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The picture for machinery companies in Brazil is quite mixed - some are doing well, while others have scaled back.
Both injection press maker MIR SpA of Brescia, Italy, and Japanese blow molding machine maker Nissei ASB Machine Co. of Nagano, Japan, have suspended plans to build factories in Brazil: ``The last two years - not good, really not good'' in Brazil, according to one Nissei official.
But others exhibiting at Brasilplast 2003 in Sao Paulo were more bullish.
Injection press maker Negri Bossi SpA of Cologno Monzese, Italy, announced during the show that it plans to start building equipment in Brazil, some local plastics equipment firms have invested in new operations and some foreign firms, like Bekum do Brasil, said their Brazilian operations figure prominently in their worldwide plans.
One of the more optimistic was blow molding equipment supplier SIG Beverages.
Last year was the company's best year in Brazil since it established its operations in 1996, with new business up 40 percent, said Frank Neuhaus, director general of SIG Tecnologia para Plasticos (Brasil) Ltda. in Jundiaí.
The company's core PET bottle market only grew 4-5 percent, but the company was very aggressive, he said.
The firm plans to consolidate all its Brazilian divisions, which include operations for other packaging equipment like filling lines, into a new Sao Paulo headquarters that will increase capacity for its blow molding unit by 20 percent, according to Neuhaus. He declined to provide investment figures.
Other firms, mainly locally owned suppliers, are expanding their operations.
For example, film and sheet extrusion equipment supplier Rulli Standard Indústria e Comercio de Maquinas Ltda. of Sao Paulo is moving to a much-expanded headquarters operation, and Imacom Indústria e Comercio de Maquinas Ltda. of Diadema, Brazil, opened a larger factory and introduced an extruder that mixes PVC with wood flour.
The local suppliers said the country's currency devaluation works to their advantage. The Brazilian real has fallen to about one-third its value against the dollar since 1998, making imported machines and equipment much more expensive.
Injection press maker Himaco Hidraulicos e Maquinas Ltda. of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, said it expects sales to be up 20 percent in 2003, which sales manager Cristian Heinen said is due both to an improving economy and the currency advantages for local manufacturers.
Plastics equipment sales in Brazil posted an 18 percent increase in sales, amounting to 482 million reais ($143 million), according to figures from Brazil's machinery trade association, Abimaq, based in Sao Paulo.
``This was an above-average result for the machinery sector as a whole, which grew 13.7 percent in 2002,'' said Abimaq President Luiz Carlos Delben Leite. According to his estimate, equipment sales to the plastics sector will grow 15 percent this year.
Plastics machinery exports also grew in 2002, ending the year at $34.1 million, compared with $32.5 million the year before. That 5 percent growth is partially due to entering new markets such as Canada, Singapore and Portugal, to make up for business lost to Argentina's economic crisis.
``Brazilian-made machines are entering very competitive markets, demonstrating the technological improvements the sector underwent lately,'' said Maristela Miranda, president of the Brazilian Machinery for Plastics Chamber, a division of Abimaq.
The difficulty of selling imported machines, particularly with the currency devaluation, was the main reason Negri Bossi decided to build in Brazil, said Antonio Rampone, area manager for the Milan, Italy-based firm.
The cheaper Brazilian currency made imported machines 80 percent more expensive, when tariffs and transportation are factored in, he said. So the company is launching a small injection press factory in Mogimirim, in August, with capacity to build 60 machines a year, he said.
The factory will start producing hydraulic and hybrid machines with clamping forces of 160-500 tons, with 60 percent Brazilian content, Rampone said. The company said it may produce new all-electric machines there, too, because it sees a need in Brazil.
Brazil is indeed a market in need of up-to-date machines - 70 percent of its plastics processing machines are more than 10 years old. But the challenge is getting the capital to replace them.
Plastics molders are holding off on buying equipment, waiting to see what happens with the economy and the new government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, said Fabio Seabra, general manager of Husky do Brasil Sistemas de InjeÃ§ao Ltda. in Jundiaí. Canadian-based Husky maintains a technical center in the country and has started to manufacture hot-runner manifolds in Brazil.
``With the uncertainty and the instability of the currency, everybody is saying, `Let me wait,' '' Seabra said. He said it is very hard for businesses to plan with resin prices up so much - 102 percent in the past year - and the weak Brazilian currency.
If the economy were more stable, Husky could sell 50 percent more machines, Seabra said.
One of Husky's local competitors, however, is growing.
Mold component manufacturer Polimold Industrial SA has spent US$6 million in the past two years to add 33,000 square feet and 10 computer numerically controlled machines to make hot runners and bases for high-speed molds, particularly to compete with Husky.
Polimold's business is good because the automotive and electronics industries have to develop new products that require new molds, but Alexandre Fix, director of Polimold, said the Brazilian industry remains fragile because of high interest rates and worries about the war in Iraq.
``It is very difficult to tell if the market will grow this year,'' he said. ``The mold-making industry is not good. ... With interest [rates] so high, it is difficult to run a business.''
Blow mold machinery maker Bekum do Brasil Indústria e Comercio Ltda. does not see the Brazilian market as strong right now. But the company thinks its manufacturing plant in Sao Paulo will do much better in 2003 because Brazil is becoming a low-cost manufacturing center for the company.
``I think because of the currency it has made our machines that much more affordable,'' said Carlos Helfenstein, vice president of sales and marketing for Bekum America Corp. in Williamston, Mich.
In the past 15 months, the company has exported machines to Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe from Brazil, and expects to build 45 machines in Sao Paulo this year, compared with 32 last year.
Exporting ``has been quite substantial for us,'' he said.
Portugal's mold-making community also sees a split in Brazil. Those tool shops that have production in Brazil are doing reasonably well, particularly in their core automotive markets, while those trying to export to the country are stymied by the high euro.
``They are waiting for stability in the economy,'' said Manuel Oliveira, secretary general of Cefamol, Portugal's mold-making trade association.


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Joyce talks about illegal immigration and how many crossings the US has in a day. She talks about how American business owners are exploiting undocumented workers and flooding the workforce. Two teens purposely run down a bicyclist and filmed it. Joyce also talks about Israel, the Biden administration paying to release American citizens from Iran, a missing fighter jet, and Chicago to have government run grocery stores in areas that need it.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The words ‘digital economy’ conjure images of young, tech-savvy entrepreneurs breaking moulds in a world where technology is disruptive. But could the reality be much more mundane and mercantile?
When Facebook released “Facebook at work” earlier this year, the social networking goliath laid a huge challenge at the feet of LinkedIn, a powerful incumbent that had until then dominated its corner of the market.
The market segment in question – ‘Social Software in the Workplace’ – was recently identified as distinct from the wider social media marketplace by well-known industry analysts Gartner Inc.
Together with the several other sub-markets of social media the firm has identified in recent years, at first glance this seems to emphasise the sheer unstoppable energy of markets for the future digital economy — with the proliferation of not only products but entire product categories.
But could this explosion of new segments have a different source? Dig a little deeper and Gartner’s role appears highly significant.
For more than 30 years, Gartner has been telling the business world what the next thing in technology is. Its analysis works by listing recognised players operating in a new field and depicting them in its (in)famous graphical ranking, the Magic Quadrant.
The Magic Quadrant is central to the firm’s success and a large part of how it’s managed to retain its 30% share of the $4 bn annual market for industry analysis. But while it may be described as amongst the most important and influential pieces of business research produced today, it has (at least) one serious flaw.
Having used the system for more than three decades, Gartner knows just the right number of vendors to depict to construct a graphic decision-makers find useful — somewhere between 10 and 25.
This ‘beautiful picture’ — as the firm’s analysts have taken to calling it — gives CIOs just enough information to gain an ‘at a glance’ understanding of what’s going on in the market without rendering further advice from Gartner redundant.
The trouble is, what happens when there are hundreds rather than tens of players in a given segment? How do they map it then? As one of the firm’s analysts recently explained “…graphically you can, […] we’ve done it, you have 100 dots on the chart but its unreadable. It is just garbage.”
So when they were faced with a Magic Quadrant for ‘Social Software’ which looked ‘too cluttered’ to be a meaningful analytic tool for CIOs, the analysts decided they’d break it into smaller pieces.
Thus three new market segments ‘Social Software in the Workplace’, ‘Externally Facing Social Software’, and ‘Social CRM’ were born. And with them came three more aesthetically pleasing, marketable Magic Quadrants.
Let’s be clear in what we’re saying here. Some of the most important and high profile market segments of the digital economy were not created as a simple result of technological innovation or product differentiation driven by firms stretching boundaries.
These prosthetic markets don’t describe real, organic relationships between vendors and adopter communities. They were created by analysts to compensate for the limitations of Gartner’s signature research product.
We don’t know exactly how many of its 350 or so Magic Quadrants are prosthetic, but the fieldwork we’ve conducted during the past ten years suggests it’s likely to be quite a few.
Nor are Gartner alone in the practice. Its main rival Forrester also configures new markets around the constraints of the ‘Forrester Wave’ — its depiction of around seven to 10 vendors. And given there are now as many as 700 similar firms producing influential research on the digital economy, it may be these prosthetic markets are more prevalent than we think.
These interventions aren’t trivial. They ultimately shape the process of innovation and product development that constitutes the digital economy.
Thankfully many of the savvy tech firms seem to recognise this. But with Facebook at Work, Facebook could easily end up losing out if it isn’t careful.
Not only is its entry late, it seems surprisingly unaware its new ‘Social Software in the Workplace’ battleground has in many respects been by Gartner’s analysts, meaning its dynamics could be very different to an organic marketplace.
