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  • 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.

  • Nortel Patent Auction Benefits LTE Market

    The decision by Nortel to sell its Long Term Evolution (LTE) patent portfolio could serve as a launch pad for companies planning to cash in on a market expected to undergo explosive growth in the coming years, according to iSuppli.

    iSuppli forecasts that LTE subscribers will reach 274.4 million by 2014, managing a whopping CAGR of 276.9 percent, up from just 1.4 million subscribers in 2010 and virtually no subscribers in 2009.

    “With Nortel’s decision to open its LTE patent portfolio to bidders, the market for LTE just became a lot more interesting. The acquisition of Nortel’s Intellectual Property (IP) could represent a coup for any company, as it could significantly reduce time to market, development costs and royalty exposure. It also potentially could yield a new serious competitor in the market, depending on who acquires the IP,” said Francis Sideco, iSuppli analyst.

    Currently, among the major suppliers in the chipset landscape for LTE, only Qualcomm and ST-Ericsson are known to have sampled LTE chipsets. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics and LG are known to be working on solutions for their captive handset businesses.

    Who could benefit?

    “Proven experience with licensing and royalties in 3G shows that having a strong IP position is essential to any company wishing to compete effectively and profitably in the wireless wide area networking market. This is true regardless of whether a company is an equipment manufacturer, a chipset supplier or even a mobile network operator,” said Sideco.

    According to him, with Nortel holding more than 4,000 patents in its portfolio, including those that are essential to the LTE standard, acquiring this IP might be a launch pad for companies that could be planning to get into the LTE market, expanding their portfolio or reducing royalty exposure on future products.

    iSuppli believes a number of companies could benefit from acquiring Nortel’s IP—whether or not they are actually bidding on the holdings. Broadcom, Intel, Infineon Technologies, Huawei, LG and Samsung are just a few companies that might be interested in the technology.

    The research group also believes that Nortel at present is testing the waters to gauge if there is enough interest going around in the market for a buyer to snap up the company’s patents, or whether Nortel could achieve greater revenues by turning its portfolio into a licensing business.

    “The real question here is whether interest in the auction exists—and if Nortel will be able to get as much as, or even more than, it obtained in 2009 for its CDMA patents, which yielded $1.1 billion,” concluded Sideco.

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  • Nokia Siemens to Acquire Motorola’s Wireless Network Infrastructure

    Nokia Siemens and Motorola jointly announced that the companies have entered into an agreement under which Nokia Siemens will acquire the majority of Motorola’s wireless network infrastructure assets for US $1.2 billion in cash. The companies expect to complete closing activities by the end of 2010.

    According to Nokia Siemens, as part of the transaction, the company expects to gain incumbent relationships with more than 50 operators and to strengthen its position with China Mobile, Clearwire, KDDI, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.

    Nokia Siemens expects that based on revenue, with the addition of the Motorola wireless network infrastructure business, it will become the #3 wireless infrastructure vendor in the United States, the #1 foreign wireless vendor in Japan, and strengthen its current #2 position in the global infrastructure segment.

    Motorola’s networks infrastructure business provides products and services for wireless networks, including GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, WiMAX and LTE. This business is a market leader in WiMAX, with 41 contracts in 21 countries; has a strong global footprint in CDMA with 30 active networks in 22 countries; and a robust GSM installed base, with more than 80 active networks in 66 countries; and excellent traction with LTE early adopters.

    Approximately 7,500 employees are expected to transfer to Nokia Siemens Networks from Motorola’s wireless network infrastructure business when the transaction closes, including large research and development sites in the United States, China and India.

    Motorola retains the iDEN business, substantially all the patents related to its wireless network infrastructure business and other selected assets.

    The companies expect to complete closing activities by the end of 2010 and therefore do not expect the transaction to have any impact on Nokia Siemens Networks’ financial performance in 2010.

    Nokia Siemens and Motorola also are exploring a global relationship in the public safety arena. According to the companies, this relationship would combine Motorola’s leadership in providing solutions to public safety organizations with Nokia Siemens Networks’ commercial LTE solutions.

