Clearwire finally looks poised to go nationwide with their 4G WiMAX network. The company announced today that it has secured an additional $1.5 billion in funding from its partners to help build out the Clearwire network. Clearwire has been pushing to get their 4G WiMAX network up and running throughout the US, but it’s been a slow process. It takes a lot (seriously, a LOT) of money to build out wireless network infrastructure, money that Clearwire doesn’t necessarily have on tap. Sprint (NYSE: S), somehow, does have the money.

Most of the $1.5 billion comes from Sprint Nextel, which is putting up $1.176 billion in additional funds. Despite quarterly losses that just keep adding up, Sprint is fully invested in the Clearwire network. Sprint has majority interest in Clearwire. The carrier donated its own WiMAX assets to Clearwire as part of a deal that would allow Sprint to use Clearwire’s WiMAX network for its own 4G wireless broadband service. And, with their wireless voice business hurting, Sprint really needs WiMAX to be a success.

In comparison, big-name backers like Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Intel will be giving Clearwire $196 million, $103 million and $50 million, respectively. In that light, it’s clear that Sprint is committed to pushing WiMAX to every corner of the US. Let’s just hope it works out.

[Via: paidcontent]

Growth in the mobile infrastructure market has been declining in 2009, despite strong growth in the 3G (WCDMA) market. The decline in growth of the 2G (GSM) wireless market has caused sales of wireless infrastructure equipment (cellular towers and base stations) to decline some 12% in the second quarter, compared to Q2 2008.

China and India have been big drivers in 2G GSM market growth. As the two largest emerging markets, these regions are responsible for a lot of infrastructure spending. But, despite a growing 2G subscriber base, it seems investments into 2G infrastructure expansions have slowed. China has been concentrating its resources on building out its 3G WCDMA infrastructure as it plays catch-up with the rest of the developed world. India, on the other hand, has been working to make more of their existing infrastructure, presumably through software upgrades, rather than buying new base stations.

Shipments of GSM base stations dropped 10%, as the GSM market fell to below 50% of the wireless market. It seems that 3G networks are beginning to dominate the globe. And, despite projections for renewed 2G growth and increased 3G adoption, the overall infrastructure market is expected to decline 10% in 2009.

[Via: CN]

Continuing my news track from around the world, it’s great to see that ETC (the only Mobile Operator in Ethiopia), has announced the launch of 3G services in Addis Ababa. The Operator will run a Prepay services on WCDMA at 384kbps. Coverage is going to be growing across the city, with additional services like MMS and Voicemail launching too.

As I said above, it’s always nice to see countries which are perhaps behind the curve in some technologies making leaps forward – levelling the playing field if you like, at least to some extent. Ironically, in many developing countries, cellular is the only kind of telecoms network you’ll find – whereas most of us are used to our landline (though we are using them decreasingly if research is to be believed), a substantial number of people have never known landline services…

[Via: telegeography.com]

I often like to write about news and the countries in which it happens, that are shall we say, not in the daily hotbed of news from Europe and the US. To that end, I’ve mentioned Vodacom before (here), who are busy making things happen in S.Africa.

Previously Vodacom had enabled HSUPA on their network (see here), and the latest is that they have extended this support to new regions, namely “within the Western and Northern Cape to outside of the major metropolitan centres” – in real terms this means four new towns covered.

This sort of news might not sound like the most entertaining or fascinating, but let’s consider that it is one more small piece in the puzzle of ubquitous high-speed wireless access globally. As LTE specification is being finished off (see here), then rolling out HSPA networks on 3G as much as possible makes a lot of sense.

I for one am fulling expecting to enjoy the benefits of super-3G wireless data roaming on my next trip out to S.Africa!

[Via: cellular-news.com]

The various UK railway operators have settled on a single standard for mobile-based barcode tickets. The agreement means that a single, common, secure barcode system will be implemented, and also that a single mobile ticket will be able to be used across operators – a major step forward.

The new standard, RSPS3001, means that there will be progression toward both Mobiles, and home-print tickets – which should hopefully replace the usual method of ticket-buying right now – walking up to a person in a kiosk (or a ticket machine at the station)…. and queue queue queueing!

The application developer is a company called Masabi, which has already delivered systems to National Express (UK bus company) and Heathrow Express – so some good pedigree then basically.

Apparently the system will include enough offline functionality contained in the ticket, to still function if the system goes down… I guess we’ll see about that when it goes live – not that I am pessimistic or anything

[Via: Cellular-News.com]

Ericsson announced today that it is collaborating with Intel to ensure that Ericsson’s Mobile Broadband Modules are interoperable with Intel® Anti-Theft PC Protection Technology for notebooks to offer a secure and reliable anti-theft solution for mobile broadband users.  The collaboration addresses solutions to minimize the negative consequences when notebooks are lost or stolen, and in conjunction independent encryption software when sensitive data is lost while on-the-go and to prevent unwanted data intrusion.

The need for taking the profit out of stealing laptops and protecting sensitive and important information continues to grow with the increased popularity of mobile broadband notebooks.  Theft or loss of notebooks can have enormous financial consequences for both consumers and enterprise users, especially when sensitive data on the notebook is lost or obtained by unauthorized persons.

Through this collaboration between Ericsson and Intel, a theft management service residing in the network can send a message via SMS to the mobile broadband module inside the notebook, which securely transfers the message to Intel’s Anti-Theft function inside the processor platform, which takes appropriate actions, such as completely locking the computer, making it unusable. When the notebook is located and recovered, an unlock message can be sent to the notebook that makes the data accessible again.

