Tonse 5G Plus
By Sridhar Pai Tonse
Tonse 5G PlusApr 20, 2024
India 5G- Hype, Hopes and Holy Smoke
More Bad News In Telecom Sector April 07 24
Further to my previous update on the impending M&A in the telecom sector, I have to add a quick update here as I saw several more going either the Chapter 11 route or considering a lifeline of some kind to survive.
Some of these data points came from Mike Dano, Ed director at Light Reading for 5G and Mobile Strategies and some others are my own.
Casa Systems, Netcom (FWA play of Casa), Airspan, Cyxtera are all walking through the Ch 11 process. Commscope, Dish Network, Lumen are on the fence with a tightrope walk around restructuring to stay alive. Big TEMS have announced repeat lay offs from Cisco to Ericsson and Nokia already.
Smaller players and tiny startups - almost in terrible condition except of course if you are an internal baby of a big cash sugar daddy who can keep the operations running for some time.
Check out what has caused this and how long this will go on in the full episode here. #telecom #m&a, #ericsson, #nokia, #cisco, #dish #lowdemand
Telecom M&A Will Rise - Keysight Spirent Just the Start
Since 2023, global telecom operators are going through a pretty big crisis. The significant investments in capex, spectrum, and operations in getting their individual 5G networks and services live have not been helpful. While subscribers lapped it up, the revenues have not grown and the profits are not even likely in the distant future.
But in the post-Ukraine war scenario, interest rates are up and global debt rates are far from friendly. It is a hard time to raise capital anymore just to survive and keep operations running. This is a textbook scenario for consolidations and exits in the operator and downstream supplier space.
The following large CSP M&A s are an indication of the market realities:
1. Swisscom closed a Euro 8 Billion to acquire Vodafone Italy
2. Zegona acquired Vodafone Spain for Euro 5 billion
In this specific case, Viavi Solutions a US-listed, 100-year-old company and a global leader in T&M, with over $1.1 billion in revenues, has been on a fairly intense acquisition binge for the last few years. Viavi decided to acquire Spirent Communications of the UK for 1 billion British Pounds (partially funded by a PE firm Silver Lake) and all was well until about 1 week ago.
Suddenly Keysight Technologies, another US-listed public company in the same space as Viavi Solutions, decided to outbid Viavi and picked up Spirent Communications for $1.5 billion (a 16% higher price than what Viavi had offered to Spirent.
#spirent, #viavi, #keysight, #telco, #m&a,
5G Network Slicing Violates Net Neutrality -US NCTA Claim
While over 270+ 5G CSPs world wide are hoping for a respite from the unmonetizable monster that they have all invested in, life just got tougher.
There are over 100 markets where 5G service is currently activated and made available. These markets potentially cover a population of about 1.3 billion. However, these 5G operators are struggling to monetize 5G as there appears no direct route to revenue.
Their hope currently hangs on FWA trials being run for specialized applications for enterprises, that use a technology called 5G Network Slicing.
However this is being challenged by the ISP and cable operator association in the US saying this is exploiting a vulnerable hole in the net neutrality principle and should not be allowed.
If you are a startup building a Slicing solution, this could shake up your business plan.
Find out more in this episode. #US, #NCTA, #netneutrality, #startup #FWA, #5g, #5g monetization,
Nvidia's AI Odyessey -And The Future Of Computing For The Planet
In this episode, we explore NVIDIA’s meteoric rise in the AI industry. From their strategic data center advancements to outsmarting Intel, NVIDIA’s journey has been nothing short of remarkable. Dive into their triumphs, the battle with Intel, and CEO Jensen Huang’s sage advice for Stanford’s brightest minds. Join us as we unravel the saga of NVIDIA’s ascent to AI supremacy. NVIDIA Corporation is the worldwide leader in visual computing technologies and the inventor of the graphic processing unit, or GPU. Over the years, the company's focus has evolved from PC graphics to artificial intelligence (AI) based solutions that now support high performance computing (HPC), gaming and virtual reality (VR) platforms.NVIDIA's GPU success can be attributed to its parallel processing capabilities supported by thousands of computing cores, which are necessary to run deep learning algorithms.
NVIDIA is a dominant name in the Data Center, professional visualization and gaming markets where Intel and Advanced Micro Devices are playing a catch-up role. The company's partnership with almost all major cloud service providers (CSPs) and server vendors is a key catalyst. Jensen said something fascinating in his sage advice: Greatness does not come from intelligence as you know. It comes from great character. And character building cannot happen without failure, pain, and suffering. I, therefore, wish you all have ample doses of pain and suffering so you can build character along your journey to greatness.
