The 5G mobile telecommunications Network

A rare document/ ebook /white paper detailing what's coming ahead in 5G broadband wireless access telecom networks will be available here, for your pleasure, review, and perusal:

Why A Mobile Working Environment Makes Business Sense

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3G Long Term Evolution Handbook

For those interested in a concise and thorough treatment of the technolgy, market situation and health implications without getting bogged down on gory details.

Το LTE στην Ελλάδα

www.lteworld.gr

Vodafone on the verge of buying Wind Hellas

Should be a done deal by Xmas assuming the NRA allows it. This should create an equivalent competitor to Greek Cosmote who controls about  48 percent of the market. Wind has had its share of troubles, bankrupt almost twice where shareholders via their representatives were forced to take control and salvage the company.

The issue will be network and administrative rationalization with over 1000 layoffs. This will also result in rationalizations on the supply side (infrastructure and service vendors) as well as collateral industries and government representative associations.This will also mark the end of an era since Telestet (Stet hellas-TIM-Wind) was the first to offer mobile services at premium prices in Greece.

The move will control with Cosmote most of the mobile market, for the time being.

The move is expected to also bring some sort of price stabilization, since prices have been in free fall since 2008.

The Future Needs of Mobile Network Operators

The Future Needs of Mobile Network Operators

Free LTE e - book Download

The most popular e book on long term evolution (LTE) : Download it for free !







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The Ericsson Chronicles

Dedicated to the cross continental sections of Canada, the US, Mexico and Greece that in their time and place. and in their own respective ways, contributed to making digital mobile communication a reality.



Dedicated also to Eric Burdon whose singing kept me company during warm summer nights, and cold winter days.

WIND HELLAS

HELLO HUAWEI, GOODBYE ERICSSON

LTE RAN Infrastructure Market on Upswing

LTE Base Station Market to Reach $13 Billion in Sales by 2016

Maravedis Research :

MONTREAL, Canada, June 7, 2011

- As LTE contract awards, deployments and subscriber base growth accelerate, all RAN vendors are poised for growth in the 4G market according to the latest issue of the 4Ggear™ Quarterly Report from Maravedis. "Benefitting from a generally more positive environment in 2010 and 2011 than in 2009, our research found that all infrastructure vendors are getting a piece of the LTE pie," commented lead author Fernando Donoso, Senior Analyst. "However, Ericsson above all has gained a head start in real-world LTE deployment and operations expertise, thanks to their position in Verizon's and MetroPCS' LTE networks - the only truly commercial-scale networks worldwide" he continued.

Everything is not rosy for the Swedish vendor. Maravedis' in-depth analysis of Huawei and Nokia-Siemens networks showed that both have the potential to challenge the world number 1 wireless infrastructure vendor in LTE, thanks to their advanced base station architectures, increasingly sophisticated end-to-end solutions, and the impressive number of LTE contracts both companies have succeeded in accumulating. Additional Research Findings: Maravedis forecasts that the worldwide LTE market will rise from approximately $1.5 billion USD in 2011, to over $13 billion in 2016, including both FDD and TDD equipment. LTE shipments so far have consisted 100% of macro cell base stations. All major RAN vendors have introduced distributed macro base stations using centralized baseband processing - so-called baseband farms. Maravedis expects commercial small cell base station deployments to begin in 2012.

"We see distributed macro base stations and pico cells bringing the vision of heterogeneous networks into reality in 2012" added Adlane Fellah, Research Director. "But operators may allocate common budgets for all small cell deployments, regardless of technology, so the competition between pico cells, femto cells, and carrier Wi-Fi is likely to become fierce."

Microsoft shows off Windows 8 on tablet

By Rafe Needleman, CNET News

The company has offered a glimpse of Windows 8 running on a prototype tablet, showing off 'live tiles', multitasking and apps.

At the D9 conference in California on Wednesday, Microsoft gave a glimpse of Windows 8 running on a tablet.
Using special test rigs, Julie Larson-Green, corporate vice president of Windows experience, prepares to show off the operating system.

326 Million Dual-Mode 4G Devices to be Activated by 2016

MARAVEDIS RESEARCH :

MONTREAL, Canada, May 31, 2011 - 326 Million Dual-Mode (3G + LTE) Devices will be Activated by 2016 according to Maravedis' latest research titled "Global 4G Device Forecast 2011-2016". "All LTE devices activated during 2010, including USB data cards, modems and notebooks, were single-mode," said Cintia Garza, author of the report. "However, LTE+3G smartphones have emerged during 2011 as more LTE operators begin to add LTE to their device offering, in particular smart phones whose adoption will be key to LTE uptake." In the United States, Sprint's early success with WiMAX smart phones suggests a very promising uptake for LTE smart phones.

Many other carriers around the world are also looking at introducing smart phones in their LTE device portfolio by the end of 2011, such as NTT DoCoMo (Japan), and Yota (Russia). "By 2013, more than 50% of LTE devices activated worldwide will support both FDD and TDD duplex modes, once TD-LTE deployments consolidate in China, India, Malaysia, Korea and other APAC countries," continued Garza. "On the other hand, 75% of the LTE devices will support legacy systems (2G/3G) and 9% will support WiMAX technology; these devices will mainly include smart phones, tablets and USB dongles".