The solution builds on Ericsson’s Mobile Broadband Modules, which are tightly integrated in and optimized for notebooks, and Intel’s Anti-Theft PC Protection technology, which can lock a stolen or lost notebook.  Intel Anti-Theft Technology provides an intelligent mechanism built into the processor platform that detects potential theft situations and responds according to IT policies. Anti-Theft PC Protection technology can be programmed to respond to repeated login failures and expiration of a timer that requires regularly scheduled connection to a central server.

When a loss or theft is detected, Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection technology can lock the laptop, rendering it useless, by blocking the boot process, and when working in conjunction with third-party encryption hardware or software can protect data by deleting cryptographic keys or similar essential code for decryption.

The theft management service can also take advantage of built-in Global Positioning System (GPS) technology in the Ericsson mobile broadband module, which can send location data to a central server.  The location function can be utilized to determine a theft situation when the notebook is moved outside a pre-defined area – a so called geo-fence to locate a lost notebook.

Ericsson Mobile Broadband Modules are already optimized with Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology to achieve excellent battery life and will in addition be validated to guarantee the interworking with Intel Anti-Theft PC Protection Technology. The solution will be available in commercial data protection products starting second half of 2009.

This is awesome – Ericsson and Intel should be congratulated for coming up with remote self-destruct commands for Laptops – I say blow the chipset, the hard-disk, and the comms modules – people who are stealing them need to have the financial motivation completely removed.

[Via: Ericsson.com]

Probably against the grain compared to most people using Mobile devices, and possibly/probably much to the chagrin of the Mobile Operators who spent all that money on 3G licenses, but right now when I get a Mobile device, the first thing I do is see if I can turn the 3G network selection off.

My reasoning is as follows – firstly, 3G does kill the battery of a device quicker than 2G – this is due to the way the phone has to react to the network in terms of managing it’s connection. Secondly, most of my apps that might require a high-bandwidth connection at a given point in time are not that critical – I can wait an extra 30 secs or so for a webpage to download, or for my emails to come down over 2G. If I really can’t wait that long, I turn on WiFi!

In recent experiments with both the BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) Bold and the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iPhone, I have found that I can draw out some extra (and very much desired) runtime of my device, if I stick firmly to 2G. And the downsides of longer time to pull down data are not that much worse.

Another benefit of staying on 2G is that I am less susceptible to poor coverage, and to call-dropping. At home I am unfortunate not to be in a strong 3G area – my outlook might be different if I were – but often I find I have to wait whilst my phone hands over from 3G to EDGE in order to continue my browsing/email/apps session.

So what is your view? Is 3G very/quite/not important to you? Do you proactively switch off 3G? It would appear the Mobile Networks will continue to run a 2G/3G overlay for some time yet, and if people are staying away from 3G, it’s going to make the transition of bringing in 4G network tech even more painful…..

Well you can’t put down a try-er can you? Skype are nothing if not persistent with hammering home the message of calling abroad cheaply, using your Mobile (on 3UK!). They have now got quite a range of handsets with the Skypephone S1 and S2 (review here), and also the just-released INQ1. This is in addition to those devices that just come with a Skype client.

I’m sure there is a large segment of people that use the service – there is probably an equally large (if not larger) amount though that make these calls from their work phone – be it mobile or landline – and they would be the naughty people

Anyhooble, if you are up for some Skype-related tomfoolery, then check out 3UK’s products page here.

Hoorah, it’s time for ‘Ben’s pet peeves’ number #147…..

How many of you have been on a flight where the cabin crew make you aware that you are not to turn on devices until you leave the plane? And how many of you have also seen people turning on devices the second the plane touches the tarmac? I bet it’s the same number in both cases there!

Yes, it’s those people that consider it their prerogative to switch on devices before they have been advised to, and that co-incidentally are the same people that undo their seatbelts, and start getting their luggage down before the plane has stopped moving.

Now, in that class of  people, I would further differentiate:

• the ‘sneaky’ – hides the phone under his/her leg or clothing, sets it to silent, and lets it start collecting messages
• the ‘oh I forgot it was on’ – phone starts beeping (after he/she turns it on) and then feigns surprise (including vocal expression usually) that the device is on
• the ‘blatant’ – the person that turns their phone on quite clearly in view of people, and often has all the alert noises set the highest, so the whole plane can hear. Often takes a call if one comes in, often starts making them too

The question is now, what do we do with them? Should we put up with them? Or should they be dealt with harshly for flouting the airline’s safety rules? For what it’s worth, I vote the latter!

Ben

Be it WiMAX, WiFi, GSM, CDMA, or LTE, mobile users are quickly becoming inundated with wireless network choices in their area. And, if Google (NSDQ: GOOG) has anything to say about it, the future of the mobile market might be more about network operators bidding for a chance to serve up wireless data/voice to your handset and less about tying you up in archaic contracts. Signing wireless contracts is getting old. How great would it be to actually have wireless network operators vying for your business?

A new patent application from the ever innovative folks at Google outlines a new “auction system” that could one day be used by your mobile phone to recommend, or automatically select, the best-value wireless network in your area. Depending on a particular user’s needs for bandwidth, calling/data features, frequency support, etc., Google’s auction system algorithms will purportedly seek out the best deals in the area (assuming you have enough wireless variety in your area to actually require complex algorithms to sort through them all). The instant auction system could potentially have your mobile phone hopping between networks depending on your changing wireless needs throughout the day.

But, we have a feeling that those mega-bucks lobbyists working to line politicians’ campaign coffers on behalf of wireless carriers are going to be working overtime to keep this kind of technology from ever making it to market.

Google wireless auction system patent

[Via: textually]