Posts Tagged ‘LTE’

San Diego got another telecom first when Verizon Wireless opened lab at the Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center and introduces a virtual LTE Innovcation Center where developers can access an online portal.

Basking Ridge, NJ and San Diego, CA — Verizon Wireless took another step in delivering on its promise of collaborative innovation over the upcoming fourth generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) network with the opening of the lab at the Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center. In addition, the wireless leader also introduced a virtual LTE Innovation Center where device developers can access an online portal (www.lte.vzw.com) to discover support services for participants at the Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center and directly communicate with Center engineers.

The Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center will be a catalyst for delivering new and innovative devices that connect people, places and things wirelessly using next-generation LTE technology, and providing tools for participants to rapidly develop non-traditional products and solutions within Verizon Wireless’ wide array of LTE technology and product enablers in various fields, including consumer electronics and appliances, healthcare, security and telematics.

In addition to designing and testing products in a functional LTE lab environment, participants in the Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center will have the support of the wireless leader’s resources to enable matchmaking with various players in the ecosystem, obtain technical expertise on device-network integration and ensure a best-in-class user experience.

Roger Gurnani, senior vice president for new products and services at Verizon Wireless, said, “The Innovation Center is designed to drive innovation and help foster creative solutions using LTE technology, which in turn will help in building a broad ecosystem of devices in tandem with the aggressive deployment of Verizon Wireless’ 4G network. Establishing a strong virtual presence will significantly enhance our ability to nurture a greater number of ideas than would be possible solely through our dedicated lab facility.”

The company previously announced that the physical LTE Innovation Center – comprised of the lab and experience center – will be located in the Boston suburb of Waltham, Mass. The experience center of the LTE Innovation Center is anticipated to open in the first half of 2010.

At its virtual home (www.lte.vzw.com), device developers can get information about:

* The Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center’s mission, goals and lab

* Services available through the Center, such as business development opportunities, user experience testing and product design assistance

* The Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network

* Interacting with Verizon Wireless’ other programs, such as the Verizon Developer Community and open development program

Device developers can also apply online to be a participant in the Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center.

Developers can visit the online home of the Verizon Wireless LTE Innovation Center at www.lte.vzw.com. For more information about Verizon Wireless’ 4G network, visit www.verizonwireless.com/lte.

www.LTEA2Z.com

When it comes to 4G mobile broadband, WiMAX has a time to market advantage, but LTE has the support of most major wireless operators. Which will win the 4G shooting match? Which has the potential to be more disruptive?…..

…out of 86 percent of mobile operators supporting GSM today, 0 percent of them will shift to WiMAX. Meanwhile, 100 percent of incumbents will end up with LTE, plus some CDMA operators like Verizon Wireless. Problems that WiMAX has a technology, Suter added, is the fact that it’s revolutionary not evolutionary technology, better suited for new builds. Meanwhile there’s a clear upgrade path for LTE. And, there’s no killer device, and there’s a lack of roaming to consider…….

http://www.von.com/news/wimax-vs-lte-a-false-idea.html

One of the reasons carriers were sceptical to invest and promote femto cell might be gone thanks to FCC’s new proposal.
Carriers had a concern that Internet service providers could hold their femto model to ransom by blocking access to femto cells or charging extra for providing backhaul access to femto cells.
The head of the FCC plans to propose new rules that would prohibit Internet service providers from interfering with the free flow of information and certain applications over their networks, an official at the agency said Saturday.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Official-FCC-to-propose-Net-apf-1829471543.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=main&asset=&ccode=
The Federal Communications Commission chairman, Julius Genachowski, will announce the proposed rules in a speech Monday at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, the official said on condition of anonymity because news of the announcement had not been formally released.

The proposals would uphold a pledge Barack Obama made during the presidential campaign to support Internet neutrality — the equal treatment of Internet traffic. That would bar Internet service providers such as Verizon Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. or AT&T Inc., from slowing or blocking certain services or content flowing through their vast networks.

Without strict rules ensuring Net neutrality, consumer watchdogs fear the communications companies could interfere with the transmission of content, such as TV shows delivered over the Internet, that compete with services the ISPs offer, like cable television.

Internet providers have opposed regulations that would inhibit the way they control their networks, arguing they need to be able to make sure applications that consume a lot of bandwidth don’t slow Internet access to other users.