And if you want to watch this full version, visit the YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@tonsepai or on Twitter: @tonse_pai
Driving E-Commerce Innovation - India's ONDC Model For Digital Commerce
In this captivating episode, we delve into the world of e-commerce and shed light on India's groundbreaking initiative—the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) model.
Join us as we uncover the transformative potential of ONDC and its profound impact on the digital commerce landscape. In this episode, we embark on a journey to understand the core principles and features of the ONDC model. We explore how it aims to create a level playing field for all stakeholders in the e-commerce ecosystem, and innovation. From startups to small businesses, the ONDC model offers a platform for all to thrive in the digital marketplace.We delve into the key components of the ONDC model, such as the digital commerce registry, the open API framework, and the data empowerment and protection architecture.
By unraveling these elements, we discover how they enable seamless integration, interoperability, and data privacy, ultimately empowering businesses and consumers alike.
There is a reference to the latest ONDC Vision document released by ONDC (ondc.org) and other resources from the site. Please download all relevant documents, and specifications from there. All data and information presented in this episode are publicly available. We discuss the challenges it addresses, the opportunities it presents, and the implications for various stakeholders.
Tune in to this episode and discover how the ONDC model is revolutionizing digital commerce in India, empowering businesses, and transforming the way consumers engage in online transactions. Don't miss this enlightening discussion on the future of e-commerce innovation. The video episode will be available on Youtube. as well as on LinkedIn (Sridhar pai Tonse), please subscribe and get new episode alerts in your Inbox. Send me your comments and feedback if any. Hope you enjoy this episode and find it useful. #ondc, #tonsepai
Why is the Indian Data Centre Market Opportunity Super Hot?
The key is these growth sectors are creating opportunities that you should not miss if you are building a product or tech that targets this sector.
How should you target your markets? Who should you partner with? How will you generate leads and grow this business?
Follow this channel for tips. Also details about my YouTube channel in comments. Subscribe and attend my webinars for all the help you need. Reach out to grow your business. @tonsepai on YouTube.
Indian 5G Spectrum Auction Ends On a Stellar Note. Remarkable Turn-Around of Sector. Samsung Enters Airtel N/W. Govt. Nets $18.99 billion. Jio Commits $11.15 Billion, Sweeps 700 MHz bands pan India
India's most watched 5G Spectrum Auction ended at a new high as the GoI netted $18.99 billion from an intensely fought (in certain bands) auction that lasted 7 days.
Jio went for the kill with a full-fledged war chest committing about $11.15 billion picking up a complete array of spectrum bands including the priced 700 MHz bands, 2 x 10MHz across all 22 circles. Airtel was probably the most competitive bidder, getting its most coveted bands for the most appropriate pricing - clearly, the Indian telcos now have matured with the experience of knowing how to build a spectrum asset base that best fits their coverage, capacity requirements over multiple customer segments, terrains and business cases. Same with Vodafone Idea as they picked up mid-band and high band spectrum for 5G and expansion of 4G network. Adani Data Networks was player #4 that picked up a select few bands for its own enterprise needs.
Overall the sector is upbeat as the sector health has improved significantly and with India becoming the world's #2 device manufacturer now, it brings a new vibrancy to the telecom market. All those details are covered in detail in this episode #8 of Tonse 5G+. Stay tuned as we track this sector week after week.
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Indian 5G Spectrum Auction News, GoI Windfall, Jio Pulling All the Stops, Airtel's focused Spectrum Strategy and E Band for Backhaul
The Indian 5G Spectrum Auction is live as we release this episode. Bids for 72GHz of spectrum across various bands from 700MHz, through mid-band (C band) including High band (26GHz) across multiple LSA were available. Govt mightily pleased with the results so far, as on day 1 itself they received commitments of over Rs. 1.49 lakh Cr (roughly $18.1bil), and at this point on day 3 bidding is still in progress.
Jio Platforms Limited (of Reliance Industrisies) going all out in bidding for best-suited bands - 700MHz, 3.3-3.6GHz, and 26GHz, and select bands in between making sure its pan-India 5G dream becomes a reality. Jio also released its quarterly earnings report which looks very good with robust subscriber growth, with its overall base now around 420 million.
Jio is also making much of the technology in-house with its own engineering set-up - a far cry from the Huawei and ZTE-led network build-out that happened in its earlier avatar as Reliance Communications (RCOM). At this point, Nokia, Ericsson, and Samsung are also in discussions with both Jio and Airtel for network equipment contracts. In all probabilities, it is likely that by the Oct-Nov timeframe 5G roll-outs will start out in select locations within India.