It is clear industry analysts are making their mark on the digital future in ways most commentators have yet to fully realise. What is most remarkable is not only how quickly these firms have been able to establish influence over markets and tech vendors, but on what this power appears to rest.
The digital economy is being shaped not simply by the supply and demand of traditional market economics. But it’s also being driven by — as one former analyst recently suggested to me — what needs to be done to keep industry analysts ‘in the game.’
Headline image credit: Facebook Connections by mikecogh. CC-BY-SA 2.0 via Flickr.


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Apple has merged its iPod and iPod photo lines and outlined plans to build further podcasting functionality into iTunes.
A statement released by Apple said the vendor would merge its iPod and iPod photo lines to create a single line of white iPods with colour displays that let users view album artwork, photos and slideshows.
Apple did not say whether the move was based on sales results for the two independent lines.
The simplified iPod lineup would have a 20GB model for some 5000 songs and a 60GB model for up to 15,000 songs.
Apple said it was also building podcasting functionality into iPods, starting with a podcast menu with bookmarking and artwork display features.
Greg Joswiak, vice president of iPod product marketing at the US vendor, said iPod customers liked "to enhance their listening experience" with colour.
"[Apple is] simplifying our iPod lineup," Joswiak said.
Meanwhile, a new version of iTunes -- 4.9 -- was aimed at helping users more easily find and subscribe to podcasts. New episodes could be automatically downloaded to a user's Mac or PC and "auto-synched" to an iPod, Apple said.
"Apple is taking Podcasting mainstream by building it right into iTunes," claimed Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive officer.
"Podcasting is the next generation of radio, and users can now subscribe to over 3000 free podcasts and have each new episode automatically delivered over the Internet to their computer and iPod," Jobs said.
A podcast directory in iTunes 4.9 had some 3000 free audio programs, Apple said.
Examples included the BBC, Newsweek and local US shows, Apple said.


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The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently announced recall #18-022 for KIDDE portable fire extinguishers manufactured between Jan. 1, 1973 and Aug. 15, 2017. In response and support of this recall, the Town of Wake Forest is urging area residents and businesses that own a KIDDE brand fire extinguisher to review the following:
- Review the CPSC recall information at www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/kidde-recalls-fire-extinguishers-with-plastic-handles-due-to-failure-to-discharge-and
- Review additional information from KIDDE at https://inmarmarketaction.com/kidde/
Anyone who does not have Internet-access may call Kidde toll-free at 855-271-0773 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday.
Given the nature of these fire safety devices, the Town of Wake Forest is advising all area residents and businesses that own a KIDDE brand fire extinguisher to act as soon as possible to ensure their in-service fire safety equipment performs as expected.
For additional information regarding this recall or other fire safety-related questions, contact the Town of Wake Forest Fire Inspector’s office at 919-435-9526 or 919-435-9535.
The post People urged to check KIDDE fire extinguishers appeared first on The Wake Forest Gazette – Local News & Events in Wake Forest, NC.


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Crop expansion allows the sector to meet growing demand in the country and in its main markets abroad
At the end of a very good harvest, Brazil’s peanut sector foresees an increase in supply on the domestic market and exports in 2020, thus guaranteeing supply. The good performance results from the growth of the planted area, exceeding 200 thousand hectares, and productivity, with an estimated harvest of 700 thousand tons of shelled peanuts in the country, according to data from the State Government’s Agronomic Institute of São Paulo.
“This year, we have a good harvest and a high quality product, two key factors during a time when, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is a concern to ensure food supplies, especially more healthy products,” says Ubiracy Fonsêca, president of ABICAB (Brazilian Chocolates, Peanuts and Candies Manufacturers Association), the trade association that promotes Brasil Sweets and Snacks, an export promotion program in partnership with Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency).
ABICAB’s president points out that peanuts are an inexpensive source of protein, with a high content of vitamins, minerals and antioxidant components, in addition to nutrients that decrease bad cholesterol when combined, making it an important item in the diet during this period of difficulties in the economy and loss of income caused by the pandemic.
Peanut consumption has been increasing in Brazil, especially among a growing number of people who care about their well-being, following a healthy diet and maintaining physical fitness, according to Ignácio Godoy, a researcher at IAC. “Even with this growth in domestic demand, 60% of the highest quality peanuts in the country are destined for export”, says Godoy.
Brazilian peanuts have a high oleic content, which guarantees a longer shelf life, and the product also goes through a strict sanitary inspection system, developed by the industry, the professor explains. The increase in the harvest and the quality of the Brazilian product should contribute to a significant increase in exports, especially to the European Union and Russia, the two main markets for peanuts produced in the country.
“Our projections indicate a 20% growth in Brazilian peanut exports this year, reaching 250,000 tons of grains traded abroad”, predicts Rodrigo Francfort, business director at Francfort, a food trading company that holds about 15% of the total of peanut exports from Brazil.
Another important factor is that the infrastructure for draining peanuts for export and for supplying chocolate and snack factories in Brazil was not affected by policies to contain and combat the pandemic, according to the industries. This has also contributed to Brazilian companies ensuring compliance with their peanut export contracts, even with increased demand.
“Food factories in general, including chocolates and snacks, have not stopped, on the contrary, many are increasing production to ensure supplies, especially after runs to supermarkets were registered in some countries. For this reason, there are cases where we had to anticipate shipments from contracts closed at the end of last year”, highlights Robson Fonseca, foreign trade manager of the agricultural cooperative Coplana.
ABOUT ABICAB – The Brazilian Chocolate, Peanut and Candies Manufacturers Association (ABICAB) was founded in 1957 and represents the national confectionery industry in public and private spheres in Brazil. The national confectionery industry represents R$ 26,4 billion in retail value and employs more than 42,000 workers. The Association, which currently represents 93% of the chocolate market, 92% of the candy and confections market and 62% of the peanut market, has aims to develop, protect and promote the confectionery associated industry, stimulating actions to foster internal and external market in these sectors, as well as responsible consumption of products. https://www.brasilsns.org.br
ABOUT APEX-BRASIL – The Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) works to promote Brazilian products and services abroad, and to attract foreign investment to strategic sectors of the Brazilian economy. Apex-Brasil organizes several initiatives aiming to promote Brazilian exports abroad. The Agency´s efforts comprise trade and prospective missions, business rounds, support for the participation of Brazilian companies in major international trade fairs, arrangement of technical visits of foreign buyers and opinion makers to learn about the Brazilian productive structure, and other select activities designed to strengthen the country’s branding abroad. Apex-Brasil also plays a leading role in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to Brazil, by working to identify business opportunities, promoting strategic events and lending support to foreign investors willing to allocate resources in Brazil. www.apexbrasil.com.br/en/home


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Jersey Boy's Pizza of Mahwah, NJ Serves Up Its Pizza Online
Jersey Boy's Pizza Serves Up Its Pizza Online
Mahwah, New Jersey - October 14, 2008 -
Jersey Boy's Pizza, 130 State Highway 17, has just entered the Internet age with the introduction of online ordering at its website.
Their new online ordering service puts takeout or delivery ordering just a few mouse clicks or keystrokes away.
Customers can now point their web browser to http://www.jerseyboysfood.com and order their favorite food in just seconds.
Customers with hearing or vision loss will especially enjoy the easy accessibility that this service now provides to Jersey Boy's full menu.
"I like to think of this as a community service," said Dominic Certo, owner of Jersey Boy's Pizza and Subs.
Jersey Boy's is no stranger to community service. They provided the food for the recent Mahwah 5k walk and will do so again on October 18 for the upcoming Mahwah 10 k walk. Both walks benefit the Mahwah Education Foundation.
In addition, local police and firefighters always enjoy deep discounts at Jersey Boy's Pizza.
To celebrate their new online ordering service, Jersey Boy's Pizza offers a special introductory deal:
Any customer who signs up to order online can get a 16 Inch cheese pizza for $5.
Customers can take advantage of this offer by clicking the Order Online Now button at www.jerseyboysfood.com and filling out the registration form. As part of the sign up process the customer will receive a special coupon by email.
Jersey Boy's Pizza's online ordering is provided by Pizza Galaxy, www.pizzagalaxy.com, a national provider of online ordering services for restaurants.
"People are coming to expect online ordering from their pizza shops," said Rudy Vener, owner and founder of Pizza Galaxy. "It isn't just the big chains who offer this service now."


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After seven months of economic decline, the US economy remarkably revived in February as per the results of a purchasing managers survey by S&P Global published on Tuesday, showcasing the country’s strength even amidst increasing interest rates and slowing activity.
Business Mood Positive Despite Rising Interest Rates in the US Economy
The S&P Global Flash Composite Output Index, which monitors manufacturing and services industries, rose from 46.8 in January to 50.2 in February- marking the second consecutive month of growth exceeding 50.0 – a sign that expansion has resumed since June despite higher interest rates and inflationary pressures on consumers’ wallets. Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, stated that this upturn indicates receding recession risks as the business sentiment appears more optimistic now than before.
Despite this, the reading suggests a slight enlargement of the US economy driven by an increase in services sector activity. This rebound was reportedly propelled by unseasonably warm temperatures, according to the report.
Demand Is Decreasing but Slower
The survey revealed that while demand was still shrinking in February, the pace of deterioration had eased. Service providers registered a minimal decrease in client orders, S&P Global reported; however, manufacturers experienced a notable plunge for the second month running. Furthermore, The Wall Street Journal’s consensus forecast of 47.0 came to fruition as the flash U.S services PMI rose to 50.5 from 46.8 – an eight-month high!
