South Korea to Invest $1.5 Billion into 5G Research:

South Korea's government is looking to pump as much as US$1.5 billion into developing 5G based mobile networks.

The country's Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning said that it was looking to develop and start trials of 5G services by 2017, with the expectation that commercial services could start in 2020.

The Ministry is now seeking input, and funding from the country's three mobile networks, as well as the network infrastructure vendors to develop the standards for the mobile service.

To a degree, the Ministry is simply pushing ahead a programme that already exists at a number of companies that have already started thinking about what lies beyond 4G services.

In recent weeks, the European Commission agreed to pump EUR700 million worth of investment into 5G research, while ETSI has been discussing it at its latest meeting.

Australian Wireless Mic Users Get Ready for Switchover:

Australia is in the final stage of realising the benefits of the 'digital dividend' --  spectrum located in the 694-820MHz range -- that will be used to deliver 4G services from next year.

So this can happen, current users of this frequency range need to relocate to other spectrum by 31 December 2014. This relocation affects community groups and small businesses that use wireless microphones and other audio devices in their day to day work.

Users who have bought wireless microphones in the past 12-18 months are most likely already compliant with this change.

Since 2010, the ACMA has been working with stakeholders to help them prepare for this change. This year, the ACMA is continuing its work to educate community groups and small businesses about the change so they have sufficient time to get ready.

"We have experienced an increase in traffic to our online wireless microphones hub -- a 'one stop shop' for information on the change," said ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.

"The hub includes fact sheets and a photo gallery of the most common devices that will be affected by the change, and what users can do to prepare."

It is also now illegal for suppliers to import or manufacture wireless microphones that operate in this frequency range.

China's 4G Subscriber Base to Exceed 30 Million by End of 2014:

China is expected to end next year with at least 30 million 4G subscribers, according to the Minister of Industry and Information Technology, Miao Wei.

He also said that the industry is expected to invest around US$16.5 billion developing its LTE based 4G networks during 2014.

He was speaking at the ministry's annual work conference, Xinhuareported.

The minister said that the investment in 4G services would make up almost one-third of China's total investment in mobile communications next year.

Pakistan to Offer 3G Licenses Next March:

Pakistan's Telecom operators could finally auction off the country's long delayed 3G licenses next March, and will permit the use of 4G services at the same time.

The government has been announcing and canceling 3G license auctions since at least August 2009 though.

The PTA's Chairman Syed Ismail Shah told Bloomberg News that the regulator has hired a consultancy to advise it on how to proceed with the auction.

"The licences will be technology neutral and will be offered through an open bidding," Shah said. "It will not only be for 3G, they can introduce any other advance technology including 4G."

The auction is expected to raise between US$1.2 to US$2 billion for the government, according to a previous budget statement.

Some 30Mhz of spectrum will be offered, which is likely to restrict the number of winning networks, and could push up the price in a competitive auction.

Bharti and Reliance Jio announce comprehensive telecom infrastructure sharing arrangement:

Reliance Industries, set to launch 4G services into the highly competitive telecoms market, has signed a deal with the country's largest telecoms operator Bharti Airtel, to share telecom infrastructure.

The two companies will share inter and intra-city optic fibre network, submarine cable networks, towers and internet broadband services.

The arrangement may be extended in future to roaming services on 2G, 3G and 4G platforms, and any other mutually benefiting areas relating to telecommunication, the two companies said.

"The cooperation is aimed at avoiding duplication of infrastructure, wherever possible, and to preserve capital and the environment," Bharti said in a statement.

The financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, but an identical statement by both companies said the pricing would be at "arm's length, based on prevailing market rates".

Reliance Industries, controlled by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, plans to roll out a nationwide 4G network as part of its foray into telecoms. The company's unit Reliance Jio Infocomm won airwaves in 2010, but is yet to start commercial services.

Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Mittal may join hands for 4G services in Punjab:

Two of the country's biggest business moguls could come together to set up a digital infrastructure in the country. Reliance Industries Ltd chairman Mukesh Ambani has said that he is open to joining hands with telecom giant Bharti Airtel for improving telecom network for 4G services in Punjab.

"Punjabis are the brand ambassadors of India. We are present in Punjab in manufacturing, retail. We are also rolling out our first digital infrastructure for 4G in the state with an investment of about Rs 2,500 crore," Ambani said at the Progressive Punjab Summit in Mohali on Monday.

"For further enhancing the digital experience, we can have a collaborative partnership with our friend Mr Mittal," Ambani further said. Reliance Jio Infocomm is the only company which has pan-India airwaves that can be used for 4G services. In April, Reliance Jio and Airtel joined hands to share capacity of a submarine cable.

"We are working towards making Punjab a digital technology hub in the near future. We also have large retail presence in the state, and also as part of our CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiative, our Bharti Foundation is working in 80 villages educating close to 13,000 children," Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman, Bharti Group, said.

Ambani added that his company would look forward to forge a partnership with Airtel. "We look forward to Sunil and me for a partnership to serve people and build infrastructure." Meanwhile, Airtel signed an initial agreement with the Punjab government committing an investment of Rs 4,000 crore towards building digital infrastructure for 4G services.

Angola leads the way with 4G mobile services:

Angola is leading the way with a new generation of mobile network technology. A $100m upgrade to the mobile phone network means that Angolans will benefit from high speed mobile downloads using the 4G services well ahead of most of Europe and US.

The 4G technology will be launched in Luanda and Cabinda in addition to 15 further populous centres.  Provider Movicel aims to have a subscriber base of between 4.5m to 7m by 2013 including 30 more cities. Movicel has partnered with Chinese company ZTE who will also advise on the $1bn upgrade of Movicel’s entire system.

The 4G upgrade is a key part of Angola’s infrastructure investment and is seen as vital to keep pace with an economy that has expanded 8% in the last year alone.

The technology is also a further step towards diversifying away from Angola’s historic reliance on the petrochemicals industry and an opportunity to educate and empower local people with new skills. The majority of the technical team behind the upgrade will be Angolans and ZTE have committed to transferring knowledge, skills and experience.