3G/mobile broadband industry news from the UMTS Forum
18 September 2009
India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has published a timetable for the upcoming WCDMA auction which will enable large-scale commercial rollout of 3G services in the world’s second largest mobile market. Applicants are required to submit bids by the deadline of 13 November. The auction for WCDMA licences will take place on 7 December. Successful bidders will be obliged to pay for the licences within 15 days of the end of the auction. Earlier this year, the DoT licensed two 3G operators, the state-owned BSNL and MTNL.
Vietnamese mobile operator Vinaphone has selected ZTE to deploy its WCDMA network. Under the terms of the contract, ZTE will provide its advanced SDR (software defined radio) base stations to support the launch of Vinaphone's WCDMA-based high-speed data services. Vinaphone, which is owned by Vietnam's largest telecoms group VNPT, was one of Vietnam’s four mobile operators to be awarded UMTS licences in April 2009. ZTE is also the WCDMA network equipment supplier for Vietnam's largest mobile operator Viettel.
U.S. prepaid mobile operator MetroPCS has selected Ericsson and Samsung as equipment vendors for its rollout of LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology in the second half of 2010. Ericsson will supply MetroPCS with LTE network infrastructure ahead of the commercial launch of LTE services in major metropolitan areas planned in late 2010. Samsung Mobile will initially provide LTE devices for the launch, including a dual-mode LTE/CDMA smartphone.
Canada’s largest mobile operator Rogers Wireless has commercially launched HSPA+ services in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The HSPA+ upgrade, which started earlier this year, will allow customers in major metropolitan areas to access mobile broadband services at peak downlink speeds of 21 Mbps. The new HSPA+ service is offered through a USB device, branded the 21 Mbps HSPA+ Rocket Mobile Internet Stick, which is available at rogers.com from CA$74.99 (US$70.40).
Japanese handset vendor NEC has agreed to merge with the already combined mobile device units of Casio and Hitachi. The new joint venture, which will be known as NEC Casio Mobile Communications, will start operations in April 2010. The joint venture will leverage NEC’s core competencies in WCDMA, LTE, Linux, low power consumption innovations and ultra-thin technologies, as well as its strong customer relationship with Japan’s leading WCDMA operators, NTT DOCOMO and SoftBank.
LG Electronics has unveiled its first Android smartphone. The HSDPA-enabled LG-GW620 enables peak download speeds of 3.6 Mbps, features a 3-inch touchscreen, slide out Qwerty keypad, while the Android platform gives consumers access to the mobile applications and services developed by Google. The LG-GW620 will be available from Q4 in select European markets.
Orange will distribute Motorola’s first Android-based smartphone in Europe and Latin America. The HSDPA-enabled device, which enables peak download speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps, will be available as the Moto Dext from Orange in the U.K. and France, Telefónica in Spain and América Móvilin Latin America. In the UK, the smartphone, which features Motorola’s new Motoblur user interface, will be available in early October for free on a 24-month contract. Motoblur enables users to manage their social networking activities as it can automatically access and update content from various messaging and social networking accounts. In the U.S. the device will be available from T-Mobile USA under the name Moto Cliq.
3 Hong Kong has appointed Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) as sole vendor and service partner for its planned HSPA+ upgrade. The five-year contract includes minimum equipment purchase valued at HK$ 350 million (EUR31 million). NSN will supply its Flexi base stations and pioneering flat-architecture Direct Tunnel solution, as well as mobile softswitching technology. NSN will also be responsible for network management, maintenance and stuff training. HSPA+ is capable of delivering peak downlink data speeds of up to 42 Mpbs.
Following the success of recent mobile broadband promotions that offered customers 10 hours of surfing over its HSPA network for RO1 (US$2.60) and 60 hours for RO3, Oman Mobile has reintroduced two original price plans. The “Daily Surfer” package provides customers with 24-hour mobile broadband internet access for RO1 a day, while the “Long Surfer” package enables customers to say online for 72 hours for RO3.
The VoLGA (Voice over LTE via Generic Access) Forum has released its first set of approved specifications for delivering voice and SMS services over LTE networks. The move is an important step towards upcoming product releases from equipment vendors. The technology will enable operators to bring voice and SMS services over LTE radio access networks and femtocells without a re-architecture of their networks. It also supports new revenue-generating applications over LTE, such as IMS combinational services and the Rich Communications Suite (RCS).
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has successfully demonstrated standards-compliant LTE data calls. The call was made via commercial base stations with software adhering to 3GPP Release 8. The development confirms that NSN has standards-compliant LTE network products and terminals and is ready for commercial LTE deployments.
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