Clearwire may become the first wireless carrier to offer a globally compatible mobile device. The wide variety of technology standards and spectrum in the LTE market has led to carriers using different spectrums that are not compatible with each other. Clearwire, whose LTE network is to be launched, is relying on the TDD- LTE spectrum for its network, a departure from the more common FDD- LTE that other major US carriers like AT&T and Verizon use. Large carriers in China, India, Japan and Europe, such as China Mobile and Bharti- Airtel have echoed Clearwire’s choice of the TDD- LTE network. These carriers may consider using this technology in their own regional LTE markets, thus making any Clearwire mobile compatible with the networks in these countries.

Standardized global compatibility is not yet a reality as Clearwire still has to launch its LTE network next year. Clearwire’s CEO Erik Prusch believes that the potential for a globally compatible network is very much present. “You had skepticism around the ecosystem and whether it would catch on,” Prusch told in an interviewer here at CTIA 2012. “But now you’re seeing some larger players put their might behind it.”

“It will take a while, but the potential is there,” Prusch said, adding that the band Clearwire is operating on is the most globally harmonized out there. Clearwire plans the launch of its LTE network on 5000 cellular sites by the middle of next year and will have the first LTE devices on the network also released next year.  The company looks to act as a wholesaler of wireless service, marketing it for new businesses or providing additional wireless capacity to larger carriers like Verizon and AT&T who want to ease traffic off their own congested networks.

The Quantum site is getting a makeover.

Though the Quantum Networks look will change, the wide range of 4G, LTE products and personal assistance options guaranteeing users the best service possible will remain just as steady–if not even better.

The new site features an attractive blue-and-gray color scheme, with updated graphics to point users more clearly in the right direction of the device they’re searching for. The site also introduces a new logo (see image!) to reflect the efficiency, attractiveness, and modernity characteristic of the products being sold.

In addition to aesthetic differences, the site’s new-and-improved structure offers the fastest, clearest, simplest viewing and purchasing experience. At the top of the screen, the redesigned homepage offers a link to the official Quantum blog, as well as links to the  5 main categories featured on the site: GPS Tracking, Surveillance & Security, Cellphone Accessories, Car Electronics, and Data & Networking. Each category includes multiple subcategories beneath it, so users can start broad and narrow their searches accordingly.

Change can be scary, but in this case it definitely seems to be for the better. “The transition to our new website has been a long-term project requiring hard work and great involvement from all our staff,” announced Ari Zoldan, CEO of Quantum (@AriZoldan) in a statement released by Quantum on Wednesday. “We are proud to launch our new website today… It certainly represents a new milestone—and a higher industry standard—in our constant efforts to provide our customers with the best quality service.”

Users can also choose to shop according to manufacturers, with sidebar options that tailor the search even further by allowing specifications for price limitations and color preferences.

For a broader search without tailoring to categories, users can simply enter the product they’re looking for in the general search bar at the top of the homepage.

The new site also features the opportunity to learn with Quantum, via the Knowledge Base section at the bottom of the new homepage that offers free informational guides for buyers, as well as guides on GPS systems and routers, so users can make the most informed decision when investing in new equipment.

The bottom of the homepage also features Quantum’s contact information, customer service options, company information, newsletter sign-up, and most importantly allows users to keep track of their accounts, to stay ahead of their orders as they arrive, and remain in control of their purchases.

To celebrate the site’s launch, Quantum is offering a one-time-only promotion: The first 100 customers using the coupon code “NEWQW10” will receive $10 off AND free shipping!

To revolutionize your technology experience, visit the new Quantum site today!

Clearwire has announced its plans to enter the 4G LTE market in 2013. The company plans to deploy its LTE network in around 31 markets across the U.S and will be relying on the TDD- LTE specification for its mobile broadband network. The TDD- LTE specification is not used by other major U.S rivals such as Verizon and AT&T. Clearwire has chosen this specification because it will help the wireless provider to migrate easily to the next generation LTE- Advanced specification which can provide a theoretical peak download speed of about 1 Gigabyte per second. TDD- LTE technology, in other words, would be more efficient in delivering speed and capacity for the LTE network.