In other developments, DoT has also released permission for immediate allocation of E-Band for MNOs on an administrative basis to make it easier for backhaul applications for those cell sites with no fiber. This is a serious requirement in India as the level of fiberization is quite low and it will become a serious bottleneck for meaningful deployment of 5G.
Those are the top stories. Catch up on the full details. Follow the podcast on Spotify, on Twitter, on LinkedIn, or visit Tonse Telecom.
L&T Jumps Into Enterprise 5G, Rakuten says Enterprise - Test Bed for Big Tech, Airtel Trials 5G in Bosch Industry 4.0 Use Case
Following Adani Group's interest in the 5G Spectrum Auction, L&T announced interest in acquiring spectrum for deployment on the Mysore campus. Also, L&T would be trialing multiple use cases in Industry 4.0 and deploying them for the parent campus and other group companies.
From the #EMD commitments made for spectrum auction, it is clear that Adani Group may not have pan-India interests at least now, and will focus on enterprise use cases in their key properties. This seems to have calmed the sector a little bit, with plenty of spectrum available for bidding and the number of players for pan-India (not many unlike in 2008), the action at auctions may be a little less frenetic.
Rakuten, the global pioneer of Open RAN, seems very bullish on Enterprise 5G, and has said that this will be the test bed for Big Tech to enter and play around with Open RAN for the enterprise space. This should be a good opportunity for Indian SIs as Rakuten will create a partner ecosystem to take their solution to market. India's top software talent will help create new solutions which could then go global.
Airtel is trialing the 5G use cases at Bosch Manufacturing Facility in Bangalore.
Adani Group: Will Data Be The New Oil? Why is Cisco kicked About Firefly Networks? Update from Parallel Wireless. Astrome wins Trial DoT Contract
As Indian 5G Spectrum Auctions loom, a new suitor is in town: Adani Group. Why is a $20bil corporate group suddenly interested in the 5G spectrum. Find out more about why Adani Group is exploring if Data will be their new Oil.
We talked about Cisco NaaS interests in India. Here goes their next step as the solution strategy appears to become apparent. Firefly Networks and Cisco in a possible acquisition. Will probably be a good solution for everyone.
Parallel Wireless clarifies the actual reason for layoffs. Emerging market MNOs are more aggressive in the O RAN approach and the company realized it was running a marathon and not a sprint. The company had to reorganize itself for the new race, and purpose-build itself for the long haul.
Indian DoT, agencies, ministries gearing up in their full form to encourage local start-ups to create solutions for 5G, and broadband coverage in, India. Funds, incubators, accelerators, and test labs are going all out to woo startups, including pilots and trial runs being set up. If you have a solution with you, definitely a good time to connect with the authorities. Good example: Astrome just won a trial contract for 15 village connectivity from DoT for their GigaMesh E band router.
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Rumbles in 5G OpenRAN Within Parallel Wireless: Why a Start-up Innovator Needs to be Adaptable to Stay the Course And Well Funded To Fight Another Day
The market is indeed a great leveler and this rule applies universally - be it a start-up with a few hundred engineers or a large behemoth with a billion-dollar revenue for a specific product line. This episode brings together two unconnected companies: Nokia and Parallel Wireless. Nokia's India operations in 2021 breached $1 billion Euro in net sales - entirely from the telco infrastructure play: RAN, Core, FTTH, transmission, IMS, enterprise solutions, and the works.
But it was not always so. Nokia which held a lion's share of the devices market -over 80% at one point in India went downhill, hitting rock bottom -about 22% market share within five years. And eventually adapted itself into a full-fledged infrastructure player after selling out the handset division. The prized lesson learned was adaptability.
In the case of Parallel Wireless, a pioneering innovator in the #open RAN, an unfortunate mix of market, timing, and funding may have created a flutter - so deep it may shake it up badly, it might make it to a point of no return. So what really went wrong?
It could have been markets targeted - mostly emerging markets in Africa, Brazil and so on which also became markets targeted by the big boys like Huawei. The other of course was running out of cash - in a global market scenario where risk capital is increasingly restricted due to a variety of geopolitical reasons.
The big takeaway -make sure that you are always ready to adapt: if the opportunity window has moved beyond your forecasted timeline, you need to have something else ready to keep the lights burning. When you are building disruptive infrastructure technology, you couldn't be over-funded - running a tight ship won't cut it.
Thank you for listening to another episode from Tonse 5G+. This podcast will bring you a weekly news wrap on the top developments in #5G, #enterprise 5G, and related business technology from #India. Follow me LinkedIn or on Twitter. If you are building a product and need marketing (go to market), lead generation, or strategy advisory, reach out to me,
India 5G spectrum Auction, Enterprise 5G, Captive Non Public Network, Cisco NaaS
Is your #WiFi AP catching up?