Spark 5G launch: 1 July 2020

Forums › Spark New Zealand (including Skinny and BigPipe) › Spark 5G launch: 1 July 2020

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#242902 19-Nov-2018 15:14

Today, Spark and Emirates Team New Zealand opened New Zealand’s first interactive 5G test lab by starting an official countdown to Spark’s proposed 5G network launch date. Spark aims to have New Zealand’s first 5G network live on the Auckland Harbour by 1 July 2020 for Emirates Team New Zealand to use as part of its preparation to defend the America’s Cup.

The lab opening saw both partners talk for the first time about their plans for Spark’s 5G technology and how they will use it to give Emirates Team New Zealand an edge in its defence of the 36th America’s Cup in 2021.

“Today is an important day on the roadmap to the next generation of mobile technology,” said Spark Managing Director, Simon Moutter.

“It marks the first time in New Zealand that a true 5G pre-commercial network will be turned on and available for Kiwi businesses to explore, learn and create products that will define the future of 5G. The Spark 5G Lab is primarily designed to give New Zealand companies – our customers and partners - easy access to a 5G network so they can experiment with live 5G technology. We want to be the easiest company to work with, with the most collaborative team, and with the best network. We are basing some of our engineers at the lab and will have technical support and a working space available for our customers and partners to come in and collaborate with us on co-creating the 5G future.”

With digital technology being seen as key to the America's Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand says the partnership is an important part of their planning and strategy.

“The relationship between Emirates Team New Zealand and Spark will give us an opportunity to have unrestricted access to a 5G network that will help us defend the America’s Cup in 2021,” said CEO of Emirates Team New Zealand, Grant Dalton.

“We do not necessarily know the full extent of these opportunities yet, but we know they are going to make a huge difference to the race.”

Dan Bernasconi, Head of Design at Emirates Team New Zealand, said that in order to win the cup in 2021 they needed to win the innovation race first.

“The America’s Cup is as much a technology race as it is a yacht race. We know the scope for 5G technology to help make the boat go faster is significant.”

Access to the 5G network and its reduced latency and higher bandwidth means that through the on-water testing stage the Emirates Team New Zealand designers back at base will be able to get data and analytics in real-time.

“This will make a huge difference. In Bermuda our designers had to spend hundreds of hours out on the water on chase boats close to the yacht in order to get data to then upload and analyse once they were back on shore. From there, they would look at what needed to be done for the next test day.

“With 5G our design-thinking can evolve faster, allowing us to explore more design options and buy us more of one of the most precious commodities in the America’s Cup – time. This could be a game changer for us,” said Bernasconi.

The Spark 5G Lab has a dual purpose. It’s primarily designed to be a collaboration space for New Zealand innovators, entrepreneurs and companies like Emirates Team New Zealand to have early access to 5G, so they can test and develop products and experiences that will define the future. The lab will also host technologies that showcase some of the possibilities and benefits of 5G such as robotics, virtual reality, facial recognition, Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, emergency services drones and driverless cars.

“We believe that most of the amazing things you can do with 5G are yet to be invented, so it is crucial we collaborate with businesses like Emirates Team New Zealand to start co-creating the future of 5G,” said Moutter.

“Spark is fully committed to helping Emirates Team New Zealand innovate, test and push the boundaries of technology in their quest to defend the cup, and we are thrilled they are the first partner to have jumped on board to start testing the 5G network with us through this facility,” said Moutter. “We’ll be aiming to support real-time analytics via the 5G network to help make the boat go faster.”

Tina Symmans, the Chair of Americas Cup Event Ltd, said that 5G would help provide a spectator experience that New Zealand has never seen before.

“Imagine being able to sit on your sofa and experience being ‘on the boat’ through virtual reality or live streaming the online race data while you are standing on North Head with thousands of the other spectators – watching the boats in action. We could have driverless cars taking people around the cup village, ensure traffic management and safety is catered for through smart city connectivity, even down to sensors telling us when rubbish bins are full and where to park,” said Symmans.

Spark 5G Lab is located in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter Innovation Precinct, near the America’s Cup team bases. For more information please visit www.spark5glab.co.nz.

1 | 2

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#2129533 19-Nov-2018 15:31

Although just to bring the PR spin a bit back to earth

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12162581

""But Moutter also conceded it was tricky to give an exact timeline when Communications Minister Kris Faafoi and MBIE have yet to say when the government will hold a 5G spectrum auction - or confirm whether it will include the "C-band" spectrum that Spark is keen on."

"Communications Minister Kris Faafoi said the auction will take place in time for Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees to build 5G networks that can be launched in early 2020, but talking to the Herald this afternoon, he did not yield to Moutter's demand to get a wriggle on and

"I have discussed with Simon Moutter directly the need to maximise the benefits of 5G for all New Zealand. Spark does want to move with speed but the Government has to balance that with broader considerations and the long-term impact of these decisions." Faafoi said.

