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We talk all things 5G with Kim Larsen, T-Mobile the Netherlands’ Chief Technology and Information Officer (CTIO), Johan van den Branden, Mobile Network Director, and Minoo Abedi, Manager Technology Change Office.
Written by Anna McMahon Produced by Danielle Harris Contribution by Karlijn Straver
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T-Mobile started life in The Netherlands in January 1999. t has since been on a very exciting journey, having bought the assets of Vodafone Thuis and recently merged with Dutch telecoms operator, Tele2. Kim Larsen, CTIO of T-Mobile the Netherlands, takes up the story, “Up until five years ago, from a network perspective point of view, we were last in the market. Our network quality was questionable and it was quite clear that the customer perception was lagging behind that of our competitors. We have now taken the place of the best network in the world in terms of our speed and general quality. We are the fastest network worldwide, delivering a speed of 78Mbps on average. We have put in a 4
tremendous amount of work over the last four years to make a world-class network. We are now increasingly focusing on improving our fixed network to enable the best experience for our customers too.” It is this goal of continual improvement to ensure the highest levels of service and customer experience that explains why T-Mobile the Netherlands is focusing on its fixed mobile convergence. In doing so, it is leveraging the offerings of Tele2 and T-Mobile Thuis. The company has built up a strong team, which, according to Mobile Network Director, Johan van den Branden, has played a huge role in its success. He explains, “It’s all about people in the end.
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The company’s path to 5G is twofold – the two main areas of the project involve the upgrade of the radio network and the 5G readiness of the core network 8
You can have the right technology, but if you don’t have the right people, you cannot marry the two and become successful. We put a lot of focus on attracting and maintaining the right talent.” Forging strong partnerships has become a key factor in T-Mobile the Netherlands’ 5G journey. Minoo Abedi, Manager Technology Change Office, states, “With 5G, the business model of telecom operators will change. The ecosystems that we are used to operating in will expand. Telecom operators across the world are facing major challenges to the sustainability of their business models. We used to typically grow on the back of the traditional voice and data services. However, our current operations are becoming very complex, due to the exponentially changing consumption patterns of our consumers. The value is moving to a totally different market. The business models we had followed till now will not work in future. Technology evolution and moving towards 5G are creating new opportunities in new market sectors, also known as verticals. Technology developments are continuing to drive up demand and the development of new applications
for mobile broadband. We have to remain vigil and adapt quickly to disruptive changes. Many operators have realised this and are updating their way of working to remain relevant in changing times. Therefore we are also looking at innovating our business models to stay relevant and also profit from the new business opportunities enabled by 5G. In fact, a big part of 5G’s commercial success will depend on the formation of new partnerships and services in industries in and outside of the mobile industry.” Therefore T-Mobile the Netherlands works closely with various partners such as Infradata, Huawei and consultancy firm Detecon, in order to define their future strategies. Kim explains, “Working together with a partner that listens to your ideas is essential.” Adding to this he states “If you
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“By collaborating with these different partners we are able to form a strong and diverse team that drives the changes and adaptations in our network and IT platforms. With this strategy we aim to improve our customer experience and how T-Mobile is perceived� Kim Larsen, T-Mobile Netherlands’ CTIO
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look at our IT landscape, our partners, such as Atos and Wipro, continue to transform the platform to become increasingly digital. By collaborating with these different partners we are able to form a strong and diverse team that drives the changes and adaptations in our network and IT platforms. With this strategy we aim to improve our customer experience and how T-Mobile is perceived. The company’s path to 5G is twofold – the two main areas of the project involve the upgrade of the radio network and the 5G readiness of the core network.
Johan explains, “Within the core side, we are migrating to a fully virtualised core. This provides us with the agility and flexibility necessary to keep up with traffic demand, as well as support of 5G within the core. From a radio network perspective, we are integrating the tele2 frequencies in our network, and while doing this, we prepare the network for deployment of 5G. This combined upgrade allows us to switch on 5G with a flip of a switch once the multiband auction has been awarded. This is currently planned for Q1 2020. This public promise makes the Netherlands one of the
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T-Mobile the Netherlands is municipality of The Hague to en in Living Lab S
few places in the world that will have a countrywide 5G network, as other countries tend to take a cityfirst approach. Johan says, “With the roll-out of 5G, we will improve the network performance in terms of latency, speed and reliability. With 5G, you'll see exponentially faster download and upload speeds. Latency, which means the time it takes to communicate with other wireless networks, will also drastically decrease. These are the key benefits that 5G will bring. This means customers nationwide will
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be able to take advantages of these things much earlier, rather than just those in the big cities.” Minoo adds, “Whatever we do now with our smartphones, we'll be able to do faster and better. Think of smart glasses featuring augmented reality, mobile virtual reality. Also much higher quality video, as well as the internet of things making cities smarter. But what's really exciting is all the new services that will be built that we can't foresee at this point in time.”
