Proximity Tech

• [New] The near-term outlook remained highly uncertain and different growth outcomes were still possible, adding that a downside scenario in which infections continued to rise and the rollout of a vaccine delayed, could limit the global expansion to 1.6% in 2021.
• [New] The reopening of restaurants, stadiums, and other public venues will lead to a near-term rebound in sales, as the world's largest soft-drink company also begins to benefit from longer-term ni iatives in 2021.
• [New] PTT Exploration and Production, a unit of Thailand's state-owned energy conglomerate PTT, plans to invest $2 billion in the development of natural gas fields and power plant construction in Myanmar.
• [New] One ADS share is worth 10 Hong Kong shares, China Telecom will offer one ADS for 1000 Hong Kong Shares, and China Mobile declared one ADS is worth five Hong Kong shares.
• [New] India's telecom sector is expected to see some major developments in 2021 which will fuel the growth for all telecom operators.
• [New] National health spending in the U.S. is expected to rise to 19.4% of GDP by 2027, or $6 trillion a year, representing a generational shift in spending.
• [New] At the end of 2020 or early 2021, South Korea's overall 5G service subscribers are expected to break 10 million with SK Telecom to have a chance of seeing over five million users and KT three million.
• [New] Chinese telecom carriers are likely to build over 1 million new 5G base stations in 2021, as the cost of 5G base stations is expected to go down in 2021, according to recent Chinese press reports that cited a Chinese telecom expert.
• [New] The outgoing Trump administration is readying a fresh round of congressionally mandated sanctions in the very near future that it believes could deal a fatal blow to the Russia-to-Germany project led by state gas company Gazprom.
• [New] For climate, Climate Policy Initiative estimates that between $1.6 and $3.8 trillion will be required every year through 2050 for supply-side energy generation only-compared to $546 billion actually deployed globally in 2018.
• [New] Yes, multipurpose and smart materials are important now and IDTechEx forecasts that radically new smart city technology may rise to around $1.7 trillion yearly in 20 years.
• [New] A rapid change in US production policy could create near-term shortages as the world experiences a surge in post-pandemic demand in the coming year.
• The talent demand in India's telecom sector is expected to grow by 18-20% in 2021 on account of wide-spread adoption of internet services, demand for better telecom networks, and the rollout of 5G technology.
• The Hasana project can be used as a public health oversight program for large-scale events, such as Expo 2020-2021, allowing Dubai to maintain its edge as a global leader in the events industry.
• To be sure, the Federal Reserve has recently signaled that interest rates would likely remain near-zero through at least 2023, and that its current, aggressive rate of asset purchases would continue until substantial further progress has been made in the post-virus economic recovery.
• On quantum computing, the scale of the actual quantum computers has been rapidly evolving (e.g., IBM recently announced to debut quantum computer with 1,121 quantum bits (qubits) in 2023).
• In Norway, Westwood expects production of 4.18 million boepd in 2021, which is forecast to increase further in 2022 as field start-ups ramp - up to full production.
• Researchers who are using the 5.9 GHz band (the Department of Transportation calls it the Safety Band) will have to vacate the lower frequencies within a year, and there's a proposed two-year timeline for the switch to a different technology entirely.
• Nigeria officially went into recession last week for the second time in four years, and the northeast region may see a worse food security situation in 2021 than the near-famine it suffered in 2016.
• With the use of solar poles, The Trust for Public Land will avoid 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide and save $71,000 in electricity costs over the next 20 years.
• Internet access: $7 billion to give more Americans broadband internet access, including $1.9 billion to replace telecom network equipment that poses national security risks and $3.2 billion for a new temporary benefit program to help low-income Americans get access to broadband service.
• In the latest Telecom Infra Project Insights Series 2020 for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, the CTO of UK Vodafone announced Vodafone's commitment to deploy 2,600 Open Radio Access Network (RAN) sites between now and 2027, reaching 1,150 installed base by 2023.

Last updated: 10 January 2021