"There are a number of significant considerations that need to be worked through such as, spectrum-related Treaty of Waitangi obligations, ensuring appropriate security measures and the method for spectrum allocation.""

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2129539 19-Nov-2018 15:50

wellygary:

Although just to bring the PR spin a bit back to earth

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12162581

""But Moutter also conceded it was tricky to give an exact timeline when Communications Minister Kris Faafoi and MBIE have yet to say when the government will hold a 5G spectrum auction - or confirm whether it will include the "C-band" spectrum that Spark is keen on."

"Communications Minister Kris Faafoi said the auction will take place in time for Spark, Vodafone and 2degrees to build 5G networks that can be launched in early 2020, but talking to the Herald this afternoon, he did not yield to Moutter's demand to get a wriggle on and

"I have discussed with Simon Moutter directly the need to maximise the benefits of 5G for all New Zealand. Spark does want to move with speed but the Government has to balance that with broader considerations and the long-term impact of these decisions." Faafoi said.

"There are a number of significant considerations that need to be worked through such as, spectrum-related Treaty of Waitangi obligations, ensuring appropriate security measures and the method for spectrum allocation.""

Pretty much what I was just going to post.

Most existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights expire in October 2022. Unless the Government is going to negotiate with existing rights holders who have paid big $$ for this band and fund moving out of that band there will not be any commercial use of that band before this date.

While both Spark and Vodafone have existing 3.5GHz spectrum allocations this is for FDD, not TDD.

As for Moutter's other comments there is nothing preventing 4G streaming of video to handsets, and I'm really confused why 5G is continually being referenced in the same breath as driverless cars. Why does a driverless car need 5G?

As for telling everybody when a rubbish bin is full, Spark's new Cat-M1 or LoRaWAN IoT networks are far better suited to this than 5G. Why does he think it needs 5G? Has he not been attending the sales pitches from their IoT marketing team?

TheoM

228 posts

Master Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

#2129577 19-Nov-2018 17:01

Location looks about right. The lab is on the floor below my workplace

Hi! I'm TheoM, but you know that already. I run Linux mirrors in NZ together with 2degrees. Like a mirror added? PM me!

https://theom.co.nz | https://theom.nz | https://mirrorlist.mirrors.theom.nz | Providing Free Mirrors Since Ages Ago™

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2355501 18-Nov-2019 08:41

Just received:

Spark today outlined the next phases of its progressive roll out of 5G services. Spark will deliver 5G wireless broadband into five more South Island heartland locations prior to Christmas, followed by further heartland communities from March 2020. A broader range of 5G services, covering both mobile as well as wireless broadband, will launch into major centres from mid 2020, subject to spectrum being made available by the Government.

This builds upon Spark’s announcement in September that it had switched-on the first 5G customer services in New Zealand, with the launch of 5G wireless broadband in Alexandra.

Mark Beder, Spark’s Technology Director said wireless broadband is the first meaningful use-case for 5G in New Zealand and is the focus for the initial phase of Spark’s 5G roll out.

“Our 5G roll out approach is two-fold. Firstly, we are advancing our network delivery plans so we can roll out quickly in major centres once the necessary spectrum becomes available. Secondly, we’re innovating by repurposing some of our existing spectrum to deliver 5G wireless broadband in places where it will make a real difference to customers,” Beder said.

“We are prioritising our activity to heartland locations as we think these are the places that will benefit most from the increased capacity and speed of 5G wireless broadband, and we are excited to be bringing the early benefits of 5G to customers in parts of New Zealand that have usually lagged well behind the major centres for previous technology rollouts.

“The roll-out of 5G wireless broadband to heartland locations from March 2020 will use some of our existing spectrum bands and Nokia Radio Access Network (RAN)* equipment; in a continuation of our partnership with Nokia who assisted with the launch of 5G services in Alexandra. Nokia will also be our partner for the other heartland locations that will be launched before Christmas.”

Rajesh Singh, Spark’s General Manager of Value Management said that, in line with its previously-stated multi-vendor strategy, Spark now has three companies – Nokia, Samsung and Huawei - on its roster of preferred RAN equipment suppliers for 5G. In addition, Spark will continue to use Cisco and Ericsson for separate elements of its existing Network Core, which has already been upgraded to ensure it is Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G capable.

“We’ve consistently said our approach to 5G will be multi-vendor. A key reason for this is that 5G technology is still emerging and is likely to develop significantly in the next few years, so a mix of vendors makes sense,” Singh said.

