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Indonesia will study China’s offer to develop 5G technology in the archipelago, particularly the business model and ecosystem required in such an upgrade.
China offered Asean countries its services in developing 5G technology at a press conference on the sidelines of the 2018 Telsom Telmin meeting between regional communications ministry officials in Ubud, Bali, on Thursday.
“China is offering [to develop] 5G technology, but it is up to each [Asean] country because we need to consider the ecosystem and business model,” Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara said as quoted by Antara.
He said the government would leave it to cellular phone operators to make the decision of whether they would adopt 5G technology.
The 5G network offers more speed than 4G, which is currently being used widely in the country, but by applying the upgraded technology, consumers will also pay more.
Rudiantara estimated the price could be five to 10 times higher than the price of 4G networks.
Previously, China’s Deputy Minister for Industry and Informatics Technology Zhaoxiong Chen told journalists that the county had developed 5G technology and would share it with Asean countries.
“We have good achievement in 5G technology and we have tested the system. We want to share our success and experience with Asean to accelerate the adoption of 5G technology,” Zhaoxiong said, adding that two Chinese companies – Huawei and ZTE – were ready to offer their services and expertise. – The Jakarta Post
LG Display partners with NHK for 8K broadcasting of 2020 Tokyo Olympics
LG Display, the world’s biggest organic light-emitting diode panel maker, said it is working with Japan’s national public broadcasting company NHK to broadcast the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with 8K picture quality. 
The partnership is a part of LG’s OLED business plan for the Japanese TV market, where there is high demand for high picture quality. To promote OLED panels in Japan, the company participated in the 28th Finetech Japan forum held in Tokyo on Thursday.
LG Display’s adviser Yeo Sang-deok said in his keynote speech at the forum, “Self-emissive OLED panels with a wide-viewing angle and infinite contrast ratio feature quick responses that are ideal for watching sports games.” 
“Enjoy the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with OLED TVs,” he added. In Japan, OLED TVs account for 69 per cent of the market for high-end TVs over $2,000 (Bt64,000), Yeo said. “We have many Japanese companies like Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba and Funai among our 15 OLED panel customers,” he said. “This means OLED TVs are mainstream in Japan.”
LG Display is the world’s first OLED TV panel provider that introduced the panels in 2013. According to IHS Markit, the global sales volume of OLED TVs is forecast to stand at 2.54 million units this year and to grow to 6 million by 2020. – The Korea Herald

Internet users rising in Philippines: survey
The number of Internet users in the country has increased, the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey showed.
The SWS survey, conducted from September 15-23, disclosed that 41 per cent of adult Filipinos are Internet users. This is a notch higher than the 40 per cent recorded in the previous period in June 2018.
According to SWS, the proportion of Filipino adults using the Internet “has been steadily increasing” since SWS first conducted a survey regarding the matter in June 2006, which showed 8 per cent of Filipinos are Internet users.
“It initially ranged from 11 to 19 per cent from September 2007 to December 2011, then from 23 to 32 per cent from March 2012 to December 2015,” SWS said.
By April 2016, SWS noted that the proportion of Internet users was consistently at 34 per cent or above.
The September 2018 survey was fielded using face-to-face interviews with 1,500 adults, 18 years old and above nationwide. – Philippine Daily Inquirer

4G mobile data usage rises 46 per cent
Data usage in Bangladesh through mobile phones got momentum after the roll-out of 4G service in February, with average consumption hitting the landmark of one gigabyte (1GB). Last year, the average usage was about 700 megabyte (MB), said industry insiders. 1GB equals 1,024 MB.
In the third quarter of the year, the country’s second largest operator Robi’s 28.3-million active mobile Internet subscribers consumed 1,182MB data on average.
Robi, which has 5.5 million regular 4G customers, saw its data usage shoot up 88 per cent in a space of one year, according to the quarterly financial report of its parent company Axiata.
In the same period Grameenphone saw 52.40 per cent year-on-year growth in data usage from its 36.3 million active Internet users, of which 5 million are using 4G.
Combining all kinds of data users, average usage reached 1,149MB at the end of September, according to its third-quarter report.
For the first time after the launch of mobile Internet in Bangladesh more than a decade ago, Grameenphone’s average data consumption was lower than Robi’s.
However, Banglalink, the country’s third largest operator, was far behind: as of September its 20-million Internet subscribers are using 734MB data on average, according to its parent company’s report.
Nowadays, lots of digital services are available on the mobile platform, which is boosting data consumption, said Shahed Alam, head of corporate and regulatory affairs at Robi. “4G has definitely given the industry a boost to change the customers’ data usage pattern.” – The Daily Star