Although activity among service providers saw a slight increase, customers remained hesitant to take part due to rising inflation and interest rates. The U.S manufacturing PMI registered at 47.8 – surpassing economists’ expectations of 47.6 – but still indicating contraction in the market overall.
Despite Signals of Recovery, Manufacturing Sector Continues to Shrink
Factory output levels remained stagnant for the fourth month running, and orders plummeted significantly. Mr. Williamson pointed out, “Although there has been some improvement in manufacturing survey data, the factory industry is still down with a focus on minimizing inventory.” On top of this, cost inflation decreased last month; however, rates of increase in retail prices increased rapidly, according to the report.
The survey results clearly illustrate the shift in power to wages due to the current tight labor market. This can lead to fears surrounding rising wage-price pressures and could result in an increase in interest rates, ultimately hindering growth. According to Mr. Williamson, “Accelerating service sector price growth will add fuel to this fire.”


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Nike: sorry for Irish shoe gaffe
Nike has introduced its new Black and Tan shoe for St. Patrick's Day. Unfortunately, its name mirrors the reviled moniker that the Irish gave to oppressive British forces in the 1920s.
Black and Tan. That's the name used for a new Nike sneaker arriving just in time for St. Patrick's Day; it's also a nod to the popular beer mash-up. Just one problem: Black and Tan is also a term reviled in Ireland, a sneering reference to the British forces accused of mistreating Irish citizens in the 1920s.
In other words, it would be akin, in some circles, to naming a sneaker the Taliban or the Nazi.
Cue today's "sorry" from the athletic shoe giant: "We apologize," Nike said in a statement to Fox News. "No offense was intended."...
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Huawei unveiled its “All Bands Go to 5G” strategy for the evolution towards a 5G wireless network at its Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2018 in London last week. This strategy provides suggestions for future development of the wireless network in three key aspects: simplified site, simplified network, and automation.
Huawei Launches the Evolution Strategy for 5G-oriented Wireless Target Network
I. Global commercial use of 5G networks has now entered the fast lane.
Massive wireless connectivity has become an inevitable trend. Data traffic on global mobile broadband (MBB) networks has increased rapidly. By 1st half of 2018, the data of usage (DOU) for a number of global operators has exceeded 10 GB, and that in certain Middle East regions has even reached 70 GB. Releasing data traffic helps to promote a positive MBB business cycle in the global wireless industry and ushers in a new era of traffic operation.
By October 2018, new fixed wireless access (FWA) services have been put into commercial use on about 230 networks. About 75 million families can now enjoy the benefits of FWA-based home broadband (HBB) services. In the future, the larger bandwidth capability of 5G will provide fiber-like HBB user experience and enable diverse home entertainment applications such as 4K/8K UHD video and AR/VR. At the same time, new IoT connections are becoming a new source of potential growth for operators. LTE NB-IoT is undergoing rapid development and has seen 58 commercial networks around the world, with industry applications providing millions of connections such as smart gas, water, white goods, firefighting, and electric vehicle tracking. 5G technologies will offer more reliable connection capabilities with shorter latency. Massive wireless connectivity has become an inevitable trend.
The development of the global 5G industry is accelerating in 2018. According to the 5G spectrum report published by GSA in November 2018, the UK, Spain, Latvia, Korea, and Ireland have officially released spectrum resources dedicated for 5G by August 2018. In addition, 35 countries have scheduled related plans. The 5G industry supply chain is steadily growing more and more mature.
Huawei claims to have released 5G commercial CPEs in 2018 (???), and multiple 5G smartphones will be launched in 2019. According to the report released by GSMA, 182 global operators are conducting tests on 5G technologies and 74 operators have announced plans for 5G commercial deployment. Global commercial use of 5G networks has now entered the fast lane, according to Huawei (but not this author).
5G development will enable more commercial application scenarios and promote the continuous development of a digital society. Under such circumstances, Huawei has proposed a new eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broad Band) industry vision for Cloud X featuring smart terminals, broad pipes, and cloud applications. For example, Huawei has shifted the most complex processes of rendering, real-time computing, and service content to the cloud. Thanks to transmission data streams using large bandwidth and ultra-low latency on the 5G network, as well as encoding and decoding technologies that match the cloud and terminals, applications such as Cloud AR/VR can be deployed anywhere anytime, according to the company.
Huawei believes that AI technologies can be adopted in the communication industry. AI-based automation of network planning, deployment, optimization, and service provisioning will enable network O&M to be simplified, unleash network potential, and make networks more intelligent.
II. “LTE Evolution+5G NR” is gaining industry’s consensus for 5G wireless networks.
In the 5G era, wireless spectrum evolution is divided into two phases:
Phase 1: Sub-3 GHz spectrum resources evolve to LTE and 5G non stand alone (based on 3GPP release 15 NR) high frequency bands are introduced.
Phase 2: Sub-3 GHz spectrum resources evolve to 5G NR. “LTE Evo+NR” is realized on the target network.
Therefore, target network evolution in the 5G era can be summarized as “LTE Evolution+5G NR.” In the process of achieving this goal, the global wireless network faces the following challenges:
1. OPEX increases year by year. From 2005 to 2017, global operators’ OPEX/revenue percentage is increased from 62% to 75%. In the future, the coexistence of 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G will increase the complexity of network O&M. In particular, site TCO is high. Site deployment still faces several issues such as difficult site acquisition, high engineering costs, and high site rentals.
2. 4G-LTE basic services fall back to 2G or 3G. Generally, insufficient 4G network coverage causes VoLTE services to fall back to 2G or 3G, deteriorating voice experience. NB-IoT/eMTC services also require better 4G network coverage. As a result, it is difficult for operators to shut down 2G and 3G networks.
–>The coexistence of four RAN technologies leads to more complex network operation and presents difficulties in reducing OPEX.
III. 5G-oriented simplified networks are built to effectively meet challenges and promote 5G business success.
Peter Zhou, CMO of Huawei Wireless Network Product Line, illustrated the evolution strategy for 5G-oriented wireless target network. This strategy aims to help operators resolve the preceding challenges and commercialize 5G. The evolution strategy includes three key aspects: simplified site, simplified network, and automation.
Simplified site enables full outdoor base stations and facilitates site acquisition, deployment, and TCO saving.
Along with the development of Moore’s Law, the 7 nm technology has enjoyed widespread commercial adoption throughout the chip manufacturing industry, and BBUs are becoming more and more integrated. In recent years, lithium battery technology has seen rapid development, and the energy density of lithium batteries is far more superior to that of lead-acid batteries. The development of new technologies makes full outdoor wireless base stations a reality. Peter Zhou pointed out, “Using componentized outdoor BBUs, blade power modules, and blade batteries, full outdoor macro base stations can be deployed on poles without shelters or cabinets. This greatly reduces the upgrade cost of existing sites, decreases the difficulty and cost of obtaining new sites, and helps operators reduce TCO by 30% and above.”
Antenna reconstruction is required for 5G deployment on the C-band. Currently, 70% urban sites cannot deploy new antennas due to insufficient antenna space. In order to resolve this problem, Huawei proposes the “1+1” antenna solution. That is, one multi-band antenna is used to support all sub-3 GHz bands, and one Massive MIMO AAU is used to support C-band NR. In total, two antennas are able to support all operator’s frequency bands. This solution greatly simplifies site space, reduces site OPEX, and realizes 5G NR deployment with insufficient antenna space.
Simplified network realizes the construction of an LTE full-service foundation network and ensures “Zero Fallback” for three basic services.
In the 5G era, the coexistence of multiple RAN technologies (2G/3G/4G/5G) results in complex networks and high O&M costs. Therefore, basic voice, IoT, and data services need to be migrated to the LTE network so that the LTE network becomes the bearer network for basic services and 2G and 3G networks enter the life cycle development phase. Huawei’s Peter Zhou emphasized that, “The LTE network needs to be built as a full-service foundation network to achieve ‘Zero Fallback’ for basic services such as voice, IoT, and data. Therefore, LTE must be planned based on the coverage of basic services rather than the traditional population coverage.”
“Simplified site, simplified network, and automation help operators reduce TCO, simplify the network architecture, reduce operation costs, and fully unleash the network potential. This lays a solid foundation for the successful commercial use of 5G networks and helps the industry to identify the goal and direction for future network evolution. Huawei also wishes to work more closely with industry partners to innovate continuously, build a 5G business ecosystem, and finally achieve a better connected digital society.”
Separately, China Telecom announced it had partnered with Huawei for investment in 5G innovation and has begun researching how to commercialize 5G technology. Both parties intend to leverage their advantages to develop the 5G service innovation base, build an industry ecosystem alliance, and research the usage scenarios and business models of 5G services. Huawei Wireless X Labs in Shenzhen, simulates 5G technologies and usage scenarios, and works with upstream and downstream industry partners to jointly develop industry standards and plans. China Telecom leverages the resources of 5G trial networks and existing industry customers to develop new 5G applications, driving the development of the entire 5G industry and improving China Telecom’s influence in the 5G field.
Based on the first of six 5G trial network, China Telecom Shenzhen is exploring 5G application models. During the 5G Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) flight test and inspection demonstration, remote control personnel experienced VR capabilities and remote HD video transmission over a low-latency 5G network. Both the maiden test flight and inspection were completed successfully, demonstrating the ability of 5G to support UAV applications. This means that aerial photography, unattended inspection, logistics transportation, security identification, and other industrial applications will be driven by the rapid development of 5G in the telecom sector, creating a strong foundation for China Telecom to explore new vertical industries. In tests on Gbps-level experience buses, 5G provided an average speed of more than 1 Gbps and a peak rate of 3 Gbps, allowing passengers to experience mobile 4K IPTV, 16-channel HD video streams, and VR applications while traveling. This paves the way for China Telecom’s plans of 5G and IPTV convergence.
