Small cells improve indoor and outdoor network coverage

·       Small cells have emerged as a promising option to ensure ubiquitous indoor and outdoor connectivity.

·       They are low powered radio access nodes with a network range of 10 meters to 2km and can work on both licensed and unlicensed spectrum.

·           These cells have all the basic characteristics of a conventional base station and are capable of handling high volumes of data traffic.

·     Small cells offer several advantages over macrocells such as improved network coverage, increased capacity in densely populated urban areas and extended the battery life of handsets.

·       Key factors driving small cell demand

·       As per industry estimates, the global small cells market is expected to grow from $12.5 billion in 2017 to $58.7 billion in 2024.

·       The key demand drivers for small cells are:

o   Increasing need for seamless indoor connectivity

o   Increasing adoption of outdoor small cells

o   Surging demand for smartphones and wireless devices

o   Proliferation of IoT and M2M communication

o    

o   Enabling role in 5G roll-out

§  The small cell 5G network market size  is expected to increase from $528 million in 2019 to $3,509 million by 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 37.1%

§  However at a later stage of 5G deployment post-2021 the adoption of small cell network for mmWave is expected to increase with the adoption of IoT and M2M communication.

·       Operator initiatives in India

o   Vodafone Idea  Ltd has partnered with Nokia to roll out its next-generation LTE network across multiple service areas.

o   Under this agreement Nokia will deploy small cells and roll out single radio access network (RAN) and massive multiple inputs multiple output technology for the operator

o   Bharti Airtel too is investing in small cells to improve network coverage in cities.

o   In order to create a hyper-dense network for 5G, small cells will need to be deployed at every 200-250 meters on-street infrastructure such as electricity poles, streets lights, metro pillars, rooftops of public buildings and traditional macro towers.

o   The increasing uptake of in-building solution, particularly small cells has given an opportunity to tower companies to diversify their business operations from pure-play tower services to managed services.

Issues and Challenges

·           Backhaul development

·       The most promising solutions for meeting backhaul requirements for small cell deployments are mmWave technologies including E-band(70-80 GHz) and V band (60GHz)

·    E-band is suitable for high density and high capacity wireless backhaul applications and is ideal for small cell links of 300-500 meters.

Smart Factory- Industry 4.0
Three important elements
1. Communication with each other modules
2. Information on each workpiece
3. Self Organization of modules


Industry 4.0------ MAN MATERIAl and MACHINE is interconnected over internet

5G offers three key things

1. eMBB(enhanced mobile broadband)
2. mMTC(massive machine type communication) connectivity for billions of devices
3. URLLC(ultra-reliable low latency communication) eg autonomous driving, remote surgery, cloud robotics for industry 4.0

Utility tunnels – Examples from around the world

Japan – Shin Sugita duct in Yokohama, Japan is 220Km long common utility duct that has been designed to carry many different kinds of utility lines, including gas, electricity, water, sewage and other types of infrastructure that are indispensable to citizens’ daily lives. Once a common utility duct has been constructed, it is no longer necessary to excavate the street every time something has to be replaced. Furthermore, if an earthquake or other major disaster occurs, the damage can be quickly pinpointed and repaired.

Singapore - Singapore has developed a common services tunnel in the Marina Bay area. This is Southeast Asia’s first multi-utility tunnel.

Germany – Breman has utility networks housed in a cluster of pipes that are located under footways and cycleways.

Taiwan – Taipei has developed 50km of utility tunnels and over 300 km of smaller utility ducts. This allows maintenance to be done without digging up roads, which, in turn, reduces traffic congestion.

Market Update for Connected Cars

·       Revenues from connected cars are projected to grow fivefold, reaching over $35 billion by 2025

·       The US and Europe together accounted for the majority of connected car shipments in 2018

·       China is expected to develop into a key connected car market, accounting for almost one –fourth of global shipments by 2025

Budget Blues

·       The USO Fund is an independent body within the Department of Telecommunications DoT that subsides telecom infrastructure development.

