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Tag: 4g

  • Samsung Launches World's First Commercially Available 4G LTE Handset: the Samsung Craft

    Samsung Mobile and MetroPCS have just announced the commercial launch of the world’s first 4G LTE-enabled, multi-mode, CDMA handset, the Samsung Craft (SCH-r900). Samsung Mobile also supplied the LTE infrastructure for MetroPCS’ commercial launch of 4G LTE service in Las Vegas, the first in the United States.

    Samsung Craft is available at MetroPCS stores and online in the Las Vegas metropolitan area for $299, after a $50 instant rebate. It has 3.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen display and sliding QWERTY keyboard, 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and camcorder with auto-focus and Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface. Additionally, the Craft includes a 2GB microSD card (preloaded with "Star Trek").

    Along with the Craft, Samsung Mobile supplied LTE infrastructure for MetroPCS’ Las Vegas LTE network. MetroPCS became the first mobile operator to launch commercial 4G LTE services in the United States, offering talk, text and 4G Web access starting at $55 per month.

    According to the company, service will initially be available in Las Vegas and will cover the majority of MetroPCS’ existing CDMA network footprint in the city. 4G LTE network rollouts in the remaining MetroPCS markets are planned for later this year and early 2011, along with the launch of additional devices.

    “We continue to see our customers use mobile data services, and the majority of them rely on their handset as their primary access to the Web,” said Tom Keys, chief operating officer of MetroPCS.

    “Our 4G service, the Samsung Craft and applications like MetroSTUDIO deliver exactly what our customers demand: more of the entertainment they love, a desktop-like Web experience and the ability to do more and share more of their content such as text, photos and videos with friends and family,” he added.

  • Silicon Labs and Beceem Partner on WiMAX VoIP Gateway Reference Design

    Silicon Laboratories announced that it has partnered with Beceem Communications, WiMAX solutions vendor, to deliver a VoIP broadband gateway reference design for 4G-WiMAX service providers.

    The WiMAX VoIP gateway reference design is based on Beceem’s recently introduced BCS5350 single-chip WiMAX customer premises equipment solution. It also incorporates Silicon Labs’ Si32176 ProSLIC devices to provide the interface that enables the use of traditional home telephones for VoIP services over WiMAX.

    “With its market-leading low power consumption and small footprint, Silicon Labs’ Si32176 ProSLIC is the perfect complement to our high-performance, single-chip WiMAX CPE solution,” said Aditya Agrawal, senior director of marketing at Beceem Communications.

    “The highly integrated reference design streamlines the development process, giving manufacturers greater flexibility and faster time to market in the increasingly competitive 4G marketplace,” he added.

    The reference design uses Silicon Labs’ Si32176 ProSLIC integrated SLIC/codec devices to add one or two telephone ports to a 4G-WiMAX broadband gateway. Beceem’s highly integrated BCS5350 device implements the entire PHY, MAC and RF functionality of a mobile WiMAX terminal on a single chip.

    The broadband gateway solution enables WiMAX service providers to deliver broadband and fixed-line telephony service wirelessly to subscribers as an alternative to wired broadband services such as ADSL or VDSL over telephone wires, data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) over coaxial cable and passive optical networks (PON) using optical fiber.

    According to Carlos Garcia, vice president of Silicon Labs, semiconductor solutions from Beceem and Silicon Labs will enable WiMAX gateway vendors to deliver products with the high performance, low cost, low power consumption and small size that their customers demand.

    According to Infonetics Research, the WiMAX market is rebounding from the recession and showing positive signs of growth, with major rollouts underway in the US, Japan, Russia and India. “We forecast around 125 million WiMAX subscribers by 2014, with 20 to 25 percent of them using VoIP over their WiMAX connection,” said Richard Webb, principle WiMAX analyst at Infonetics Research. “WiMAX operators will need a broad range of VoIP-enabled devices to serve this growing need.”

