Connectivity, Communications & Cloud News - Page 7

It was just over 24 hours ago that we wrote the story that 21 million phones in China vanishing over coronavirus, but it seems the Associated Press noticed my story and 'fact checked' it.

The Associated Press has the "claim" of questioning the "Drop in cellphone users in China is proof that the coronavirus has killed 21 million in the country, far more than the official count". AP has their own "assessment" on this, where Arijeta Lajka writes: "False. The decline in cellphone users is not linked to the number of people who died after being infected with coronavirus. Major cellphone carriers in China attributed the drop to people with multiple phone numbers canceling some service during the outbreak".

AP talked with a representative of China Mobile, who said that the situation is indeed related to the COVID-19 outbreak, it was "not related to deaths, but changes in lifestyle". A China Mobile spokesperson said: "It was mainly due to reduced business and social activities resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak. Many customers in China have multiple SIM cards and it is common that they use their non-primary SIM cards to do these activities".

Microsoft has experienced a gigantic increase in demand for its various cloud services in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, and all of its social distancing and work-from-home and stay-at-home policies by worldwide governments.

Microsoft took to an Azure blog post, where they explained: "We have seen a 775 percent increase of our cloud services in regions that have enforced social distancing or shelter in place orders". The services that are going through the surging demand include Microsoft Teams, Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Live, and Mixer -- while Windows Virtual Desktop usage has exploded by over 300%.

In order to handle the additional 775% load, Microsoft has tweaked its cloud services. The company explains in an Xbox support note: "To streamline moderation and ensure the best experience for our community, we're making small adjustments. We've temporarily turned off the ability to upload custom gamerpics, club pics, and club backgrounds".

Beijing authorities have said that as of March 19, there have been over 21 million cell phone accounts cancelled -- while over the last 3 months they've have 840,000 landlines closed in China. Where did all these people go? What happened?

There are some eerie reports that deaths of COVID-19 in China might have "contributed to the high number of account closings", according to The Epoch Times. But, if you didn't already know -- the Chinese government require all Chinese citizens to use their smartpone to generate a health code.

US-based China affairs commentator, Tang Jingyuan, told The Epoch Times: "The digitization level is very high in China. People can't survive without a cellphone. Dealing with the government for pensions and social security, buying train tickets, shopping... no matter what people want to do, they are required to use cellphones".

It appears the havoc that COVID-19 coronavirus is causing on the world is not limited to just forcing us all inside in a global lockdown, but it is wrecking havoc on the internet, too.

Major internet services like Netflix and YouTube are having to reduce the quality of their streaming resolutions to keep up with the massive uptick in demand, with hundreds of millions of people stuck inside their homes. But now, experts in European countries are predicting we'll see large-scale "internet rationing" that would prioritize things like health and emergency services, as well as online education over everything else.

Matthew Howett, principal analyst at Assembly, told The Telegraph: "If we end up in a situation where worldwide, 850m children start to receive lessons virtually for an extended period of time, then networks might want to start prioritizing video traffic over gaming traffic".

Nokia has been chosen to deploy a 5G radio network for Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, where it will deploy 5G technology in the Central and Southern Region of Taiwan.

Chunghwa Telecom has its eyes on becoming the 5G leader in Taiwan, and will be using Nokia's range of 5G radio technology to make it happen. Chunghwa Telecom will be the first in Taiwan with 5G connectivity, with the continued relationship between the companies extending back to 1973 -- right up to the next generation of 5G technology.

The rollout of 5G technology is already happening in Taiwan, and will be live for users to use in July -- aiming at high-end 4K video streaming and VR technology. Nokia will tap the huge array of Chunghwa Telecom's existing LTE install base with huge spectrum resources at its disposal, to launch a 5G non-standalone (NSA) using multiple bands -- where in the future it will expand on that with 5G standalone (SA).

It looks like China is in the spotlight once again with 5G communications, with the US military now weighing in underlining that Huawei and China are a big global threat.

