3G/mobile broadband industry news from the UMTS Forum
11 February 2011
Mobile operator Orange has successfully tested mobile broadband services at 1800 MHz, using equipment supplied by Ericsson, ST-Ericsson and Quanta Computer. The trial paves the way for the launch of commercial HSPA services in 1800 MHz spectrum from the second half of 2011. Spectrum refarming of the 1800 MHz band – widely used today for 2G services – will help mobile operators meet fast rising demand for video streaming and multimedia services.
SK Telecom has selected Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to provide its LTE radio network, as well as implementation and care services from July 2011. NSN will deploy its Flexi Multiradio Base Stations and NetAct network management system. The move will triple the South Korean operator’s broadband capacity while boosting data speeds. SK Telecom will introduce LTE services in Seoul in July 2011 and expand its LTE network to other metropolitan areas by the end of 2012.
HP has launched a credit card-sized smartphone based on the latest version of Palm’s webOS. Targeted at the consumer market, the HP Veer has a 2.5-inch touchscreen, slide-out keyboard and 800 MHz processor. The HSPA device is equipped with Wi-Fi sharing, GPS, multimedia player and a 5-megapixel camera. The HP Veer will be available in the second quarter of 2011.
Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has conducted a test of LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation on commercial equipment, demonstrating combination of LTE frequency bands to provide improved data rates.Carrier aggregation is a key feature of LTE-Advanced that enables operators to create larger “virtual” carrier bandwidths for LTE services by combining separate spectrum allocations. The showcase is based on the company’s Flexi Multiradio Base Station. NSN has confirmed that the new technology can increase LTE data rates by 90% using a combination of 800 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands.
The Global Certification Forum (GCF) and Continua Health Alliance have teamed up to develop an effective certification process for wirelessly-connected personal health devices. The framework of standards-based interfaces will enable end-to-end interoperability for connected health solutions.
MetroPCS and Samsung have unveiled the operator’s second LTE smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Indulge. The touchscreen device runs the Android 2.2 OS and features Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. It comes preloaded with the MetroStudio application that allows on-demand access to exclusive entertainment and multimedia content.
US operator Verizon Wireless has made a first live IMS-based VoLTE (Voice over LTE) call on its commercial LTE network. The 33-second call originated at Verizon’ headquarters in New Jersey, using a LG Revolution 4G smartphone. During additional calls, the participants were able to browse the web while participating in voice calls. Verizon plans to enhance VoLTE with rich communications services and optimize performance on its commercial LTE network during 2011.
DOVADO Delivers World's First LTE Modem Support
Broadband router vendor Dovado has upgraded its product portfolio to support LTE USB modems, beginning with the Huawei E398, which is already offered by LTE operators in Europe. The company has upgraded 4GR and 3GN router models, which are currently being trialed by multinational mobile operators ahead of commercial mass deployment. Both models contain four Ethernet LAN ports, a WAN port for DSL fail-over and the latest 802.11n WLAN standard.
Canada’s Telus has begun a network upgrade to Dual Carrier HSPA+ technology, enabling the operator to offer peak download speeds up to 42 Mbps and upload speeds up to 11 Mbps. The first device to support Dual Carrier HSPA+ will be the Sierra Wireless AirCard 319U 4G Internet Key, available to Telus customers from March 2011.
NTT Docomo has gained a licence from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for field experiments of LTE-Advanced. The operator will begin experiments in real radio environments in the cities of Yokosuka and Sagamihara. In the experimental trial, the performance of key technologies for LTE-Advanced will be evaluated indoors and outside. In previous LTE-Advanced trials, NTT DoCoMo has demonstrated transmission data rates of approximately 1 Gbps downlink and 200 Mbps uplink.
Alcatel-Lucent has unveiled lightRadio, a solution that promises a breakthrough in mobile and broadband infrastructure by radically simplifying network design. Pioneered by Bell Labs, the vendor’s research and development arm, lightRadio dramatically reduces technical complexity while containing power consumption and other operating costs in the face of sharp traffic growth.
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