Erick Prusch, President and CEO of Clearwire has advocated for the advantages of the new network. “Our new 4G network will show that not all LTE networks are created equal. Clearwire’s LTE Advanced-ready network will deploy our deep spectrum resources for the next great era in mobile broadband in which capacity is king. We’re positioned to bring much needed capacity on a wholesale basis to address the unbridled demand for mobile data and the scarcity of spectrum in major urban and suburban markets.”

The LTE-TDD technology’s theoretical speed of 1 Gbps is roughly 100 times faster than the performance that Verizon Wireless customers average on its LTE network. Verizon, relying on FDD-LTE, has recently expressed interest in moving to LTE- Advanced technology for the future as well.

The tentative markets that Clearwire is hoping to cover with its new LTE network are all major metropolitan centers, many of which are already serviced by Clearwire’s and Sprint’s old 4G WiMax networks. NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle may be some of the first cities to have access to Clearwire’s 4G LTE network. Clearwire’s aggressive entry into the LTE market is both a double- edged sword for Sprint, who is the majority shareholder in Clearwire. Sprint can get access to Clearwire’s LTE network to expand its own LTE network across the nation and compete with larger rivals like Verizon and AT&T. But Clearwire’s new network, if successful, introduces another key player in the LTE market, and one that may become independent of Sprint eventually.

Verizon Wireless has stated that it is willing to sell some parts of its radio spectrum in exchange for purchasing additional wireless spectrum licenses from cable companies. The company plans to sell its coveted 700 MHz spectrum only if the FCC approves its pending purchase of $3.6 billion worth of spectrum from an assortment of cable companies that include Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright house Networks.

Verizon had purchased a large quantity of spectrum in 2008 in a $9.4 billion deal that gave the company 109 licenses in the 700 MHz band. The spectrum acquired had been in the A, B and C blocks. Verizon has disclosed that it has used the upper level of the C block in order to deploy its 4G LTE network nationwide and now plans to rely on cable- owned spectrum to continue LTE expansion. As a result, the 700 MHz spectrum in the A and B bands are going to be sold by the company to the highest bidder. Verizon has made it clear that its sale of spectrum is contingent upon FCC approval of its cable deal.

Molly Feldman, V.P of Business Development for Verizon Wireless stated that “since wireless operators, large and small, have expressed concern about the availability of high-quality spectrum, we believe our 700-MHz licenses will be attractive to a wide range of buyers.”

Though this might be the case, smaller carriers across the nation like T- Mobile and Sprint have lodged complaints with the FCC that Verizon’s cable deal is a “clear threat to competition” as it would put a significant chunk of available spectrum into Verizon’s hands. Verizon has consistently defended its spectrum sale and potential cable purchase by stating that smaller carriers who are worried about a lack of spectrum can purchase Verizon’s to augment their own networks. Verizon’s cable deal is still under analysis by the FCC and the Department of Justice and the company expects that the process of review should be concluded by mid- summer.

Apple has begun a legal defense in Australia’s federal court over allegations of the 4G LTE capabilities of the iPad 3 in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had accused the company of misleading customers by branding the iPad 3 sold in Australia as a 4G LTE product when it was not compatible with Australian 4G LTE networks.  The iPad 3 is only compatible with the 700 MHz spectrum that is not used in countries such as Australia and the European Union, who rely on other bandwidths.

Apple bases its defense on the notion that Australian network companies have mislabeled their networks. Apple claims that the three major carriers in Australia- Telstra, Optus and Vodafone- can be “called 4G networks in accordance with the accepted industry and regulatory use of the descriptor 4G.” In Australia, the three networks are classified as 3G carrier networks. The iPad 3 can work on the 700 and 2100 MHz frequencies and the latter is the frequency that the three major telecoms in Australia use and market as a 3G technology.

