[caption id="attachment_5392" align="alignnone" width="300"] ZTE 5G mobile[/caption]

Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE, Huawei and Xiaomi displayed their brand new products at the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC2019), which opened Monday in the city of Barcelona in northeast Spain.

ZTE presented its new smartphone: the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G, one of a range of 5G compatible devices to be shown to the public for the first time at the event.

"We have been coming to the MWC for several years, but 2019 is the first year in which we are going to see 5G commercialized and we think we are going to be a key player in the sector," Li Qing, marketing manager from Chinese smartphone producers ZTE told Xinhua, adding "Innovations in 5G have been and will continue to be a very important strategy for our company."

Chinese companies Huawei and Xiaomi presented their proposals for 5G handsets on the eve of the MWC2019, with Huawei showcasing the Mate X and Xiaomi, their Mi Mix 3 5G.However, MWC2019 is not just about smartphones, with 5G opening new possibilities for connected and autonomous cars and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

[caption id="attachment_5391" align="alignnone" width="300"] Huawei Mate X foldable 5G mobile device[/caption]

"I hope to see what the new trends are, especially in 5G, and this week will decide the business strategy that my company will take for the coming years," Bojan Pavlovic, Research and Development Director of software developing company, Ibis Instruments, told Xinhua.

"I have come here to see the challenges which the introduction of 5G offers to telecommunications providers and to try and identify the spaces in the market, so we can attempt to fill them," he added.The four days of the MWC2019 also offer opportunities for networking, with numerous rooms set aside to visitors to find future business partners, while there is also a series of keynote speeches and conferences hosted by industry heavyweights aimed as helping decide the future of the mobile industry for 2019 and beyond.

"This is probably the most important conference in the world, in which we are going to see the next generation of technology. The products that are going to be used in society during the next 10 years are all here," industry expert Mike Murphy commented to Xinhua.

This is the 14th time for Barcelonia to host the event since the Mobile World Congress was moved to the city in 2006.

Around 110,000 people are expected to visit the MWC2019, which will last until Feb. 28, with 2,400 companies from 200 counties exhibiting under the banner "Intelligent Connectivity."

[caption id="attachment_5393" align="alignnone" width="300"] Donovan Sung, director of Product Management Xiaomi Global, is presenting the new Mi MIX3 at a press conference at the Mobile World Congress (MWC2019)[/caption]

Source: China.org.cn

[caption id="attachment_5385" align="alignnone" width="300"] EU Digital Economy Commissioner Mariya Gabriel[/caption]

European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Mariya Gabriel said the European Commission will soon bring a solution for 5G security concerns in the European mobile industry.

Speaking in a keynote presentation during Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona, the official acknowledged concerns raised by players in the mobile industry on potential legislation related to national security and 5G network deployments.

“I’m well aware of the unrest among all of you key actors in the telecommunications sector caused by the ongoing discussions on the cybersecurity of 5G,” Gabriel said. “Let me reassure you, the Commission takes your view very seriously, because you need to run these systems every day.

“Nobody is helped by premature decisions based on partial analysis of the facts,” she added. “However, it is also clear that Europe has to have a common approach to this challenge and we need to bring it to the table soon, otherwise there is a risk fragmentation raises because of divergent decisions taken by neighboring states trying to protect access.

“We are working on this important matter with priority and the Commission will take steps soon,” the official added.

In related news, U.K.-based telecom group Vodafone’s CEO, Nick Read, said banning Chinese vendor Huawei from providing 5G gear in European markets would negatively affect competition in the telecom supply chain.

During a press conference at the MWC, Read also said that a decision of this kind would be very expensive for operators and consumers and that it would delay Europe’s 5G rollout by probably two years.

“It structurally disadvantages Europe,” he said. “Of course, the U.S. [doesn’t] have that problem because they don’t put Huawei equipment in,” Read added.

Last month, German carrier Deutsche Telekom said that the deployment of 5G across Europe would be affected if governments ban Huawei over security concerns, Bloomberg reported, citing an internal assessment by German carrier Deutsche Telekom. According to the briefing, the removal of Huawei from the list of 5G suppliers would delay the rollout of 5G by at least two years.

In its internal assessment, the German telco highlighted that 5G networks must be built on top of existing 4G infrastructure, which already relies extensively on Huawei equipment. If European governments ban Huawei and force operators to remove Huawei equipment, the telecom industry would see a huge financial impact, according to the report.