    "This is an exciting acquisition that I believe has significant benefits for customers, employees and our shareholders," said Rajeev Suri, Chief Executive Officer of Nokia Siemens Networks. "Motorola’s current customers will continue to get world-class support for their installed base and a clear path for transitioning to next generation technologies while employees will join an industry leader with global scale and reach. Nokia Siemens Networks will see the benefits of a deal that is expected to enhance profitability and cash-flow and to have significant upside potential."

    Greg Brown, Co-CEO of Motorola, said: "Motorola is very proud of the operational and financial performance of our Networks business and its employees, who will now become a valuable addition to Nokia Siemens Networks. We are excited to have reached this agreement to combine our Networks team with such an industry leader."

    "This is great news for our customers, our investors and our people and will allow us to sharpen our strategic focus on providing mission and business critical solutions for our government, public safety, and enterprise customers," he added.

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  • 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.

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  • AIRCOM: LTE Not the Only Option for Mobile Operators Today

    Deployment of HSPA+, set to save operators from costly CAPEX investment, deliver five times current network performance and open up new pricing models, says AIRCOM.

    In its recent analysis, AIRCOM, a network planning and optimisation company, highlights why HSPA+ could make short-term commercial sense to a wide range of 3GPP operators contemplating their mobile broadband network migration strategies. ROI (return on investment) and new pricing models are the key factors.

    According to Aircom, as operators continue to address the rapidly increasing demand for mobile data, further attention and financial investment has been committed to upgrade existing network infrastructure. “With peak download speeds above 100 Mbps being suggested, LTE has been widely hailed as the panacea for operators’ congestion troubles,” as the analysts say.

    Based on analysis of network infrastructure requirements, AIRCOM identifies HSPA+ as a compelling alternative for operators’ mobile broadband strategies.

    Available today, the technology offers up to 21Mbps without any additional antenna infrastructure or second carrier – allowing users to experience mobile broadband around five times faster than the current average of 3.6Mbps.

    HSPA+ also allows mobile operators to control service provisioning and prioritisation, delivering Quality of Experience (QoE) and Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees.

    “Fundamentally, deployment of HSPA+ offers significantly reduced CAPEX investment compared to LTE. Reduction for a UK operator could be as much as £345 million in 12 months; as much as $1.19 billion for a US operator,” claims Aircom.

    AIRCOM Services Director, Fabricio Martinez, responsible for providing the industry with the ‘cost of LTE’ reality check in late 2009, said: “There is great pressure on operators to upgrade their networks and improve the level of service they deliver to consumers and enterprise customers. The so-called ‘iPhone effect’ is piling pressure on to existing infrastructure. There is a real and immediate need for operators to upgrade their networks, but LTE is not the answer – today at least.”

    HSPA+ is able to meet – and exceed – current data demands, delivering a theoretical maximum of 21Mbps and an average experience of around 16Mbps. “With average mobile broadband users experiencing around 3.6Mbps, this is a significant increase,” said Martinez.

    According to him, the increase in speed enables operators to do two things: to combat price erosion, and to offer sophisticated service provisioning. “As operators are able to prioritise data traffic and users, QoE can be assured, data speeds can be controlled, and we will see a tiered pricing model emerge, mirroring the fixed line broadband business,” the analyst claims.

    He believes that the most important factor in deciding a future network technology is ROI. “Due to the low CAPEX investment and new revenue opportunities, deployment of HSPA+ will allow operators to see ROI in three years; perfect timing to upgrade to LTE, when that technology’s ecosystem has matured, devices have come to market, and equipment prices have reduced,” he said.

    Related articles
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  • Mobile VoIP Becomes a Threat to Tradicional Voice Revenues

    Mobile VoIP is no longer just hype, but has become a credible threat to traditional voice revenues, says Frost & Sullivan.

    According to the research group, considering, that this is only a matter of time when IP becomes the principal transport for various access technologies, an ambitious group of mobile VoIP start-up companies are creating a paradigm shift in the way users communicate with each other, with voice services moving to a true internet era of Telco 2.0.

