3G/mobile broadband industry news from the UMTS Forum
30 October 2009
India's Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has published a revised memorandum related to the planned auction of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum, which includes 3G and WiMAX licences. The deadline for potential applications has been set on 21 December, with the auction scheduled to start on 14 January 2010. The Indian government, which has recently doubled the reserve price for the BWA spectrum from INR20.2 billion (US$435 million) to INR35 billion, expects to auction four 3G licences and three mobile broadband licences in 20 of the 22 telecom zones.
Saudi Arabian mobile operator Mobily, part of Etisalat, has awarded Ericsson a SAR600 million (USD 160 million) contract to expand its HSPA network. The upgrade is aimed at increasing network coverage and capacity in high demand areas, and tripling mobile broadband speeds. Mobily’s HSPA network, which covers 78% of the country’s populated areas, currently provides customers with an average downlink speed of 1.8 Mbps and supports a peak downlink rate of 7.2 Mbps. The operator has 800,000 active HSPA subscribers, who consume more than 1 GB of data a month.
Nortel is to sell its LTE (Long Term Evolution) packet core network technology assets to Japan’s Hitachi for US$10 million. According to the terms of the deal, relevant assets include software to support the transfer of data over existing wireless networks and the next generation of wireless communications technology, including relevant non-patent intellectual property, equipment and other related tangible assets, as well as a non-exclusive license of certain relevant patents and other intellectual property. The disposal excludes legacy packet core components for Nortel’s GSM and UMTS businesses.
Huawei has completed what is claimed to be the world's first test for LTE self-organizing network (SON) in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom’s mobile arm, T-Mobile, in Innsbruck, Austria. Thanks to its ability to configure, optimize and recover automatically, the advanced SON solution will enable mobile operators to reduce operational expenses over the lifetime of LTE networks. The tests have demonstrated high successful handover rate of the SON solution and its ability to automatically establish and optimize the neighbour relations, which satisfies the requirement of future LTE commercial networks.
The European Commission has recommended that the allocation of digital dividend spectrum in the 790-862 MHz sub-band for new mobile broadband services should be coordinated across Europe. The coordinated efforts could give Europe’s economy a boost of €20-50 billion. The EC has called for the EU countries to complete the digital switchover by 1 January 2012 in an effort to free the airwaves suitable for mobile broadband. To speed up the process, the EC plans to harmonise the technical conditions for using the 790-862 MHz sub-band, which is crucial for bringing mobile broadband to underserved remote areas and achieving the mobile broadband coverage target of 100% of the EU population by the end of 2013.
French broadband operator Iliad has submitted its application with the country’s telecoms regulator (ARCEP) for France’s fourth UMTS licence. The company is so far the only confirmed bidder for the licence. Iliad had previously attempted to bid for a 3G licence in 2007. The auction is for 5MHz of 2.1 GHz spectrum, with the minimum price for the licence set at EUR240 million. The winner will be required to roll out 3G services to 25% of the population within two years.
Orange has partnered with Google to bring Google Mobile App to Orange customers in Europe. The deal will enable one-click access to Google’s mobile search and geo-location services via the Orange homescreen on an array of smartphones. Initially, the application will be available on Signature Android handsets, which include LG Eve (France, Spain), HTC Tattoo (France, UK, Spain) and HTC Hero (France). It will later feature on Orange Signature devices operating on Symbian S60, RIM’s BlackBerry and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile. Orange is the first operator to include Google Mobile App on multiple mobile platforms in addition to a search widget on the Android mobile platform.
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has confirmed its involvement in end-to-end LTE interoperability testing with four leading device vendors. The trials are carried out using several frequency bands required in different regions, including AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) spectrum, 700 MHz and 2100 MHz. The tests show the interoperability of the NSN LTE packet core network technology with real LTE terminals, as well as compliancy with the 3GPP’s current specifications of the LTE standard. The move marks further progress on the road towards commercial LTE deployment.
Ericsson has been selected by UAE-based mobile operator du for a three-year managed services contract. The deal, which covers the operator’s GSM/WCDMA networks, is aimed at reducing its operational expenses and enabling du to focus on providing attractive new services to its subscribers. Financial details were not disclosed.
| Upcoming Events endorsed by or with the participation of the UMTS Forum | |
|
|
| For a full list please see events supported by the UMTS Forum | |
leave-mobilennium@list.umts-forum.org