Tablets are also one of the most promising devices in the 4G device market. Maravedis' report predicts tablet shipments will grow from 46 million in 2011 to nearly 150 million by 2016. Apple iOS is expected to remain the most popular tablet for the coming years, reaching 46% market share by 2016.

Additional Research Findings:

260 million dual-mode (TD LTE + FDD LTE) devices will be activated by 2016Android will account for 48.5% of the smart phone market, Windows 21% and iPhone (iOS) 16.5% by 2016.

APAC and Europe will account for the largest number of smart phones and tablets activated by 2016.

By 2016, 95% of the tablet installed base will be 3G/4G enabled.

AT&T bringing LTE to five cities this summer

AT&T announced last fall that it would begin its LTE rollout in mid-2011, and it's now finally delivered a few more details. The carrier has just confirmed that five markets -- Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and San Antonio -- will be getting LTE sometime "this summer," with ten more as-yet-unnamed cities set to join them in the second half of the year.

All told, AT&T says that should cover about 70 million Americans by year's end. Of course, an LTE network needs some devices, but AT&T unfortunately isn't providing much in the way of details about those just yet -- it's only saying that it plans to add 20 4G devices to its portfolio this year, and that "some of those" will be LTE capable.

Press Release

AT&T's 4G EvolutionDallas, Texas, May 25, 2011

By John Donovan, AT&T Chief Technology Officer

AT&T has delivered five mobile broadband speed upgrades in recent years, including our HSPA+ deployment last year. And average nationwide speeds on the AT&T network have increased – more than 40 percent over the past two years alone.The next network evolution will arrive this summer with the addition of LTE in five markets – Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta and San Antonio. We plan to add another 10 or more markets in the second half of the year, and cover 70 million Americans with LTE by year-end.

We also have plans to add 20 4G devices to our robust device portfolio this year, with some of those being LTE capable.We're positioning to deliver a great mobile broadband experience in the near term with HSPA+ and a growing LTE footprint.We've invested $75 billion in our wireless and wired networks over the last four years – more capital invested in the U.S. than any company in any industry.

And we plan to invest $19 billion in our wireless and wireline networks and other capital projects this year. The investments we've made to evolve our mobile broadband network in recent years, plus what we have planned for the future, put our customers in position to benefit fully from a host of coming mobile broadband innovations.

T-Mobile takes on LTE with HSPA+ 42 Mbps launch in 55 markets

May 24, 2011 — 12:01am ET By Mike Dano

T-Mobile USA announced it will launch HSPA+ 42 Mbps speeds in 55 markets across the United States, including Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, Phoenix and elsewhere.

The launch essentially doubles the speeds provided by T-Mobile's current HSPA+ 21 Mbps network, though the carrier said it will continue to brand the offering as a 4G service.

T-Mobile announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in January that it would upgrade its HSPA network to HSPA+ 42 technology. At the time, the carrier said HSPA+ 42 will provide speeds comparable with Verizon Wireless' (NYSE:VZ) recently launched LTE network. T-Mobile said it tested T-Mobile's planned HSPA+ 42 upgrade against Verizon's LTE network in Las Vegas, and found both networks provided average download speeds of around 8 Mbps.

To support the HSPA+ 42 launch, T-Mobile said it will begin selling its first 42 Mbps-capable product, the T-Mobile Rocket 3.0 laptop stick, starting May 25. Built by ZTE, the stick will sell for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a qualifying mobile broadband plan (2 GB or higher) on a two year service agreement, with voice line and enrollment in Easy Pay. Customers can also purchase the T-Mobile Rocket 3.0 without a contract for $199.99.

Earlier this year, T-Mobile's CTO Neville Ray said the carrier expects to cover around 140 million POPs with HSPA+ 42 network technology by year-end.

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) announced in March its plans to acquire T-Mobile--an action that could scramble T-Mobile's network upgrade progress. AT&T has said if the deal goes through, it would work to move customers off of T-Mobile's UMTS service, which currently runs on its 1700 MHz AWS spectrum, and onto AT&T's 1900 MHz spectrum. AT&T will then run its LTE service over its 700 MHz spectrum and over AWS spectrum. In other words, T-Mobile customers with 3G handsets will eventually have to purchase new devices that work with AT&T's frequencies.

AT&T and T-Mobile expect the transaction to close sometime early next year.

LTE will boost capacity 230 percent over 3G according to British OfCom

4G technology will bring over three times more mobile broadband capacity to the UK from 2013, Ofcom said on Thursday.

According to research conducted by the telecoms regulator, LTE (long-term evolution) is 230 percent more spectrally efficient than HSPA, the 3G technology that currently provides cellular data connectivity to the country. However, LTE was not the only 4G technology considered in the research — Ofcom also looked at emerging and later generations of LTE's big rival, WiMax.

Stephen Unger, Ofcom's chief technology officer, said the efficiency of 4G spectrum use would increase even more by the end of the decade, by which point technologies such as the future LTE Advanced standard should be in place.