To achieve its goal of connecting 50 5G sites by the end of 2018 while constructing its transport network, China Telecom Shenzhen upgraded its existing IP RAN to deploy and verify 5G technologies, enabling the co-existence of both 4G and 5G. In addition, the operator gained valuable engineering experience and developed scenario-based solutions for subsequent 5G construction.
Addressing 5G challenges for the smooth evolution of live networks
While bringing a wide variety of services, 5G also brings challenges in terms of bandwidth, latency, connections, and the slicing of transport networks. GNodeBs, however, deliver five to ten times more bandwidth than eNodeBs. 5G services such as Internet of Vehicles (IoV) require the latency to be one-tenth of what they are with 4G. In terms of connections, the cloudification of wireless and core networks brings full-mesh connections, requiring flexible scheduling on the transport network. In addition, 5G’s differentiated services require network slicing, with a focus on isolation and the automated management of network slices on transport networks. To cope with these challenges, China Telecom Shenzhen assessed the existing IP RAN, opting to upgrade and expand core and aggregation devices and replace specific access devices for 5G transport. To quickly deploy 5G services and fully reuse the existing network, China Telecom Shenzhen implemented the smooth evolution solution for the transport network in pilot areas.
Network upgrade for co-existence of 4G and 5G
The co-deployment of eNodeB and gNodeB is the optimal choice for transport networks, and China Telecom Shenzhen verified different co-existence solutions. Access ring devices can be upgraded and expanded to satisfy the requirements of 50GE ring networking and allow 4G and 5G services to share the same access ring. When access devices need to be replaced, China Telecom Shenzhen can establish a new 5G access ring, which can share the core and aggregation layer to achieve unified service bearing.
E2E large capacity to meet HD video transmission requirements
As China Telecom continues to explore 5G services, the convergence of 5G and IPTV has become its focus. To meet the requirements of 4K IPTV video transmission using 5G, the transport network must have large bandwidth transmission capabilities. China Telecom Shenzhen upgraded the access layer from an eNodeB GE ring to a 50GE ring, and upgraded the core and aggregation layer from a 10GE network to a 100GE network, allowing high-bandwidth connections between base stations and the core network.
1. Huawei has signed 22 commercial contracts for 5G as operators prepare for the commercial launch of the new technology.
The company’s executive director and president of carrier business group Ryan Ding made the announcement during a keynote speech at the Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) in London.
During his speech, Ding noted that a number of operators are expediting 5G commercial deployment in order to secure the first mover advantage. Major countries representing a third of the global population are among the first adopters of the technology.
“So far, we have signed 22 commercial contracts for 5G, and we are working with over 50 carriers on 5G commercial tests,” Ding said.
“Through heavy investment and continuous innovation, we are committed to helping carriers deploy 5G networks easily, rapidly, and cost-effectively. And we are ready to work with all stakeholders to drive robust development of the 5G industry.”
Ding spoke of the technical capabilities of Huawei’s 4G/5G kit, such as an uplink and downlink decoupling that can achieve co-coverage of 4G and 5G using C-band spectrum, and the ability to offer end-to-end solutions meant it was an ideal partner for operators.Ding added that the first 5G smartphones will be available next year, and phone makers are expected to launch budget 5G phones priced at around $100 soon after the commercial roll-out of 5G networks.
He also mentioned the relatively small size and lightweight of Huawei’s wireless networking equipment. This will appeal to operators struggling to add more equipment to mobile sites, especially in urban areas
“Every new generation of network comes with new challenges, and this applies to 5G commercial deployment, too,” said Ding. “We take complexity and deliver simplicity. That means we will provide innovative solutions to address challenges in 5G commercialization. Our close collaboration with carriers will help them find the easy way to 5G.
“Huawei has earned customer recognition for our leading 5G end-to-end capabilities and innovative products and solutions. So far, we have signed 22 commercial contracts for 5G, and we are working with over 50 carriers on 5G commercial tests. Through heavy investment and continuous innovation, we are committed to helping carriers deploy 5G networks easily, rapidly, and cost-effectively. And we are ready to work with all stakeholders to drive robust development of the 5G industry.”
The 5G contracts could also be viewed as a vote of confidence in Huawei. It has effectively been frozen out of the U.S. and Australian markets due to national security fears, specifically that the use of its equipment risks the possibility of Chinese government backdoors.
–>The effort to ban Huawei is further described in 2. below.
2. U.S. Asks Allies to Drop Huawei – worried about potential Chinese meddling in 5G networks, but foreign carriers may balk
The U.S. government has initiated an extraordinary outreach campaign to foreign allies, trying to persuade wireless and internet service providers in these countries to avoid telecommunications equipment from China’s Huawei Technologies Co., according to people familiar with the situation.
American officials have briefed their government counterparts and telecom executives in friendly countries where Huawei equipment is already in wide use, including Germany, Italy and Japan, about what they see as cybersecurity risks, these people said. The U.S. is also considering increasing financial aid for telecommunications development in countries that shun Chinese-made equipment, some of these people say.
One U.S. concern centers on the use of Chinese telecom equipment in countries that host American military bases, according to people familiar with the matter. The Defense Department has its own satellites and telecom network for especially sensitive communications, but most traffic at many military installations travels through commercial networks.
Officials familiar with the current effort say concerns about telecom-network vulnerabilities predate the Trump era and reflect longstanding national-security worries.
The overseas push comes as wireless and internet providers around the world prepare to buy new hardware for 5G, the coming generation of mobile technology. 5G promises superfast connections that enable self-driving cars and the “Internet of Things,” in which factories and such everyday objects as heart monitors and sneakers are internet-connected.
U.S. officials say they worry about the prospect of Chinese telecom-equipment makers spying on or disabling connections to an exponentially growing universe of things, including components of manufacturing plants.
“We engage with countries around the world about our concerns regarding cyberthreats in telecommunications infrastructure,” a U.S. official said. “As they’re looking to move to 5G, we remind them of those concerns. There are additional complexities to 5G networks that make them more vulnerable to cyberattacks.”
The briefings are aimed at dissuading governments and telecom executives from using Huawei network components in both government and commercially operated networks. A core focus of the briefings is Beijing’s ability to force Chinese corporations to comply with government requests from government authorities, a U.S. official said.
The talking points also emphasize how wireless and internet networks in a few years could be more susceptible to cyberattacks or espionage, people familiar with the briefings said. Today’s cellular-tower equipment, for instance, is largely isolated from the “core” systems that transfer much of a network’s voice and data traffic. But in the 5G networks telecom carriers are preparing to install, cellular-tower hardware will take over some tasks from the core—and that hardware could potentially be used to disrupt the core via cyberattacks. For that reason, U.S. officials worry that Huawei or ZTE cellular-tower equipment could compromise swaths of a telecom network.
Huawei is the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker behind Samsung Electronics Co. It is the global leader for telecom equipment, such as the hardware that goes into cellular towers, internet networks and other infrastructure that enables modern communication.
Huawei has long said it is an employee-owned company and isn’t beholden to any government, and has never used its equipment to spy on or sabotage other countries. It said its equipment is as safe as that of Western competitors, such as Finland’s Nokia Corp. and Sweden’s Ericsson , because all manufacturers share common supply lines.
In a statement Friday, Huawei said it has its customers’ trust and was “surprised by the behaviors of the U.S. government” detailed in this article. “If a government’s behavior extends beyond its jurisdiction, such activity should not be encouraged,” it said.
The Trump administration and Congress this year initiated a multipronged push to tighten up restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese telecom-equipment manufacturers, including ZTE Corp. The Federal Communications Commission, for instance, moved to restrict federal subsidies to some carriers if they buy Chinese gear.
Even without U.S. business, Huawei dominates the world’s telecom-equipment market. Last year, the company held a 22% share globally, according to research firm IHS Markit Ltd. Nokia had 13%, Ericsson had 11% and ZTE was in fourth at 10%. Dell’Oro Group says Huawei has a 38% revenue market share in Asia Pacific, a 30% share in Europe, but only a 2% share in North America.
Some other members of the “Five Eyes,” a five-member intelligence pact among English-speaking countries that includes the U.S., have also publicly challenged Huawei. The Australian government in August banned Huawei and ZTE from its 5G networks. In October, U.K. authorities said they were reviewing the makeup of its telecom-equipment market, a move industry leaders said was clearly aimed at Huawei.
Still, there is a big hitch to U.S. efforts to curb Huawei overseas: The company is already popular among carriers in allied countries, including some of America’s closest military partners. Some major carriers in these places say Huawei offers the most products and often customizes them to fit a carrier’s needs. They also cite lower costs and high quality.
In an effort to narrow that advantage in some countries, Washington is considering ways to increase funding from various U.S. government sources to subsidize the purchase and use of non-Chinese equipment, according to people familiar with the matter. Countries buying Chinese telecommunications equipment would be ineligible for such subsidies.
In the past year, U.S. officials, including representatives from the National Security Council and Commerce, Defense and State departments, worked together to produce briefing notes about why they believe Chinese telecom equipment poses national-security risks, people familiar with the matter said. One U.S. government official said they focused on Huawei but also included ZTE, a Chinese rival with a much smaller business outside China. A ZTE representative declined to comment on the U.S. effort.