s working together with the nable a smart city framework Scheveningen
For example, T-Mobile the Netherlands is working together with the municipality of The Hague to enable a smart city framework in Living Lab Scheveningen. Where, by cocreation with their partners, they can increase impact and start building the city of tomorrow. Johan explains, “We define a smart city as one whose processes are digitalised using 5G technology. For example, systems which allow you to see before you enter the city where
parking spaces are available, and smart traffic lights that control the flow of traffic. Also intelligent camera systems that prioritise active routes, as well as providing real-time information for the Dutch Police to base their decisions on.� Kim adds, “You can decide to minimise air or noise pollution by integrating with smart sensors to run a city more efficiently. With the emphasis on the residents of the city and their quality of life, it all goes back to the customer experience in
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“what's really exciting is all the new services that will be built that we can't foresee at this point in time” Minoo Abedi, Manager Technology Change Office creating a better environment for the people who live there. With the collaboration we have with the city of The Hague and through this innovation platform, we try to bring together proactive citizens, knowledge institutions, public authorities and innovative companies and start-ups to shape the city of the future.” Another innovation project that T-Mobile is proud to be involved in are railway sensors by Dual Inventive for Prorail. Johan explains, “Every 15 minutes, the rail management company receives the temperature of the railway to check if it’s expanding. This used to be a manual process, but they can now have this information in real-
time in order to decide whether or not to send maintenance to a specific location.” Minoo adds, “If you only need to take action when it’s actually needed, you will become much more efficient. Mechanics therefore only need to check the location where something is happening instead of doing random checks.” Another appealing use case T-Mobile is looking into is for mission critical push-to-talk services. T-Mobile, together with Priocom, is looking into offering mission critical Push-To-Talk services as an MVNO on the T-Mobile network. 23
Given the Netherlands’ cycling culture, T-Mobile is also involved in the development of a system for which voluntary workers travel around on bicycles that are fitted with Information On Demand (IOD) technology. Whilst the commuters are cycling, they collect data that the city requires to fulfil its environmental quality measures. This adds another dimensions to the idea of using the technology that is available now to improve current processes. Kim explains, “Whilst 5G will enable other new use cases in the future, you should not forget that you can do something today and get started on the learning curve. Do not wait for 5G when you can already make a start in 4G, which is what we are doing.” 5G opens up entirely new horizons for healthcare as well. The technology for example allows patients to connect virtually with doctors and other healthcare
“With the roll-out of 5G, we will improve the network performance in terms of latency, speed and reliability” Johan van den Branden, Mobile Network Director 24
providers, communicating via real-time video or live chat. Minoo explains, “Along our digital and innovation journey, we came across ‘new’ industries such as healthcare. We noticed that we definitely need to involve these parties in our innovation journey because we do not understand healthcare in the same way as they do. We need those partnerships to understand the pain points in order to find out where and how we can really add value. When we started to talk with the main players, it was clear that we did not speak the same language. Therefore, with the creation of an ecosystem, we take a lot of expertise and try to solve problems via our connectivity solution in order to help them on their road to digital transformation.” While T-Mobile the Netherlands is focused on improving the quality of its network, the company is also co-creating with other industries
to increase convenience for its customers. Kim elaborates, “We will carry on challenging ourselves and our industry in this way with our Agile strategy and continue to innovate in order to ensure that we stay different from our competitors.” Finishing with a few thoughts on the ethos of the team at T-Mobile the Netherlands, Kim concludes, “It's all about people. Always is and always will be. There is a lot of hard work to be done. We are challengers, and growth and learning are in our DNA. That is part of how we work in order to be one united and strong technology family.” For further information on T-Mobile Netherlands, visit www.t-mobile.nl To find out more about 5G, visit www.t-mobile.nl/zakelijk/mobiel/ netwerk/5g-netwerk 25
www.t-mobile.nl