EC picks Inmarsat, Solaris for mobile satellite services May 15, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Europe, Inmarsat, Mobile, Solaris Mobile, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: Europe, Inmarsat, Mobile, Solaris Mobile, Telecom, Wireless
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The European Commission has selected Inmarsat and Solaris Mobile to provide mobile satellite services across Europe. The services, such as high-speed internet access, mobile television and radio or emergency communications, will be provided over a specifically reserved spectrum. Mobile satellite services (MSS) are expected to offer wireless communications to millions of EU consumers and businesses with portable terminals carried by a person or mounted on a car or a ship. They can also help bridge the digital divide in the availability of high-speed internet coverage by reaching rural and less populated regions. Member states now have to ensure that Inmarsat Ventures and Solaris Mobile have the right to use the specific radio frequencies identified in the Commission’s decision and the right to operate their respective mobile satellite systems. These providers have to be authorised to use their satellite systems all over Europe for 18 years from the selection decision.
UK report recommends spectrum caps ahead of auctions May 14, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Europe, Mobile, Mobile Industry News, Mobile News, Telecom, UK, WiMAX, Wireless.Tags: Europe, Mobile, Mobile Industry News, Mobile News, Telecom, UK, WiMAX, Wireless
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The UK government has issued an independent report on dividing existing and future mobile network spectrum. After the mobile operators were unable to reach an industry agreement on their existing spectrum holdings, the government asked former Ofcom director Kip Meek to act as an independent broker and develop a plan for the 2G and 3G spectrum. His proposals also incorporate the 2.6GHz spectrum for Wimax and LTE and the so-called digital dividend in the 800 MHz band, which still must be auctioned. According to the report, the goal is to give network operators certainty on their future investments, encourage further take-up of mobile broadband and use new technologies to achieve the government’s goal of near universal broadband access. A quick and efficient division of the spectrum could mean all of the UK enjoying mobile broadband at 4 Mbps within five years, while many urban years would see up to 50 Mbps.
On the spectrum to be auctioned, Meek proposes an auction of the TDD 2.6GHz spectrum for Wimax services by year-end, and a later auction combining the FDD 2.6GHz and 800 MHz frequencies. Meek would like to see regional and speed obligations on services deployed in the 800 MHz band to enhance broadband access, while the current 3G licence holders would receive incentives for expanding broadband access, such as indefinite licence terms and relaxed rules on rural infrastructure sharing.
To enhance competition, Meek proposes a temporary cap on spectrum holdings, at 2 x 60MHz for overall mobile FDD spectrum. Existing holders of sub-1GHz frequencies would also face a cap, so as to obtain 800MHz frequencies they must give up 900MHz holdings. The caps would expire a year after the combined spectrum auction. The latter cap applies to Vodafone UK and O2 UK, who each already have 2 x 17.2MHz in the 900MHz band. Orange UK and T-Mobile UK each have 2 x 30MHz at 1800 MHz. While they could bid freely for 800MHz or any 900MHz given up by the other two operators, they would only be able to bid for 2 x 10Mhz of the 2.6GHz frequencies in order to remain under the cap. They would have to give up 1800MHz or 2.1GHz frequencies to gain more in the 2.6GHz band. 3 UK and any new entrants would be able to bid freely for any of the spectrum, within the limits of the auctions. Meek’s proposals will go to the department for business and regulatory reform, which will formulate a government decision for Ofcom to enact.
Clearwire selects Cisco for 4G mobile Wimax network (USA) May 14, 2009
Posted by aikservices in 4G, Cisco, Clearwire, Mobile, North America, USA, WiMAX.Tags: 4G, Cisco, Clearwire, Mobile, North America, USA, WiMAX
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Clearwire and Cisco will enhance and expand Clear 4G mobile Wimax services throughout the US. Under terms of an agreement, Clearwire has selected Cisco as its national core infrastructure provider, and Cisco has announced plans to build new mobile Wimax devices for the Clear 4G mobile Wimax service for the consumer, small office or home office (SOHO) and small and medium-sized business (SMB) markets. The Clear 4G will be available in major metropolitan areas across the US. Clearwire’s open all-IP network, combined with significant spectrum holdings, provides substantive network capacity to deliver broadband access. In addition, Cisco is aiming to introduce its first mobile Wimax device later this year.
