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  • Cox Successfully Delivers Voice and HD Video via LTE

    Cox announced the successful completion of voice calling and high definition video streaming over wireless networks using LTE technology.

    Cox’s 4G technology and service trials utilize the AWS and 700 MHz spectrum that it acquired at Federal Communication Commission auctions in 2006 and 2008. The company informed that they spent over $550 million for radio spectrum licenses to support its wireless plans, which include wireless broadband.

    Cox conducted the 4G trials in Phoenix and San Diego and chose these markets for “the advanced technology-orientation of its residential and business customers”, as well as the terrain and suburban density variances of their geographies.

    While Cox is testing 4G LTE technology in these markets, it is initially deploying wireless services using the 3G CDMA standard in some regions of California and Nebraska.

    “We are encouraged by the success of the Phoenix and San Diego tests, which further validate our decision to pursue 4G based on LTE, specifically the 3GPP Release 8 standard," said Stephen Bye, Cox’s vice president of wireless.

    Next month, Bye will expand on Cox’s 4G learnings as he participates in a keynote session titled "Ready for Launch of Next Generation Mobile Networks" at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

    Collaborating with Cox in conducting the 4G trials and testing the wireless services and applications were Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei.

    Cox, the third-largest U.S. cable TV company, provides digital video, internet, telephone and wireless services over its own nationwide IP network.

  • ABI Research: 4G Mobile Consumer Service Revenue Will Exceed $70 Billion in 2014

    As 4G network deployments gather momentum, a substantial 22% of device subscription revenues will come from suites of operator-branded premium services.

    Total 4G mobile consumer service revenue – including mobile internet services – will grow rapidly to exceed $70 billion worldwide in 2014, says ABI Research.

    According to ABI Research practice director Philip Solis, “Operators of 4G networks will refuse to be marginalized as ‘dumb data pipe’ service providers. Instead, they will offer suites of ‘smart services’ – some internally developed, others via partnerships with third party suppliers – that will be provided over ‘smart networks’ enabled with all-IP technologies, IMS infrastructure and cloud-based storage.”

    The analysts think these 4G services will be optimized to enable a proliferation of mobile devices, such as smartphones, netbooks and PNDs, and many operators will be offering pooled device subscriptions: one user subscription, many activated devices.

    Internet access service will be the “killer 4G service” – no surprise considering 4G networks are data-only.

    However, a suite of premium services will collectively drive significant consumer adoption, revenues and profits, including location services (such as turn-by-turn directions and POIs), multimedia services (as VoD and P2P video sharing), media broadcast services (pay-per-view TV and digital radio) and gaming services (such as multi-player and augmented reality games).

    ABI Research predicts that these “Web 3.0” services will be integrated with popular Web 2.0 features, such as personalization, community, interactivity, presence, and localization, and will be delivered simultaneously, seamlessly and transparently to ‘three screens’ – PCs, TVs and mobile devices – over the internet, over cable networks, and over wireless networks.

    “Operators will take advantage of this market opportunity by breaking down their walls and building open ecosystems,” says Solis.

    “They will partner with third-party service providers from whom they can license and re-brand services; they’ll work with network and handset OEMs to influence infrastructure and device specs; and they’ll join ecosystem development organizations, such as Alcatel-Lucent’s ng Connect program.”

  • TeliaSonera Launches World's First LTE Network

    Today, as the first operator in the world, TeliaSonera launched 4G services commercially to customers in Stockholm, Sweden and Oslo, Norway.

    The two pioneering 4G city networks cover the central city areas and will be used for mobile data.

    The Stockholm 4G network is supplied by Ericsson and the Oslo’s by Huawei. The modems at launch come from Samsung.

    According to Kenneth Karlberg, President and Head of Mobility Services at TeliaSonera, the use of mobile broadband in the Nordic countries is exploding and customers need higher speeds and capacity.

    “This is why we launch 4G services in both Stockholm and Oslo. We are very proud to be the first operator in the world to offer our customers 4G services," he said.

    TeliaSonera has three nation wide 4G/LTE licenses; in Sweden, Norway and also recently in Finland. The network roll out is in progress to offer 4G to Sweden’s and Norway’s largest cities, as the company claims.

