Ecuador taking baby steps towards 5G

Ecuador has a small telecom market dominated by the mobile sector. The evolution of the market has suffered due to poor infrastructure, topographical challenges and the deploying of networks to remote and mountainous areas is very expensive. Unfortunately there has been a legacy of under investment in telecoms infrastructure.

The mobile sector is shared by América Móvil’s Conecel (trading as Claro), which has a 52.5% share of the market by subscribers, Telefónica’s Otecel (trading as Movistar) with about 30% of the market, and CNT (previously Telecsa/Alegro) with a share of 17.6% share. Thus far the MVNO sector has been slow to develop, partly because the incumbent operators also have their low-cost brands and thus there is little business case for new market entrants. Virgin Mobile is expected to launch a service in Ecuador, following on from similar launches in Mexico, Chile and Colombia.


Claro the leading mobile network operator by subscribers has the best coverage especially in remote areas. 4G/LTE has started in 2015 in Guayaquil, Quito, Cumbayá and Sangoloquí and is rolled out in other regions available for prepaid.



Claro have demonstrated 5G technology at an event organised by the Ministry of Telecommunications in Guayaquil to promote its ‘Digital Ecuador’ strategy. In a statement, the company said interactive exhibits would enable users to experience the faster download speeds enabled by 5G, as well as applications such as virtual and augmented reality, and the Internet of Things (IoT). The operator, which recently announced plans to invest USD500 million in network upgrades over the next three years, also revealed it will soon begin 5G technology tests in Quito in partnership with hardware vendor Huawei. Ecuador’s government outlined plans in July to allocate 3.5GHz spectrum in 2020 in preparation for the launch of 5G services.


Movistar (brand name of Telefonica) is the 2nd network in the country, giving even better speeds in the cities, but a lower coverage: coverage checker outside. 4G/LTE is open for prepaid and available in Guayaquil, Salinas Quito, Cuenca, Azogues, Ambato and Tonsupa in 2016.

Back in September, Commsupdate reported that Spanish telecoms group Telefonica has begun exploring the sale of its Ecuador unit for as much as EUR800 million (USD881.8 million) as part of its ongoing debt reduction efforts, reports Spanish daily El Economista citing unnamed sources. Although talks with potential buyers have yet to begin, the group is studying market conditions ahead of a sale which could attract interest from Millicom (Tigo) and Entel Chile, claims the report. Telefonica Ecuador (operating under the Movistar brand) reported EBITDA of EUR75 million and revenue of EUR252 million in the first six months of 2019.



Back in August, Telefonica did 5G demos with ZTE to prove the benefits of 5G. According to Ecuador TV, the organizers were looking to share with the community the importance, advantages and benefits that will be had with the new 5G technology. Several virtual reality posts were exhibited in which the user can observe the augmented reality in real time. For example, a camera was placed on the eighth floor of the building and when putting on the glasses one could feel the vertigo of the height.



CNT or Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones is the public provider in Ecuador. They focus mainly on ADSL and landline phone connections. It has a mobile network too, but this is rather limited in coverage. 4G/LTE is open for prepaid and gives the best speeds in cities of all operators in the country.

Ecuador Mobile Network Experience Report July 2019 from OpenSignal listed Claro as a winnder of their 'Download Speed Experience' award, following a draw with Movistar six months ago, as the Telefónica subsidiary's growth in this metric has stalled. It was a similar story in Upload Speed Experience, where static growth from Movistar allowed Claro to surge ahead and grab the award. But in both speed metrics, CNT's users saw the greatest improvement.

The 'Video Experience' award was shared jointly by Claro and CNT, as both these operators pulled ahead of Movistar, whose score dropped after winning this metric six months ago. All three of Ecuador's operators now have Fair ratings as CNT's Video Experience score jumped by 13 points (out of 100). Movistar kept hold of our 4G Availability award, but statistically saw no growth in its score over the past six months. CNT increased its score by 8 percentage points to tie for second place with Claro — and both operators are now within 5 points of the leader.

In the cities analysis, CNT managed to win three of the awards in Quito — 4G Availability, Video Experience and Download Speed Experience — while it drew with Claro for Latency Experience. State-owned CNT has also shown the greatest improvement across its scores in this report, and is fast becoming a serious challenger to its bigger rivals.

You can read all details here.

Malaysia: 5G Trials and Updates

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has said the optimisation of the existing 4G network is essential before the country can achieve the adoption of 5G network.

While the 5G Taskforce was established by the commission in November 2018, with the aims of exploring practical uses and modes of 5G, as well as to learn and iron out policies, regulations and spectrum planning for 5G, MCMC said full adoption may only take place in a few years’ time. MCMC said in a statement.:

“Thus, what is essential today is for the current network architecture to be fully enhanced and optimised to address congestion and manage high bandwidth. Malaysia’s current network suffers from low throughput of 9 megabit per second (Mbps) or 36% below average during certain times of the day, as a result of congestion or bottlenecks between network elements, i.e. the radio interface and core network,”

This is due to a partially fiberised end-to-end network architecture, and only 40% of the Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) are fully fiberised. Accordingly to MCMC currently, the average 4G download speed in Malaysia stands at 21.1Mbps. 

MCMC chief digital officer Gerard K M Lim said 5G technology promises 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) per user and if the core network upgrade work is overlooked, the same throughput issue will continue to plague the country.

Lim said there would be a potential bottleneck or congestion point between BTS and the core network and therefore, the telecommunication providers must ensure that current 4G access is optimised and at the same time, prepare for the upcoming 5G requirements.