“As with any network deployment the roll-out of our 5G network is subject to government approval in accordance with the Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Act 2013 (TICSA). We have already obtained approval through TICSA to use Nokia 5G RAN equipment for our recently announced deployment in Alexandra, and for our upcoming locations before Christmas. We have withdrawn our original TICSA application, which proposed a single-vendor 5G RAN strategy. We will work through the TICSA approval process in due course with our other RAN vendors, prior to any deployment of their equipment.”

tripper1000

1617 posts

Uber Geek

#2355552 18-Nov-2019 10:24

sbiddle:

..... Most existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights expire in October 2022. Unless the Government is going to negotiate with existing rights holders who have paid big $$ for this band and fund moving out of that band there will not be any commercial use of that band before this date.

While both Spark and Vodafone have existing 3.5GHz spectrum allocations this is for FDD, not TDD....

Spark and Vodafone have had this bandwidth for years and done little to nothing with it so the big investment theme rings a bit hollow and I imagine that the Govt feels no pressure to suddenly hurry up. Besides, the greater the public sense that they're missing out on 5G, the more pressure there will be on players to bid big at the auction, and one thing is for sure, the Govt will be wanting a fat payday.

hio77

12999 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lizard Networks

#2355674 18-Nov-2019 12:40

tripper1000:

sbiddle:

..... Most existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights expire in October 2022. Unless the Government is going to negotiate with existing rights holders who have paid big $$ for this band and fund moving out of that band there will not be any commercial use of that band before this date.

While both Spark and Vodafone have existing 3.5GHz spectrum allocations this is for FDD, not TDD....

Spark and Vodafone have had this bandwidth for years and done little to nothing with it so the big investment theme rings a bit hollow and I imagine that the Govt feels no pressure to suddenly hurry up. Besides, the greater the public sense that they're missing out on 5G, the more pressure there will be on players to bid big at the auction, and one thing is for sure, the Govt will be wanting a fat payday.

Historically for providers this was used for backhaul. as Steve noted, it's FDD not TDD currently.

Spark have 7mhz (fdd pair) and Vodafone have have 28mhz (fdd pair)

That's really not that much to play with in terms of existing holdings.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

PolicyGuy

1726 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2355694 18-Nov-2019 13:06

sbiddle:

Most existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights expire in October 2022.

Unless the Government is going to negotiate with existing rights holders who have paid big $$ for this band and fund moving out of that band there will not be any commercial use of that band before this date.

While both Spark and Vodafone have existing 3.5GHz spectrum allocations this is for FDD, not TDD.

@sbiddle: what I'm reading is that you're saying that "real" 5G - the much-hyped ultra-fast mobile variety - isn't going to happen in NZ on any significant scale until the fourth quarter of 2022?

Well not unless:
   * Spark and/or Vodafone 'rent' 3.5GHz spectrum off the current holders (who are they, BTW?); or
   * the government allows Spark & Vodafone to use their FDD spectrum for TDD; or
   * the government terminates the existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights early and auctions them off Real Soon Now

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

wellygary

8312 posts

Uber Geek

#2355732 18-Nov-2019 13:57

PolicyGuy:

@sbiddle: what I'm reading is that you're saying that "real" 5G - the much-hyped ultra-fast mobile variety - isn't going to happen in NZ on any significant scale until the fourth quarter of 2022?

Well not unless:
   * Spark and/or Vodafone 'rent' 3.5GHz spectrum off the current holders (who are they, BTW?); or
   * the government allows Spark & Vodafone to use their FDD spectrum for TDD; or
   * the government terminates the existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights early and auctions them off Real Soon Now

On top of the "physical" issues, there are also Maori-Geo politics at play, and personally I can't see NZ First being anywhere near a government that includes some form of allocation of Spectrum to Maori to allow the 5G process to go forward....

(especially in an election year)

Overall this ain't going anywhere fast....

"Kris Faafoi seeks enduring iwi framework from 5G spectrum talks"

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12244600

sbiddle

30853 posts

Uber Geek

Retired Mod

Trusted

Biddle Corp

Lifetime subscriber

#2355895 18-Nov-2019 16:47

PolicyGuy:

sbiddle:

Most existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights expire in October 2022.

Unless the Government is going to negotiate with existing rights holders who have paid big $$ for this band and fund moving out of that band there will not be any commercial use of that band before this date.

While both Spark and Vodafone have existing 3.5GHz spectrum allocations this is for FDD, not TDD.

@sbiddle: what I'm reading is that you're saying that "real" 5G - the much-hyped ultra-fast mobile variety - isn't going to happen in NZ on any significant scale until the fourth quarter of 2022?

Well not unless:
   * Spark and/or Vodafone 'rent' 3.5GHz spectrum off the current holders (who are they, BTW?); or
   * the government allows Spark & Vodafone to use their FDD spectrum for TDD; or
   * the government terminates the existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights early and auctions them off Real Soon Now

Vodafone are using their 3.5GHz spectrum block for their 5G that launches next month. While this was all allocated for FDD, as long as they comply with the licence conditions and emissions they can now operate a TDD network.