    The firm also informed that evaluation of suppliers for TeliaSonera’s common 4G core network and radio networks in the Nordic and Baltic countries is in progress and vendors will be selected in the beginning of 2010.

    4G is the fastest mobile technology available on the market, with speeds up to ten times higher than today’s turbo 3G.

  • Almost Two Million Mobile WiMAX Subscribers Expected by End of 2009

    Larger-scale mobile WiMAX network deployments are finally becoming a reality, according to recent ABI Research report.

    The research shows Clearwire in the United States has already declared 173,000 subscribers, Yota in Russia has been growing at a decent rate reaching 100,000 subscribers in August and 200,000 in October, and PacketOne in Malaysia has reached 130,000 subscribers.

    “UQ Communications once expected to reach 300,000 subscribers by the end of 2009, but is behind schedule in its rollout and will fall short of that initial target. South Korea has seen KT’s and SKT’s subscriber numbers remain fairly stagnant, while these service providers prepare for another big push as a third WiMAX service provider comes to South Korea,” says the report.

    ABI Research predicts this handful of WiMAX service providers alone will account for a significant minority of the nearly two million mobile WiMAX subscribers expected by the end of 2009.

    "Mobile WiMAX service providers around the world find themselves in very different situations," comments ABI Research practice director Philip Solis.

    "Some are mainly focused on fixed services for homes and businesses, while others are jumping feet first into mobile WiMAX, offering a variety of external modems, laptops, netbooks and even handsets tied into HD multimedia services, as with Yota in Russia. Some have little fixed or mobile broadband competition, while others are competing directly against fixed and mobile broadband services.

    "Some, such as Japan’s UQ Communications, are behind their buildout schedules and subscriber expectations, while others such are Clearwire are increasing the pace of their deployments because of more-than-adequate funding. Still others such as Yota in Russia are exceeding all expectations. Some are remaining local, while others, such as Clearwire and Yota, are building networks in more than one country.”

    The research group also says that just as the mobile WiMAX market is starting to bloom, LTE networks from early movers such as Verizon Wireless and NTT DoCoMo are targeting the same potential customers.

    According to the analysts, LTE ecosystem will eventually be vastly larger than the mobile WiMAX ecosystem. “But just as LTE deployments start picking up in 2011 and 2012, some 802.16e service providers will begin upgrading their networks to 802.16m,” they say.

  • Kineto Announces Combined VoLGA / IMS Client for Voice Over LTE

    Kineto, an innovator and supplier of solutions that enable delivery of mobile services over broadband, announced what it claims to be the industry’s first software client that supports both VoLGA (voice over LTE via Generic Access) and IMS voice for LTE handsets.

    An important requirement for any LTE handset is concurrent support for both the interim VoLGA and longer-term IMS voice solutions. Operators around the world will adopt IMS voice on different timelines, so LTE handsets must support the interim approach along with IMS to provide an effective roaming solution.

    Kineto says its combined client is the industry’s first to provide this comprehensive solution.

    According to the company, the new client enables handset manufacturers to easily integrate a combined VoLGA/IMS voice client and accelerate LTE handsets to market.

    In addition, the client can be upgraded over the air through standard procedures to support new and evolving functionality, providing operators, as well as subscribers, a future-proof solution, as they assure.

    Stéphane Téral, principal analyst with Infonetics Research, claims this is an important step for bringing LTE networks to market faster. “The evolution to mobile IMS voice will take longer than many expect, and a combined voice client which can be field upgradeable removes some of the risk associated with LTE rollouts,” he said.

    Kineto’s combined VoLGA/IMS voice client is compliant with the VoLGA Forum’s release 1.0 specifications and is planned to support the recently announced “One Voice” IMS telephony profile.

    VoLGA is defined specifically to pave a smooth migration path to IMS voice. It utilizes many of the same connection protocols defined in IMS voice, including RFC 4867 and RoHC (robust header compression).

    VoLGA works with IMS data services, like the Rich Communications Suite (RCS) over LTE, enabling operators to begin their IMS deployments with new revenue-generating applications while laying the foundation for IMS voice.

    “Kineto’s innovative client architecture, with field upgradeable software, helps operators and handset vendors overcome the complexities of bringing new voice solutions to market,” said Mark Powell, vice president and general manager of Kineto’s client software business unit.