"4G mobile technologies will be able to send more information than 3G, for a given amount of spectrum," Unger said in a statement. "This increased efficiency means that 4G networks will be able to support increased data rates and more users.

"The research that we commissioned indicates that early 4G mobile networks with standard configurations will be 3.3 times (230 percent) more spectrally efficient than today's standard 3G networks," Unger continued. "To put this in context, a user on an early 4G network will be able to download a video in around a third of the time it takes today on a 3G network. It is anticipated that this efficiency will increase to approximately 5.5 times (450 percent) by 2020."

A user on an early 4G network will be able to download a video in around a third of the time it takes today on a 3G network.
– Stephen Unger, Ofcom

Ofcom conducted the research to better inform its strategic spectrum management work. The 3.3-times boost is in comparison with the HSPA technology being used by 2011's handsets, although compared with "emerging, high-end 3G configurations" that use multiple antennas and more efficient modulation, 4G will only provide a 1.2-times spectral efficiency increase, Ofcom said.

The increased spectral efficiency of 4G will not in itself be enough to satisfy the growing thirst for mobile broadband, Ofcom added, noting that the upcoming auctions of the 800MHz and 2.6GHz bands will also be necessary to meet demand.

"Finally, mobile networks will also need to be designed intelligently to ensure the best use of spectrum," the regulator said. "In particular, the research anticipates a greater use of small cells to meet demand in specific areas."

EU Data Roaming to Become Cheaper

The costs of using mobile data services while travelling within Europe could fall drastically if upcoming proposals from digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes become law.

ZDNet UK has learned that European Commission is looking to introduce tough new proposals on data-roaming charges.

ZDNet UK understands the proposals, due to be unveiled on 22 June, will contain a triumvirate of measures combining retail price caps with deeper, structural changes intended to give people greater ability to choose between data-roaming packages. This would make it cheaper for people with smartphones such as the iPhone, or tablets such as the iPad or Xoom, to use the internet on those devices while travelling within the EU on holiday or business.

According to a source familiar with the situation, the proposals would also see retail caps for voice and text-messaging continue to fall, as they have been doing since the Commission addressed those services in 2007. Kroes has repeatedly stated that she wants to see the difference between roaming and domestic prices fall to zero within the EU by 2015, a goal that is crucial to her Digital Agenda and the single European market as a whole.

If adopted by the college of commissioners, then approved by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, the new rules would come into force on 1 July, 2012, when the current regulatory regime expires, and apply until 2016.

Under existing rules, operators are limited in the amount they can charge each other to let customers roam between networks — that cap will fall on 1 July, 2011 from €0.80 to €0.50 per megabyte — but there is no cap on the amount an operator can charge its customers.

This is a major reason why out-of-bundle retail prices still cost between £1-£3 per megabyte within Europe. That is less than the £3-£10 charged for those travelling outside the EU, but still represents a significant mark-up on the actual penny-a-megabyte cost of providing data-roaming services.

According to the source, the new retail caps would start out at €0.90 per megabyte, falling to €0.70 in 2013 and €0.50 in 2014. However, the Commission would also force operators to let their customers split off their roaming mobile contracts from their domestic contracts, if they want to do so.

The move would create competition where currently there is none. A major reason prices are so high at the moment is that most people choose their mobile provider based on the prices they get charged in their home country. Once they cross national borders, they have no choice as to who provides their mobile data coverage, and how much they, as the customer, get charged.

The Commission's proposals are intended to let people choose between competitively-priced data-roaming deals. Unlike the workaround of using local SIM cards to avoid high roaming charges, this approach would also let people keep using their existing mobile number.

However, the Commission does not intend to stop there, the source said. A second structural change would oblige operators to give mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs; operators that do not run their own physical network) from other EU countries access to their networks on fair and reasonable terms.
This would mean a UK-based MVNO such as Tesco Mobile, for example, would have the right to demand access to Deutsche Telekom's network in Germany for Tesco Mobile's customers.

The Commission would also impose a cap on the amount Deutsche Telekom could charge Tesco Mobile for this access. Again, this second structural measure is intended to boost competition and provide customers with more choice.

"In recognition of the fact that those measures might take a while to give rise to more competition, the current caps on voice and text messaging would remain and indeed be gradually decreased, and — in view of the fact that there are humongously large profit margins at the moment on data — there would be retail price caps for the first time," the source said.

Nick White, the executive vice president of business telecoms group Intug, told ZDNet UK on Tuesday that the roaming charge "scourge" has "afflicted cross-border trade based on mobile communications".

"It would seem that the Commission's next phase of regulation, if confirmed, should at least make progress towards the goal of aligning roaming rates with domestic rates and improving the prospects for multinational MVNO offers," White said.

The GSM Association (GSMA), which represents mobile operators, declined to comment on the proposals as it said to do so would be speculative.

Telefonica, the company that owns the UK operator O2, said in April it was sure the difference between data-roaming rates and the data rates charged domestically would reach zero by 2015, as Kroes has demanded. However, it claimed this would happen without new regulation — a scenario that the European Commission clearly does not trust to take place.

According to Morgan Stanley analyst Nick Delfas, the eradication of roaming premiums within the EU would not have a "huge impact" on operators.