·       As per the estimates in the budget, the government expects a 28% increase in non –auction revenue from the telecom sector at Rs. 505.19 billion during 2019-20, compared to a revenue of Rs 392.45 billion during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019

Smart Transportation

·       Mobile the app is provided for commuters to get the latest information on trains, fares and all facilities provided by BMRCL

·       Planning to introduce a national common mobility card (NCMC)- based AFC system. This will be a Rupay – based smart card system based on the one nation, one card concept

·       

   Effect of Tenancy on Telecom Mergers

    Indus Towers- Bharti Infratel merger, expected to be completed by late 2019, is set to create the world second-largest mobile tower operator, with over 163,000 towers and 36% tower market share in India.

·       The consolidation wave has reduced the number of players to about 5 as of 2019, from around 15 players in 2012.

·       For instance, the recent merger of Vodafone and Idea has resulted in over 557,000 tenancy losses.

·       A further reduction of about 21,000 tenancies is expected in the first half of fiscal 2020.

·       For instance, last year, Vodafone and Idea sold around 20,000 stands alone towers to American Tower Corporation (ATC) for Rs 78 billion.

·       Recently, ATC has acquired Tata Teleservices Limited’s residual stake of around 13% in ATC Telecom Infrastructure for Rs 25 billion.

·       Post merger, Vodafone Idea has the option to sell its 11.15% stake in Indus, which has an implied value of Rs 62 billion in cash at completion.

Sim on Wheels

Telcos tap the connected cars opportunity

·      Telcos play a critical role in the connected car ecosystem as modern cars use e-Sims and Wi-Fi hotspots to communicate with other connected vehicles and IoT devices.

·       IoT technology lies at the heart of the connected cars.

·     Industry is witnessing the emergence of Connected Car 2.0, wherein vehicle-to-everything (V2X) tech. will make it possible for vehicles to communicate with smart traffic signals and even to conduct a transaction at a petrol pump.

·       The connected car segment, one of the fastest-growing application areas of IoT is estimated to generate $40 billion (Euro 36.2 billion) worth of revenues per the year 2020 onwards.

·       US-based AT&T has partnered with car companies such as Audi, Chevrolet, Honda, Ford, Acura, Jaguar, Prsche, and Cadillac to offer in car Wi-Fi services.

·       The in-car, Wi-Fi feature turns the user's car into a powerful hotspot and allows connectivity of up to 10 devices.

·       Using this hotspot several users can stream, browse and share on the go, experiencing 4G long term evolution of wireless connectivity.

·       Vodafone is currently working with more than 70% of European original equipment manufacturers, notably BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, and Daimler.

·       Stolen vehicle recovery is an additional end to end service offered by Vodafone.

·       In Aug 2014, Vodafone acquired Cobra, later consolidated as Vodafone Automotive, which provides a range of end to end services including usage based insurance and a secure operating center for stolen vehicle tracking, vehicle recovery and crash reconstruction

·       Meanwhile, Bosch, Vodafone, and Huawei have been performing trials of the new, high-performance Cellular-V2X tech. in Europe since 2017.

·       The companies are demonstrating that a driver assistance system such as adaptive cruise control not only warns the driver but also automatically adjusts the speed and controls braking.

·       Volvo Car Group has partnered with Ericsson to use the later industrialized Connected Vehicle Cloud (CVC) platform to further expand its digital vehicle services to more than 120 markets worldwide.

·        In India, Hyundai has recently showcased the connected SUV Venue, which is equipped with an inbuilt tamper-proof device powered by Vodafone Idea’s e-SIM.

·       The SUV sports Blue Link, Hyundai’s global technology to be launched in the Indian market with 33 features including 10 India- specific features.

·       In April 2019, a customized solution developed by Unlimit in partnership with Cisco and Airtel powered the connected experience in MG Hector.

·       The connected mobility solution is also Intel Protocol Version 6 ready, making it the first e-SIM enabled internet car in India which will redefine connected mobility.

·       In 2017, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited signed a contract with Airwaire Tech. to offer the latter connected car IoT devices to Indian customers.

·       Under this partnership, AirWire Connected Car devices will be manufactured in India.