Sprint Nextel Hires Wireless Veteran Bob Johnson To Head CDMA Business (USA) May 13, 2009
Posted by aikservices in AT&T, CDMA, McCaw Cellular, Mobile, North America, Sprint Nextel, USA.Tags: AT&T, CDMA, McCaw Cellular, Mobile, North America, Sprint Nextel, USA
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Sprint Nextel has appointed Bob Johnson to the position of president of its CDMA business unit, which continues to lose subscribers despite having a strong restructuring plan in place. Johnson replaces Keith Cowan, who was serving as interim president of Sprint’s CDMA business unit. Cowan will now be president of Spring’s strategy and corporate development, and lead the company’s overall strategic planning.Johnson, 55, will be in charge of Sprint’s postpaid consumer marketing and sales, including acquisition, growth and marketing, as well as the more than 11,000 retail locations. Johnson most recently served as COO of Sotto Wireless, a Bellevue, Wash.-based company he co-founded. The company focused on offering wireless phones as a replacement for landline phones for small businesses. The company shut down earlier this year after it failed to get enough traction. Before that, he served 16 years as a key executive at AT&T Wireless, including as EVP of the company’s marketing, sales and customer service functions. Prior to joining AT&T, Johnson worked at McCaw Cellular Communications. Johnson will start on May 20, and will likely be easily confused with another Bob Johnson, who currently serves as Chief Service Officer.
Award the 3G Licenses Urges Ericsson to Bangladesh May 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in 3G, Asia, Bangladesh, Ericsson, GSM, Mobile.Tags: 3G, Asia, Bangladesh, Ericsson, GSM, Mobile
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Ericsson has urged the Bangladeshi government to speed up the process to offer 3G licenses so that the mobile operators can tap the existing 3G phone user base in the country. “If the government releases appropriate spectrum for 3G, which is the proven global mainstream for the mobile broadband, then we are confident that it will contribute significantly to the country’s GDP (gross domestic prodcut) growth,” Arun Bansal, managing director of the Ericsson Bangladesh, told the Reuters news agency.”It is estimated that there are over 6 million mobile internet users and already today 15 percent of the mobile handsets used in Bangladesh market are 3G enabled,” Bansal added.The regulator has delayed the award of 3G licenses several times, and they were last due to have been awarded a couple of months ago. A previous report by the GSMA had called on the regulator to issue the licenses by the 3rd quarter of last year.
Mobile Phones Rule In Haiti May 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Haiti, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: Haiti, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless
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Mobile phones are likely to remain the main form of telecommunications in Haiti for the short-to-medium term, a new report says. A new report on the state of Haiti`s telecommunications by Research and Markets, claims that `given the stagnating fixed-line infrastructure and poor fixed-line penetration rates, mobile is likely to remain the principal form of telecommunications,` at least for now. Citing hurricane damage to fixed lines and the fact that the privatization of Telco seems to have slipped from the government’s agenda, the report, `Haiti: Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband,` insists that more and more, people are turning to mobile phone service. Researchers also cite the fact that political and economic turmoil has kept Haiti’s telecommunications sector as one of the least developed in the world, so mobile phone service is a welcome option.
Globecomm Systems 2Q profit falls 75 pct February 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Financial, Globecomm, Mobile, VoIP.Tags: Financial, Globecomm, Mobile, VoIP
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Satellite communications company Globecomm Systems Inc. reported a 75 percent decline in fiscal second quarter earnings Monday on falling sales in its infrastructure business. Globecomm said separately it has launched a global maritime broadband satellite service for cellular, VoIP, video teleconference, data and e-mail service. Globecomm is said it is pairing with the company Mach6, which provides applications including onboard computing, voice and video, mapping and others.
