history of mobile satellite communications.) Due largely to America’s space race with the Soviets and the role of satellite-based communications in America’s global military footprint, satcom entered military and commercial services in the 1960s mainly to link fixed satellite dishes located thousands of miles apart.

The technology consists of terminals on the ground sending and receiving voice, data and video to and from a satellite in orbit overhead. One type of satellite technology consists of large satellites in a very high (22,000-mile-high) orbit where the satellites appear to be fixed stationary in the sky; while another technology uses smaller satellites in low (200-500 mile-high) orbits, where the satellites appear to be moving across the sky.

Satcom historically required very expensive rockets to place each satellite in orbit, enormous and expensive satellites and powerful two-way radios both on the ground and in orbit. Because satellites simultaneously transmit to and from many nations, from the outset, their radio frequencies and orbital slots have been coordinated and licensed by the United Nation’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU.)

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