Greetings! Sometimes, in episodes of Future Friday, we talk about events that are not too predetermined. Perhaps they will happen someday, or perhaps the technology will not be viable, inefficient, or commercially unprofitable. And then we will remember it as the electric vehicles of the late XIX century. But this time the selection turned out to be just the opposite. In almost all cases, the date when the future will come for a particular technology is known. European operators have agreed on the timing of the implementation of the Open RAN project in practice, and in South Korea they have decided on the year when 6G networks will appear. Already this year, the first satellite from Foxconn will fly into space and start printing chipsets developed by OPPO, and the owners of electric vehicles in Russia will stop paying tolls on toll roads. Samsung has already introduced a modem that will provide smartphones with satellite communications, and also promises that the Bixby voice assistant will be able to work as a generative answering machine, repeating the voice of the owner. Hyundai thought about a second chance for analog dashboards, and the State Duma asked the Ministry of Digital Development about a national VPN service. And now – to the details.
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Open RAN by 2025 in Europe
The five largest European cellular operators are planning a large-scale implementation of Open RAN technology by 2025. Operators Vodafone, Deutsche Telecom, Orange, Telefonica and TIM announced the start of the Open RAN trial. According to these companies, Open RAN technology is entering a phase of maturity and security and will close the gap in functionality and performance with traditional networks. Deutsche Telecom CTO Abdou Mudesir said Open RAN technology is ready for commercial use. Its implementation will expand the provider ecosystem, revolutionize already deployed 5G networks, and enable the benefits of a fully automated and intelligent network in Europe. Let me remind you that for the first time the Open RAN (Open Radio Access Network) project was discussed in 2020. The idea is to move from formal compliance with uniform standards in mobile networks to the practical implementation of equipment that would not require the purchase of the entire range of communications equipment for the operator from one manufacturer.
Named the date of the launch of 6G networks and the victory of 5G over 4G
South Korea’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said the country plans to launch the first 6G network communications services in 2028. This means that such a connection can work in the country 2 years ahead of schedule. The South Korean government will promote the commercial development of new generation networks and encourage private businesses to move in this direction, support local companies in the production of materials, components and equipment for 6G networks. We have already published a detailed analysis of what this means and why Korea decided to rush things. But something else is more interesting. The rollout of the new generation of networks is now much slower around the world than was expected by experts when the first forecasts were made about the prospects for the development of 5G. According to analysts at Omdia, 5G may not become a more mainstream connectivity standard for the first time until 2027. That is, only for the eighth year from the date of implementation. In comparison, 4G became the most widespread standard in its sixth year, while third-generation networks were the most unsuccessful in this regard, as they never became the dominant format. But if with 3G the reason was the significant advantage of fourth-generation networks, which appeared at the moment when 3G began to “win” 2G, then the slow growth in the number of users in fifth-generation networks is associated with a protracted economic crisis in developed countries, which just act as a locomotive introduction of new technologies.
Own processor from OPPO
A shelf of mobile processor developers has arrived. And again in China. OPPO is preparing to release its own mobile processors. Moreover, according to insider information from the Weibo social network, the first ever chipset of OPPO’s own design is already ready for release. It is developed using a 4nm manufacturing process and is likely to be manufactured by TSMC. The system on a chip will support 5G connectivity. The same insiders say that this OPPO-designed processor will start production as early as the second half of 2023, and the final product could be released in 2024. It was previously reported that OPPO has invested more than 1.4 billion US dollars (10 billion yuan) in chip design and development in major cities in China, including Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, among other places.
Foxconn flies into space
The Taiwanese company Hon Hai Group, better known for its trade brand Foxconn, has completed work on its own low-orbit satellite, which is scheduled to be launched into orbit this year. It is reported that all components of this satellite were created by subsidiaries of Hon Hai. The company plans to develop low-orbit satellite technology for use in 5G networks and control unmanned vehicles. New satellite technologies will help advance the concept of smart cities and new autonomous driving technologies. The company intends next year to increase its satellite constellation to several satellites of the system, which it called Pearl. The first satellite built by Hon Hai houses an onboard computer, attitude control system, antenna modules, cameras, and is currently undergoing ground tests before launch, which is scheduled for this year.
