Posts Tagged ‘UMTS’

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.

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