Source: GSMA

Leading telecoms companies gather in Barcelona this weekend for their main annual trade fair under the shadow of a bitter clash between the United States and China over network security for the next generation of mobile services.
Accusations from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration that Huawei, the world's biggest network equipment maker, has enabled Chinese state espionage have shaken the industry and raised broader fears for progress in talks to defuse a rumbling trade dispute.

Aside from hosting snazzy device launches and officials from more than 2,400 companies, mobile industry trade body GSMA is seeking to ward off a ban on Chinese vendors in European markets.

GSMA Marketing Director Andrew Parker said the association would lobby to protect competition in the supply chain.

"The more choice the industry has, the more supply, the better value everyone will get," Parker said.

"We are going to stick to, and encourage, that line because competition is a good thing for an industry like ours."

Australia and New Zealand have stopped operators using Huawei equipment in their networks, and the European Commission is considering a de facto ban.

European telecoms executives say this could set back plans to roll out advanced "fifth-generation" 5G technology by at least two years. Industry analysts warn that shutting out Chinese vendors could also trigger retaliation from Beijing.

"What it loses in the West, it will win in the East," said Bengt Nordstrom, CEO of Swedish industry consultancy Northstream.

"I would expect severe disruption to the telecoms ecosystem – this for me is very similar to the Lehman Brothers situation in 2008," he added, referring to the Wall Street bank whose collapse triggered the global financial crisis.

U.S. DELEGATION

A delegation of at least eight U.S. officials is expected in Barcelona, two weeks after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Huawei equipment would jeopardise European allies' partnerships with the world's largest economy.

Huawei, an associate member of the GSMA, denies engaging in intelligence work for any government, and its founder has taken to U.S. and British media to emphasise this in recent days.

Any further restriction could spark a race between other network equipment makers to fill the void. Sweden's Ericsson and Nokia of Finland compete with Huawei, while Korea's Samsung Electronics is making a big push into the market.

Some operators fret that, were Huawei to be excluded from the process, Europe would slip behind other countries, especially if firms had to rip out parts of existing networks.

Another fundamental question the industry has yet to answer is whether 5G, which promises to link up everything from vehicles to household devices, will end up being profitable.

"The jury is still out on: is it going to be a consumer player, are there use cases that are going to demand 5G at an economic level that makes sense?" said Sam Evans, a partner at TMT consultancy and investment firm Delta Partners.

But enough testing should now have been done to "start to see at least in the short term if it's viable", Evans added.

FOLDABLE SCREENS

Alongside febrile politics, telecoms firms face the search for revenue growth as their bread-and-butter connectivity becomes ever less profitable.

Carmakers, data analytics firms and online retailers will rub shoulders with operators and unveil partnerships in fields ranging from transport to gaming and even medical surgery.

Applications for the "Internet of Things" – attaching chips that can send and receive data to everyday objects - will include sensors to prevent leaks in municipal water systems and other ways to improve city life.

After a dismal year for smartphones, with sales falling for five consecutive quarters, companies are also trying to reignite consumer interest with upgraded gadgets.

Huawei, which overtook Apple to become the world's second-biggest smartphone seller last year, will show off its latest devices at the congress.

Market leader Samsung unleashed on the world on Wednesday a nearly $2,000 smartphone with 5G connection, the world's first flexible screen and six cameras.

The device "answers skeptics who said that everything that could be done has been done," DJ Koh, chief executive of Samsung Electronics, told a launch event in San Francisco.

Source: Reuters

Vodafone Ghana is partnering Stanbic Bank once again as it prepares to celebrate a season of quality jazz music in the country.

Within a period of six years, this event has become established in the Ghanaian society and every passing year takes the celebration to a higher pedestal of excellence.

Globally acclaimed artistes such as Gerald Albright, Bob James, Richard Bona and Earl Klugh, have all graced this platform and given customers and stakeholders moments to relish.

This year’s event is scheduled to take place at the Labadi Beach Hotel and Fantasy Dome from February 28 to March 2 on the theme: “Nostalgia.”

Celebrated musicians including UB40, Salif Keita and Richard Bona are headline performers for this year’s event.

Yolanda Cuba, Chief Executive of Vodafone Ghana said:

“This partnership is more than jazz. It is a relationship that continues to reflect what it means to excite, appreciate and empower our customers beyond our core strengths. We remain grateful to Stanbic Bank for choosing us for the third time. We look forward to subsequent associations to thrill our customers and stakeholders.”

Ms. Yolanda Zoleka Cuba, has been the Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana now since March 2016. Ms. Cuba joined Vodacom Group Limited in November 1, 2014 and served as its Chief Officer of Strategy & New Business until June 21, 2016.

Source: Ghanaweb