Connectivity Technology Blog

Manufacturing is undergoing a major generational shift. Industry 4.0, the digitisation and advancement of the manufacturing processes and ecosystem, is set to create far more flexible, efficient and sustainable production lines. 5G for IoT underpins this transformation by enabling manufacturing companies and their supply chain partners the opportunity to utilise emerging technologies such as AI and machine vision to give vastly improved visibility over all aspects of their business. At MWC 2021, GSMA hosted 5G IoT for Industry 4.0 Session that focused on how modern 5G networks are able to provide a tailored, capable and intelligent solutions to enhance the end to end manufacturing process. The video from that sesession is embedded below. You can jump to specific timestamp to watch the relevant part: 00:00 Opening Keynote: 5G IoT for Manufacturing - Aruna Srinivasan, Executive Director, IoT, GSMA ( slides ) 06:41 Panel 1: 5G Networks for Industry 4.0 27:14 Keynote: 5G IoT and Industry 4...

Fibre-to-the-room (FTTR) is a new kind of in-premises networking technology which is based on optical fibre communication. With the benefit of optical fibre, FTTR will provide high-bandwidth and reliable transmission. It is envisaged that the topology and functionalities of FTTR technologies may be different from the current fibre-based technologies in transport and access network, and consequently it is necessary to understand the use cases of FTTR and derive the corresponding network requirements for subsequently developing specifications. Earlier this year, I blogged about the ETSI ISG F5G that aims to study the fixed-network evolution required to match and further enhance the benefits that 5G has brought to mobile networks and communications. The intention of F5G is that it will define improvements with respect to previous solutions and the new characteristics of the fifth-generation fixed network. This will open up new opportunities by comprehensively applying fiber technology to...

One of the biggest challenges with UAVs and Drones is that there are no harmonized regulations allowing aerial UEs worldwide. While different countries may have different regulations, work like the LTE Aerial Profile is intended to standardize on an approach to remove concerns of interference with ground based users. When it is implemented by the MNOs, the policy will adapt to using LTE for drones.  In Europe there are efforts from European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to enable Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) in a safe and secure manner. The operators can help supporting in this area by, first of all, having a conversation with the national authorities and demonstrate the performances of the network. Also it is highly recommended to participate to the Aerial Connectivity Joint Activity (ACJA) work tasks to help define the right KPIs, the more mobile operators participate the better is the result. In this GSMA IoT WebTalk (embedded below) the theme of partnership is exp...