Connectivity Technology Blog

Back in 2017, we were discussing about drones and helikites to bring temporary coverage in areas that have either no coverage or have lost coverage due to some or other reason. Things have certainly moved on in the last few years as we look at connected drones to help solve problems. In a LinkedIn post couple of weeks ago, Santiago (Yago) Tenorio, Fellow and Network Architecture Director at Vodafone posted on LinkedIn on how "Vodafone has been able to transport urgent nutrient solutions to premature babies across a 40-hectare hospital – setting the stage for future innovation in medical deliveries".  This briefly started a 'we did it first' discussion with rival Deutsche Telekom's SVP of Group Technology for Innovation, Arash Ashouriha, posting their achievement from 2020. Others from Vodafone jumped in to point out all the other demos that Vodafone has done over the years.  So what has Vodafone been up to with all the drone demos? Here is a short summary: May...

The 5G VISTA (Video in-stadia Technical Architecture) project is part of the UK Government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport's (DCMS) 5G Testbeds and Trials programme, a £200 million investment in testbeds and trials across the UK to investigate new ways that 5G can boost productivity, grow existing businesses, and spark new ones. It was completed on 1st April 2022. The project has tested and demonstrated the potential of 5G Broadcast and Multicast to deliver new and exciting digital experiences to spectators at live events.  The technology developed uses a concept called Further-evolved Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service (FeMBMS) technology to support innovative use cases - to both enhance customer experience at events, and increase engagement. Whilst most mobile and internet communications are modelled on a “one-to-one” system, FeMBMS is a “one-to-many” service; it will take a single stream and send it to multiple users. Following a successful tria...

Back in March, the UK Spectrum Policy Forum (UK SPF) held an event looking at what does the future look like for rail communications and what does it mean for spectrum policy? It explored the spectrum and technology possibilities for the future passenger and operational communications of the rail sector. The following is a summary from the event roundup : The session opened with the changing landscape of railway communications, notably the transition to the new Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), the successor of the Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R). This is set to be rolled out in the coming years and should allow the railway sector to better leverage the latest communications technology. New rail related use cases and applications have been identified over the past few years increasing the demands on spectrum which can no longer be handled by GSM-R. The increasing number of performance related use cases include energy efficient driving, video ...