T-Mobile successfully Tests 5G Video Call Using Multiple Spectrum Bands

Consumer Electronics Show 2019 marked a major step towards adoption to 5G technology with successful testing of 5G video call by T-Mobile with its partners Intel and Ericson. The 5G video call was tested by using a diverse array of wireless spectrum bands from low frequency, mid-frequency to high frequency.

The call was tested by using three spectrum bands of 28Hz, 39Hz and 60Hz. T-Mobile managed to cover 1000 miles of distance by using 600Hz spectrum band.

Signals transmitted at higher frequencies can transfer more data at faster speed while those transmitted at low frequencies travel longer distances but at reduced data speed. Telecom companies face the challenge of combining different frequency bands to cover huge distances to offer seamless data services.  High frequency wavelengths is key to offer 5G high speeds.

The 5G term derives from the fifth generation of advancements in cellular technology which promises to greatly enhance the coverage, speed and responsiveness to the wireless data transmission technology. The technology has potential to provide 10 to 100 times speedier transmission than regular data networks. This will easily outstrip whatever a physical fiber optic cable speeds.

The company stated that the 5G video call demonstration is a decisive milestone in the evolution of 5G technology. The test involved multiple spectrum bands of low, mid and millimeter wavelengths. The 5G technology domain has seen rapid strides by competitors of T-Mobile like Verizon and AT&T. Verizon wants to launch its 5G services in 2019 and has already launched its home based 5G broadband service in selected cities. AT&T is planning a similar launch date by using commercial launch of its hotspot device.

T-Mobile has already participated in spectrum band auction and owns some low frequency bands. While it waiting to gain new millimeter frequency bands through its acquisition of Sprint. The 5G technology industry is witnessed significant developments in recent months as more and more companies announce plans to enter the business. At CES 2019, Ford Motor Company has also announced that all its automobiles from 2022 onwards will be equipped with 5G technology. Verizon has also demonstrated its first 5G enabled smartphone device. Qualcomm Inc. The largest chip maker in the world has announced that its chips will be used to enable 30 new 5G enabled smartphones waiting to be launched by the end of 2019.

UMC Shrinking it’s Chip Making Project amid US China Trade Tensions

World’s third largest chipmaker, Taiwan’s United Microelectronics Corp. is scaling down its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) project Fujian Jinhua. The company recently moved 140 employees of 300 staffer DRAM project internally to other departments. The move is significant when the project is in a suspension mode since November 2018 when USA banned all supplies to the company accusing it of stealing Micron’s Intellectual property and for indulging in economic espionage activities in collaboration with the Chinese government.

Fujian Jinhua project is backed by the Chinese government in a bid to achieve self-sufficiency in chip making business heavily monopolized by South Korea based companies including Samsung Electronics, S K Hynix and USA’s Micron. The three companies control around 96% of chip making business. The project was aimed at achieving self-reliance funded only by central and state government funds. UMC in late 2016 announced a technology partnership with Fujian Jinhua to help develop DRAM technology.

The project with massive investment of $5.6 billion is based Jinjiang, a city in Southern China. The project was due to enter production trial in December 2018, but ban by USA threatened UMC’s chip making business which relies heavily on American supplies for semiconductor equipments such as Lam Research and Applied Materials. The supplies to the semiconductor chip making company was halted by USA on the charge of intellectual property rights violations of Micron. The crackdown is aimed to smother China’s technology ambitions and punish the Asian giant for IPR appropriation which is major bone of contention between the two economic superpowers.

UMC although has refused to declare the winding up of the project explicitly in fear of angering the Chinese government. The internal transfers is regular exercise and had nothing to do with the project claimed the chief financial officer of UMC Liu Chi-Tung. He declined to comment further on the matter.

Equipments worth US$980 million purchased by Fujian Jinhua lie at UMC’s Tainan site after the project was temporarily halted by USA block.

Employees of the DRAM team have already started looking for new jobs as they feel UMC is planning to ditch memory chip development business altogether. The company is stuck between the US China trade war. Although the prospects for the business were good, the tensions between the two giant economies is harming the company.

