IntoMobile » Telecommunications

Clearwire secures $1.5 billion in funding, mostly from Sprint

Will Park — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:40:39 +0000

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]

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Global wireless infrastructure market retracts, despite strong 3G growth

Will Park — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:39:48 +0000

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]

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Ethiopia gets 3G services from ETC

Ben Robinson — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 21:35:00 +0000

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]

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Vodacom boosts HSUPA coverage to four more towns

Ben Robinson — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:14:28 +0000

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]

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UK Railways Adopt a Single Format for Mobile Ticket Barcodes

Ben Robinson — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 10:50:01 +0000

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]

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Ericsson and Intel collaborate to create anti-theft mobile broadband modules in Laptops

Ben Robinson — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 09:43:08 +0000

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]

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I turn 3G off…!

Ben Robinson — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:55:02 +0000

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…..

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Okay Skype we get your message: call cheaply abroad from your Mobile!

Ben Robinson — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:40:07 +0000

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.

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Turning Mobiles ON before getting off the Plane…

Ben Robinson — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:37:39 +0000

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

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Google patent application could have handsets selecting cheapest wireless network

Will Park — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:20:21 +0000

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]

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Dragons’ Den Mobile Dating Agency pitch falls short – the full story?

Ben Robinson — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 15:00:34 +0000

The Inquirer has an interesting piece about a chap who pitched a 3G Dating Agency business concept on the popular BBC2 show “Dragons’ Den“. The main thrust of the article is that the viewing audience didn’t get to see what business owner, Romi Pamar, said during his pitch.

(Note: Dragons’ Den is a “business” reality show in which inventors/entrepeneurs/distributors etc try to convince five very wealthy investors, or ‘dragons’, that they should invest in their company. There are sections of the show where ‘highlights’ of people pitching are shown, and not the full spiel – 3G Dating Agency was one of these…)

Pamar points out on his blog that very little of what he said was shown, and that the net result of the Dragons’ declaring “I’m Out” (i.e. they don’t want to invest) was somewhat unfairly edited for TV.

Interestingly, I saw the show myself, and had mixed views on it – the presence of a QR code in the company logo put me off a bit as I haven’t seen a practical widespread use for them to-date, but I do feel for Mr. Pamar, as like he says, we didn’t get to see how good his pitch was – luckily he has a transcript on his blog, so you can make your own minds up.

It looks like Romi has also uploaded the edited TV version of his pitch on to YouTube, which you can find here.

[Via: The Inquirer]

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Vodafone launches Vodafone NetPC

Ben Robinson — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:58:32 +0000

VF Portugal has launched a new mobility proposition called NetPC, which consists of a “Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) Connect” Pen, and an Ultra-compact Laptop (is that a UCLP?!). The hardware consists of a EeePC701 Laptop, and USB Modem, allowing surfing up to 7.2Mbps. The version that VF is pushing is the GUI-Linux EeePC that we’ve reported on before, but there’s also a Windows XP version available.

Costs: with an 18-month contract, and GUI-Linux on the EeePC, it’s 199.90 EUR. With XP on the EeePC it is 229.90 EUR.

[Via: Telecom Paper]

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Canadian wireless spectrum auction wraps up – More wireless competition for Canada

Will Park — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:59:47 +0000

Like any good federally-sanctioned frequency spectrum auction should do, the recently-wrapped Canadian AWS (advanced wireless spectrum) spectrum was auctioned off in hopes of sparking competition and driving down wireless prices from Canadian carriers like Rogers (NYSE: RCI), Telus (NYSE: TU), and Bell. Canada saw 105 Mhz of spectrum in the 1710-1755/2110-2155 MHz AWS frequency range auctioned off for a total of almost $4.25 billion, after 331 rounds of bidding. And, to help encourage competition, a 40Mhz swath of Canada’s AWS spectrum was set aside for new entrants, like Globalive Wireless – with the remaining 65Mhz open to all bidders.

Not so unexpectedly, Rogers came away as the biggest spender – coughing up $1 billion for 59 licenses. Telus scored 59 licenses for $880 million, while Bell snatched up 54 licenses for $740 million. And, the 20Mhz B-block dedicated to “new entrants” was awarded to Globalive Wireless for $278.4.