    Uwe Janßen, senior vice president of core networks at Deutsche Telekom said, “While the long-term approach for LTE voice remains IMS, many operators will require an interim voice solution, and we see VoLGA being the best approach, by far. As both are based on the same radio mechanisms, there is a natural evolution from VoLGA to IMS, which is nicely demonstrated by the integrated client.”

  • AIRCOM Reveals the Economic Reality of LTE Migration

    AIRCOM International, the network planning and optimisation consultancy, revealed the economic reality of LTE migration facing mobile operators around the world – as much as US$1.78 billion for a tier one US operator in the first year.

    As the economic downturn puts pressure on credit markets, and mobile operators attempt to limit significant CAPEX commitments, AIRCOM says they believe that innovative approaches to LTE network roll out, network sharing for example, will be essential in ensuring the profitable delivery of future mobile services.

    LTE investments vary by region, the legacy equipment operators have in place and the spectrum they have available. However, AIRCOM estimates the total CAPEX investment facing a tier one mobile operator in the first year of roll out to be as follows:

    "With an all IP-based network infrastructure, LTE requires completely new thinking compared to previous mobile technologies. Mobile operators around the world face very different challenges in embracing LTE, which will have serious implications on the levels of finance they need to raise," said Margaret Rice-Jones, CEO at AIRCOM International.

    While raising capital in today’s volatile global financial markets continues to prove difficult, operators and supporting infrastructure vendors are struggling to find the necessary credit to support the necessary enhancements to their radio network, backhaul and core network infrastructures.

    Rice-Jones continues: "Very few operators have the available resources or shareholder freedom to meet these costs. This means that innovation within the mobile industry needs to be redefined. It has been traditionally tied to finding the next "killer application". The economic reality of the mobile industry now means that true innovation is finding technology that will enable operators to deliver services more cost effectively."

    AIRCOM believes mobile operators can embrace innovation in a variety of different ways. Most significantly, operators must accept that the techniques used to drive efficiencies and revenues with previous technologies will not be applicable to LTE.

    Mobile operators must therefore find new business models to monetise LTE, compared to subsidising handsets and offering free voice minutes in return for fixed-term contacts.

    The significant investment required for LTE deployment could also see mobile operators globally embracing network sharing as a means of reducing CAPEX and OPEX. Other innovative ways of lowering costs include the automation of key optimisation processes through the roll out of self-organising networks (SON) and the deployment of femtocells within a network to cost-effectively provide macro network offload capabilities as well as indoor coverage solutions.

    "Despite the financial commitment required, there can be no doubting the tremendous potential of LTE technology in taking mobile services to the next level," added Rice-Jones.

    "LTE represents a major evolution and mobile operators must take an intelligent approach to network migration. With careful planning however, LTE will deliver sufficient network capacity and data speeds to further enhance the delivery of high bandwidth services to consumers globally."

  • Samsung Develops First Commercial LTE Modem for Mobile Phones


    Samsung announced that it has developed, as it claims, 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.

    The modem, branded the Kalmia, supports download speed up to 100Mbps and upload speed of 50Mbps within the 20MHz frequency bandwidth.

    Samsung assures that the 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.

    Utilizing Release 8 of the 3GPP, this LTE modem is an upgrade from the previous standard that was released in December 2008.

    The company 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, as Samsung claims.

    JongKyun Shin, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics said that the company 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 has 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.

    They have 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 strengthening its position in mobile telecommunication system standards. The campany 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.

  • 4G: Network For Real Mass Market Activity

    Erik Hallberg, Senior Vice President and Head of TeliaSonera Mobility Services in Sweden, tells smartphone.biz-news how this telecom is changing the face of mobile technology with its innovative 4G network.

    Recently Eric Hallberg’s family settled in to a typical night at home. The family of four sat down for a comfortable evening by not turning on their television, but flipping open their laptops. This behavior is not atypical of many families these days, no matter what part of the world you live in.

    The use of technology as a medium for work and play is quickly changing our world. It is no surprise that eventually technology will have to catch up with our ever-growing need for more capacity, more speed and more power.

    “I think the demand is moving faster that we as a telecommunications industry can supply the demand,” said Hallberg.