Washington has circulated the notes to national-security officials as well as to embassies, with the idea that they can deliver the message to foreign officials and telecom executives, some of the people said.
A spokesman for the Commerce Department said it would “remain vigilant against any threat to U.S. national security.” Spokesmen for the National Security Council and the State Department declined to comment. The Defense Department didn’t return a request for comment.
U.S. officials have briefed counterparts in Germany, which has signaled a new wariness toward Huawei, according to people familiar with the matter. Huawei this month opened a lab in Germany similar to one it already operates in Britain, where Huawei products are inspected for security flaws. The U.K. government said in July it found shortcomings in the process.
Germany’s Federal Office for Information Security declined to comment.
American officials have also briefed Japanese officials about Huawei, people familiar with the matter said. A Japanese government official said “we share various information with the U.S.,” but declined to comment on specifics. Japanese officials in August said they were studying restrictions on Huawei.
Huawei has launched what it says is the industry’s first full-range 5G power solutions for wireless network operators which will address an expected 100% increase in 5G energy consumption when compared to 4G power dissipation.
The 5G Power series of products are designed to deliver an end-to-end, scalable energy solution for both newly built and upgradeable cell sites.
It has been designed utilizing technology including peak shaving, linked voltage boosting and energy slicing to provide a ‘one site one cabinet’ design.
Huawei said its research suggests that more than 70% of cell sites will face challenges such as insufficient power, battery and distribution capacity, and more than 30% of sites need grid modernization to match the power demands of 5G. Its solution has been designed to help network operators reduce capex and opex while improving energy reliability to meet the high reliability and low latency requirements of future mobile applications.
Huawei launched 5G Power series solutions to ensure that energy evolution is simpler, more reliable and more efficient in the 5G network process. Huawei believes that site synergy, network synergy, business synergy will be the direction for telecom energy in the future.
From its press release (reference below):
With the design concept of ‘one site, one cabinet’ and ‘one band, one blade power,’ Huawei’s new Power Solution adopts innovative technology of peak shaving, linked voltage boosting and energy slicing, and fully considers the capacity expansion of cooling and battery backup. Facing the capacity expansion requirement in the future, Huawei Power Solution enables carriers to avoid energy modernization and get 5G network overlaid quickly.
“Based on our deep understanding of pain points carriers are facing in the progress of network evolving, Huawei 5G Power Solution achieve end-to-end synergy from wireless network to telecom energy, which will further enable carriers to build networks quickly, reduce site energy consumption, and maximize their investment value,” Huawei president of telecom energy Tao Hongming said.
“As a telecom energy supplier who is able to provide end-to-end ICT solutions, Huawei is willing to work with carriers and industry partners on continuous innovation and exploration, and jointly solve the energy challenges in 5G era,” Tao added.
BT-owned mobile operator EE has launched a 5G test network in Canary Wharf, London ahead of a full commercial rollout next year. As the cUK’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, the launch by EE is a landmark moment in the UK’s path to 5G.
Fotis Karonis, 5G Technology Lead at BT Group, said:
“This is the latest milestone in our 5G rollout – a live test of our 5G network, in a hugely busy ‘hotspot’, where we know there’s going to be demand from customers for increased mobile capacity.
With constant upgrades to 4G, and laying the foundations for 5G, we’re working to always be able to deliver what our customers need – both consumers and the vertical industries that will make the greatest use of 5G.
We were UK pioneers with 4G and today we saw the UK’s first live connections on 5G – this is a huge step forward for our digital infrastructure.”
EE announced it would be launching the 5G network back in June, promising it to be the UK’s first proper test. Some expected mobile operator O2 to beat it after plans to launch its own test bed at the O2 Arena, but EE was first to market.
The current network covers Montgomery Square in Canary Wharf and was selected by EE for its high footfall and data usage. Some 150,000 people visit the square each day, providing a better test of how the network will perform in high traffic areas.
Mark Nallen, Head of Technology and Innovation at Canary Wharf Group, commented:
“Staying at the forefront of connectivity and new technologies is critical to our community, and that’s why we’re partnering with BT Group to support delivery of 5G.
The consumers who live and work here will benefit from being better connected, and the enterprises based here will have the chance to partner with BT Group to understand the full capabilities of 5G.”
The equipment at the site will also be hooked up to a lab core network, which functions as a replica of EE’s commercial core network, and will link up to other test sites as and when they come online. Walling it off also means that it’s possible to test 5G in whatever ways are necessary without having any impact on existing services.
Another testbed is set to launch in Shoreditch later this year, which will present different challenges to the Montgomery Square tests. Mainly because it isn’t as ‘clean’ an area. Exactly when it will happen isn’t clear yet.
EE is using network equipment by Huawei for its test; along with 3.4 GHz spectrum it won in regulator Ofcom’s auction earlier this year. The use of Huawei’s equipment continues to be a controversial subject.
In Europe, Huawei is relatively welcome and its highly-regarded equipment used by many operators. Australia, however, recently took the decision to follow the U.S. in banning the Chinese vendor’s equipment over national security concerns.
The U.S. and Australia are part of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence sharing partnership which also includes the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. The US is said to be pressuring its partners to follow suit.
Last month, Canadian security officials went on record to say the country has the necessary safeguards in place not to follow the bans of the US and Australia. Canada is attempting to make the case to its partners that excluding telecoms equipment manufacturers leads to an increased security risk. If a specific vendor’s equipment is compromised, it would represent a larger proportion of the network.
Rather than ban Huawei, the UK and Canada have both established labs where security officials test equipment for potential vulnerabilities.
Testing equipment rather than banning seems to be a more sensible approach. This week, India announced it would be testing Huawei 5G gear. Competition is good for prices and innovation, while bans would prevent companies such as EE from accessing potentially class-leading equipment.
Huawei on Friday unveiled the world’s first “5G solution-ready” commercial 7nm (nanometre) chipset–the Kirin 980, which is believed to be the most powerful smartphone SoC (system-on-a-chip) equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities. The company has now proven itself as a leader in telecom/network equipment, smart phones and now ultra large scale integrated circuits/System on a Chip (SoC).
“It looks smaller than my nail, but it is the most powerful and intelligent SoC chipset for smartphones introduced so far,” Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu said while unveiling the chipset to a packed audience at the IFA 2018 in Berlin. Yu confirmed that the first smartphone to be powered by the Kirin 980 chipset will be Huwaei’s Mate 20 series which is expected to be launched next month.
Based on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturer Company’s (TSMC) 7nm semiconductor process, Kirin 980 delivers 20 per cent improved SoC performance and 40 per cent more efficiency, said Huawei which surpassed Apple to become the second-largest global smartphone seller behind Samsung in the second quarter of this year.
“The Kirin 980 will be used in smartphones and tablets. Huawei will launch 5G device powered by Kirin 980 next year,” Benjamin Wang, Deputy General Manager, Wireless Chipset Business Unit, Huawei Consumer Business Group, told reporters.
“Last year, we showed the world the potential of on-device AI with the Kirin 970 and this year, we’ve designed an all-round powerhouse that not only features outstanding AI capabilities, but also brings cutting-edge raw performance to consumers,” Yu told the gathering, adding that the new SoC is equipped with dual NPU (Neural Processing Unit).
“The Kirin 980 is the ultimate engine to power the next-generation productivity and entertainment applications,” Yu added.
The TSMC 7nm process technology enables Kirin 980 to pack 6.9 billion transistors within a “1 square cm die size”, up by 1.6 times from the previous generation.
The Kirin 980 is also the first SoC to embed Cortex-A76 cores, which are 75 per cent more powerful and 58 per cent more efficient compared to their previous generation.
In an octa-core configuration, the CPU in Kirin 980 is comprised of two high-performance Cortex-A76 cores; two high-efficiency Cortex-A76 cores; and two extreme efficiency Cortex-A55 cores, the company said. Running at higher clock speeds compared to the prior generation, Kirin 980 enables quicker app launch times, better multi-tasking and a generally smoother user experience, Huawei added.
As graphics in mobile games have become more and more sophisticated in recent years, Huawei has integrated the Mali-G76 GPU (graphics processing unit) into the Kirin 980 to deliver improved gaming experiences.
Debuting with the Kirin 980 chip, Mali-G76 offers 46 per cent greater graphics processing power at 178 per cent improved power efficiency over the previous generation, according to Huawei. Mali-G76 utilizes AI to intelligently identify gaming workloads and adjust resource allocation for optimal gaming performance.
Kirin 980 supports common AI frameworks such as Caffee, Tensorflow and Tensorflow Lite, and provides a suite of tools that simplifies the difficulty of engineering on-device AI, allowing developers to easily tap into the leading processing power of the dual NPU.
Kirin 980 adopts a new pipeline dedicated to processing video captures, allowing the camera module to shoot videos with 33 percent shorter delay, Huawei informed.
Huawei also launched at IFA 2018 AI Cube, its home speaker with 4G router and built-in Alexa that can perform several tasks such turning on the TV or playing music. The company also introduced new colors and “genuine Italian leather variants of its Huawei P20 Pro phones.
In addition, Yu also introduced the Huawei Locator powered by Internet of Things (IoT) technology that can help people easily locate their belongings, be it their luggage or pets.
Continuing a trend in the English speaking world, Huawei and ZTE have been banned from providing wireless network technology for Australia’s 5G rollouts. In a tweet, Huawei said it has been informed of the ban by the Australian government. The Trump administration. recently banned U.S. government agencies or contractors from using most equipment provided by Huawei and ZTE and also banned the sale of mobile phones from those Chinese companies.