“This is about whether I can turn off my cable TV and watch TV over the Internet,” said Dave Burstein, editor of the DSL Prime broadband industry newsletter. “Comcast cares about this because they don’t want people to turn off their cable TV.”

Well the answer is not Ericsson or Nortel or Nokia but Samsung. Seems Samsung is taking early lead in LTE device ecosystem.

Remember MetroPCS Inc. and Verizon Wireless have already revealed that Samsung is delivering test devices and commercial dualmode devices for their trial LTE networks
In a press release Samsung has made the claim. Press release says “Samsung Electronics Develops First Commercial LTE Modem for Mobile Phones”.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, announced today that it has developed the first Long Term Evolution (LTE) modem that complies with the latest standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which were released in March 2009. Utilizing Release 8 of the 3GPP, this LTE modem is a significant upgrade from the previous standard that was released in December 2008.

The modem, branded the Kalmia, supports download speed up to 100Mbps and upload speed of 50Mbps within the 20MHz frequency bandwidth. Users of a mobile device equipped with the LTE chipset can download a high-definition movie file (800MB) in one minute at speeds of 100Mbps, while simultaneously streaming four high-definition movies with no buffering.

Samsung also announced it has successfully developed a 3G baseband modem based on the Release 7 standard with an HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) Evolution platform. This modem, branded the Broom, allows download speeds of up to 28Mbps and upload speeds of 11.5 Mbps. This makes the Release 7 more than twice as fast as the Release 6 HSPA Service, which had a maximum download speed of 14.4Mbps.

Because the LTE and all other HSPA evolution models share the same platform, the new LTE modem is fully compatible with earlier standards. Through this technology, a mobile communications service provider can upgrade to HSPA service or evolve into a LTE network simultaneously in order to convert their existing networks to broadband.

In the future, this flexibility will be crucial as wireless mobile service providers will require compatibility with pre-existing systems, in order to offer LTE in urban areas while still supporting 3G in suburban or rural areas. The modem offers a multi-mode, which is a major requirement for LTE developers who are calling for inter-operability within pre-existing 3G networks.

“Our latest LTE standard chip-set will help realize the world’s first commercial LTE device,” said JongKyun Shin, Executive Vice President and head of Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. “Currently, Samsung is partnering with LTE developers preparing for a LTE service launch in 2010 and will unveil a variety of LTE devices of different types and with diverse features and options, including memory cards, handheld devices and MID.”

Separately, Samsung Electronics has also developed the mobile WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e) modem chip, a product that is already resonating in the mobile market. The company has already adopted the modem into commercial WiBro handsets in Korea. With this new modem, Samsung has delivered WiMAX and LTE model solutions, which are the two major wireless mobile communications systems for the next generation. The company has also demonstrated a full lineup of modems from 2G/3G to modems for the next generation of mobile telecommunication systems with its HSDPA Evolution modems.

Samsung is also strengthening its position as a leader in mobile telecommunication system standards. Samsung currently holds the most chairman seats within the IEEE 802.16 Working Group, a WiMAX standardization association, and also chairs the WiMAX Forum, an affiliate organization. Additionally, Samsung is highly influential in securing many leading positions in other organizations such as the Technology Working Group.

At 3GPP, an association that specifies standards for LTE, Samsung ranks in the top group according to its number of contributions and has four seats in the wireless networking standardization working group executive board. Samsung has also served as the chair for two years in the steering committee of LSTI (LTE/SAE Trial Initiative), an organization that works closely with LTE. The company is also actively participating in various programs for NGMN (Next Generation Mobile Networks), a business association of global and leading mobile operators.

WWW.LTEA2Z.COM
MetroPCS Communications Inc. said L.M. Ericsson will provide infrastructure for its LTE deployments, while Samsung will provide devices. The carrier is planning to launch LTE in the second half of the year.

Ericsson also will provide LTE infrastructure to Verizon Wireless, which is testing LTE in Seattle and Boston now and expects to launch service next year.

In another significant developement today The VoLGA Forum announced today it has published the first complete set of approved specifications for delivering mobile voice and SMS messaging services over LTE access networks.
The VoLGA Forum has 21 member companies including Alcatel-Lucent, Deutsche Telekom, Ditech Networks, GENBAND, HTC, Huawei, Kineto Wireless, LG Electronics, Mavenir, Motorola, Nortel, Samsung, Sonus, Starent Networks, Tecore Networks, Ulticom, WiChorus and ZTE.