“The auction exceeded our expectations in terms of the level of competitive bidding activity. I hope the industry keeps this competitive spirit alive as it enhances and expands its services with improved access to the spectrum,” said Industry Minister Jim Prentice.

As expected, the spectrum auction netted Canadian coffers approximately $1.41 per megahertz for each potential customer – more than the AWS auction earned for the US.

Let’s hope the auction actually helps spur more competition and drive down wireless costs for the consumer. Because, if things stay true to the status quo, Canadians are going to keep getting the short stick on wireless service.

[Via: RCRNews]

Graphic from MobileSyrup

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Ofcom pushes back UK phone spectrum auction

Ben Robinson — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:07:41 +0000

Ofcom (the UK communications regulator ) has pushed back plans for an auction of radio spectrum due to legal challenges from O2 (NYSE: TEF) and T-Mobile (NYSE: DT).

As you might remember from past postings I have made, there was due to be an auction this September for 2.6 gigahertz and 2010 megahertz spectrum – which could be used for things such as wireless broadband, and mobile multimedia (read Mobile TV) services.

T-Mobile and O2s’ objections are that they are not clear what they can do with their existing spectrum, and hence cannot calculate how much of the new spectrum allocation they would need (and hence bid for).

Let’s hope this gets sorted out sooner rather than later – with Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) snapping up a chunk of spectrum in the recent auction, further delays mean that newer innovative services will be delayed.

[Via: cellular-news]

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Verizon Wins $678.5 Million US Department of Homeland Security Contract

Will Park — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:26:14 +0000

There’s nothing like a little government contract-love to fill company coffers with some tasty greenbacks. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) has apparently secured a $678.5 million contract to provide network infrastructure and services to help the US Department of Homeland Security respond more quickly and reliably to emergencies.

As part of the US General Services Administration’s (GSA) $48 billion Networx Universal program, the US DHS has tapped Verizon to integrate the DHS’s 22-agency strong network into a unified IP (Internet protocol) system over the next two years – the contract represents the single largest federal telecommunications contract awarded by the GSA. Verizon will also be providing security services and emergency communications services to the Department of Homeland Security.

“The advanced network that we deploy will serve as the vital springboard for the department’s evolving requirements going forward,” said

John Killian, president of Verizon’s business unit. “We look forward to being a trusted partner of the Department of Homeland Security for many years to come.”

[Via: CNNmoney]

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Nokia and Qualcomm agree to stop beating each other up, for a few months

Stefan Constantinescu — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:27:45 +0000

Nokia and Qualcomm (NSDQ: QCOM) are locked in multiple court cases that have hundreds of millions of dollars in patent infringement potentially going to either of them. They’ve been fighting for over a year and a half and like all professional boxers who reach the last roung, they’re tired. This doesn’t mean the fighting is over, in July there will be another court case in Delaware and this time the brass knuckles, flame throwers and nerve gas will make their way into this UFC battle to be aired on Pay Per View.

[Via: RCR Wireless News]

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Ofcom agrees to sell off public radio spectrum

Ben Robinson — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 00:29:11 +0000

Ofcom has given the go-ahead for public bodies to “sell” (share, trade, or release) off parts of the spectrum that are assigned to them, but that they don’t need. The market is potentially worth up to £20bn!

Apparently Public bodies use up around half the spectrum below 15GHz, which is the most sought-after. The Elephant in the room amongst public bodies is the MoD, which owns about 75% of this spectrum, and is in process consulting on how best to release significant amounts of it.

Overall, I can only see this being a good thing – there have been a number of stories in recent months about stalling projects, or potential issues, due to lack of spectrum. A couple that come to mind are the state of DVB-H Mobile Broadcast TV, and also the issues surrounding Terrestrial HDTV. If it’s possible to solve these, at least to some extent, whole ecosystems of value added services can move forward. The question remains as to how exactly the spectrum will be allocated – at the highest level, an auction will be held – but does that then bode well for smaller-sized organisations, with valid services? Interesting times ahead……..!