UMC is in mainly in the business of making chips for graphics processors, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, mobile processors and automotive chips. The company serves clients such as MediaTek, Qualcomm, AMD, Novatek, Infineon, Realtek and Rockchip and Allwinner Technology.

US Malls Witnessed Record Vacancies in 2018 in Seven Years as more Retail Giants Announce Closures

2018 was a tough year for retail giants as a steady stream of retail closures made headlines in last months. Bankruptcy ridden Sears is closing 80 stores by March 2019 as it looks forward to liquidate its assets all over USA. Similar news from Bonton and JCPenney took the retail industry by storm. Owners of malls and shopping centers look concerned as big ticket closures are awaited in the coming year.

Vacancy rate of super-regional and regional malls stood at 8.3% in 2017 which grew to 9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 before raising to 9.1% in the third quarter. This has sounded alarming bells in the retail business as this has significantly topped the average vacancy rate of last 10 years of 8.3%. The   overall retail closures during the last quarter stood at 10.3%.

As more stores were closed, mall owners seemed to have been able to attract higher paying tenants. The average mall rent increased to 0.2 percent in the last quarter. Some in the industry take this as a positive step as advent of e-commerce prophesized doom for the brick and mortar stores.  Mall owners say that the Sears stores were replaced by more profitable and innovative businesses. Trampoline parks, fitness companies and grocery stores are more actively involved in opening new stores.

The American cities with highest retail rent growth included Raleigh-Dunham, Orlando and Austin-Richmond. Cleveland and Salt Lake City saw the biggest declines in the last quarter.

Companies like Victoria’s Secret, Gap and Express are already hinting at more closures ahead. The retail vacancy rates are expected to hold steady. According to reports, in 2018,148 million Sq. Ft of retail space was shut down outpacing the 102 million Sq. Ft in 2017.

For businesses to survive integration to e-commerce seems to be key strategy. While retail stores sales grew by 5% last year, in the same period a 19% increase in online sales was witnessed. Online sales growth was 10.2% for retail stores. Still these stores are trying ways to work with Amazon. Best Buy who struggled to find place in the changing landscape has adopted new strategy of integrating its business to Amazon ecosystem.  The partnership with Amazon gives the customer a choice to try the product at a local store with an option to buy it on Amazon.

Retail brand riddled with shrinking revenues in the changing retail landscape. Loss of revenues means that most of them are not able invest either in marketing or in e-commerce.

Lorax Compliance Issues Warning for Pack Exporters vis-à-vis New European Regulations

Lorax Compliance, a firm offering SaaS services for environmental compliance and consultancy for companies who need to consider regional and global compliances, issues an official warning for firms to brace themselves for amendments in the packaging compliance schemes in Europe. In case they fail to do so, the repercussion might include a fine imposition of around €200,000.

The company puts spotlight on amendments and changes in the province of Germany, wherein the brand new VerpackG scheme will be having profound influences on the companies involved in export of goods to the country. The companies have been asked to get involved in a dual system to enable effective recovery of packaging post use, which will be a key aspect determining their continuation in the market space. Firms have been asked to get registered with the Central Authority prior to dispatch of any product for the very first attempt in Germany. This has been made compulsory and non- comprisable at any cost for all the companies, irrespective of their size and foothold.

Concerns apropos of environmental sustainability remains the key objective fuelling such legislations. With the rising trend of environmental pollution in many prominent landscape, including Germany, packaging formats and their relevant impact have been taken into serious consideration.

According to a revelation by Lorax, organizations that fail in terms of submission of a “declaration of completeness” could have to bear the brunt of €200,000 fine.

Similarly, in case of Italy, the Conai scheme has brought into picture a brand new reporting category vis-à-vis poly-laminated packaging, which is used for storage of liquids like milk and fruit juices. In this new section, the reporting fee per ton has been decided upon €40.

In the meantime, the count of plastics categories and segments in Italy will come down from 5 to 4 types. Plastics that are sortable as well as recyclable will be charged for as low as €150 per ton, whereas the ones that are unknown or non-recyclable will be charged in terms of €369 per ton.