Satellite communications for Samsung smartphones
Samsung has unveiled its first standardized 5G NTN modem that connects a smartphone to a satellite. In the near future, this development will be introduced into Exynos chipsets as Exynos Modem 5300. The modem is notable for the fact that it combines the ability to connect to both terrestrial and space communication systems, and the chip was immediately developed as an integral and designed for mobile phones, which means compact and fairly high energy efficiency. At the same time, Samsung itself considers the solution as an intermediate on the way to chipsets that will already be designed for 6G networks, and the Internet of Everything concept (IoE, which, according to Samsung, is replacing IoT). Also, company representatives note that they managed to achieve a reduction in the influence of the Doppler effect, so that potentially Exynos Modem 5300 can provide not only two-way text communication, but also the transmission of high-resolution images and even video.
Bixby will speak in the owner’s voice
Another success of Samsung engineers can be “tested” right now, provided that you use the Bixby voice assistant. The Bixby Text Call feature is currently only available for the English and Korean user segments, but it clearly demonstrates why you can use the voice assistant and the power of artificial intelligence in your smartphone, including the ability to work in isolation from the cloud connection. If you are uncomfortable answering a call with your voice, then in the case of Bixby, the problem can be solved: you type a text message right during the call, the assistant converts it into a voice message and sends it to the caller, as if you yourself picked up the phone. For a more complete picture, you can set up Bixby so that the recorded message is spoken by your voice. This requires using the Bixby Custom Voice Creator feature, which allows you to take a “voice cast” of the user. However, only residents of Korea can try this feature so far, there are no other languages in support. However, there is hardly any doubt that such an opportunity will be rushed to expand in terms of language, and competitors will not fail to copy.
Russian state VPN
This week, the Ministry of Digital Transformation made Gosuslug users happy with the opportunity to create a “safe children’s email”, and State Duma deputies, in turn, puzzled representatives of the Ministry of Digital Investigation with the question of the possibility of creating a Russian national VPN service. The logic of thought of lawmakers is extremely clear. Russian Internet resources are blocked abroad, which means that Russian citizens should be given the opportunity to access them bypassing these restrictions. Also, according to Anton Gorelkin, Deputy Head of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, the Russian VPN service would also have a foreign audience: “We are recording a request for an alternative point of view and Russian assessments of ongoing processes from the “other side”. I don’t think, of course, that this should be implemented at the expense of the Russian budget, this is quite a feasible task for our commercial companies, but the Ministry of Digital Development can become a driver of this process.” Russian citizens will receive a tool that will be protected from “theft of personal data” and will be more trustworthy than dubious foreign counterparts.
Lamp dashboards in a car from Hyundai
Usually, concepts are brought to car dealerships that show us either a very futuristic solution, only part of which will go into real cars, or, conversely, a retro design that is not planned for mass production at all, but only wants to remind you how it was before. But here Hyundai showed off the Pony and N Vision74 concept cars at the Canadian International Auto Show – they look retro, but in fact they have an element that the company intends to use in future production models. It’s about the analog dashboard. Yes, in 2023, most automakers consider the analog “tidy” only as a necessary evil and a sign of the minimum car configuration. But Hyundai head of design Hak Soo-ha believes that there is a place for analog dashboards in the future, not only in the simplest and cheapest models. Being rethought, they can add “more automotive excitement to the interiors and design of the car.” Well, no one, in his opinion, has canceled the fact that ergonomics and safety, especially in an emergency, are much better for analog devices than for an overloaded digital interface.
Free toll roads of the Russian Federation for electric vehicles
In many parts of the world, numerous benefits are offered to support motorists who have chosen the difficult path of transition from the usual internal combustion engine to electric propulsion, including the possibility of free travel on highways for which a fee is usually charged. From March 1, such a benefit will also be provided by the Russian Government for electric vehicles when driving on toll federal highways, provided that this is an electric vehicle, and not a “hybrid”. While the proposal operates as an experimental one, it is unlikely that for some reason in the near future the experiment will be canceled in favor of a permanent rule. In the meantime, it will be possible to drive an electric car free of charge on the highways M-1 “Belarus” (including “Odintsov bypass”), M-3 “Ukraine”, M-4 “Don”, M-11 “Neva”, M-12 Moscow —Nizhny Novgorod—Kazan, Central Ring Road (TsKAD). In order to get the right to free travel for the period of the experiment, the owner of the electric car must contact the user support office of Avtodor – Toll Roads LLC. There you need to present documents confirming that the electric car is equipped exclusively with an electric motor, and provide a T-pass transponder. If not, it will have to be purchased or rented.