[Via: The Independent]

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Verizon projected to win 700Mhz C-Block in FCC auction

Will Park — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 19:55:40 +0000

After last night’s Super Tuesday projections and primary results, we’re pretty much done with analyst projections. But, we can’t help but give in to our fascination with the FCC 700Mhz auction. The latest ~~polls~~ projections put Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless as the winner of the C-Block, ousting Google (NSDQ: GOOG) as a potential new wireless carrier.

Google is believed to have recently put up a bid to meet the reserve price of the 700Mhz C-Block auction – to the tune of $4.7 billion. The bid was a show of good faith on Google’s part – who previously pledged to bid the reserve price if open-access rules were adopted for the C-Block – in order to trigger the open-access rules. However, it was widely believed that Google would simply put up the bid to ensure that the winner of the C-Block would be held to open-access standards, and then sit back and watch the other big dog steamroll the competition.

That other big dog seems to be Verizon Wireless. Analysts believe that the No. 2 national carrier will win the C-Block by bidding up regional licenses. According to auction rules, if the total bids on the smaller regional licenses surpasses the bid-price on the national C-Block license, the FCC will divvy up the C-Block and award those licenses to the highest bidder or bidders. In other words, Verizon may just win the C-Block by successfully bidding smaller regional licenses. And, they’ll need it, considering AT&T (NYSE: T) just got the FCC go-ahead to gobble up Aloha Wireless’ 12Mhz slice of 700Mhz spectrum.

The total of regional license-bids has hit $4.74 billion, which tops Google’s rumored $4.7 billion bid for the C-Block.

If Google (one of the only other auction participants with the cash to compete on a serious level) decides to sit back and let the likes of Verizon Wireless snatch the spectrum, we’re going to be in for much of the same wireless shenanigans in the US. At least we’ll be able to use Android handset on Verizon’s 700Mhz network.

[Via: Forbes]

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Apple considering bringing iPhone to Thailand?

Will Park — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:45:19 +0000

With Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s China-bound iPhone aspirations reportedly on the ropes (or not, depending on who you talk to), it makes sense for Apple to look to other Asian markets that might do well to launch an iPhone.

Well, Apple could very well be looking to the Thailand as the next mobile market to get blessed with the iPhone’s graces. Thai telecom Advanced Info Service (AIS) is reportedly in talks with Apple. Assistant marketing VP, Prattana Leelapanang, confirmed yesterday that his company is negotiating the revenue-sharing model that has been rumored to be a point of contention in China.

Now, Thailand isn’t the biggest of mobile markets, especially compared to China. But, it doesn’t hurt to spread the iPhone-seed around the globe. We just hope Asia gets the iPhone before the 3G iPhone launches.

[Via: Apple Insider]

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EU wireless regulatory body looks into mobile phone billing – European Commission wants per-second mobile phone billing

Will Park — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 22:09:45 +0000

The EU has just started enjoying the fruits of the European Commission’s (the EU’s wireless regulatory body) labor to put caps on EU roaming rates, and the European Telecommunications Commissioner Viviane Reding is turning her attention to carrier’s wireless billing practices.

It’s well-known that operators like to bill customers on a per-minute basis – which means that all those 20 or 30 second phone calls are getting charged as 60 second phone calls. The European Commission said that they are “concerned that customers are being charged on a per-minute basis instead of for the actual time of the call…At the retail level, the difference between billed and actual minutes appears to be typically around 20 percent.”

So, chances are that you’re getting docked for 20% more minutes than you are actually using every month. And, if Reding gets her way, carriers will be required to bill customers on their actual wireless-minute usage, rather than rounding up to the nearest whole minute.

Reding also mentioned that caps on SMS text message and data services could be levied if carriers fail to cut costs to Reding’s satisfaction. Damn, she’s got some serious sway (read: balls).

We’d love to see per-second billing become an official regulation! We’re always making 20-second phone calls that get billed for a bull 60 seconds – that means we’re getting billed for 200% more wireless-time than we are using. It’d be nice to see this sort of consideration in The States. Go Reding!

[Via: AFP]

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