Apple also added that “The descriptor ’4G’ … conveys to consumers in Australia that the iPad with WiFi + 4G will deliver a superior level of service in terms of data transfer speed (consistent with accepted industry and regulatory use of that term), and not that the iPad with WiFi + 4G is compatible with any particular network technology promoted by a particular mobile service provider in Australia.”

One of the major problems facing the telecommunications industry is the nebulousness surrounding the correct branding of networks. 4G is technically defined by the International Telecommunications Union as a standard that has the capability of reaching transfer speeds in excess if 100 megabits per second. Though none of the advertised LTE standards have speeds anywhere near the 100 megabit standard, they can be marketed as 4G as long as they can one day match the specific speed through upgrades. Carriers worldwide brand their networks as 4G to attract customers, though they may not meet the standards and this will cause problems for regional devices that promise to work on the 4G network globally. Apple’s Australian dispute is expected to be given a full hearing in May.

Sprint has specified 2014 as the year when it will deploy its LTE service on the new 800 MHz spectrum. This is to replace the old Nextel iDen systems network on which Sprint has relied so far. Sprint network operations president Steve Elfman said that the 800 MHz spectrum that the iDen network uses has been named an official LTE band and is awaiting federal approval from the FCC to use the frequency for its 4G network. The process should not have any unforeseen problems.

The iDen network was useful for the walkie-talkie style mobile services that pushed Nextel to popularity, but with the increasing predominance of data service for mobile devices, Sprint has to turn to the latest data networks to maintain its market competitiveness. Sprint has already begun shutting down iDen base stations and moving iDen customers off the spectrum to the CMDA data network. By 2014, Sprint will fill the dormant 800 MHz airwaves of the defunct iDen network with LTE.

Sprint is confident that it can deliver 4G LTE services on par with its larger competitors, Verizon and AT&T, whose networks use the 700 MHz spectrum. Sprint has half the customer base of Verizon and AT&T, which will mitigate any problems with network saturation in the early stages of its LTE deployment.

Sprint has also been actively seeking companies from which to purchase additional spectrum. Its agreement with Clearwire would allow Sprint to offload many of its customers to Clearwire’s new LTE network. Sprint has not fully revealed the extent of its LTE launch markets, but it has identified the first cities to receive the 4G upgrade. Sprint hopes that the amalgamation of different resources will help it to become a viable competitor for the big two networks in the business- AT&T and Verizon.

India is the latest country to roll out a new 4G LTE network. Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecom company is deploying the network. The 4G service is slated to begin in the state of Kolkata. Because of the territorial and regional vastness of the country, Airtel is looking to incrementally introduce 4G LTE service in major states and metropolitan centers if the primary network in Kolkata is successful.

With this new generation mobile network, users now have speedy access to all kinds of content on the web–a major improvement on the slower speeds of the current 3G HSPA network that is the standard mobile network across India. The expansive population of India along with its growing economy should provide companies such as Airtel that are looking to tap into the fastest mobile networks plenty of opportunities for growth.

Sunil Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Airtel said, “High speed wireless broadband has the potential to transform India, provide a robust platform for building the country’s digital economy and truly empower people. With one of the largest pools of young population in the world, India will see massive growth in consumption of data and content over mobile devices and proliferation of mobile commerce.”

But despite this, a major obstacle for data plans of any sort in India is the price range. Despite the fact that the newest networks and smartphones are being aimed primarily at the targeted young people of the country, a significant number of them cannot afford the expensive data plans. This has been a problem for the 3G networks, with users across the country complaining at what they saw as obnoxiously priced data plans. The current price plans of Airtel are relatively expensive for the average customer in India (and the additional absence of unlimited data plans in India exacerbate the problem). The 4G plans start as Rs. 999 a month for 6GB of data and increase accordingly. The success of Airtel’s network depends on the willingness of the youth population of the country to endure the high data charges in exchange for a faster network connection.

