by Mobile World Live
Huawei claims the company built more than half of the 140 commercial 5G networks deployed in 59 countries so far, despite bans on its networking gear in many countries. Ryan Din, president of Huawei’s Carrier Business Group, also said ‘5G developed faster than we had expected and the ecosystem is also maturing’ adding the technology ‘is no longer for early adopters; it is improving our daily lives’. More than 68 per cent of smartphones shipped in China during 2020 were 5G-compatible. Ding was bullish about the outlook for industrial applications this year, noting adopting of 5G had made ‘production safer, more intelligent and more efficient’ in domestic coal mining, steel making and manufacturing sectors. Large-scale adoptions of 5G by various industries in 2021 will require operators to develop new capabilities in network planning, deployment, maintenance, optimisation and operations.
Apple was a latecomer to the 5G smartphone market, only deploying the technology in its iPhone 12 range in October 2020. But the company wants to position itself at the forefront of the 6G development. Apple began seeing engineers to research and contribute to industry standards for 6G. Job adverts explain engineers will work to define system-level concepts; create rapid prototyping platforms and conduct system simulations; develop new algorithms; specify RAN protocols; and contribute to the development of 6G standards. Commercialisation of 6G is foreseen for 2030, though 3GPP, a host of industry groups formed to research 6G, is yet to indicate when it plans to commence standards work.
By: N. Peter Kramer