VoLGA, or Voice over LTE via Generic Access, will enable mobile operators to bring voice and SMS services over LTE radio access networks and femtocells and support new applications over LTE, such as IMS combinational services and the Rich Communications Suite (RCS). It will also help operators navigate a smooth transition to IMS telephony and launch data-only LTE devices (USB dongles, netbooks, etc.) leveraging the existing SMS-based customer care applications such as remote device management, configuration updates and SMS-based service announcements.

“The VoLGA Forum member companies have worked hard to rapidly complete the specifications, accomplishing the work in less than nine months,” said Uwe Janssen, senior vice president, T-Mobile core networks at Deutsche Telekom.

“VoLGA potentially provides LTE operators with a low-cost method of getting voice and SMS—the two highest drivers of mobile revenues—onto LTE,” said Brian Partridge, research director at Yankee Group. “One of the reasons you haven’t seen a lot of operators get behind VoLGA is because they are currently vetting a number of different solutions and gain nothing by publicly backing VoLGA at this stage in LTE’s development. The work of the VoLGA Forum and the support of much of the LTE eco-system and T-Mobile will go a long way to ensure VoLGA gets a shot at providing the bridge that many LTE committed operators will require on the road to IMS.”

What could be viewed as a little bad news for the industry, Microsoft’s Paul Allen has thrown in the towel as far as wireless arena is concerned.
Seemingly Paul Allen was never really serious about wireless and was bidding only for the fun of it in 700MHz race and ended up winning some spectrum.

According to a document filed with the FCC, Allen has agreed to sell the licenses he owns — which cover sections of Oregon and Washington — to AT&T, though the carrier isn’t disclosing financial terms. According to AT&T spokesman Michael Coe, the company is making the purchase to “meet customer demand and to support its transition to LTE.”

Will there be ever any serious contender to already wel entrenced carriers in US? We hope so…

Well in a swich from past stance AT&T has announced that it’s 4G plans don’t include an upgrade to HSPA+, SVP Kris Rinne said at 4G World in Chicago this week. Instead, the carrier will continue its HSPA upgrades for the next two years and work toward a 2011 launch of its first LTE networks.

The operator’s moves are partially in response to network problems caused by data-hungry iPhone users, of course, but it’s also seen a surge in uptake from mobile broadband users and M2M services, Rinne said. And while M2M still represents a small fraction of overall traffic, it’s a space AT&T plans to strongly pursue, as evidenced by the carrier’s new agreement to provide wireless connectivity to Garmin’s new nuvi 1690.

But AT&T is well aware of the cost benefits of moving forward with LTE, too. Rinne said delivering a megabit per second of capacity over HSPA costs 14 percent of what it would to move that same megabit on an EDGE network. The cost of an LTE delivery, by comparison, is just 3 percent

It seems Clearwire has finally realized that they can not fight it all alone and will have to join the LTE bandwagon. Wimax ecosystem is never going to mtach LTE ecosystem doing the line. This is as close as an announcement yjay can be made before the final announcement of switching technology.

Clearwire’s CEO Bill Morrow said the looming 4G standards battle is not a big issue because the company has flexible equipment that can shift from WiMax to Long-Term Evolution technology relatively easily.
The company, in which Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) is a 51% shareholder, is in the process of deploying multiple 4G networks based on WiMax technology. Clearwire is already delivering up to 8 Mbps on the go to customers in various markets, and it plans to cover 120 million people by the end of 2010.

Clearwire and WiMax are facing stiff competition from companies rolling out 4G networks based on LTE technology, which offers a faster theoretical download limit. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless is being the most aggressive with LTE deployment, but even smaller players like MetroPCS plan to have handsets and networks by next year that can utilize the 4G technology.
The majority of wireless operators around the world have chosen LTE for their 4G upgrade paths, which could be a reason Clearwire’s stock has been battered lately. WiMax still has a time-to-market advantage over LTE, but Morrow said the company is well-prepared to shift strategies if it needs to. Many of Clearwire’s routers are compatible with WiMax and LTE, and a shift would essentially only require a software update, Morrow said.

“We’re the only carrier that can do this,” Morrow told the Dow Jones Newswire. “We’ll do what’s right for the business. Whether it’s LTE, WiMax, future technology X, it doesn’t matter to me.”