- News
- February 27, 2023
- Hema Kadia
TCL showcased the TCL 406 and TCL 403, adding to the already announced TCL 40R 5G and a range of other 4G smartphones in the line, at MWC 2023.
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Devices
Devices span the hardware that connects to networks — smartphones, modules, routers, customer-premises equipment, IoT sensors, and increasingly AI-capable endpoints. Device capability is a frequently overlooked constraint on network performance: the bands, features, and chipsets a device supports determine which 5G or 5G-Advanced features users can actually access, even within strong coverage. New categories such as reduced-capability (RedCap) devices, fixed wireless access units, and satellite-capable phones are expanding where and how networks reach users. For operators and enterprises, device strategy shapes everything from spectrum value to private-network design and IoT scale. This channel covers the device ecosystem — chipsets, form factors, and the new classes of connected hardware — with analysis of how device evolution enables or limits network capability across consumer, enterprise, and industrial deployments.
- News
- February 27, 2023
- Hema Kadia
The GSMA announced a new industry-wide initiative called GSMA Open Gateway, a framework of universal network Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs), designed to provide universal access to operator networks for developers. Launched with the support of 21 mobile network operators, the move is aimed at changing the way the telecoms industry designs and delivers services in an API economy world.
- News
- February 26, 2023
- Hema Kadia
Cisco and NTT announced plans to collaborate to drive Private 5G adoption across the Automotive, Logistics, Healthcare, Retail, and Public sectors. Together, the companies can rapidly enable critical Industry 4.0 capabilities such as push-to-talk ‘walkie talkie’ communications, automated guided vehicles (AGVs), always-connected PCs (for digital frontline workers), machine vision (e.g., predictive maintenance, PPE detection), and more.
- News
- February 25, 2023
- Hema Kadia
Samsung Electronic announced that it has secured standardized 5G non-terrestrial networks (NTN) modem technology for direct communication between smartphones and satellites, especially in remote areas. Samsung plans to integrate this technology into the company’s Exynos modem solutions, accelerating the commercialization of 5G satellite communications and paving the way for the 6G-driven Internet of Everything (IoE) era.
- News
- February 23, 2023
- Vinod
A drone flying cell tower is a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipped with a 5G base station, which can be deployed to provide coverage in remote or hard-to-reach areas. These flying cell towers can be rapidly deployed and offer several advantages over traditional stationary cell towers, including increased flexibility, faster deployment, and the ability to cover larger areas with fewer towers.
- News
- February 21, 2023
- Hema Kadia
Nokia and Bosch today announced that they have jointly developed 5G-based precision positioning technology intended for new Industry 4.0 use cases. The two have deployed the proof of concept in a Bosch production plant in Germany, where extensive tests under realistic manufacturing conditions have shown an accuracy within 50 cm in 90 percent of the factory footprint.
- News
- February 14, 2023
- SecurityGen
This Press Release highlights SecurityGen's ambitious growth plans for the SEA region driven by SEA's comprehensive and ambitious 5G rollout. Given the growth potential in the region, we are supplementing our commitment to this area with the relocation of our experts and developing local talent towards creating a dedicated research team within the geography.
This move will reinforce our deep expertise in the telecom domain and our innovative solutions and services
designed to help ensure secure 5G transitions for SEA-based MNOs.
With our stack of carrier-grade telecom security solutions and deep expertise, we are excited to grow and deepen our engagements with leading MNOs in this region.
- News
- February 10, 2023
- Hema Kadia
The MoU would enable AST SpaceMobile and Zain KSA to collaborate towards new telecom solutions and satellite-based digital services in Saudi Arabia and aim to increase access to mobile services in remote locations, including on land, at sea, and in flight.
- News
- February 8, 2023
- Hema Kadia
AST SpaceMobile signed a non-binding MoU with TIM to increase the scope of cellular connectivity and bring space-based coverage to Brazil.
- News
- February 7, 2023
- Hema Kadia
Symworld™ RAN Commander solution for mobile network planning and optimization now in general availability to accelerate 5G network expansion and densification planning.
Crowdsourced data, machine learning and automation used to scale planning processes, predict subscriber experiences, and control costs.
Eliminates legacy silos and operational delays with integrated planning and optimization, delivering lower TCO via common capabilities from the Symworld™ Platform.
Symworld RAN Commander is developed by Rakuten Symphony Intelligent Operations Business Division.
- News
- February 5, 2023
- Hema Kadia
To unlock a world of possibilities, including new business models and jobs for the future, 100 labs will be established in India's engineering institutions to create applications using 5G services.