Globecomm posted a profit of $948,000, or 5 cents per share, for the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with $3.7 million, or 18 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. Sales fell 26 percent to $40 million from $54.4 million, led by a 45 percent decline in the satellite infrastructure business, which the company attributed to the worldwide economic slowdown.
CSR expands in GPS market with Sirf takeover February 11, 2009
Posted by aikservices in CSR, GPS, Mobile, Sirf, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: CSR, GPS, Mobile, Sirf, Telecom, Wireless
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Bluetooth chip specialist CSR has agreed to merge with Sirf, a maker of GPS semiconductors. The merger is expected to diversify CSR’s product base and strengthen its position in the mobile phone market. Around 20 percent of mobile phones had GPS in 2008, and this is expected to double by 2012, CSR said. Under the terms of the deal, Sirf shareholders will receive 0.741 share in CSR for each Sirf share they hold. This will give Sirf shareholders 27 percent of the new company. Sirf’s executive chairman Diosdado P. Banatao and founder Kanwar Chadha will join the CSR board as non-executive director and executive director respectively; they have also both agreed to vote their shares in the merger. CSR expects annual cost savings of USD 35 million within two months of closing the deal. Sirf generated revenues of USD 232 million in 2008 and is expected to contribute immediately to profits. The merger is expected to close late in the second quarter of 2009.
Femtocell Group Signs Up 100th Member February 6, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Femtocell, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: Femtocell, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless
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The Femto Forum, the independent industry and operator association that supports femtocell deployment, has announced that is has reached 100 members. The body now boasts as members, all of the top 5 infrastructure vendors and 17 of the world’s top 20 operators covering more than 2.3 billion subscribers.The Forum was launched just 18 months ago with only seven specialist femtocell members and has since multiplied rapidly to over 100 companies which read like a Who’s Who of the industry. This momentum allows us to continue to overcome barriers as operators carry out advanced consumer trials and early deployments this year ahead of mass deployment in 2010, said Simon Saunders. At the beginning of 2008 we set ourselves some tough challenges – not least turning around a femtocell standard in record time. We’ve no intention of slowing down this year, which will be a critical period as operators start deployments.
Now that the 3GPP has committed to completing the WCDMA femtocell standard by the end of March the Forum will be working to ensure that devices from different vendors are fully interoperable, as well as supporting the 3GPP’s release 9 and its planned provision for IMS femtocells. There will also be a focus on developing ‘Home Zone services’, creating new mobile applications that take advantage of the ‘presence’ capabilities of femtocells and the ability to easily connect mobile phone users to the home network and the web.
French Mobile Download Speeds Doubled Over Past Year February 5, 2009
Posted by aikservices in 2G, 3G, ARCEP, France, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: 2G, 3G, ARCEP, France, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless
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The French telecoms regulator, ARCEP has published a report on the quality of service of mobile networks in Metropolitan France, after testing each operator’s 2G and 3G networks. As required by their authorisations, the operators help finance this study.Mobile network speeds in France have doubled in one year.File transfer tests were held in the twelve largest cities in Metropolitan France, using USB keys or PCMCIA cards connected to laptop computers. The results of these tests show bitrates more than double those measured in 2007.
Results show speeds one and a half times higher than those obtained in 2007 for average speeds, and up to two times higher for the highest speeds: bitrates for downloading were1 450 kbit/s on average, and over 4 Mbit/s for the fastest, while speeds observed when sending files reached 400 kbit/s on average, and over 740 kbit/s for the fastest. These speeds were reached using each operator’s highest performing offers, available in shops.These speeds are comparable to the bitrates offered by entry-level ADSL.