  • Vonage Mobile App Provides Free Wi-Fi / 3G Calling For Facebook Users Worldwide

    Vonage has just introduced the Vonage Mobile application for Facebook, a new service that allows users to make free mobile calls to all of their Facebook friends who have the app, anywhere in the world, directly from their friends list.

    The downloadable application is free to get and free to use. According to Vonage, the new service enhances the ability to connect with Facebook friends through the addition of voice calling.

    It is available for iPhone, iPod touch and Android devices and works over Wi-Fi and 3G /4G networks in most countries.

    “The new service is easy to use,” says Vonage. The app works with a user’s existing community of Facebook friends, so there’s no need to remember screen names or to input numbers. The application eliminates dialing – users can just click on a friend and start talking. When placing a call, the friend’s profile picture and status update display on the screen.

    "The Vonage Mobile app for Facebook is a tangible example of our commitment to deliver extraordinary value and a better communications experience for individuals and their social networks, across broadband-enabled devices, around the world," said Marc Lefar, Chief Executive Officer of Vonage.

    "This is just the start. In the future we will expand on this service to include a wide range of integrated voice and messaging services that change the way people communicate," he added.

    The application can be downloaded from the Android Market in 48 countries and from the iTunes Store in 87 countries. Users who don’t have an unlimited data plan should check with their carrier to see if any charges apply.

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  • Wireless Infrastructure Spending to Rise in 2011 as 4G Deployment Starts

    Following two years of declining expenditures, global capital spending on wireless infrastructure equipment is set to return to growth in 2011 as carriers in the developed world start deploying next-generation 4G networks, according to iSuppli.

    The research group says that capital spending on wireless infrastructure throughout the world is projected to reach $40.3 billion in 2011, up 6.7 percent from $37.8 billion in 2010.

    This will reverse the downward trend that first occurred in 2009 and is expected to continue this year. Expenditures dipped 5.7 percent in 2009, and in 2010 will tumble by an additional 2.3 percent to $37.8 billion.

    “The upturn in 2011 signals renewed commitment within the wireless industry to move on expansion plans that had been delayed or put on hold because of the global recession,” said Dr. Jagdish Rebello, senior director and principal analyst for wireless research at iSuppli. “Starting in 2011, wireless carriers in industrialized countries will start to deploy 4G in order to attain faster speeds and to unclog the heavy data traffic generated by the exploding use of smart phones. This 4G-driven growth in capital spending will continue at least through 2014.”

    According to iSuppli, carriers the developed world in 2011 will start to deploy 4G, with most expected to choose Long Term Evolution (LTE). Over the next decade, LTE will become the dominant technology, while WiMAX will be relegated to the status of a niche 4G technology, iSuppli believes.

    Already, a number of wireless carriers have announced support for LTE, including NTT DoCoMo and KDDI in Japan, as well as Vodafone and Orange in Europe. In the United States, Verizon Wireless has announced it will roll out LTE by the end of this year, with AT&T and T-Mobile expected to follow suit in 2011.

    Overall, carriers will work to establish viable business models to achieve greater revenue growth in light of the capital expenditures needed for network upgrades, iSuppli believes. This means that in all likelihood, carriers launching 4G will implement tiered pricing plans based on data access rates. As a result, data traffic in access networks will be prioritized, and customers will be required to pay higher access fees when using high-bandwidth services like mobile video or peer-to-peer mobile video gaming.

    Rebello notes that while wireless carriers in Japan, the United States and Western Europe contemplate launching 4G services in 2011, their counterparts in the developing world will continue to invest in 3G network enhancements.

    "For Latin America, China, India and the rest of the developing world—where wireless penetration has yet to extend to many rural areas—4G is not considered a feasible proposition at this point. Instead, carriers will focus on expanding the geographical coverage of their networks, or seek network-sharing agreements with infrastructure providers to help reduce total capital outlay," Rebello siad.