- News
- February 3, 2023
- Hema Kadia
Verizon’s network is once again the network to beat for performance, accessibility and reliability in a majority of 125 metro markets tested by RootMetrics(R). In these rigorous and scientific network tests, Verizon’s network is undefeated in 95% of the metro drive tests (119 out of 125 markets) they performed in the last half of 2022
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as a ‘device’ in this category, beyond smartphones?
It spans smartphones, tablets, wearables like smartwatches and fitness trackers, mobile hotspots, IoT sensors deployed across industries from agriculture to manufacturing, connected vehicles, fixed wireless access routers used for home and business broadband, and increasingly, AI-capable hardware designed to run machine learning models directly on the device. Each device category has different priorities: a smartphone needs to balance performance, battery life, and broad consumer features, while an industrial IoT sensor might prioritize extremely low power consumption and a multi-year battery life over raw performance, and an enterprise device built for a private 5G network might prioritize certified protocol compatibility and ruggedized durability over consumer-friendly design.
Why does device support matter for new network technologies like 5G Standalone or network slicing?
Even if a network supports a capability, like dynamic network slicing or a specific 5G Standalone feature, customers can’t actually use it unless their device’s chipset, modem, and software also support that capability, which often lags meaningfully behind network rollout. Chipset manufacturers need time to design, test, and certify support for new network features, and device manufacturers then need to integrate those chipsets into actual products and release them to market, a process that can take a year or more after a network feature first becomes available. Device readiness is frequently the real bottleneck determining how quickly new network capabilities translate into a noticeably different experience for everyday users.
What’s driving demand for ruggedized or purpose-built enterprise devices?
Standard consumer smartphones are generally designed for everyday consumer environments and aren’t built to handle the physical conditions, security requirements, or specific network protocols many enterprise and industrial deployments require. Manufacturing floors, mining operations, ports, and outdoor industrial sites often expose devices to dust, moisture, extreme temperatures, and physical impact that consumer-grade hardware isn’t rated to withstand reliably over time. Beyond physical ruggedness, enterprises increasingly need devices specifically certified to work with private 5G network protocols, dedicated security requirements, or specialized application software, creating a distinct market for ruggedized, enterprise-focused devices from manufacturers who specialize in industrial and field-service hardware.
How is AI changing what we expect from connected devices?
Devices are increasingly expected to run AI processing locally, known as on-device inference, rather than sending every request to a cloud server for processing. This reduces latency, since results don’t need to travel to a distant data center and back, and it can improve privacy, since sensitive data doesn’t necessarily need to leave the device at all. However, on-device AI requires meaningfully more capable chipsets than older devices needed, since running AI models locally demands processing power and memory simpler, lower-cost devices may not have. This is driving tighter coordination between chipset makers, device manufacturers, and network operators.
Why do some phones get 5G features faster than others, even on the same network?
Even on the same underlying network, different phones can support meaningfully different real-world 5G performance because of differences in their specific modem chipsets, the particular frequency bands those chipsets support, and how well each device’s software has been optimized to take advantage of available network features. A phone with a more advanced or recently released modem might support carrier aggregation across more frequency bands simultaneously, or be certified for 5G Standalone features that an older or lower-cost device’s modem simply can’t process, even if both phones are technically labeled as 5G phones. Marketing labels alone don’t guarantee equivalent performance.
What’s the difference between a consumer device and an IoT device in terms of design priorities?
Consumer device design generally prioritizes a balance of performance, battery life, screen quality, and broad appeal, with relatively frequent product refresh cycles to stay competitive in a crowded market. IoT device design tends to prioritize very different things: extremely low power consumption to support battery life measured in years, low manufacturing cost to make large-scale deployment of thousands or millions of units economically viable, and a narrow, specific function rather than broad general-purpose capability. An IoT sensor monitoring soil moisture in agriculture doesn’t need a high-resolution display; it needs to reliably transmit a small amount of data for years on a single battery charge.
How long does it typically take for a new network capability to reach mainstream devices?
The timeline varies considerably, but it’s common for a meaningful gap, often a year or more, to exist between when a network feature first becomes technically available and when it reaches a meaningful share of mainstream devices in active use. Flagship devices released around the same time as a new network capability typically support it fastest, since manufacturers often coordinate development timelines with major network milestones. Mid-range and budget devices generally lag further behind, both because manufacturers prioritize newer chipsets in premium products first, and because many consumers keep mid-range and budget devices for longer before upgrading.
What role do device makers play in network standards development?
Device makers, particularly major chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm and MediaTek, participate directly in standards bodies such as 3GPP, contributing technical expertise and influencing which features make it into a given network generation’s specifications. This involvement matters because standards need to reflect what’s actually feasible to build into real hardware within a reasonable cost and power budget, not just an idealized technical capability no chipset could practically support. Device makers also often run early interoperability testing with network equipment vendors before a standard is finalized, helping ensure compatible devices can realistically follow soon after a standard is specified.
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