By Joseph Waring
China Telecom, Ant Group, KDDI join strong Asia contingent
MWC Daily News Asia market expert Joseph Waring gives a sneak preview of what heavyweights from the APAC region have in store for this year’s big event.
Despite a slowdown in China’s economy and a cutback in domestic investments, two big-name tech companies in the mainland signed up as MWC24 exhibitors for the first time, along with the second-largest mobile player in Japan, beefing up the already expansive presence of trend-setting APAC companies at the Fira.
Japanese mobile operator KDDI will be exhibiting at the event for the first time under the banner Life Transformation: Enhancing the Power to Connect. Its booth will highlight business collaboration via API-driven partnerships.
Other initiatives to be showcased on its stand include future mobility, digital twins, AI, satellite communications and its borderless Gen Z Platform. An AI-enhanced metaverse and Web 3.0 offering called αU features a commerce service that recreates a physical store as a digital twin.
China Telecom, the second-largest mobile player in the mainland, and Ant Group, the parent company of third-party mobile and internet payment platform Alipay, the largest in China, also will be first-time exhibitors.
Interactive spin
NTT Docomo, the biggest mobile operator in Japan by subscribers, will unveil advancements in 6G, open RAN and XR on its stand.
One of the main attractions here will be the interactive demonstration of so-called Feel Tech. This “groundbreaking technology for sensory sharing between individuals” uses its human augmentation platform, the operator’s chief standardisation officer Takehiro Nakamura highlighted.
Visitors will be able to experience the tactile sensations of petting animals in the visual realm through XR.
The company will also showcase new XR glasses from NTT QONOQ Devices, established by Docomo to create differentiated experiences that “zigzag between real and digital spaces”, said Seiji Maruyama, president and CEO of the new unit.
Its booth will also provide a glimpse of the coming world of 6G and advanced wireless technologies it is developing, such as a non-terrestrial network incorporating high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), which are expected to facilitate the broad extension of communication services beyond the reach of conventional terrestrial network areas from remote seas to low-orbit space.
Docomo’s 5G open RAN ecosystem experience (OREX) service will share its latest initiatives and collaborations with global partners to promote adoption of the technology worldwide. Visitors will have the opportunity to embark on a virtual tour that recreates the OREX verification environment in 3D to learn how OREX empowers global operators with “true open RAN capabilities”.
Enterprise focus
Singtel plans to share its latest advancements across its suite of products and services designed to aid enterprises in developing new digital services, as well as improving operational efficiency and customer experiences.
Visitors to its partner booths, including Ericsson and Nokia, can check out the results from Singtel’s successful commercial deployment of network slicing to support specific user requirements. These include mission-critical applications, as well as Singtel Paragon, which the operator claims as the industry’s first all-in-one aggregation and business orchestration platform.
Singtel speakers at the show will discuss the development of Singapore’s first quantum-safe network and a new authentication offering using APIs to help e-commerce platforms and banks better protect customers from digital fraud.
Attendees can also find out how these are being delivered more sustainably with the addition of new energy efficient technologies and infrastructure to Singtel’s nationwide 4G and 5G networks.
Cutting-edge
Samsung’s booth, of course, will be showing off the Galaxy S24 flagship devices, integrating Google Cloud’s latest generative AI capabilities, as well its full line-up of smartphones, wearables and AI technologies.
The electronics giant, though, is about much more than just the latest consumer tech.
Celeste Choi, head of Global Marketing Group for Samsung's Networks Business, said the most significant shift it is seeing in the telecoms industry is software-centric networks and the drive to embrace openness, with the company showcasing its upgrade virtualised RAN and open RAN kit.
The vendor will also display advancements around its Service Management & Orchestration platform, supporting intelligent and efficient end-to-end networks automation from multi-party open RAN deployment. As operators search for ways to monetise 5G services, Samsung will display a range of use cases for network slicing, FWA and private networks.
Highlighting its commitment to deliver sustainable gear, powered by its in-house chipsets and AI-based software features, the South Korean company will exhibit its high-performance, compact, eco-friendly RAN equipment for various mid- and low-band frequencies. It also will unveil new 5G-Advanced and 6G radios and demonstrate how operators can maximise energy efficiency through its hardware and AI-enabled software.
Huawei, once again building out a truly massive booth at MWC, is tipped to team with leading mobile players to announce operator 5G-Advanced commercialisation plans, as 3GPP Release 18 is scheduled to be frozen in the middle of the year. The Shenzhen-based company said it will launch a series of products and services featuring the synchronised capabilities of networks, cloud and AI.
And, of course, Huawei rival ZTE will be back in Hall 3 with a large showcase, as will SK Telecom.
The South Korean operator told MWC Daily News it will put a big focus on efforts to become a global AI company.