The recently formed US Space Force requires 5G technology to move forward, with the US military saying "Space-based communications will play a key role in connecting 5G devices". Air Force acquisition officer Will Roper adds: "We need to up our game in 5G. As more autonomy moves to the edge of the internet of things, it's going to have to be supported by more bandwidth. It would be a shame if something that is going to control most of the data moving from machine to machine commercializes first overseas".

The US military officials seemed to be concerned with Huawei and China's overall presence in communications could undermine military operations -- especially with the rise in 5G technology. If the US military relies on 5G connectivity more and more, they can't have a foreign power and possible enemy in China building its infrastructure using Chinese-made tech from the likes of Huawei.

Japanese ISPs are now offering super-fast 10Gbps internet connections, with NTT East and NTT West (Nippon Telegraph And Telephone) providing people with 10Gbps internet for just $55 per month.

10Gbps is pretty damn insane as it'll offer users over 1GB/sec download speeds, but you probably won't get those speeds for a variety of reasons. You'll need a SSD that can drive over 1GB/sec read/writes, with SATA III maxing out at 600MB/sec you're going to need an NVMe-based SSD capable of multiple gigabytes per second of speeds... for your internet connection.

The super-fast FLET's Hikari Cross compatible router is there for your 10Gbps internet service needs, costing around $4.48 per month on top of your $55 internet connection. You will have 10Gbps support as well as Wi-Fi 6 support, so you're looked after in both wired, and wireless connectivity at high speeds.

Veirzon is spending up big in the ramp up to the Super Bowl, with the US telco giant spending $80 million to blanket downtown Miami with 5G connectivity.

The company has promised that the areas around the Miami airports, downtown Miani, and around Bayfront Park will have expanded 5G coverage. Verizon is also sponsoring a Super Bowl Live event where it will be showing off various technology that displays why you need, and why you'll benefit from 5G technology.

Verizon will have an immersive, on-the-field experience at the Super Bowl itself, and will be running through to February 1. Now, there aren't many smartphones on the market that are powered by 5G just yet, but Samsung has a few in the Galaxy S10 5G and Galaxy Note 10 5G, while LG has its V50 ThinQ 5G smartphone. You will need one of these smartphones, and to have your phone connected to Verizon to enjoy 5G.

CES 2020 - Intel kinda teased its next-gen Thunderbolt 4 technology at CES 2020 this week, but didn't go into detail about it -- and now, we know why.

Thunderbolt 4 is essentially a re-branding of Thunderbolt 3, with ex-TweakTown staffer and now Tom's Hardware contributor Paul Alcorn talking with Intel during CES. Alcorn writes: "Intel confirmed it referenced USB 3.1 in the presentation, meaning Thunderbolt 4 is in fact not faster than Thunderbolt 3".

Articles started flying quick and fast out of CES 2020 that Intel had teased Thunderbolt 4, after it had pushed out slides that its new Tiger Lake architecture had integrated Thunderbolt 4. Confusion happened pretty quickly, with Intel trying to clarify by saying: "Thunderbolt 4 continues Intel leadership in providing exceptional performance, ease of use and quality for USB-C connector-based products".

Apple is reportedly looking into launching its own satellites in an effort that would totally bypass wireless carriers here on Earth, according to the latest rumors.

Bloomberg is reporting that Apple has its own "secret team working on satellites and related wireless technology, striving to find new ways to beam data such as internet connectivity directly to its devices". This team has just over 10 people working on it so far, with Apple wanting to see their results "within five years".

Apple's satellite plans might fall out of the sky before they're even launched, with Bloomberg adding that Apple CEO Tim Cook is interested in the satellite project... but it could be scrapped as "a clear direction and use for satellites hasn't been finalized". I can see Apple blasting next-gen 5G and other data directly to its devices, bypassing wireless carriers -- but it's a lot easier saying that, than actually doing it -- and doing it to Apple's very high standards.