“This is an extremely disappointing result for consumers. Huawei is a world leader in 5G. Has safely and securely delivered wireless technology in Australia for close to 15 years,” Huawei wrote in its tweet.
The confirmation of the ban came after Australian minister for communications Mitch Fifield and treasurer and acting minister for home affairs Scott Morrison revealed in a joint statement that the government has provided “5G security guidance to Australian carriers.” The Australian ministers have invoked the Telecommunications Sector Security Reforms (TSSR) obligations that among other things empower the government to compel operators to protect their networks against threats to national security.
While their statement did not mention any vendors by name, the ministers said that “the government considers that the involvement of vendors who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law, may risk failure by the carrier to adequately protect a 5G network from unauthorized access or interference.”
To justify banning Huawei and ZTE from their involvement in 5G rollouts despite their prominent roles in the deployments of 3G and 4G networks, the ministers said that 5G will require a network architecture that is significantly different from previous mobile generations.
“Where previous mobile networks featured clear functional divisions between the core and the edge, 5G is designed so that sensitive functions currently performed in the physically and logically separated core will gradually move closer to the edge of the network,” they said.
“This new architecture provides a way to circumvent traditional security controls by exploiting equipment in the edge of the network – exploitation which may affect overall network integrity and availability, as well as the confidentiality of customer data… Government has found no combination of technical security controls that sufficiently mitigate the risks.”
The Australian government has been rumored for some time to be considering banning Huawei 5G rollouts. However, due in part to the absence of evidence of any national security threat, some experts believe the ban is more motivated by politics than national security.
Huawei was also previously banned from providing equipment for the rollout of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN). Meanwhile, the U.S. has warned Canada about purchasing network equipment from Huawei and ZTE.
He noted out that the full 3GPP Release 15 spec – which is expected in June this year – will only address part of future use cases for 5G, which is the enhanced mobile broadband for consumers.
[This author has repeatedly stated that 3GPP Release 16 and parts of Release 15 will be submitted to ITU-R WP5D as a candidate IMT 2020 RIT in July 2019 and NOT BEFORE THEN!]
Xu said the current 4G infrastructure is “pretty robust” and good enough to support most use cases and he doesn’t see many clear use cases or applications which can only be supported with 5G. Xu is not expecting 5G to be used for nationwide coverage in China (or any other country for that matter), at least to begin with. Instead, he expects 5G to be used for specific, more localized deployments where there is a need for increased speed and bandwidth.
However, he noted, this doesn’t mean it’s not worth investing in 5G. “If you’re not investing in 5G, your customers won’t invest in your 4G,” Xu said.
“It’s the same case for telecoms operators. They are driven by competition, if one telco in the market says, ‘I have 5G-enabled services,’ the other service providers will have to launch 5G, for marketing and branding reasons.”
Xu said Huawei will continue to be committed in 5G investment and the company’s progress in this area is quite “encouraging.”
“By the second half of this year we will launch end to end 5G solution to cater our operators customers who do have requirements for 5G. And we are going to launch 5G-capable smartphones in the third quarter of next year.”
Huawei has failed to find a U.S. carrier to partner with for its smartphones, and the Federal Communications Commission this Tuesday approved a draft order that could damage Huawei’s existing business in telecom/network equipment. The order cited Huawei and its Chinese rival ZTE by name.
Huawei’s struggles in the United States are in contrast to its booming business in developing countries and growing presence in Europe, where it has been working on next-generation, or “5G,” wireless standards. The company’s profits rose 28.1 percent in 2017, boosted by strong enterprise and consumer sales and booming business overseas.
The recent setbacks have left Huawei’s future in the U.S. uncertain. Huawei recently let go of several American employees in their Washington D.C. office, including William Plummer, who spearheaded efforts to convince the U.S. to allow Huawei in for nearly a decade. Though Huawei declined to comment on the layoffs, the news was first reported by the New York Times and independently confirmed by the Associated Press.
Huawei and ZTE’s burgeoning 5G research is seen as a particular threat, as its expanded transmitting capabilities are seen as crucial for a host of emerging technologies based on artificial intelligence – including self-driving vehicles, robots and other machines that transmit vast amounts of data in real time.
Apart from expanding its influence in the ITU-R WP 5D, which develops cellular technology standards, Huawei joined forces with European companies to develop pseudo “5G” standards. In February, it completed the world’s first “5G” test call in partnership with London-based Vodafone.
Still, while Chinese trade relations with Europe remain calm, Washington has been warning officials in Canada and Australia about Huawei, raising questions about the company’s long-term global prospects.
“Huawei is perceived differently in Europe but that’s definitely a risk for the company,” said Thomas Husson, principal analyst at technology research firm Forrester. “Let’s not forget Europeans can still try to push in favor of European-based solutions from Nokia or Ericsson.”
In an annual business report meeting with journalists in late March at the company’s Shenzhen, China headquarters, Huawei reported that its total revenue grew 15.7%, to $92.5 billion, in 2017. More impressive, net profit grew 28.1%, to $7.3 billion, a huge improvement over 2016’s 0.4% rate. Privately owned Huawei gets most of its revenue now from selling telecom/network equipment, which generated roughly $47 billion over the past year. While that was only a 3% growth rate, the Chinese company enjoyed a 35.1% growth in its enterprise business unit, which includes cloud computing and big data, though the overall revenue of $8.7 billion is relatively small.
Until 2020 (or later), when”5G” is deployed by carriers using Huawei base stations, the company’s fastest growing and most visibly prominent area is and will be its smartphones.
Huawei’s Deputy Chairwoman and Chief Financial Officer Sabrina Meng, along with CEO Ken Hu, recently told reporters how the company managed to increase net profits and net profit margins at a rate higher than total revenue growth. The company became more efficient at growing smartphone sales. “In 2016, one of the biggest areas that dragged consumer business group profits down were the high cost of components,” said Meng. “So we developed a better supply management chain and improved our working relationships with vendors.” Hu added that whether it’s brand image with consumers or phone units sold, Huawei made significant improvements in 2017. According to data released to the media, Huawei and sub-brand Honor combined to sell 153 million handsets in 2017, generating $37.85 billion in sales. The smartphone market is arguably the most competitive industry in all of consumer business with many players jockeying for a small market share behind kingpins Samsung and Apple.
Ben Sin of Forbes recently wrote, “the Huawei P20 Pro is the new low light photography king (of smartphones), and it’s not even close right now.” It’s even better than the Samsung Galaxy S9+ which received excellent reviews from journalists that tested it. The Huawei P20 Pro. Photo courtesy of Forbes.com:
The Huawei P20 Pro has a 6.1-inch display with an 18.7:9 aspect ratio. The screen’s unusually tall aspect ratio makes the phone very easy to hold and reach across, and the panel is an OLED from Samsung, so it’s very good. The resolution here is just 1080p so technically it isn’t as crisp as the Quad HD found on other Android flagships, but frankly it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that the OLED panel on the P20 Pro just doesn’t get as bright as the panel on the Galaxy S9. I suspect Huawei’s Samsung OLED panel is a generation behind the ones used on the S9. The back of the handset is crafted out of glass, and it attracts fingerprints just as much as Samsung or LG phones. The P20 Pro ships in colors that are a bit different from the norm, including an eye-catching Twilight color with a gradient finish. The phone also comes in black or this pinkish gold color.
The triple camera set-up includes: a 40-megapixel RGB lens, 20-megapixel monochrome lens, and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens. Huawei has used the RGB+monochrome combo for its phones since 2016, so the new addition here is the telephoto lens, which offer lossless optical zoom. The optical lens is a 3X zoom compared to the Apple iPhone X’s 2X zoom.
U.S. Market Difficult to Enter for Huawei, ZTE and other China based Companies:
As the U.S. government, and more recently AT&T and Verizon, have taken numerous steps over the years to prevent Huawei from entering its market. Xiang Ligang, a telecom veteran and CEO of the industry website Cctime, said it has become increasingly challenging for Chinese telecom companies to do business in the U.S. amid heightened concerns over national security.
“The U.S. is a market Chinese companies must conquer if they want to become global players. But now politics rather than technology or products is playing a bigger role in their business prospects in the U.S.,” Xiang said. He also opined that China’s handset producers have an edge in developing 5G terminal devices compared with their U.S. competitors. “In terms of the research and innovation ability, the global top four telecom equipment suppliers are Huawei, Ericsson, ZTE and Nokia… two out of the four are Chinese technology giants and we could barely name a U.S. company,” he said. “Without 5G-capable terminal devices, you cannot access a 5G network.” Xiang believes this year will be a watershed for China’s 5G technology development. He thinks the final testing of “basic 5G” technologies will be completed (this author disagrees and things that won’t be before 2021), paving the way for the next phase of development – 5G products such as terminal devices (e.g. smartphones, other handsets, IoT devices, etc).
In addition to compatible terminal devices, China’s investment in 5G infrastructure also bodes well for its position in the intensifying global competition. Under the guidelines of the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s three State-owned network operators – China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom – have each announced plans to begin building 5G networks this year in at least five cities. China Mobile said in February that it may be able to offer a full 5G service by the end of 2019, a year ahead of the 2020 goal, thanks to a technology known as “slicing packet networks,” which help operators to manage network architectures, bandwidth, traffic, latency and time synchronization, said another Xinhua report.
Huawei, failed to get its smartphones sold in the local carrier retailing channel, which accounts for a majority of smartphone sales in the US. Verizon Communications Inc has dropped all plans to sell Huawei’ s phones, while AT&T Inc also walked away from a similar deal at the last minute under pressure from the U.S. government, according to a Bloomberg report.
