The 4G Portal.com

Swiss Road to 4G: Construction Ahead

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:40:38 +0100

Swiss Road to 4G: Construction Ahead: In late May, Switzerland’s Federal Communications Commission, or ComCom, renewed the mobile licenses of the nation’s three main operators, Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise, through 2013. In doing so, it laid some groundwork for the migration to 4G services over the next five to 10 years. But questions remain regarding exactly how Switzerland’s move to 4G will proceed. The original licenses, which had been granted for a 10-year period in 1998 for the provision of GSM services, had already been extended until late 2009. As a result of the license renewals, the Swiss spectrum map has been reshuffled, with Orange acquiring an equal share of 900MHz spectrum in exchange for scaling back its stake in the 1800MHz band. The 900MHz, 1800MHz and 2100MHz spectrum bands in Switzerland are now split equally among Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise. A fourth operator, In&Phone, continues to operate on a limited basis in the 1800MHz band under a 10-year license awarded in 2003.

Rush for 4G drives mobile telco spending

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:40:17 +0100

Rush for 4G drives mobile telco spending: The race for 4G is pushing up global capital expenditure on mobile communications, according to new research. However, the US economy’s uncertain outlook in 2008 is prompting ABI Research to predict that North America’s mobile capital expenditure will remain flat this year. Advertisement Other regions will increase their capital expenditure commitments for new 2G/3G deployments or expansions, all-IP service discovery platform upgrades, soft-switch unified core systems and preparations for 4G.

Complex LTE IPR System

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:39:53 +0100

Complex LTE IPR System: Progress since 2005 •ETSI has improved visibility of standards essential IPR across its membership •NGMN Ltd has produced indications of the total royalty burden of candidate technologies LTE & WiMAX •Placed IPR royalty rates in the middle of the next generation mobile economy debate •Raised the IPR discussions to the attention of the EU and other regulatory bodies •Built a legally sound platform of trusted collaboration among technology stakeholders

Ericsson in 4G talks with ME operators

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:36:16 +0100

Ericsson in 4G talks with ME operators: Ericsson, the Swedish mobile phones and technology services provider, confirmed on Saturday it is negotiating with mobile operators in the Middle East to launch a next generation mobile broadband technology network in the region. 4G, also known as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), will enable operators to offer enhanced wireless broadband services as well as Internet TV, mobile video blogging, on-line video games and the mobile office environment. One of the most significant aspects of 4G, it is claimed, will be the mass capability to achieve “mobile broadband anytime anywhere”.

4G wireless Web in US

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:35:26 +0100

4G wireless Web in US: COMCAST Corp, the largest US cable operator, said on Monday it is introducing a wireless service for subscribers to access the Web beyond their homes anywhere within the United States. The so-called fourth-generation (4G) wireless service, is the first execution of a partnership between Comcast, Clearwire Corp and other companies that use the emerging WiMax high-speed mobile technology. Many consumers already update their blogs and watch videos using their mobile phones. Cable companies such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable Inc do not want to become irrelevant by restricting subscriber access to the home.

Comcast Deploys WiMax 4G Broadband

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:35:04 +0100

Comcast Deploys WiMax 4G Broadband: Comcast just became the wireless Internet vendor to beat by offering 4G wireless Internet in Portland, Oregon. Leveraging Clearwire’s WiMax network, this move leaves LTE (Long-Term Evolution), the competing technology, a step behind. The new service, called Comcast High-Speed 2go, offers speeds of up to 4Mbps. The Fast Pack Metro package is aggressively sold at an introductory rate of $49.99 a month, which also includes a 12Mbps home Internet service and a free Wi-Fi router. After the first year, the rate jumps to a still-competitive $73 per month. An additional $20 adds nationwide 3G data service to the package, provided by Sprint Nextel (the majority owner of Clearwire). Existing Comcast broadband customers can pick up the service for an additional $30 for local and $50 for nationwide.

Yota and Microsoft innovative 4G service receives industry recognition

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:15:33 +0100

Yota and Microsoft innovative 4G service receives industry recognition: The device is the first GSM+Mobile WiMAX mobile phone to be launched in Russia and comes installed with Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 software. It will be available to all Yota mobile customers, offering them innovative mobile services with faster connections to the same range of applications that they use on their computers in their homes and offices. The Global Telecoms Business Innovation Awards reward the most innovative projects and initiatives undertaken by companies in the telecommunications industry. Around 250 industry leaders from around the world attend the ceremony every year, which was held at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel in London in 2009.

Ericsson in 4G talks with ME operators

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:14:54 +0100

Sprint to unveil HTC Hero and Samsung Android 4G handsets?

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:14:25 +0100

Sprint to unveil HTC Hero and Samsung Android 4G handsets?: The HTC Hero is all over the news and so is Samsung’s upcoming Android 4G phone. Well, the recent rumor in the market is that Sprint is all set to launch these Android powered devices very soon.

Report: The Emerging 4G Wireless Landscape in the U.S.

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:57:34 +0100

Report: The Emerging 4G Wireless Landscape in the U.S.: Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b95f60/the_emerging_4g_wi) has announced the addition of the “The Emerging 4G Wireless Landscape in the U.S. - Operators, Chip Sets, and Consumer Electronics” report to their offering. Popularity of new smartphones such as the iPhone 3GS and the Palm Pre has stimulated growth in consumer uptake of mobile data services. At the same time, mobile video applications such as YouTube (which is pre-installed in these devices), consume such a high volume of data that they strain the capacity of 3G networks. To address opportunities in the growing demand for mobile access to rich digital media, wireless operators are compelled to develop roadmaps for migration to lower cost/bit, higher capacity 4th Generation (4G) networks. This report dispels the confusion that has resulted from partisan “4G Wars” between proponents of next-generation wireless technologies. The emerging 4G landscape in the U.S. will be characterized by co-existence of mobile WiMAX and LTE technologies that are explained here in terms of the advantages that each will provide over 3G.