    Related articles
    T-Mobile HSPA+ Network to Deliver Broadest Reach of 4G Speeds in U.S.
    Verizon to Build 4G LTE Network in Rural America
    AIRCOM: LTE Not the Only Option for Mobile Operators Today
    ABI Research: 2012 Will Be a “Bellwether” Year for 4G

  • T-Mobile HSPA+ Network to Deliver Broadest Reach of 4G Speeds in U.S.

    T-Mobile today announced the continued expansion of its super-fast mobile broadband network to more than 85 million Americans-the most pervasive network to offer 4G speeds in the country.

    The company is on track to deliver HSPA+ speeds in 100 major metropolitan areas with backhaul in place, covering 185 million people in the U.S. by the end of this year.

    "The aggressive pace of our HSPA+ network rollout means our customers can enjoy a better mobile broadband experience on more devices in more places today-but we’re not done yet. Our first HSPA+ smartphone is coming soon and our footprint will double between now and the end of the year," said Neville Ray, chief network officer for T-Mobile USA.

    Now HSPA+ network service is available in nearly 50 major metropolitan areas across the country.

    According to the company, 16 of T-Mobile’s current 3G devices, including more than a dozen smartphones, can benefit from enhanced speeds when they’re on the HSPA+ network in all of these major metropolitan areas, including the newest smartphone available from T-Mobile-the Samsung Vibrant.

    The company also said that later this summer it will unveil its first HSPA+-capable smartphone.

    In addition, T-Mobile has introduced the webConnect Rocket 2.0 USB Laptop Stick, an updated form factor of its first HSPA+-capable device. Featuring a new rotating swivel USB form factor, the webConnect Rocket 2.0 is designed to deliver the same home broadband experience on the go as its predecessor, so customers can surf the Web, download large files or watch video from a laptop anytime on-the-go with a blazing-fast connection.

    The webConnect Rocket 2.0 enables customers to take full advantage of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network in areas where the service is available-delivering 4G speeds.

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  • Juniper Research: Mobile VoIP Users to Exceed 100 Million by 2012

    A new study from Juniper Research has found that Mobile VoIP services will develop significantly faster in developed markets due to the direct correlation between 3G roll outs and the take up of mobile VoIP.

    This is the case even though mVoIP traffic volumes may eventually be higher in developing markets due in part to the calling patterns of migrant workers, according to the study.

    “By 2012 we expect significant uptake of mobile VoIP in its various different flavours”, says Anthony Cox, Senior Analyst at Juniper Research.

    “By that date mobile VoIP will be available over both 3G and WiFi networks. We also anticipate that several more traditional operators will have joined 3UK and Verizon in the US and developed relationships with mobile VoIP players such as Skype,” he says.

    The report finds that alliances between mobile VoIP players and traditional operators may provide the best option for today’s incumbent operators to address the advent of mobile VoIP.

    Another finding says that revenues from the circuit switched voice market will continue to diminish over the next five years, although this will not accelerate.

    According to the analysts, a high percentage of Mobile VoIP carried over applications will be via WiFi networks, bypassing operators’ networks altogether. Such traffic will result in some lost revenues, amounting to around $5bn by 2015.

    The research firm also anticipate that by 2012 over half of mobile VoIP users will reside in North America and Europe.

  • Verizon to Build 4G LTE Network in Rural America

    Verizon Wireless is aggressively building its 4G LTE network across the same footprint that is currently covered by its nationwide 3G network, which – according to the company — covers more than 90% of the U.S. population.

    The company has just informed that, “in order to provide access to this 4G LTE network to more of the U.S. population living in rural areas,” they plan to work with rural companies to collaboratively build and operate a 4G network in those areas using the tower and backhaul assets of the rural company and Verizon Wireless’ core LTE equipment and 700MHz spectrum.

    Verizon is seeking companies that can assist in bringing 4G LTE service to rural areas that currently lack Verizon Wireless coverage. According to the company, they may work with rural companies that have towers and backhaul capabilities, even if those companies are not currently wireless operators.

