T-Mobile has been making strides in the network Application Programmable Interface (API) space with its DevEdge marketplace. DevEdge offers APIs to developers for Quality of Service (QoS)-on-Demand, network slicing, and early access to 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) functionalities.

Mobile network data traffic is projected to nearly triple by 2030, requiring a shift toward high-performing, programmable networks powered by openness and cloud technologies. This evolution enables service providers to offer performance based services rather than relying solely on data volume. Establishing a strong foundation for network evolution is essential for driving 5G business growth.

In the evolving landscape of telecommunications, Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) is emerging as a cornerstone technology that aims to transform how networks operate and serve mobile users. As part of the upcoming 6G era and IMT-2030 vision, ISAC holds immense potential to revolutionize cellular network capabilities. It combines communication functions with precise sensing, positioning, and tracking.

Monetizing 5G further requires telcos to unlock novel applications that enterprises and consumers cannot get from legacy networks. For that, they need third-party developers, for both consumer and enterprise applications. However, developers must have seamless access to various network infrastructures to create these applications. This is why network Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) play an essential role for telcos.

A key theme at MWC 2024 was sustainability, and reducing energy costs is now a key concern and priority for all mobile operators. Although the discussion nowadays focuses mostly on active antennas and how network operators can deploy 5G, most global networks are still powered by passive antennas, which are also following sustainability enhancements. These are now referred to as “high-efficiency” antennas, highlighting that their design, manufacturing, operation, and technology are taking sustainability into account. These antennas have recently taken a significant step toward being adopted in the mainstream, from previously being discussed as a theoretical concept. These traditional passive antennas have inherent energy losses, achieved through both their design and the manufacturing process, which all add to increased energy output, and thus more Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. With base stations and their attached antenna units totaling 57% of all electrical power consumption in the passive antenna network, this is a key area for vendors to target in reducing their energy output while increasing their Radio Frequency (RF) efficiency.

The year 2024 will mark the fourth one since 5G networks launched commercially, now well deployed in both developed and developing countries and representing a major advancement in user experience, energy efficiency, and network functionality, setting the stage for future technologies. Its introduction, particularly through Massive Multiple Input, Multiple Output (mMIMO), has greatly enhanced consumer applications, providing most users with high-speed, quality mobile broadband.

Behind every cellular standard is the blood, sweat, and tears of thousands of companies within The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). These contributors fall under various Working Groups (WGs) to create a consensus on specification requirements and industry best practices—vital to mobile innovation. This short post will list several WGs that, without them, 3GPP’s cellular standard evolution would dissipate.

DISH’s 5G Network Deployment Plans    

DISH Wireless has been in the forefront of the news for years now, being one of the few greenfield 5G network operators entering saturated markets and, at the same time, radically reshaping how mobile networks are being designed, dimensioned, and deployed. Indeed, DISH Wireless has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS) to host a large part of its network and the hyperscaler has written extensive articles highlighting how the networking stack has been designed from the ground up to combine both AWS infrastructure and servers deployed in the new network. Moreover, DISH Wireless is a strong supporter of Open RAN and aims to use open interfaces, disaggregated hardware, cloud-native, and software throughout its network.

There’s nothing more fascinating than uncovering the development of certain technologies and how these came to be in today’s form. Cellular standards are no stranger to politics, lobbying, intense competition, patent disputes, and many other commercial rivalries. The choice of technologies in The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is one of these contested domains, where companies compete to promote their own technology choices, giving them a significant competitive advantage when they have a strong patent portfolio in the area. Channel coding is one of those areas, where interesting developments took place with 5G.

Investors and shareholders are increasingly losing their patience with telcos, which have promised that their enterprise revenue will soon overtake their consumer business. At the same time, enterprise end users are not yet convinced that today’s 5G can address their pressing key pain points in line with the IMT-2020 vision most 5G suppliers are preaching.