Mobile Services
Aruba eyes double-digit growth in India in 2018
NEW DELHI: With mobility on the rise amid enterprises aspiring to create modern, connected workplaces, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)-owned wireless networking major Aruba is looking for double-digit growth in India, top company executives have reiterated.
Aruba saw its business growing rapidly last year — with over 67 per cent growth — and India has become one of its fastest-growing markets.
The company, acquired by HPE in 2015 for $3 billion, is today the leading provider of next-generation network access solutions for the mobile enterprise.
“Mobility is one factor that is on the rise in India, with more and more devices being connected. Aruba is targeting double-digit growth in the country in 2018. We are seeing more and more customers using our wireless networks that come with valuable insights for businesses to drive growth,” Steve Wood, Vice President, Asia Pacific, Aruba, told IANS.
When it comes to R&D, core research is under way at Aruba’s Bengaluru facility.
“We are living in an era where sensors are everywhere — be it home appliances, IoT devices or consumer devices — and we need to help those units connect to the edge of the network. At Aruba, we are focused towards achieving that ‘intelligent edge’ for sectors like education, health care, hospitality, retail and manufacturing,” Wood emphasised.
Aruba has just bagged a big contract with an Indian bank with 5,000 branches to provide it with secure wireless networking solutions.
“It is still in the implementation stage so I can’t reveal the name of the bank now. Last year, the government business was 48 per cent of our revenue stream in the country,” Santanu Ghose, Country Manager, HPE Aruba, told IANS.
“Small and Medium Business (SMB) is the fasted-growing market segment for us. We have been receiving almost 30 new customers every quarter. We had nearly 130 new customers in 2017,” Ghose added.
Aruba’s distributors and their partners — as well as its own partners — are helping the company reach more enterprises with its wireless offerings. It is also leveraging HPE partner framework to reach more businesses.
“Wireless network adoption is happening very fast in the country. Rural Internet penetration, which is 17 per cent at the moment, needs to go up to 50 per cent with Wi-Fi and end-point connectivity. We have the strength to help the stakeholders achieve that,” Ghose added.
Within SMBs, Aruba is looking at micro-verticals like health care, mobile campuses and co-working offices.
“Wireless is becoming an infrastructure. Co-working offices and mobile campuses are triggering innovations beyond the concrete walls. New design campuses are coming up. Going wireless today is the key,” Ghose told IANS, adding that small-scale manufacturing firms are also coming back into life.
When it comes to connecting governments and enterprises to the edge of the network, a secure, robust and agile wireless network is the need of the hour.
To address this, the company recently launched “Aruba 360 Secure Fabric” — a security framework that provides 360 degrees of analytics-driven attack detection and response to help organisations reduce risk in the changing threat landscape.
“To prevent attacks, we have integrated User and Entity Behavioural Analytics (UEBA) into our central security piece called ‘Clearpass’. This is now called ‘Aruba IntroSpect’ that will introspect behavioural anomalies — be it a person or a device — to gauge possible threats and mitigate those,” Ghose informed.
Aruba is also innovating in UEBA by expanding the “Aruba IntroSpect” product family, enabling businesses to easily and rapidly scale machine-learned behaviour detection from small projects to full enterprise deployments.
The “Aruba 360 Secure Fabric” offers security and IT teams an integrated way to quickly detect and respond to advanced cyber attacks — from pre-authorisation to post-authorisation across multi-vendor infrastructures, supporting enterprises of all sizes.
“At the centre of our security are Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which are integrated into our security network for a seamless, wireless connectivity,” Ghose said.
According to Ghose, they haven’t seen any known impact so far after the news of two security flaws in Intel and other chips shocked the tech world recently.
“We have not seen any known impact as of now. We also use chips other than Intel but there has been no impact on our operations,” Ghose noted.
Source: IANS
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.
Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.
Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”
Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.
In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.
NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.
This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.
Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.
Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.
While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.
Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.
If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.
Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.
The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.
Source: Press Trust of India
5g
Nokia wins multi-year deal with Reliance Jio India to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world
NEW DELHI: Nokia has announced that it has been selected as a major supplier by Reliance Jio to supply 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio countrywide in a multi-year deal. Reliance Jio is India’s number one mobile operator and has one of the largest RAN footprints in the world.
Under the contract, Nokia will supply equipment from its AirScale portfolio, including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. Reliance Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.
Akash Ambani, Chairman Reliance Jio, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Nokia for our 5G SA deployment in India. Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.”
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia stated: “This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world. This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio. We are proud that Reliance Jio has placed its trust in our technology and we look forward to a long and productive partnership with them.”
Nokia has a long-standing presence in India. This new deal will mean that Nokia is now supplying India’s three largest mobile operators.