    Verizon plans to launch their 4G LTE network in 25 to 30 markets late in 2010, covering approximately 100 million people. They say they’ll double that in 2012. They also plan to cover their entire existing 3G footprint with 4G LTE by the end of 2013.

    Verizon’s 4G LTE network will be backward-compatible with their existing 3G network. That means the two networks will co-exist and services will be integrated between LTE and our 3G Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO) Rev. network.

    The company claims that with Verizon Wireless’ 10 + 10 MHz implementation, LTE will be supporting average data rates per user of 5-12 Mbps in the forward link, and 2-5 Mbps in the reverse link. LTE will enable video application on the downlink as well as uplink – including, but not limited to video-sharing, surveillance, conferencing and streaming in higher definition than is possible with existing 3G technology today.

    Related articles
    BlackBerry Bold 9650 Coming to Verizon
    ABI Research: 2012 Will Be a “Bellwether” Year for 4G
    AIRCOM: LTE Not the Only Option for Mobile Operators Today
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  • ABI Research: 2012 Will Be a “Bellwether” Year for 4G

    ABI Research has been tracking cities and population coverage for 4G for the past year. The research group reports that at the end of 2009 there were more than 170 802.16e carriers across 65 countries, covering 480 million people. That number is projected to cross the 1 billion mark by 4Q-2012.

    According to ABI, USB dongles have been an excellent vehicle to prime the market along with CPE and laptops, but mobile handsets will be essential to the success of WiMAX.

    Yota, Sprint, and Clearwire have already started beefing up their lineups with models from HTC and Samsung. Meanwhile, mobile operators are seeking out LTE licenses. ABI predicts that twenty carriers will launch by 4Q-2010. Population coverage lags WiMAX but will catch up, reaching 600 million people by 4Q-2012. LTE coverage will start in urban hotspots but carriers indicate they will push coverage rapidly in order to handle the increasing mobile data wave.

    Analysts also think that the 4G market could well have 150 million subscriptions by 4Q-2014. They claim that the split between WiMAX and LTE will depend on WiMAX carrier commitments to upgrade to 802.16m. “WiMAX vendors such as Motorola and Huawei are gearing up to offer “802.16e+” which will bring features of 802.16m to the current market. Many companies in the ecosystem are already working on interoperability testing for 802.16m,” says the report.

    According to Jake Saunders, VP for forecasting at ABI Research, TD-LTE is the “wildcard.” “It was originally primed as an evolutionary technology for TD-SCDMA carrier China Mobile, but has been gaining interest from some WiMAX carriers. Both camps will be frantically trying to ramp up IC wafer manufacturing, product portfolios and population coverage. There will be considerable scrutiny over the next few years,” he said.

    Practice director Philip Solis added, “Some WiMAX service providers may switch from WiMAX to TD-LTE, but others are doing this partly as insurance and partly to assure investors of an alternate path so they may go forward with WiMAX. This is something for smaller greenfield service providers to consider. Large mobile operators will move forward with LTE whether it be on FDD or TDD spectrum. Clearwire can do both WiMAX and LTE if it wants to since it has the spectrum to do so.”

    Related articles
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    In-Stat: 4G LTE Gated by 3G Success, not WiMAX
    ABI Research: 4G Mobile Consumer Service Revenue Will Exceed $70 Billion in 2014

  • Nortel CVAS Enhances Its 4G Mobile VoIP Solution

    Nortel CVAS (Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions) unveiled new wireless and 4G mobile VoIP solution enhancements. According to Nortel, the enhancements equip carriers to deliver “a superior user experience, reduce network deployment costs and speed time to market.”

    It equips operators to integrate seamlessly with all cellular technologies, including 2G, 3G and the latest 4G LTE and WiMAX networks. The solution delivers a set of voice, messaging and multimedia services to all of the subscriber’s devices, with seamless hand-off across WiFi, GSM 2G/3G, CDMA 2G/3G, HSPA/+, WiMAX and LTE networks.