Sidebar: Top Smartphone Makers
Currently, Chinese companies account for 7 of the world’s top 10 smartphone vendors (see top 10 below), but in the U.S., only one Chinese brand stood out – ZTE Corp grabbing a market share of 12 percent. “Such contrast is a result of multiple factors, and political concern is certainly one of them,” Xiang said. As a result, Huawei will likely focus on increasing smartphone sales in Asia, Europe and Latin America.
According to marketing91, the top 10 smart phone makers in 2017 were: 1) Samsung 2) Apple 3) Huawei 4) Lenovo 5) Xiaomi 6) LG 7) ZTE 8) Oppo 9) Alcatel 10) Vivo
Looking for Future Growth:
This year marks Huawei‘s 30th birthday. Following the general Chinese idea that age 30 is when a boy truly becomes a man, the company is looking for new growth opportunities.
“As we look to 2018, emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and 5G will soon see large-scale application,” said Hu. “Throughout this process, Huawei will . . . pay special attention to the practical challenges that our customers face as they go digital. Our job is to help them overcome these challenges and achieve business success. Ultimately, we aim to bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.”
Huawei and Canadian telco Telus will work together on a trial for providing 5G wireless connectivity to residences in Vancouver, Canada. The companies will use tested millimeter-wave technology with 800 megahertz of bandwidth on the 28-gigahertz spectrum.
Huawei is highlighting a Tokyo, Japan trial in which the Chinese telecom/IT vendor achieved “5G” like download speeds of 4.52 gigabits per second over ~ three-quarters of a mile using 28 GHz millimeter-wave wireless technology. The trial took place in downtown Tokyo, where a base station working over 28GHz frequency was located at Tokyo Skytree’s viewing deck, 340m above the city.
Working with Japan’s NTT Docomo, Huawei said it was confident of launching a commercial 5G rollout by 2020 (NOTE: the IMT 2020 set of 5G standards are to be finalized by year end 2020).
“The high-speed and long distance support is one of important technical challenges for 5G mmWave conditions. This successful long distance live-demo on a 5G mmWave is a groundbreaking achievement in our joint effort with NTT DOCOMO to build a fundamental 5G commercial environment. This success makes us more confident in realizing the goal of commercializing 5G by 2020,” said Gan Bin, vice president of Huawei’s 5G product line.
Huawei utilized its 5G base station for the test, which supports Massive MIMO and beam forming technologies. Huawei also provided the 5G core network and the 5G mm wave test user equipment.
Huawei anticipates conducting further testing at the world’s biggest 5G testing site in Beijing’s Huairou District.
The test comes amid a flurry of 5G testing and trials around the world. For example, BT and Nokia announced plans for live “5G” tests in the UK earlier this month.


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May 17, 2013 But that comes with an asterisk.
May 17, 2013 Finland's only oil refiner has now been ensnared into the investigation.
May 17, 2013 The two tech giants go head-to-head over advertising on Google's YouTube app.
May 15, 2013 The European Commission is investigating a potential price manipulation scheme among oil companies.
May 10, 2013 European steel giant ArcelorMittal announces its quarterly results today at a time when the global steel industry faces substantial challenges.
May 8, 2013 More than a million foreigners flocked to Germany for work last year, the biggest influx since 1995. Most of the migrants were from Eastern Europe, but many came from recession-hit countries elsewhere in the euro zone.
May 7, 2013 Microsoft announces a fix coming soon for their newest operating system. But will that be enough for customers?
May 7, 2013 Is Windows Blue an admission of failure or just an evolution for the new Windows 8 operating system?
Apr 30, 2013 Best Buy is pulling out of a big joint venture in Europe. The company is selling back its 50 percent stake in the mobile phone retailer Carphone Warehouse, at a significant loss.


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The EU Cookie law has little effect on businesses
Information Commissioner changes advice on implied consent in Cookie law at the last minute
Websites in the UK must now adhere to a new cookie law, but many aren't ready for the challenge.
Read our quick guide to the new 'cookie' regulations and get legal now, or risk £10k fines
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The team at ABT Sportsline have worked wonders with the new RS3.
With a new tune on the 2.5-liter turbocharged 5-cylinder, the RS3 from ABT now makes 430 hp, up from 367 hp. Torque also rises all the way to 391 lb-ft. As a result, this RS3 can hit 62 mph in just 4.1 seconds. Plus, the top speed has been raised from 155 mph to 177 mph.
But that’s not all, ABT is prmising an even more impressive package to come with the ABT Power S upgrade.
In addition, ABT is also offering a new 4-pipe exhaust system, as well as a choice of either ER-C and ER-F wheels, available in Gun-Metal, Silverbullet or Black Magic colors. Measuring 19-inches, they’re shot in 235/35R19 tires.


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Artificial Intelligence driven Marketing Communications
The shares of Aixtron SE are leading current trading among SDax shares (as of 16:01:12 GMT) on Tradegate – Germany’s leading retail exchange. In total, 349,283 stocks with 432 transacted orders changed hands by midday. Current stocks are selling for €8.66, bidding is at €8.60. Since close of trading yesterday, the company’s share price has climbed by 2.5%. (Source: http://www.bankernews.co.uk/, a service of tradegate. Tradegate Exchange is Europe’s leading marketplace for private investors, major shareholder: Deutsche Börse Group.)
On Tradegate Exchange, the stocks of Schaeffler AG came in at second place on today’s trading of SDax shares. Trading up to midday saw 311 transactions with a total of 205,764 shares. Stocks are currently selling for €6.28 and bids are coming in at €6.24. Schaeffler took a hit of -5.3% compared to its closing price on previous day’s trading.
Nordex stocks achieved third place today among SDax shares on Tradegate. In total, 105,043 company shares were traded in 266 transacted orders by noon. Stocks are currently selling at €12.40 and bids are in at €12.32. Compared to yesterday’s close of trading, the company’s share price has risen by 1.4%.
The fourth most traded SDax share on Tradegate currently is VARTA AG. Trading up to midday saw 210 transactions with a trading volume of 16,499 company shares. Stocks are currently selling for €55.80, bids are coming in at €55.50. The VARTA AG share price climbed by 1.8% after end of trading yesterday.
In fifth spot on Tradegate’s ranking of most traded SDax shares is Steinhoff International Holdings NV. In all, 4,909,177 company stocks with 169 transacted orders changed hands by midday. Shares are currently being sold for €0.08, with bids coming in at €0.08. The company took a hit of -1.6% compared to previous day’s closing price.
(Updated Monday, 01 July 2019, 16:01:12 GMT.)


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In 2010, we did an April Fool’s prank about Yamaha launching the R125 motorcycle in India, that article got over 500 comments (you can check it out HERE). That clearly shows that the youth in India, love the Yamaha R125 and now the company has imported one unit of the motorcycle to the sub-continent for … Read More
Every news related to the Yamaha R125, including frequent updates.
Yamaha has revealed details and images of the updated YZF-R125. The Yamaha R125 first went on sale way back in 2008 and this is the first comprehensive upgrade to the motorcycle and must we say it looks smashing. The design of the Yamaha 125 has evolved over the years and it gets styling cues from … Read More
Our April fools joke this year about Yamaha launching the R125 made alot of readers excited and disappointed too. However, the spy pictures are a sure shot confirmation of the R125s Indian arrival soon. The bike was spied by Vaibhav Saigal of xbhp and it is surely a Yamaha R125 as the alloys, rear and … Read More
Yamaha India has confirmed the launch of its much awaited and highly anticipated R125. The Yamaha R125 is the younger sibling (but more appealing) of the R15 and will be launched on the 17th of this month. It is powered by a 124.66cc engine which gives a maximum power of 14.5 bhp at 9000 rpm … Read More


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Oh, How You Have Grown: Cannabis Culture Sweeps the Nation
Here is the good news: the cat is out of the bag and cannabis is here to stay.
It is projected to be a $52 billion industry by 2026, according to Marijuana Business Factbook. 38 states currently have some form of legalization in place, with more coming online every year. The voting majority believes cannabis should be federally legal. In fact, cannabis is one of the few things Americans agree on. Democrat or Republican, from the coasts to the bible belt—some 67 percent of Americans believe cannabis should be legalized.
Equally, the cannabis demographic is quickly evolving. Market growth is being spurred by the over-60 set, rather than 20-somethings looking for a good time. Indeed, the older generation has led the charge, compelled by the promise of potential relief for many of the issues that beset the elderly: arthritis, inflammation, insomnia, appetite and mood regulation.
Without a doubt, the culture is changing fast. Last year, in Illinois, for example—a state that recently allowed adult-use cannabis—cannabis tax revenue surpassed alcohol tax revenue and brought in over a billion dollars.
While it might remain federally illegal, it is clear that people are changing their daily habits to drink less and ingest, smoke or use topicals more for a healthier lifestyle.
Cannabis is colorblind. It has no religious, political or racial affiliation. It is becoming part of the fabric of life for people seeking medicine, recreation or a better quality of life. (When used in moderation, just like anything else).
Quite simply, cannabis has become ingrained in society, with millions of devotees and countless curious new potential clients.
As such, uninitiated consumers regularly head to dispensaries to explore the product, often finding it can be nerve-racking and intimidating to walk into a dispensary for the first time. For this group, the dispensary franchise model can serve a bit like a safety blanket. What franchising offers is the comfort that entrepreneurs will find a consistent experience with a trained team focused on helping them better understand the product and choose something best suited to their needs. This model works – as evidenced by the extraordinary growth of franchisors, such as Unity Rd.