The Global Mobile Suppliers Association has announced in a new study that the number of LTE enabled devices that are being released has increased. Around 63 manufacturers have created 347 LTE enabled user devices, with 250 of those being announced over the last year. The LTE devices include smartphones, tablets, notebooks, etc. Alan Hadden, GSA president said, “”The main growth trend in 2012 so far is the launch of LTE-capable smartphones and tablets. We report that the number of smartphones has increased by one third since January 2012. The number of LTE-capable tablets increased 72 percent in the same period.” The majority of the LTE user devices released support the 700 MHz band that is used in the U.S, where LTE networks and services are developing the fastest. But as LTE rollouts continue apace in other regions of the world, with manufacturers building devices to work on various bandwidths, the number of LTE devices is bound to increase further.

According to the GSA, the growth in the new LTE device models has been driven primarily by smartphones and tablets. “The number of smartphones has increased by one third since January 2012,” noted Alan Hadden. “The number of LTE-capable tablets increased 72% in the same period.” Device manufacturers are wasting no time in creating products that will work with the newest LTE networks and the pace of LTE and LTE enabled device growth looks to continue unabated.

The controversy in Australia over the LTE capabilities of the iPad 3 seems to have been resolved temporarily. Apple stated on Tuesday that it would give refunds to Australian owners of the iPad 3 if customers were disappointed with the tablet’s inability to use the LTE networks in Australia. The isolated case in Australia presents a large problem for customers who are using a foreign designed product in their home countries. The significant challenge for the LTE market is the increasing fragmentation of the frequencies used for LTE that leads countries to rely on various bands that may not all work on a device created to work on one specific bandwidth of LTE. The demand for spectrum to accommodate mobile data appetites is also leading to increased fragmentation to spectrum according to industry analysts. Peter Jarich, an analyst at Current Analysis pointed out that, “”If we start with this assumption that operators need more spectrum, then you end up with fragmentation. The one is just going to follow from the other.”

Adding to the complexity of the case is also the two variants that LTE can be deployed in: paired spectrum bands (FD or frequency division) or a unified band (TD or time division). Which one is used is dependent on the frequencies a carrier can get. The problem looks to remain for some time as there are too many possible combinations of LTE variants and frequencies for mobile phones to be created that will work with all of them.

Though it would be theoretically possible to build a mobile handset that could work with all the major LTE networks in the world, it is not really financially beneficial to carriers and handset makers. Both are much more interested in producing the least expensive devices that works on a national or local network that the majority of their customers want compatibility with, as it ensures them with a financial windfall.

Apple is facing significant legal issues in Australia regarding the LTE capabilities of the iPad 3. The country’s competition regulator, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), could impose a sales ban on the iPad because it claims that Apple was “misleading” consumers on the 4G LTE capability of the tablet. The regulatory board is in the process of petitioning a federal court to force Apple into ensuring that Australian customers will be aware that the iPad 3 will not run on the country’s LTE network, but instead will rely on the 3G network.

This dispute is based on the different types of bands that are used in 4G LTE networks across the world. Countries have various types of bands that are used, and they are all not compatible with each other and will not work with devices that are tailored for one specific type of band. The iPad 3 is tailored to the 700MHz band that is used by the US’ two carriers: Verizon and AT&T. Even with these two carriers, though they run on the same band, they require different hardware, which has forced Apple to create a special iPad for each network. Outside of North America, the iPad 3 that runs on the 700 MHz band will not work on the other LTE band in countries such as Australia, where the tablet will have to run on the 3G network instead.

The ACCC has stated that Australian law is being violated, as Apple has not clarified to the general consumer that the LTE capabilities on the iPad 3 will not be realized with the 4G networks in Australia. The commission has also cautioned that it could impose massive fines on Apple and even institute a sales injunction that would force the tablet from the shelves of stores across the country. The regulator stated, “The ACCC is seeking urgent interlocutory relief to ensure consumers are made aware of the correct technical capabilities of this device.”

The same complaints on Apple’s marketing of the 4G network, which implies that the tablet can connect to the LTE network in all countries, is likely to be raised in Europe as well which relies on different bandwidths from North America.