    Nortel CVAS says its new enhancements in 4G Mobile VoIP also equip carriers with “advanced routing capabilities for querying a Home Location Register“ to optimize call routing into the cellular network, billing enhancements to facilitate billing correlation between legacy cellular and SIP networks, and roaming support on a foreign cellular operator’s network.

    “The solution offers integrated wireless signaling gateway capability that allows operators to leverage their existing OAM systems for fault management, performance management, provisioning and billing. Subscribers can enjoy a better communication experience because the solution enables seamless hand-off between mobile and broadband networks, as well as advanced features like single identity, presence, web-based call screening, visual voicemail, and SMS to IM interworking,” the company says.

    Nortel is implementing large scale 4G VoIP network that offers voice continuity between 4G mobile VoIP, existing 2G/3G cellular voice and WiFi. In addition, they have deployed VoIP solutions that leverage the subscriber’s laptop and mobile device in parallel for call control and multimedia service enrichment.

    Nortel CVAS 4G Mobile VoIP solution enhancements are expected to be available in the second half of 2010. The solution can be deployed as a stand-alone SIP Application Server, as a 3GPP IMS-compliant application server or as an upgrade for carrier customers who have already deployed Nortel’s Communication Server (CS) 2000 IP Multimedia softswitch .

    Samih Elhage, president, CVAS, Nortel said, "Our 4G Mobile VoIP solution simplifies operator deployments and eliminates the need for costly upgrades to existing Mobile Service Control Points and back-office systems, which results in lower costs and faster time to market for carriers. In addition, Nortel CVAS mobile VoIP and FMC innovations have been deployed by several leading service providers across the globe."

  • Sprint Announces First 4G Handset in the U.S. – the HTC EVO 4G

    Sprint and HTC announced summer availability of the world’s first 3G/4G Android handset, HTC EVO 4G.

    It runs Android OS 2.1 with Sense UI and features 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 4.3 inches 480 x 800 TFT display, 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder (720p), forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera, HDMI out and GPS.

    It also comes with 1GB of built-in memory (8GB microSD card in the box!) and 512MB of RAM as well as with built-in mobile hotspot functionality, allowing up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 4G experience.

    According to Sprint, the custom Web browser is optimized for HTC EVO 4G’s large display. It supports Adobe Flash and features automatic text reflowing.

    The new HTC device features the newest version of theHTC Sense user experience. Along with all of the HTC Sense features it adds a number of new features, including Friend Stream, which aggregates multiple social communication channels including Facebook and Twitter into one organized flow of updates; a "Leap" thumbnail view to easily switch between home screen "panels"; the ability to download new, interactive widgets; and a "polite" ringer, which quiets the ringing phone once lifted up.

    Sprint said that in addition to today’s Android apps, the performance of which will be enhanced by 4G speed, application developers will be introducing new apps that take advantage of 4G power in new ways – games and communications tools and other apps that bring together video, presence and location simultaneously.

    “For example, an application developer might create an app that allows a customer to simultaneously watch a streaming sporting event while pulling down stats and conducting a video chat with a friend,” says Sprint.

    "The Android platform was developed to give people unmatched mobile connectivity to the Internet. By combining this vision with the promise of Sprint’s first-to-market 4G technology, HTC EVO 4G makes accessing thousands of applications from Android Market, using Google) services like Google Goggles, Google Earthand the all-new Gesture Search, or simply browsing the Web faster, easier and more enjoyable than ever before," said Andy Rubin, vice president, mobile platforms at Google.

    Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO, said, "Not only is this feature-rich device incredible on our Sprint 3G network, but Sprint 4G speeds will take mobile multimedia, including live video streaming, gaming and picture downloads, to a whole new level."

    Pre-registration started yesterday. The company informed that pricing will be announced at a later date.

    Today, Sprint offers wireless 4G service in 27 markets covering more than 30 million people. They expect to have up to 120 million people covered by the end of 2010. Sprint says their 4G network is up to 10 times faster than any 3G network.