Indeed, Unity Rd. has experienced momentous growth and continues to expand its retail operations across the U.S.
Unity Rd. opened its first franchised location in June 2021 with a father-son entrepreneur duo in Boulder, Colorado, and has since grown to four stores in operation as well as a development pipeline packed with more than 20 groups who are expanding the brand across 10-plus states. The dispensary franchisor’s second shop is currently being rebranded to Unity Rd. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and its third shop opened in July 2022 in North Denver, Colorado.
Riding the wave of new openings, the brand worked with local entrepreneurs this past July to open the first non-tribal, state-licensed medical cannabis establishment in South Dakota. If keeping track, that brings the Unity Rd. footprint to four shops open within 13 months. Up next for the first national cannabis dispensary franchise in the U.S.: New Jersey, Maine, Virginia, Michigan and New Mexico, among other states.
Additionally, in the growth pipeline, the franchise’s parent company—Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB)—has signed an agreement to acquire Sessions Cannabis, one of Canada’s largest cannabis retail franchisors. The transformative acquisition will transition Unity Rd. from a multi-state operator to an international cannabis company and take the franchise network to nearly 50 locations open across North America – making it the largest global cannabis franchisor.
In 2021, Unity Rd. became the first member of its kind to join the International Franchise Association (IFA), solidifying its position as the first true U.S. cannabis dispensary franchise. The franchise has also been named one of the "Best Cannabis Companies to Work For" in a leading industry publication, Cannabis Business Times, in 2022 and 2020.
So, there you have it. Cannabis culture and business are growing side-by-side and taking the country by storm, state-by-state. To blaze your own path in franchising with Unity Rd., visit www.unityrd.com.
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Motorcycle sales during FY2020 may not have been the best by any margin, but some bikes, especially some premium ones, have done quite decently on the sales charts nonetheless. Last week, we published a list of the 5 highest-selling motorcycles that cost above Rs 2 lakh. However, motorcycles that sit right under that price point - between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh - are far more popular and sell in far greater numbers. Hence here’s our compilation of the 5 bestselling bikes at that price point.
Note: SIAM sales numbers indicate the wholesale numbers, which are the number of units sent from the manufacturer to the dealerships and not the number of units retailed. Also, certain manufacturers like Classic Legends (Jawa), BMW and Ducati do not share their numbers with SIAM and since this list is based on its data, they have not been considered.
Royal Enfield Classic 350 - 3,98,093 units
Price - Rs 1.57 lakh onwards
The Classic 350 is Royal Enfield’s highest-selling motorcycle and it’s been the manufacturer’s cash cow for over a decade now. It’s sales figures fell by 24.3 percent from FY2019, but with a whopping 3,98,093 units sold in FY2020, the Classic 350 easily remains the most sought after motorcycle in this price bracket. In March 2020 alone, the Classic 350 sold 24,253 units - almost as much as other motorcycles on this list sold over the past year. It’s strong sales have also resulted in it being the ninth-bestselling motorcycle in the country.
Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350 - 40,185 units
Price - Rs 1.63 lakh onwards
The next-generation of the Royal Enfield Thunderbird 350, dubbed the Meteor 350, is all set to be launched in the near future. The former was officially discontinued following the BS6 norms, but the manufacturer did phase out its production over the last couple of months and as a result of this, just 20 units of what BS4 stock remained were sold in March. Sales went down substantially - by 43.6 percent - when compared to FY2019, but even so, the Thunderbird 350 is the second-highest selling model on this list. The new Meteor has a lot to live up to.
KTM 200 Duke, RC 200 - 24,149 units
Price - Rs 1.72 lakh onwards
Unfortunately, KTM does not reveal how many units it delivered of the 200 Duke and the RC 200 separately. This forces us to consider the combined total of the 200 models, which is pegged at 24,149 units. Sales have gone down compared to the previous financial year, but not by as large a margin as some of the other models on this list. The 24,249 units that KTM sold in FY2020 is a 15 percent drop from the 28,442 units sold in FY2019.
Royal Enfield Himalayan - 15,302 units
Price - Rs 1.86 lakh onwards
Fourth on the list is another Royal Enfield, the Himalayan, with 15,302 units. One of the fastest growing premium segments in our country is that of small ADVs, and the Himalyan is one of the most popular offerings in that category. It’s also one of just three Royal Enfield models (apart from the 650 Twins and the Bullet 350 ES) to have seen sales climb in comparison to FY2019, where it sold 10,701 units (up by a good 42.96 percent). That is partly thanks to small, but appreciable updates over the years, which you can read about here.
Bajaj Dominar 400 - 10,400 units
Price - Rs 1.91 lakh onwards
Prior to the launch of the Dominar 250, the Dominar 400 was the only model in the manufacturer’s portfolio to cost over Rs 1.5 lakh. In the past financial year, 10,400 units of the larger displacement Dominar were sold. FY2020 turned out to be a successful year for the model with a 15.1 percent rise from the 9,035 units sold last year - there was growth in its export numbers as well. Interestingly, the newly launched Dominar 250 has turned out to be the more popular model among the two with 861 units sold in March, compared to the Dominar 400’s 280 units, and it could very well outsell its bigger sibling over the next year.


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November’s Black Friday discounts and price reductions saw shoppers spend 73% more over the internet than they did in October, according to new figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The Retail Sales Report: November 2018 from ONS unveiled that a record 21.5% of all retail sales took place online last month; the first month online sales have accounted for more than 20% of all sales. Overall internet sales grew by 13.1% compared to the same period last year, and were up by over a third compared to October. Average weekly spending online for the month has been calculated at around £1.8 billion.
When compared with the previous month, November 2018 displayed a growth of 1.4% in the retail sector after two monthly falls in September and October, which both declined by 0.4%.
According to the report, Black Friday and Cyber Week discounting and price reductions helped to instigate the surge in spending: “Retailers reported strong growth on the month due to Black Friday promotions in November, which continues the shifting pattern in consumer spending to sales occurring earlier in the year.”
It seems clear that customers held off from buying in October in order to buy the next month, indicating an increasingly savvy generation of shoppers adapting to this new “discount culture”, and expecting prices to be slashed around the November period, due to Black Friday and Cyber Week sales.
However, It’s worth noting that while November 23 (Black Friday) was included in the figures for this report, the 25th (Cyber Monday) was not, as the report covers the four weeks from October 28 to November 24.
This latest e-commerce growth improves on the April sales, which posted a 18.8% year-on-year growth and represented the greatest annual leap since November 2016, according to the IMRG e-Retail Sales Index data.


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The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in India. Like the Padma awards, this too is not a title and cannot be used as prefix or suffix to names. But this brings a unique perk. All Bharat Ratna awardees are entitled to free lifetime air travel on Air India flights and that too in the highest class.
India Today filed a Right to Information (RTI) request with Air India to know when the central government decided to grant this perk to Bharat Ratna recipients, how many times this has been availed by the recipients and what is the monetary value of the perks availed. We also specifically asked about the number of times Nobel laureate and Bharat Ratna awardee Amartya Sen had availed this perk.
Responding to our first question, Air India said, "...the procedure for issuance of free tickets to Bharat Ratna awardees was circulated by erstwhile Indian Airlines on 25/08/2003." In 2003, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government was at the Centre.
The 2003 circular of Indian Airlines, which has been shared with India Today by Air India, gave the reason behind this decision, “The above decision has been taken as a mark of respect to the esteemed personalities for their highly acclaimed contribution in their respective fields. It is therefore, our endeavour to provide all assistance in facilitating their travel requirements."
The circular goes on to say that “applicable taxes and other levies will be borne by Indian Airlines” and “the tickets will be issued in Economy Class but will be upgraded to Executive Class”.
At the time, a report in The Times of India had mocked the government's decision, saying “Want to travel free? Get a Bharat Ratna”.
On Amartya Sen, Air India said the Nobel laureate has availed this facility 21 times from 2015 till 2019. The airlines said the monetary value of his travels could not be ascertained as the "fare prevailing on time and date of travel is not stored”.
The airlines also highlighted that Sen is the only Bharat Ratna awardee who has availed the benefit of this scheme.
Amartya Sen issues statement on RTI reply
However, a spokesperson for Amartya Sen said the Air India travel card was given to the economist to celebrate his Nobel Prize and not the Bharat Ratna as the RTI reply suggested.
"Amartya Sen was given a very special card by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee immediately after he received the Nobel Prize in December 1998. This card entitled him free travel in first class anywhere in the Air India system. He was also given a special card for free AC first-class travel on Railways," the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson further said there was no free Air India travel provision for Bharat Ratna awardees when Amartya Sen received the award in February 1999.
"The Nobel card was for first-class travel, whereas the provisions for Bharat Ratna awardees, introduced in 2003, was for economy class to be upgraded to executive class. Rather than comparing the frequency of Amartya Sen’s travel with others under that provision, it would have been truthful for the RTI reply to mention that he never benefited from the free travel provisions of Bharat Ratna awardees. It is surprising that the government should provide such an inaccurate description of the situation in answer to a journalist’s question under RTI," the spokesperson said.
For the record, 48 people have been awarded the Bharat Ratna to date and of them, 14 were posthumous awards. Out of the remaining 34, apart from Prof Amartya Sen, there are only three other Bharat Ratna awardees who are still alive -- Lata Mangeshkar (2001), Sachin Tendulkar (2014) and Professor C N R Rao (2014).