Gasping for air, Nortel to sell off wireless tech

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:56:08 +0100

Gasping for air, Nortel to sell off wireless tech: Nokia Siemens Networks will buy Nortel Networks’ wireless technology business for $650 million. Struggling Nortel, a one-time giant in telecommunications equipment, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January in hopes of reorganizing. But that is unlikely now. Nokia Siemens said Friday that it will use Nortel’s CDMA and LTE technology to expand its presence in North America. CDMA, or code division multiple access, is one of the two major networks operating in the U.S. and is used by Verizon Wireless and Sprint. LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is 4G wireless technology that will potentially replace today’s mobile networks.

Intel: 'We're not blinking on Wimax'

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:55:10 +0100

Intel: 'We're not blinking on Wimax': LTE looks set to dominate 4G, but Intel said it’s not backing down on Wimax and that it still has a role to play in mobile broadband development. With most of the world’s cellcos committed to LTE proponents argue that Wimax is a niche player in the 4G story that will never achieve the scale of GSM. “The answer is not in the technology, but the business model and the economies of scale, and Wimax simply cannot compare to the scales that HSPA has already achieved and will build on with LTE,” said Alan Hadden, president of the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) at the Next Generation Broadband Forum summit at CommunicAsia.

WiMax Coming To 6 Million Rural Citizens

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:54:30 +0100

WiMax Coming To 6 Million Rural Citizens: Rural WiMax provider Open Range Communications is reporting that it has signed a contract with Alvarion for the latter firm to provide an expected $100 million in products and services that will deliver WiMax to more than 500 rural communities in 17 states. Announced this week, the service will be rolled out over a five-year period and is targeted to serve as many as 6 million people, who currently can’t be served with high-speed Internet services at all or are underserved.

Comcast starts up own WiMAX service

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:26:42 +0100

Comcast starts up own WiMAX service: Comcast on Monday marked the launch of its own 4G Internet access in the form of High-Speed 2go [currently a sign-in page]. The service depends on Clearwire’s WiMAX network and supplies peak real-world speeds of about 4Mbps downstream anywhere within the coverage range. Like service from Clearwire or Sprint, it’s not locked to a particular location and can be had either for mobile use or else as a fixed install at home.

The Importance of the Mobile Uplink

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:41:49 +0100

The Importance of the Mobile Uplink : The speed at which data can be uploaded over a mobile broadband network will become increasingly important as users gain access to a wider range of wireless applications and devices in the coming years. Executives from U.S. carriers such as Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR) and Verizon Wireless have already tacitly acknowledged the importance of the uplink by talking about how “non-traditional” devices will have a growing role on their respective mobile WiMax and Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

DoCoMo: 4G data plans first, phones later

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:39:35 +0100

DoCoMo: 4G data plans first, phones later : Japan’s main mobile carrier, NTT DoCoMo, will launch 4G / LTE services in the second half of this year. The company will begin its 4G offering with data-only devices – dongles, data cards, etc. – and bring mobile phones online later.

Terrestar Networks 4G Satellite Launch Soon

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:38:24 +0100

Terrestar Networks 4G Satellite Launch Soon: TerreStar, a US company, is building the world’s first all IP enabled next generation mobile communications network over an integrated satellite/terrestrial network. TerreStar’s system will occupy two 10MHz segments of spectrum in the 2GHz range throughout North America and Canada.

Clearwire's WiMAX ordained with official Atlanta launch

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 23:33:42 +0100

Clearwire's WiMAX ordained with official Atlanta launch: Sure, Clearwire has actually been running its WiMAX network in Atlanta for six weeks already, but that technicality isn’t stopping the company from deciding now is the time to “launch” the service in the metro area, with an appropriately-sized marketing blitz to boot. Portland travelers already using the service should feel at home now with their own personal 4G network to keep them company while they engorge on the recommended dosage of Chik-Fil-A sandwiches and Varsity chili dogs. Prices are identical to what we’ve already heard and, yes, even though the company just quietly launched the service in Las Vegas, expect to see the delayed red carpet rollout for that city sometime later this Summer.

It’s time to start the 5G hype

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:57:05 +0100

It’s time to start the 5G hype: We in Gartner like watching hype, and one way to look at Gartner hype cycles is as a progression of risk and knowledge. Early in the life-cycle of every new technology there is very little knowledge about it and so massive risk if you were to invest. This lack of knowledge encourages wild ill-informed marketing and speculation, which always makes for good headlines. However as a technology progresses through the hype cycle we get more knowledge and less risk, and wild speculation is harder because there’s too much concrete information.

Cisco’s take on 4G

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:56:50 +0100

Cisco’s take on 4G : Cisco is predicting that the advent of 4G services will lead to an explosion of new video applications that will transform telecom service providers into what the company is dubbing “experience providers.” Suraj Shetty, the vice president of marketing for the Cisco Worldwide Service Provider Marketing, said during an interview this week that companies’ investments in high-speed wireless broadband technologies such as WiMAX and Long Term Evolution (LTE) will make high-definition video streaming widely available on both fixed and mobile devices. The upshot of this, he said, is that telecom providers will move more into the cable companies’ traditional territory by offering more comprehensive video services, while the cable companies will offer improved voice and Internet options that will put them in position to better compete with the telcos.