Mobile Phones Will Replace Office Desk-Phones in North America by 2011- Gartner February 5, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Gartner, Mobile, North America.Tags: Gartner, Mobile, North America
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Enterprises in North America will be supporting more mobile phones than desktop phones by 2011, according to Gartner. The firms analysts said that although most users will still also have a desktop phone, mobile phones will become more prevalent and replace desktop voice hardware to become the primary device.The adoption and standardization of corporate liable mobile phones in the enterprise has been driven by the use of smartphones, wireless e-mail and the integration of these phones into IP telephony systems, while improved in-building coverage and lower mobile service costs have also played a part., said Phil Redman, research vice president at Gartner.
Mr. Redman said that as spending on mobile communications services grows, and soon overtakes that of wired voice services, enterprises will need to plan how they manage usage, support and costs. Although mobile hardware costs are generally less than desktops, mobile services can still cost five times more than an enterprise-wired call and this could represent a huge shift in budget for enterprise communications services.
Lebanon to lower mobile prices in April February 4, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Financial, Lebanon, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: Financial, Lebanon, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless
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The Lebanese government has reached an agreement to lower mobile calling rates in April. Telecommunications minister Jebran Bassil told a media briefing that the cuts will save the Lebanese USD 225 million annually, the Daily Star reports. But the minister did not expect a drastic fall in the revenues of the state-owned networks, as the price cuts are offset by an increase in subscribers thanks to planned capacity expansions. According to the new scheme, the monthly subscriptions for postpaid mobile cards will fall to USD 15 from the current USD 25 and the per-minute rate for postpaid users will drop to USD 0.11 from USD 0.13. The minister expects that more consumers will be encouraged to switch from prepaid to postpaid cards after the price cuts. More than 80 percent of the country’s mobile subscribers use prepaid cards. The price of a one-month prepaid card will drop to USD 25 from USD 45, while the cost of a one-minute call will fall to USD 0.36 from USD 0.50.
Apple gets 1% global market share February 2, 2009
Posted by aikservices in ABI Research, Apple, iPhone, LG, Mobile, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung.Tags: ABI Research, Apple, iPhone, LG, Mobile, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung
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According to data from a ABI Research study, iPhones now make up 1.1 percent of all cellphones, which is a boost from the 0.3 percent share the original iPhone held in 2007. It’s not much but it’s a start for Apple, which is still way off that number one spot. Of course, Nokia’s still dominates with 38.6 percent, Samsung holds second place with 16.2 percent. Meanwhile LG and Motorola share third place with 8.3 percent a piece.
Thailand to issue 3G licences in Q3 February 2, 2009
Posted by aikservices in 3G, HSPA, Mobile, Thailand, Wireless.Tags: 3G, HSPA, Mobile, Thailand, Wireless
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The Thai communications regulator plans to issue 3G licences in the third quarter this year. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) will likely hold an auction for four licences. The NTC will decide on 5 February on the method. As the NTC has been slow to issue the spectrum, operators are already trialling services on their existing spectrum, upgrading equipment with HSPA technology.
Asia Pacific Subscriber Percentage Growth Crashes to 3 Years Low February 2, 2009
Posted by aikservices in Asia Pacific, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless.Tags: Asia Pacific, Mobile, Telecom, Wireless
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Quarterly mobile connection growth in Asia Pacific crashed to a three-year low of 5.8% in Q3 2008, even though net additions figures, at 89.4m, were the second best ever seen in the region. The result left rolling annual growth down at 28.6% – the lowest level recorded since the 12 months period ending 31st December 2006 – although rolling annual net additions set a new record for the 14th successive quarter, reaching 364.5bn.
The reason for this seemingly paradoxical result was that net additions were up year on year by 10% from 81.2m, but down quarter on quarter by 10% from the record 98.8m posted in Q2 2008, the increase in the total number of mobile connections in the region in the meantime being enough to cause the effects we have seen.
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