“In the coming two years, all the EPR initiatives and programmers in Europe are likely to undergo reformations in the 2018 Circular Economy Package. Firms that are unaware od not up-to-date of the newest proposed l legislations and environmental schemes are prone to substantial risk, either of over- and under-reporting the volume they supply to the market or in terms of product addition to inappropriate categories, which could result in adversities such as fines and penalties.” – Michelle Carvell, COO, Lorax Compliance.

Iran has Raised its Gasoline Production Capacity to Record Levels amidst US Sanction on Iranian Oil

To immunize itself from the massive effects of US sanctions, Iran has increased its gasoline production levels to 100 million liters per day. With this kind of national production capacity it has moved closer to the goal of achieving self-sufficiency, as reported Iranian media agency.

The increase comes from the Persian Gulf Star Refinery near the Persian Gulf, which in the beginning of its operations had a production capacity of only 12 million liters of gasoline and diesel per day in 2017, after successfully completing two expansion phases, the refinery’s production capacity increased to 36 million liters of gasoline per day and daily condensate capacity of 3, 60,000 barrels.

South Pars gas field which is co-owned by Iran and Qatar, feeds the condensate to the Persian Gulf Star Refinery. The facility which is condensate refinery giant in the Middle East will enable Iran to export high value products insulating the nation from the grave economic turmoil caused by US sanctions.

The exports of high value products which are in high demand in Asia including India will ensure Iran’s economic stability. Iran has also heavily invested in a refinery in Nagapattanam. The refinery which is run by Chennai Petroleum Corp. Iran has reportedly invested 15 billion euros in this refinery which expected to boost its production capacity to nine times its current production. As India is a strategic market for Iran, amidst the Sanctions fiasco, Iran’s plans to contribute a significant portion of US$ 4 billion of investment to boost production capacity nine million tons per day. The Nagapattanam Refinery along with raised production levels from Persian Gulf Star refinery will significantly improve Iran’s production.

The Indian government has also exempted payments for the imported crude from Iran from taxes. The payment will be made in Indian rupee INR as amount deposited in Indian bank. Although by tax regulations, the amount is subject to 40% tax rate, Iran has been granted exemption considering the exceptional circumstances surrounding the US embargo. National Iranian Oil Company who is the receiver of these payments has in exchange has signed an undertaking to not carry out any other activity other than receiving payments. However, Iran can use these funds to pay for imports of medical devices, medicines and food grains from India and it can also invest in debt securities of Indian government.

Pertamina Enters Crude Oil Supply Contracts with 11 Oil and Gas Contractors in Indonesia

Pertamina, the state-owned oil and gas company in Indonesia has entered into contracts with 11 oil and gas companies operating in Indonesia to supply crude oil. The contract has been signed with an aim to reduce crude oil imports in the country. The agreements of the contract are based on the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministerial regulation on the domestic use priority of crude oil produced in Indonesia.

The 11 companies that signed contract with Pertamina are PT SPR Langgak, Bumi Siak Pusako, RH Petrogas Limited, PetroChina International Jabung Ltd., PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia, PT Energi Mega Persada Tonga, SAKA Pangkah Indonesia Ltd, Husky CNOOC Madura Ltd, PetroChina International (Bermuda) Ltd. (bbn), Petronas Carigali Ketapang I Ltd, and PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk.

Djoko Siswanto, Director General Oil & Gas, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources stated that the volume of contracts is high enough and if all the companies sold their crude oil to Pertamina, then the company will be able to reduce imports by 225,000 bopd.

According to Arya Dwi Paramita, Pertamina’s media communications manager, the company that was selected by the Indonesian government to purchase crude oil produced in the country was ready to consume all the crude oil that was sold by several oil companies. He also said that the volume of contracts is different with each oil company, which depends on the mutual agreement. Pertamina has not disclosed details of the contracts and scheme’s value.

By the end of 2019, Pertamina plans to establish 123 one-price fuel stations under the government program to provide fuel in remote regions. The company already opened 54 fuel stations in 2017, followed by 69 in 2018. In 2019 it aims to open 29 fuel stations. The fuel stations are opened in outermost and least developed regions in Indonesia.