    “The way that people are utilizing services like Twitter and Facebook is changing everything. They are connected from early morning to late in the evening.”

    In 2010 TeliaSonera and Ericsson will unveil the first commercial Long-term Evolution (LTE) network in Stockholm, Sweden, one of the 20 countries where the company has a communications presence. This 4G mobile broadband network will revolutionize the way we share information via our mobile networks by focusing solely on the exchange of data. Drastically expanding the speed and efficiency of the exchange of information will lead to a higher speed bandwidth for the corporate and everyday user.

    “4G is not just a step forward, it is totally new,” Hallberg said. “It is not designed for voice, it is designed for pure data. It is an all IP network – there is no transformation or translation between different types of technologies. All IP from the device to the radio station to the core network to the services – the first time a mobile network is designed that way for real mass market activity.”

    Whereas the everyday user will experience a faster speed and efficiency via their mobile network, for the corporate user, this expansion will mean a new kind of service opportunity for their businesses.

    “The integration of unified communication (i.e. voice adules, adule pictures and video conferencing) in the corporate market is really taking off,” Hallberg said.

    “There is the sophisticated level with the syscal equipment or similar to the small basic camera and things that you do through low speed activities of different kinds. This is just the beginning its going to boom in the coming years and its going to need a lot of high bandwidth accesses as well as core networks to support it.”

    According to Hallberg, TeliaSonera is not only looking to the future of telecommunications, they are also exploring environmentally friendly methods in which to embrace that future.

    As part of their development strategy, TeliaSonera will be participating in the 4G World 2009 Conference from September 15-18, 2009.

    “The reason for me to participate in Chicago is to listen to what others are thinking, what they are planning to do, or may be doing,” Hallberg said. “We want to get new input from other parts of the world that we will probably not get from the venders or from the local markets. So for it is a very important point for gathering information and inspiration as to what others are doing in the 4G market, LP market in the next coming years.”

    After their trip to the conference, the company’s priority will be to finalize the first installation of the new network and make it available first to users in Germany and China.

    “Based on experience that we gain from these 2 sides, we will go to the next decision at the end of this year, beginning of next year.” Hallberg said.

    The 4G World 2009 Conference will be held at the McCormick Center in Chicago, Illinois. It will feature mobile WiMAX, WiFi, HSPA and LTE technologies and how they will influence the business and technical aspects of the new 4G network.

    Listen to the whole interview

  • Mobile Broadband Could Reach 418m in 2017


    There could be 94 million people using VoIP hardware over mobile broadband connections across Europe by 2017, according to new research.

    Figures from the Coda Research Consultancy suggest the uptake of mobile broadband will continue to expand significantly.

    This could potentially change business practices as more people have the option of working from home rather than heading into the office.

    Global mobile broadband connectivity is forecast to reach 418 million over the same timeframe as the flexibility of the technology appeals to more people.

    The researchers predict that portable laptop and netbook users accessing the internet via mobile broadband will produce USD $48bn in operator revenues in 2017 and will generate and consume an immense 1.8 exabytes of traffic per month – a forty fold increase over 2009.

    Steve Smith, founder of Coda Research, said: "With enormous growth in traffic and considerable decline in average revenue per user, operators will need to be ruthlessly efficient."

    The most significant growth will occur in the Asia-Pacific region, where users will amount to 162m by 2017. Europe will account for 94m users, and North America for 58m users.

    The Coda report says the impact of Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be dramatic, with half of all mobile broadband via netbook and laptop users employing LTE worldwide in 2017.

    Three quarters of users in Europe and nearly two thirds of users in North America will employ LTE in 2017.

    This contrasts with just over half of users in Asia Pacific, and 12 per cent in Central and South America.

    Smith said LTE take up will be greatly skewed toward European and North American markets in the short to medium term, where ARPU will be highest.

    "However, we will also see significant take up in China, and we may also see countries like India bypass 3G altogether, and move straight to LTE," he said.

  • Service Transparency Vital Between Legacy Networks and LTE

    INTERVIEW: Telecom carriers are beginning to deploy IMS (IP multimedia subsystem) technology in their networks instead of buying VoIP equipment.
    VoIP.biz-news spoke to Mavenir Systems, a provider of converged voice and messaging solutions, about the opportunities and challenges faced in delivering next generation communications.

