Page 54 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2024

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HKBN to Launch Asia's First 25G PON Broadband Service with Nokia

Nokia announced that Hong Kong Broadband Network Limited the Quillion chipset, Nokia’s 25G PON fiber broadband solution
(HKBN), a leading telecom and technology solutions provider in allows HKBN to reuse its existing fiber broadband equipment to
Hong Kong, PRC, will deploy its 25G PON fiber solution to provide immediately address demand for more capacity and enhanced
customers with some of the fastest, most reliable broadband broadband services. William Yeung, HKBN Co-Owner, Executive
access speeds in the region. The 25G PON deployment will Vice-chairman and Group CEO, said: “Since 2004, HKBN has
deliver 20Gb/s symmetrical broadband speeds essential for new been the market leader in introducing Hong Kong's first fiber-to-
applications and business services powering digital economy. the-home broadband service. With an unwavering commitment
Fiber is a futureproof, energy-efficient technology being used to to innovation, we have joined forces with Nokia to achieve a
connect everything to multi-gigabit services. With the growth of groundbreaking upgrade, proudly providing customers with a
the digital economy, operators like HKBN are increasingly wanting revolutionary 25Gbps broadband speed that meets their ever-
to offer new services that can deliver the ultimate user experience increasing demands for network connectivity. Looking ahead, we
and evolve with their customers' broadband needs. Based on will continue to stay at the forefront of technological advancements,
investing resources to expand network coverage and upgrade
infrastructure. This will enable more households and businesses
to benefit from our exceptional and high-quality services.” Geert
Heyninck, Vice President of Broadband Networks at Nokia, said:
“Nokia’s technology enables HKBN to upgrade its existing fiber
network quickly and efficiently, leveraging both passive and active
assets. With Nokia's technology and HKBN 's citywide network,
we're leading customers into a new era of seamless connectivity.”
Roland Montagne, Director and Principal Analyst for FTTH at IDATE,
said: “The momentum behind 25G PON continues to build with the
number of deployments growing substantially over the past year.
Clearly the ability to quickly upgrade GPON and XGS-PON to deliver
true 25Gbs without having to deploy additional network elements
is attractive for large operators like HKBN that want to deliver 25G
PON services to its customers.”

Nokia Claims GSMA API First with Latest Software

Nokia unveiled a software product it claimed would be the
first implementation of a GSMA platform contributing to the
organization’s Open Gateway API initiative and simplify the creation
of services for consumer, enterprise and industrial users. The
vendor’s Network Exposure Platform aims to increase the number
of APIs service providers can access and simplify deployment.
Nokia stated it uses the GSMA Operator Platform, a common set-
up operators can use to deliver various interfaces. Nokia added
its software will also be compatible with initiatives including
CAMARA from the Linux Foundation and the TM Forum Open API
program, along with edge-based and other interfaces involved in
“connecting networks securely to a broader B2B digitalization”
field. The vendor designed the platform to work alongside its
network exposure function, a 3GPP-compliant, cloud-based API-
exposure product focused on revenue generation which aligns
with the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. Shkumbin Hamiti, head
of network monetization platform for Cloud and Network Services
at Nokia, said an ongoing and “collaborative effort” is needed to to rally around the GSMA Open Gateway initiative since it was
enable access to the capabilities of 4G and 5G networks. Nokia launched during MWC Barcelona 2023. Earlier this year, Telefonica
explained opening access to the deep functionality in networks president and CEO Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete likened the impact
using APIs enables application developers to create new use of the program to the introduction of roaming services, while
cases. Its platform provides a “unified, scalable and secure” place Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon praised the potential of the
for operators to offer that access. Operators have been quick standardized approach to unlock fresh revenue streams.

54 MAY-JUNE 2024