    New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Impact of Mobile VoIP on Next Generation Cellular Networks, finds that at the end of 2008, approximately $605.8 million of mobile VoIP revenues were generated in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America. This is expected to grow to $29.57 billion by 2015.

    The technologies covered in this research service are high-speed packet access (HSPA), third-generation long-term evolution (3G LTE), global system of mobile communications (GSM), IP multimedia subsystem (IMS), HSPA+, general packet radio service (GPRS), voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and session initiation protocol (SIP).

    "The emergence of flat rate mobile data pricing, positive growth of smartphone shipments, and high-speed mobile broadband availability has spurred the adoption rate of mobile VoIP," saiid Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Saverio Romeo.

    He added that mobile operators realise they can no longer ignore the fact that mobile will be a key component of integrated IP-based communications and next generation wireless technologies such as HSPA+ and LTE.

    According to the report, significant traction in the application space, primarily driven by the success of the iPhone, has resulted in several smartphone vendors making provisions in their applications stores for users to download and use third-party VoIP clients over both wireless fidelity (WiFi) and cellular broadband networks.

    “However –the report continues– many cellular operators have prohibited the use of mobile VoIP over their cellular networks, with some imposing a surcharge to avoid cannibalisation of their circuit-switched voice revenue streams. Moreover, cellular operators face intense competition from the more popular Web-based VoIP alternatives that are permeating the mass market.”

    Romeo claims that despite user demand for cost-effective services, some mobile operators will continue to discourage mobile subscribers from using VoIP over cellular networks and suggest that it will not provide the same quality, efficiency and reliability of services offered by the GSM network.

    "Recent surveys indicate that nearly 60 to 70 per cent of the major European mobile operators prohibit or restrict the usage of VoIP over their popular mobile broadband data plans," he said.

    Analysts say that mobile operators should eventually do away with imposing bans or surcharges to their mobile broadband packages to support mobile VoIP, as the client devices supporting HSPA+ and LTE will be based on open platforms and support SIP for third-party applications.

    "When the operators migrate to an all-IP IMS network, they should drive innovative services such as multimedia telephony, high definition voice, integrating voice with context-based information about the user, and the device from a converged presence-enabled address book," concludes Romeo. "This will enable them to differentiate their services from mobile VoIP start-ups."

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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.”

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  • Motorola: TD-LTE is Now a Commercial Reality

    Motorola has successfully deployed the world’s first indoor over-the-air (OTA) TD-LTE showcase network at the Expo Center at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai. Together with China Mobile, Motorola is demonstrating end-to-end TD-LTE solutions at the Information and Communication Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo.

    Delegates are able to experience the real-life performance of TD-LTE via USB dongles, including video streaming, remote monitoring, video stream session and high-speed internet browsing.

    According to Motorola, a single TD-LTE USB dongle can stream 24 simultaneous video streams while supporting very high-speed internet browsing applications, at a total data rate of 20Mbps.

    A TD-LTE carrier in 20MHz can support transmission of a few hundred video streams simultaneously. Motorola claims that in the near future, TD-LTE subscribers will then be able to access a collection of high-bandwidth and low-latency internet applications including mobile TV, on-demand videos and video blogging anywhere.

    At the show, a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicle carrying a camera and a laptop showcases real-time TD-LTE performance on the move. Live video captured by the moving camera can be viewed on other laptops and the main screen within the demonstration area via a TD-LTE USB dongle. Visitors are able to set up a video stream session between the laptop on the vehicle and the laptops within the demonstration area.

    The company informed that they will also integrate and launch the TD-LTE USB dongle that supports 2.3GHz at the event.

    According to Motorola, interest in TD-LTE continues to grow due to several key factors:

    • The tremendous growth of data use while mobile falling prices, more variety and improved ease of use in end user devices
    • Additional spectrum is necessary for serving more users
    • TDD spectrum traditionally auctioned for lower cost/radio frequency/population
    • Global and local roaming between FDD and TDD networks, allowing both networks to be used in the same geographic area.

