5G is starting to lead to important changes in networks, speakers said Tuesday during an Informa Tech virtual 5G orchestration and service assurance conference. Network orchestration, which involves the automated configuration, management and coordination of parts of the network, is becoming an increasingly important concept for telcos, speakers agreed. It’s clear that to support customer demands service providers “will really have to fine-tune their orchestration,” said Jim Hodges, Heavy Reading research director. “There’s so much different in 5G … that we’re just starting to understand the service implications,” he said. After years of “hype” around 5G “we’re starting to see in 2023 finally some deployments,” said Troy Saulnier, who leads a network strategy team at Bell Canada. Industry is still waiting for a “major leap” into AI and using the cloud “to create this promise of a new explosion of services,” he said. Among the expected changes are digital logistics applications for retailers, improved latency demand by other customers and very-long battery life and lower energy consumption for the IoT, Saulnier said. Carriers need to “differentiate the customer experience” and tune it to “the actual customer in question,” he said. “We are all in this rapidly evolving digital landscape and there are many, many challenges and complexities that we need to deal with,” said Mehrdad Ekbatani, product-marketing manager-5G at Amdocs. Carriers are increasingly able to offer “differentiated services, but with that comes a lot of complexity,” he said. Providers need to keep investing in their networks as data consumption grows though revenue is “mostly flat” in mature markets, he said: “There is an urgent need here for more agility, more resilience” while controlling the costs. 5G was designed to be “open and agile,” Ekbatani said. Some use cases are emerging “but we don’t really know what the future will bring,” he said. “The only thing that we are guaranteed” is “there is going to be a continuous growth in management complexity” and “at the same we also have to transform our existing, siloed networks,” Ekbatani said. About 40% of the providers Fujitsu works with are still evaluating what to do on network orchestration, said Rhonda Holloway, Fujitsu director-network automation solution marketing. “As an industry we’re refining our approaches, our use cases and differentiators,” she said. Providers still “have a lot of uncertainty” about the best approach to network orchestration, she said: “It’s dependent on their network size, complexity, goals and budget” but also about “choosing between centralized, distributed or some kind of hybrid orchestration.”

T-Mobile said Monday it completed “an industry-first,” unmanned 77-mile beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flight, using its 5G network, working with Valmont. “BVLOS flights are taking off … thanks to their ability to reach remote or inaccessible areas more efficiently and quickly collect and share data,” T-Mobile said: “Drones equipped with cameras and sensors can capture high-resolution video and imagery used for near real-time analysis, monitoring and critical decision-making.” The flight went from Childress to Aspermont in Texas, and inspected infrastructure including power lines, railroads and bridges, T-Mobile said. The flight lasted less than three hours and required less than two gallons of fuel. “Range has been a hurdle in the drone inspection space, until now,” said Jake Lahmann, Valmont Industries unmanned aerial systems manager: “To be able to get this kind of range in a single drone flight is really going to revolutionize the way the industry approaches infrastructure inspections.”

Representatives of the ATIS Hearing Aid Compatibility Task Force, which recently spoke with an aide to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel seeking action on HAC rule revisions (see 2306010029), held other meetings at the FCC. Officials spoke with staff from the Wireless and Consumer and Governmental Affairs bureaus and the Office of Engineering and Technology on “the record overwhelmingly in support of the HAC Task Force’s Report and Recommendations and related waiver request,” said a filing Friday in docket 15-285.

Ericsson agreed to collaborate with advanced metering infrastructure provider Easymetering on a technological ecosystem for smart meters. “As utilities look toward grid modernization, smart meters, and smart grids are critical in addressing the evolving needs of utility companies -- all while keeping sustainability and efficiency in mind,” Ericsson said: The metering company will use an Ericsson lab to test the interoperability of devices.

Alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management said Monday it plans to invest $2 billion in preferred equity securities to be issued by a subsidiary of AT&T. The investment is expected to be completed in June, Apollo said.