“Ultimately, the goal is to ensure positive customer experience, when it comes to connectivity without any congestion issues."

No doubt 5G connectivity has the potential to grow the economy by delivering the next generation of digital services, said MCMC, adding that technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality and massive machine communications will rely on the future deployment of 5G.

MCMC also released a report and THE DRAFT NATIONAL FIBERISATION AND CONNECTIVITY PLAN (‘DRAFT NFCP’) 

The Draft NFCP sets out, among others, the targets, action plans and strategies to accelerate deployment of digital infrastructure. The 5-year plan aims to:

i. address issues that hinder the widespread availability of high quality and affordable

digital connectivity;

ii. support the needs of the country moving forward and harness opportunities offered by

new services / technologies; and

iii. provide clarity in terms of strategic directions for initiatives to support the digital

economy and adoption of future technology. 

Source.

Initially, the Draft NFCP outlined 17 targets to be achieved through four (4) action plans:

A. Ensure optimum deployment of digital infrastructure

         1. Average speed of 30 Mbps in 98% of populated areas;

         2. 100% premises passed in State Capitals and selected high impact areas with up

             to 500 Mbps;

         3. 20% of premises passed in sub-urban and rural areas with up to 500Mbps;

         4. Fibre network passes 70% of schools and government offices, hospitals and police

             stations near schools;

         5. Gigabits availability in selected industrial areas and to all State Capitals;

         6. Phasing out of copper network;

         7. Assessment of technical standards that should be mandated for infrastructure

             deployment;

         8. Allocation of 700MHz and reallocation of 2300MHz and 2600MHz;

         9. Mobile coverage along Pan Borneo highway upon completion;

        10. Submarine Cable Landing Centres (‘SCLC’) in Sabah & Sarawak to link directly to

              international cables; and

        11. Policy position on 5G related issues.

B. Provision of affordable services and improve quality to drive the digital economy

        12. Entry level fixed broadband package at 1% of Gross National Income (‘GNI’);

        13. Double the speed at half the price; and

        14. Yearly publication of Quality of Service Report.

C. Promote competition

        15. Extension of liberalisation in key strategic activities.

D. Participation in the digital economy

        16. 100 rural e-commerce fulfilment centres; and

        17. Quality of Service for courier service. 

These initial targets and action plans were prepared based on initial consultations with limited stakeholders as well as from the initial targets announced by the Minister at the “Malaysia : A New Dawn Conference” in October 2018.

In November last year, MCMC established a 5G task force to explore the practical uses and modes of 5G as well as to iron out policies, regulations and spectrum planning of 5G.

Telecommunications providers have been urged to be prepared for the upcoming 5G requirements.

Maxis Bhd has in collaboration with Huawei kicked off the first 5G live trials in Malaysia, specifically in Cyberjaya earlier this week.

The trials will be conducted over six months and are expected to provide a deeper analysis of 5G characteristics, Maxis said in a statement today.

This includes the use of spectrum in higher bands, co-existence with current services, as well as use cases such as Gigabit high speed mobile internet and ultra high-definition virtual reality applications.

"During the trial so far, Maxis recorded close to 3GB per second download speed," they said in the statement.

The trial follows the recent announcement by the government that Cyberjaya and Putrajaya will become the first smart cities in Malaysia to experience 5G technology. According to Maxis:

"Once available, 5G is expected to provide speeds up to ten times higher than what 4G network can do today for applications such as Ultra High-Definition VR and 360 degree viewing. It will also open up new use cases in areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and drones," 

Malaysia's national telco Telekom Malaysia (TM) is also in the first stages of testing 5G connectivity in the country. The test will be conducted via their internet service provider division Unifi and the first location will be in the town of Puchong in the Petaling Jaya district. Currently, the telco's LTE network is capable of speeds up to 200Mbps, but with the implementation of pre-5G, the speeds will be boosted up to 500Mbps. The Executive Vice President of Unifi Moharmustaqeem Mohammed stated that the transition to 5G will be done seamlessly and customers will not have to change their current packages or equipment.

U Mobile have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with ZTE to support its 5G deployment goals in Malaysia. This will include various 5G related developments including live testing, 5G showcases as well as Massive MIMO implementation.

According to U Mobile, they have a long standing working relationship with ZTE and it is a logical next step to continue to collaborate on initiatives related to 5G. According to the telco’s CEO, Wong Heang Tuck, U Mobile will be working closely with ZTE to conduct live tests in selected areas in KL city so that Malaysians can experience the power of 5G first hand.

Finally Celcom Axiata Berhad, Malaysia’s leading data network provider, has signed an agreement with Ericsson to expand and upgrade its LTE network in Malaysia. As part of this, Ericsson will supply Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its Ericsson Radio System portfolio to help Celcom serve the growing demand for data services in Malaysia. Ericsson’s RAN equipment will also serve as a platform to help Celcom evolve its network to 5G in the coming years.

Mohamad Idham Nawawi, Chief Executive Officer of Celcom Axiata Berhad, says:

“We have been at the forefront of providing our customers with the best data experience, and remain committed to evolve our network with the latest technologies. This partnership is strategic as it will not only help us further expand our LTE footprint but create the base for the launch of 5G services. We will continue to drive technology innovations in Malaysia to bring the latest services, and to enable all Malaysians to participate in the digital economy.” 

In 2017, Ericsson and Celcom performed Malaysia's first ever 5G trial, pioneering the evolution of the nation's telecommunications technology. It was the first 5G trial conducted on the 28 GHz band in South East Asia.