ARLP Completes Acquisition of AllDale, Targets the Oil & Gas Mineral Interests

Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) made an official announcement, which conveyed completion of the acquisition of AllDale with a purchase amount of nearly $175 million, as per the previous announcement. This, in turn, enabled a control of nearly 42,000 net acres of royalty vis-à-vis areas with large-scale oil & gas accumulation. ARLP is one of the largest and diversified natural resource firm which generates revenue from coal production along interests apropos of oil and gas minerals found across strategic producing regions throughout United States.

“Ultimate closing of this transaction with AllDale is likely to provide ARLP with noteworthy ownership of highly-profitable oil & gas mineral interests,” stated Joseph W. Craft III, CEO and President. “This transaction is also foreseen to build the base for a remarkable growth of the company”, he added. The substantive income that will be procured from the aforementioned mineral interests is poised to be instantly profitable to ARLP’s revenue footprint in the year 2019 and also creates anticipations for an optimistic stream of royalty, which will offer long-term profit-making opportunities for the unit holders of ARLP.

Details of the Transaction

ARLP successfully completed the acquisition all the general partner interests of AllDale, which has been acknowledged as a viable and useful addition to the ARLP product portfolio. On the basis of the price concerned with this partnership interest, ARLP is likely to procure a gain ranging in between $145.0- $155.0 million in the first quarter of 2019, which will be a noncash gain, in order to reflect a fair and reasonable value of its past investments in partnerships with AllDale. ARLP’s acreage is being proactively developed by some of the industry-leading operators, such as Devon Energy, Continental Resources, Concho Resources, and Anadarko Petroleum.

At present, there are around 3,821 gross production wells involved in generation of production net to the interest of ARLP’s interest of nearly 2,611 oil equipment barrels for one day. As per the current statistics, around 495 wells are subjected to drilling at ARLP’s acreage and another count of around 860 well locations that are permitted. ARLP has an ownership of nearly 4,000 net acres via its partner interests, which are limited in number, in AllDale Minerals III, L.P. This strategic move is expected to enhance the current operational statistics of the company and also induce a shared responsibility in terms of risk and costs.

EU to Follow Suit After USA on Barring Chinese Companies as the 5G Technology’s Potential Usage in Espionage Operations Raises Concern

 5G Technology has alarmed many in the security establishment of USA and Europe. A technology which has shown promises to revolutionize telecom sector radically in next couple of years has also posed a major security threat to national security according to experts. The technology has many loopholes which can also be exploited to conduct espionage operations. Intelligence agencies have warned of impending chaos if the threat is not addressed. EU is following similar suit following US lead to stop Chinese telecom companies from creating 5G base in the nation’s territory.

The Trump White House is considering to roll out an executive order to ban US companies from starting joint ventures and also use equipments made by Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE. American suspicions about the technologies possible espionage usage has alarmed many countries in the European Union. Italy, Finland, Spain, Germany, Austria, and Belgium have raised similar concerns about the technology’s possible abuse by Russian and Chinese intelligence agencies.

The battle became fierce with the arrest of Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, after the company refused to cooperate with US on sanctions against Iran, a strategic ally of the Chinese Communist Party.

Huawei and ZTE have a reputation of openly collaborating Chinese intelligence agencies. British intelligence agencies were one of the first to point out the potential danger of using Chinese 5g technology equipments. Others in the EU who have to shunned ties with the Chinese companies include French telecom provider Orange who recently declared that it will stop using any Chinese equipments. Germany’s Deutsche Telecom is also reportedly cooperating with security agencies to address their concerns. The company has resisted any move to totally ban Chinese equipments, as T-Mobile Network owned by Deutsche Telecom has entered into a partnership agreement to unroll 5G network in Poland. 

. The total ban on Chinese companies is not economically viable either as Chinese 5G market is one of the largest in the world. Any move to ban the companies will raise fears of retaliatory actions by the Chinese government. Telecom industry in EU has a lot at stake here as it tries to gain access to the huge telecom market of the Asian Giant.