All nine contestant subsystems passed the stage two wrap-around emulation testing that's part of NTIA’s $7 million 2023 5G Challenge, the agency said Monday. Tests were run at NTIA’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences lab in Boulder, Colorado. The “fundamental idea” of open radio networks is “to disaggregate the 5G network components, test individual interfaces, and enable true plug-and-play operation,” NTIA said, noting the challenge separates contestants’ radio units (RU) and central unit and distributed unit pair (CU+DU) subsystems. “RU development is complex and hardware-centric,” NTIA said: “By contrast, the CU+DU is primarily implemented with software.” The RU contestants passing the tests were Fujitsu Network Communications/AT&T, GXC, Lions Technology, NewEdge and QCT/Benetel, NTIA said. Passing the CU+DU tests were Capgemini Engineering, GXC, Mavenir and Radisys.

The FCC got only limited comment on its draft 42 GHz NPRM, teed up for a vote at the FCC’s meeting Thursday. Similar to a draft NPRM on next-generation 911 (see 2306020040), it's expected to pass 4-0 with limited tweaks. NCTA met with staff for all four commissioners, expressing general “appreciation for the FCC’s willingness to consider innovative uses of spectrum,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 23-158. “We noted that millimeter wave spectrum is not a substitute for mid-band spectrum, particularly 3.1 GHz and 7 GHz, but can be used to support different operations and services including for extremely high capacity and high-speed services, like real-time Augmented Reality-powered data sharing for innovations in smart cities, schools, offices, homes, libraries, hospitals, factories, and automobiles,” NCTA said. The group asked the FCC to seek comment on whether the proposal could also work in the lower 37 GHz band. Equipment is available that can be used in that band, but none is available for 42 GHz, NCTA noted: “Because of the existing equipment ecosystem, the Lower 37 GHz band will be available for commercial operations much more quickly than the 42 GHz band.” Amazon’s Kuiper Systems urged the FCC to “explore all options for maximizing use of millimeter wave spectrum” as part of the notice. Amazon suggested adding the language: “We also seek comment on whether to authorize secondary operations in the 42 GHz band. Can the Commission enable greater use of the band through one or more secondary allocations while protecting primary licensees from harmful interference?” Representatives met with aides to Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and Commissioner Nathan Simington. The two offered the only industry filings so far in the docket.

AT&T certified at the FCC it has met various vertical location accuracy requirements (see (Ref:2206030025]). The certification was posted Friday in docket 17-78. Verizon and T-Mobile also filed their certifications with the FCC (see here and here).

Amazon is talking to Verizon, T-Mobile and Dish Wireless about a deal to offer free or low-cost wireless service to Prime members, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing unidentified sources. “We are always exploring adding even more benefits for Prime members, but don’t have plans to add wireless at this time," an Amazon spokesperson emailed. “Don’t bet on it,” said MoffettNathanson’s Craig Moffett. “Telecom isn’t the first industry to have been turned upside down by the very notion that Amazon might enter their business, and it surely won’t be the last,” Moffett told investors: “Amazon quite obviously could do this if they wanted to” and could do it for free “even though the annual wholesale cost of providing wireless service for even a single line would likely be higher than the annual price of a Prime subscription.” Moffett noted regulatory issues could give the company pause. Rules for customer information in telecom “are MUCH stricter than what Amazon faces today” and “introducing that regulatory risk would be unwise, in our view,” he said. Industry analyst Jeff Kagan said on the TD Ameritrade Network Friday that Amazon is now a much bigger company than 10 years ago and is “into everything.” Amazon “tried once before, so did Facebook … but they all flopped,” he said. Ten years later, Comcast and Charter have had success with wireless offerings and “the entire wireless marketplace is full of resellers,” Kagan said. “If Amazon wants to get in, I think they could be successful this time,” he said. Kagan noted a $10/month offering would be low, but most people can already get $15/month service from other providers.

T-Mobile urged the FCC to make Wi-Fi on school buses eligible for E-rate funding, as proposed by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel a year ago (see 2205110059), in a call with an aide to Commissioner Nathan Simington. “WiFi on school buses makes particular sense in a 5G world in which wireless is a complete connectivity option, not just a supplement to wireline coverage,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 13-194. “WiFi on school buses enables students to do their homework using filtered Wi-Fi during their daily commute to and from school and when traveling to after-school events,” the carrier said.