    Research firm Infonetics recently forecast a 74 per cent increase in IMS equipment sales in 2009, while standalone VoIP purchases have dropped by a third in the past year.

    The analysts report seeing "a noticeable shift" away from stand-alone VoIP networks to IMS in the core network.

    Someone well placed to talk about this shift is Payam Maveddat, VP of marketing at Mavenir Systems.

    His company provides a converged voice solution that enables operators to make the transition to a single all-IP voice core network based on IMS for any mobile access, including 2G, 3G, WiMAX and LTE (Long Term Evolution).

    Most operators believe that IMS will be the core switching infrastructure – with the impending arrival of LTE and Rich Communication Suite (RCS) big drivers for IMS.

    Both require IMS at the core.

    Market Challenges

    Maveddat told voip.biz-news that the challenge for a small company like Mavenir is dealing with dominant equipment vendors such as Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent.

    "It’s unfortunate that when large equipment vendors go in and discuss this ‘grand vision’, they never talk about the changes that reside from having two separate domains on networks – IMS and legacy," he said.

    Maveddat said this is probably done deliberately since equipment vendors often have a vested interest in driving sales for the circuit side of their businesses.

    "There are enough challenges and technical difficulties with new technology, so the last thing that appears on the radar of trendsetters is ‘how can I connect with my old infrastructure?’" he said.

    But with IMS implementation in networks, operators need to look at the alternatives, according to Maveddat.

    "That’s where Mavenir walks in – and we are gaining traction," he said.

    Non-Standardised Products

    However, while many companies are used to buying standardised products that is not possible in the IP world.

    "The good news is: there are choices. The bad news is: there are choices," said Maveddat.

    "Since there are no standardised products, companies have to look at innovations. That’s been very challenging."

    Maveddat said Mavenir’s converged voice solution enables carriers to move their services from narrowband to IP-based access for broadband deployment as it is being rolled out.

    He said four carriers – including three Tier 1s – in Asia, Europe and the US are using its converged voice solution.

    "This tells us our strategy has been accepted and validated. Carriers want to use our services," he said.

    Voice and Messaging

    Maveddat said there is currently a great deal of discussion about voice and messaging on LTE.

    This centers around the fact there is 18-20 years worth of investment in mobile switching infrastructure with a very unique set of services, which are globally accessible.

    "With GSM, wherever you go, you pretty much get the same set of services," he said. "If you roam nationally or internationally, you have a seamless experience and can expect to get services exactly the way you want."

    So when it comes to the business case for deploying LTE, Maveddat said operators such as T-Mobile in Europe have a big problem with voice and messaging.

    He said unless there is service transparency between legacy environments and LTE, the adoption of the 4G mobile broadband standard will be seriously challenged.

    "So what we at Mavenir provide is the ability to anchor all your services in one core and enable the user to move between a broadband and narrowband environment," he said.

    "They do not see any service disparity."

    Mavenir has 150 employees spread between its headquarters in Texas, offices in China and Bangalore, India and regional support centers in Europe.

    Its IMS Centralized Services (ICS) allow mobile operators to connect and deliver IMS services to any device by connecting the IMS core to 2G, 3G, UMA Macro, Pico and Femto cells.

    This will enable carriers to transition the voice core to all-IP, eliminating the need for legacy MSCs.

    Maveddat said carriers that provide a purely mobile service, with no fixed infrastructure, are often interested in fixed mobile convergence services – without offering IMS.

    For them, the value of Mavenir’s solution is that they can offer incremental services – for example, providing a fixed line service in addition to mobile, with functions such as ring-back and, soon, text messaging.

    "The advantage they have here is that for a very low investment in infrastructure, they can get customers using a mobile service and provide unlimited calling from home," he said.

    "Subscribers will think twice before changing mobile operator, which helps with churn."

    Once operators have enough traction and consumers are adopting IP devices, Maveddat said the next stage is offering a complete stand-alone telephony service.

    Mavenir’s service enables the IMS core to be connected to GMS legacy networks.

    "It’s a changing game. Not only do we make it simple but we have a fast time to market and technology that works," he said. "The business case is improved for operators to launch the same set of services."