    In effect, this ability to roam between FDD LTE and TD-LTE means operators can use TD-LTE networks to augment their FDD LTE network for more capacity or other applications such as video broadcasting, while operators choosing to use TD-LTE as their "main" network can still offer their subscribers the ability to roam to other operators’ FDD LTE networks in different countries.

    "We see the growing interest in TD-LTE as the technology delivers increased capacity and a lower cost per bit. Motorola is the leader in TD-LTE through trials and engagements with various operators around the world. The selection by China Mobile today once again demonstrates the reliability and maturity of our TD-LTE solution," said Dr. Mohammad Akhtar, corporate vice president and general manager, Motorola Networks business in Asia Pacific.

    “TD-LTE is now a commercial reality, making LTE a truly encompassing global technology standard,” he added.

  • AT&T Selects LTE Equipment Suppliers

    AT&T announced the selection of Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson as equipment suppliers for the planned deployment of its LTE mobile broadband network.

    The company is planning a first field trials of LTE later this year. Commercial deployment is scheduled to begin in 2011.

    According to AT&T, after testing equipment from multiple suppliers in the field and in a lab environment, the company chose to extend existing relationships with Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson, which provide equipment for the AT&T 3G network today.

    "Continued work with these two suppliers will enable AT&T not only to incorporate LTE equipment, but also to take advantage of compatibility between the suppliers’ existing 3G equipment and forthcoming LTE upgrades," states AT&T.

    As part of the supplier agreements, 3G equipment delivered to AT&T by the suppliers starting this year will be easily convertible to LTE, enabling AT&T to upgrade existing equipment and software rather than install entirely new equipment.

    “AT&T has a key advantage in that LTE is an evolution of the existing GSM family of technologies that powers our network and the vast majority of the world’s global wireless infrastructure today. As some competitors move away from their existing investment in niche 3G platforms, we are able to efficiently and quickly move toward LTE while enhancing our existing 3G performance and providing access to a strong ecosystem of customer devices,” said John Stankey, president and CEO of AT&T.

    The company also announced that it has designated Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson as the domain suppliers for its Radio Access Network Domain. The multi-year agreement covers radio access network equipment needed to deliver LTE service. This equipment will be deployed at cell sites across AT&T’s network to enable LTE speeds and functionality. Financial terms of the supplier agreements were not disclosed.

    AT&T in January announced total 2010 capital expenditures are expected to be between $18 billion and $19 billion. These plans include an increase of approximately $2 billion in wireless network and backhaul investment.

    Earlier this year, AT&T upgraded 3G cell sites to HSPA 7.2 technology. Over the course of 2010 and 2011, the firm plans to combine this upgrade with enhanced fiber-optic backhaul connectivity.

    AT&T wireless network investment plans for 2010 also include construction of about 2,000 new cell sites and adding new radio controllers and carriers at a pace that doubles deployment in 2009.

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

    LTE, the next-generation mobile broadband standard, is the clear choice for the next leap in wireless technology, reports In-Stat. The analysts claim that while WiMax appeared to be a competitor for 4G early on, that battle is now largely resolved.

    In-Stat predicts that LTE’s deployment will primarily be impeded by the success of 3G networks and HSPA and HSPA+ networks as mobile operators seek to leverage their installed infrastructure.

    LTE still has several glaring issues. These include lack of spectrum, signal-to-noise ratio, and non-established patent and royalty pool. “It’s clear that the shift toward 4G LTE will be gradual and protracted,” says In-Stat.

    While LTE will ultimately become the 4G standard of choice, Mobile Wi-Max is much more mature in deployment and has a distinct niche. According to the research group, even by 2013, Mobile Wi-Max will have more than 5 times as many global subscribers as LTE.

    LTE deployments will effectively begin in 2010. North America and Asia/Pacific will be the first regions to deploy.

    In-Stat also believes that external clients, such as dongles, network cards, and USB dongles will be the first LTE subscriber devices sold. LTE mobile handsets will not start shipping in major volumes until 2H12.

    “WiMAX deployments have given chipset manufacturers, device manufacturers, and infrastructure suppliers real-world experience,” state the analysts.

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