There are a number of 3.5Ghz providers around the country incl a number of WISPS who operate(d) WiMAX networks. This information is all publically accessible on the RSM site. As for the government terminating these rights there is no precedent for this, and you certainly wouldn't be able to do this without paying compensation to the licence holders who all paid money for these licences, and some who still use the spectrum. Spark have been allocated some existing high band 3.6GHz spectrum that was never licenced in NZ.

And as for whether it's "real" 5G we're getting that really depends on your view of what 5G really is. Neither network is going to be able to deliver 1Gpbs+ speeds with the spectrum they have available. Many would argue that none of the 5G networks that exist around the world now are "true" 5G, which won't appear for at least another 18 months or so when they have SA (standalone) 5G networjks rather than the current NSA (non standalone) networks which are tied to current mobile networks and use 4G for upload, which is one of the reasons why 5G only delivers around 30ms or so now over the air interface and not the ~1ms or so that everybody hypes up.

ajw

1932 posts

Uber Geek

#2356879 18-Nov-2019 17:25

Interesting doco on artificial intelligence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyGEejOBdFc

PolicyGuy

1726 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2356886 18-Nov-2019 17:40

sbiddle:

PolicyGuy:

sbiddle:

Most existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights expire in October 2022.

Unless the Government is going to negotiate with existing rights holders who have paid big $$ for this band and fund moving out of that band there will not be any commercial use of that band before this date.

While both Spark and Vodafone have existing 3.5GHz spectrum allocations this is for FDD, not TDD.

@sbiddle: what I'm reading is that you're saying that "real" 5G - the much-hyped ultra-fast mobile variety - isn't going to happen in NZ on any significant scale until the fourth quarter of 2022?

Well not unless:
   * Spark and/or Vodafone 'rent' 3.5GHz spectrum off the current holders (who are they, BTW?); or
   * the government allows Spark & Vodafone to use their FDD spectrum for TDD; or
   * the government terminates the existing 3.5GHz spectrum rights early and auctions them off Real Soon Now

Vodafone are using their 3.5GHz spectrum block for their 5G that launches next month. While this was all allocated for FDD, as long as they comply with the licence conditions and emissions they can now operate a TDD network.

There are a number of 3.5Ghz providers around the country incl a number of WISPS who operate(d) WiMAX networks. This information is all publicly accessible on the RSM site. As for the government terminating these rights there is no precedent for this, and you certainly wouldn't be able to do this without paying compensation to the licence holders who all paid money for these licences, and some who still use the spectrum. Spark have been allocated some existing high band 3.6GHz spectrum that was never licenced in NZ.

And as for whether it's "real" 5G we're getting that really depends on your view of what 5G really is. Neither network is going to be able to deliver 1Gpbs+ speeds with the spectrum they have available. Many would argue that none of the 5G networks that exist around the world now are "true" 5G, which won't appear for at least another 18 months or so when they have SA (standalone) 5G networks rather than the current NSA (non standalone) networks which are tied to current mobile networks and use 4G for upload, which is one of the reasons why 5G only delivers around 30ms or so now over the air interface and not the ~1ms or so that everybody hypes up.

Thanks, Steve

Most informative
I hadn't realised the 3.5GHz spectrum referred to was the old WiMAX band.
Is this the spectrum area other major markets - esp. Oz - are using / going to use, or are we in danger of being 'different'?

BioNz

80 posts

Master Geek

#2356888 18-Nov-2019 17:50

good idea. seeing as thats the easiest way to make the most money back on investment seeing as they take all the money from a wireless connection rather than pay chorus.

i do like the rumor of chorus buying 2degrees. this would allow them to find extra revenue streams after the ufb is done

hio77

12999 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Trusted

Lizard Networks

#2356898 18-Nov-2019 18:21

BioNz:

i do like the rumor of chorus buying 2degrees. this would allow them to find extra revenue streams after the ufb is done

cant become telecom no more... hmm... lets become 2chorus!

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
79250 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#2356923 18-Nov-2019 19:32

BioNz:

i do like the rumor of chorus buying 2degrees. this would allow them to find extra revenue streams after the ufb is done

If anything, after the UFB is done then they only have revenue from the network. Why bother with an RSP and that entails?

PolicyGuy

1726 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#2356973 18-Nov-2019 20:48

After the previous government went to an enormous degree of effort to get rid of vertical integration in the fixed telecoms sector, it seems to me very unlikely that the current government / ComCom would allow Chorus to buy an RSP. Maybe a WISP, but not an RSP.

1 | 2