Telecom Reports predict the internet traffic to be thirty times more than in last decade by year 2020. 5G Tech will provide a solid base for EU’s one trillion euro digital market. Brussels has already invested 700 million euros in the program Horizon 2020 to promote innovation and research in 5G technology.

Qualcomm Enforces Ban of Specific iPhone Models in German Stores

Qualcomm Inc, an American multinational giant in telecommunications products and services, took some solid step on Thursday vis-à-vis enforcement of court order to ban sales of specific iPhone models in Germany. This step is highly likely to persuade Apple Inc. to pull out these iPhone models from German stores and shops, which in turn will have profound influence on the sales figures of Apple. A bond worth 1.34 billion euros ($1.52 billion) was posted as a crucial part of the legal necessities by a German court, wherein Apple was accused of infringement of the Qualcomm patents on power-saving technologies utilized in case of smartphones.

In line with this order, Apple stated that it would pull iPhone 7 and 8 models from around 15 retail establishments in Germany. However, when Qualcomm successfully posted the bond, Apple’s statements came into effect. Based on the recent move by Qualcomm, Apple denied to give out any significant and solid comment.

As per order by the court, Apple is forced to stop selling, impending offers for sale, and importation of the infringing iPhone models in Germany. The court also placed an order asking Apple to recall all the models that are affected from various third-party resellers based in Germany, as per a statement given by Qualcomm.

In one of its previous statements, Apple had stated that it would continue selling all of its iPhone models across multiple retail and carrier locations in Germany, which was more of a contradiction to interpretations of Qualcomm apropos of the order.

A German lawyer, who isn’t directly involved in the case, stated that order of the court was highly oriented toward entities of Apple Inc rather than third party stores involved. These third parties still have the liberty in terms of selling theses affected phones. “The equation of a settlement will be primarily driven by the U.S. litigation, and not the German case.” he added.

As per sources, Apple came up with solid arguments for reversal of the court’s ruling on appeal. If this becomes the case, bond of Qualcomm will be used to compensate Apple. Whether the order will turn out to be in favor of Apple or there will be a significant backlash against the acquisitions remains to be seen.

Ablative Solutions Inc. Raises Funding of $77M to Focus on Effective Treatments for Hypertension

Hypertension refers to a medical condition that has had a history of affecting people across the globe and also carries the potential of resulting into chronic health issues, such as cardiac arrest, heart failure, and stroke. It also represents a notable burden to the overall healthcare system framework and has attracted the attention of healthcare providers multiple times.

Renal denervation evolved as a breakthrough in terms of addressing hypertension outside of the traditional medication approaches. In this process, the nerves in the renal framework remain the target areas for blood pressure reduction. With potential benefits demonstrated, some of the latest and positive research results have translated into heightened interest as well as investments in the renal denervation process space.

Ablative Solutions, Inc., a firm pioneering latest and effective approaches for addressing hypertension, made an announcement of the first closure of its Series D funding round worth $77 million. As confirmed by various sources, the company is using this funding to facilitate clinical research & efficacy tests into its technological portfolio, which entails infusion of dehydrated alcohol into renal system in the form of a neurolytic agent for blocking the nerves that can amplify high blood pressure.

Sources also state that the organization has largely been in a momentary hold for the last two years owing to lack of funding, which had adverse impacts on the company’s efforts in clinical research. This new cash infusion will be leveraged to back a compact proof of efficacy of the Ablative’s technology and also a macro randomized trial that is supposed to act a validator of the technology for regulators across the U.S. and Europe.

It is strongly believed that solid claims and positive results by the recent studies on renal denervation is one of the prominent aspects that attracted substantial investments into this field. While drug therapy in tandem with evolving lifestyle changes remain the highly common treatment approaches for hypertension, constant pursuit for efficacy remains a key reason for increasing interest and investments in this area.

According to Geoff Pardo, a key investor, the technological portfolio of Ablative Solutions’ remains differentiated and unique in the overall market space owing to its abilities in terms of targeting nerves with greater efficacy and minimally-invasive manner, unlike their competitors. “It will be exciting to work with a solid syndicate with enough financial backup to attain desired clinical objectives and offer something that results in high-quality and better outcomes with reduced costs”, Pardo added.