Vietnam to issue 5G licenses in 2022 after pandemic delays
Vietnam says it plans to issue licenses for 5G wireless service this year with coverage to start in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and several other urban areas.
The country’s top three operator’s military-owned Viettel, Vinaphone and MobiFone -- will enter the market after operating trials in 16 provinces and cities.
Commercial services have been delayed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and other factors which delayed the installation of base stations.
Vietnam’s major telcos have agreed to share 5G infrastructure in an effort to streamline capital investment and promote the shift to 5G services.
Nokia and Tele2 to expand 5G partnership in the Baltics
Nokia has announced that it is extending its partnership with Tele2 to deploy 5G RAN in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in a long-term deal.
Nokia will provide equipment from its latest ReefShark System on chip-powered Airscale equipment portfolio for Tele2’s nationwide radio network.
The rollout will begin once Tele2 has acquired sufficient spectrum with auctions for both low and high-band frequencies happening next year.
Nokia has previously partnered with Tele2 on 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G network deployments in the Baltics since 1996.
AT&T and Verizon CEOs reject US 5G deployment delay request
The CEOs of AT&T and Verizon have rejected a request to delay the planned January 5 introduction of new 5G wireless services over aviation safety concerns.
U.S. transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Steve Dickson had asked AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg late Friday for a commercial deployment delay of no more than two weeks.
The aviation industry and FAA raised concerns about the potential interference of 5G with sensitive aircraft electronics that could disrupt flights.
The companies stated that while they would not deploy 5G around airports for six months, they could not limit the broader introduction of C-Band spectrum.
They said this would be "an irresponsible abdication of the operating control required to deploy world-class and globally competitive communications networks."
Pakistan not yet ‘5G ready’ report says
Pakistan is not yet ready to introduce 5G services according to a report published by World Bank.
This is a result of several factors including the lack of large contiguous blocks of affordable spectrum, broader access to fibre backhaul and widespread availability of affordable 5G smartphones.
The report was commissioned by the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and was aimed at examining Pakistan’s readiness for 5G.
The Pakistani mobile network operators (MNOs) have jointly stated that “The state of readiness of any project is fundamentally intertwined with both demand and supply-side factors and the enabling framework (often a collaboration between public and private sector initiatives) and commercial viability.
5G services to launch in India’s metros in 2022
Telecom operators in India have established 5G trial sites in several locations across India according to a Department of Telecom (DoT) report ahead of a wider launch later this year.
Local reports say that telcos including Airtel, Jio and Vodafone Idea have moved ahead with 5G trials in cities such as Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Nagar.
“These metros and big cities would be the first places for the launch of 5G services in the country, next year,” the report states.
In September 2021, a reference was sent to sector regulator TRAI, seeking recommendations for the 5G spectrum auction and various modalities such as reserve price, band plan, block size, the quantum of spectrum to be auctioned.
