WiMAX

Nokia ends production of N810 WiMAX tablet

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:30:16 -0500

Although it barely saw the light of day, Nokia's N810 Internet Table WiMAX Edition is no longer in production. Nokia said it is ceasing production of the highly touted device, despite the fact that WiMAX is finally ramping up in the U.S. The tablet only became available in October in conjunction with Sprint's launch of WiMAX in Baltimore.

InformationWeek asked the company about the move, and received this statement: "The Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition has reached the expected end of its life cycle. We will continue to follow the WiMAX network development and new product decisions will be considered based on the evolution of the business."

The struggling economy and the fact that LTE appears to be the winner in the next-generation wireless game could be the main reasons why Nokia is making the move.

For more:
- check out InformationWeek

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Sprint, iPCS headed back to court over WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:54:41 -0500

Sprint and iPCS are headed back to court this year after an Illinois court last week ruled a 2006 decision on whether Sprint's acquisition of Nextel violated its exclusivity agreement with iPCS also applied to Sprint's WiMAX operations.

"Sprint and those acting in concert with Sprint may not compete against iPCS in iPCS's exclusive service areas," Cook County Circuit Judge Kathleen Pantle said in her ruling.

iPCS has claimed it holds exclusive rights to market Sprint products in certain areas in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Nebraska, along with bordering parts of Indiana and Missouri. At the trial, set for March 30, the court will determine whether Sprint actually has control over the new Clearwire, formed when Sprint and Clearwire combined their WiMAX assets, and if exclusivity agreements apply if Sprint acts through a related party.

Sprint has indicated it will act as an MVNO to sell Clearwire's WiMAX service under the brand "Sprint 4G." This ruling will not be enforced until another Cook County Circuit judge, the one who made the original 2006 ruling, decides on a claim by Sprint to dismiss that ruling based on new evidence.

For more:
- check out the Daily Herald

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Clearwire brand debuts in Portland, Ore.

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:06:35 -0500

Clearwire's "Clear" brand debuts today in Portland, Ore., with pricing plans ranging from $20 per month for basic DSL-type service to a plan that combines home and mobile service for $60 per month. The $20-per-month home plan delivers 768 Kbps downstream and 128 Kbps upstream. More expensive plans allow for higher bandwidth. The least expensive home plan in Clearwire's other mobile WiMAX market, Baltimore, costs $25 per month now, which is a limited-time discount from the regular rate of $35 per month.

Scott Richardson, Clearwire senior vice president and chief strategy officer, said the company is now harmonizing service plans that were introduced by Sprint's Xohm business in Baltimore now that the two companies have merged. He said Clearwire will evaluate consumer response to the services in both Portland and Baltimore to determine how to tweak its pricing.

While Clearwire isn't releasing any highly anticipated subscriber numbers in Baltimore, which Sprint launched in September, Richardson said response to the network has met Clearwire's expectations.

Clearwire also plans to introduce the Clear Voice Adapter, which can connect a customer's standard landline phone to the Clearwire home modem for VoIP service. The company wants to sell that service for $25 per month for unlimited calls in the U.S. and Canada.

For more:
- read PC World

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Samsung developing own baseband for LTE and WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:07:55 -0500

Samsung Electronics said it is developing its own baseband silicon for both LTE and WiMAX technology to help lower the cost of its handsets and reduce its exposure to IPR royalties.

Samsung said it is already sampling its mobile WiMax chipset to engineers. The company historically as relied on chips from Qualcomm but began diversifying its suppliers last year and brought Broadcom and Infineon in the fold. The Broadcom and Infineon chips supposedly use a software stack from Comneon, a joint venture between Infineon and InterDigital Communications that reportedly does not rely on Qualcomm's patents.

It's unclear how quickly Samsung will be able to incorporate its own chipsets in its devices and whether they will be used in its early LTE and WiMAX devices. It's highly likely Samsung will use Qualcomm LTE chipsets since Qualcomm has an aggressive schedule for LTE. Qualcomm is aiming to release engineering samples by the second quarter this year.

For more:
- read EE Times

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2008 Year in Review: LTE gains significant momentum

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:47:37 -0500

LTE (Long Term Evolution) was supposed to significantly lag behind WiMAX, but the technology gained significant momentum in 2008. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has completed the majority of specifications for standardization of LTE next-generation technology, meaning the full Release 8 standard is on track for completion by March. And a number of operators, including Verizon, T-Mobile and China Telecom, are champing at the bit to deploy LTE. Verizon Wireless has indicated it will have LTE up and running by the end of 2009. And what became extremely significant for the technology was the fact that a number of CDMA operators, including Verizon and Bell Canada, are moving to LTE, which is supposed to be the technology path for the GSM community.

Vendors continue to announce their momentum with trials. Motorola recently announced it conducted the first over-the-air data sessions for LTE technology in the 700 MHz spectrum in an outdoor field test that included mobile video streaming and other data-heavy applications.

Meanwhile, while we won't likely see a merger between WiMAX and LTE, Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff recently told reporters that while Clearwire is committed to WiMAX, it wound consider LTE in the future "if it makes sense for us to do so several years from now when LTE becomes commercially available."

The bottom line: LTE deployments will likely happen in the U.S. market on a significant basis first because of the amount of spectrum license holders have in the 700 MHz band. Elsewhere, large swaths of spectrum are hard to come by for significant deployments of LTE.

2008 Year in Review: Sprint, Clearwire finally tie the knot; WiMAX loses darling designation

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:06:22 -0500

After trying to get a deal done since early 2007, Sprint and Clearwire finally hammered out an agreement in mid-2008, this one calling for Sprint's WiMAX business to combine with Clearwire with the help of a $3.2 billion investment by Intel, Google, Time Warner, Comcast, Bright House Networks and Trilogy Equity Partners. After some drama along the way, including opposition from AT&T and a lawsuit from iPCS, the FCC unanimously approved the merger of the two businesses, saying the combination would spur competition in the mobile broadband market and accelerate the buildout of advanced technology.

Still, along the way, mobile WiMAX struggled to be the industry darling. The momentum of LTE (Long Term Evolution) has a lot to do with that. Mobile WiMAX was always supposed to have a head start over LTE, but some are warning that advantage might no longer be an advantage. LTE is expected to be a fully ratified standard by the beginning of 2009 with deployments slated to occur in late 2009 or early 2010. Meanwhile, Nortel and Lucent said this year they were emphasizing WiMAX less and LTE more as the world's major operators move that way.

The bottom line: The new Clearwire has a lot to prove in 2009. Some of the pricing plans that have emerged so far in Baltimore are quite compelling because they allow the operator to attack DSL/cable access, existing mobile broadband services and WiFi hotspots with prices we have yet to see in the market. Moreover, we have yet to see what the cable operator plans are for WiMAX.

Sprint launches dual-mode WiMAX/EVDO laptop card

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 00:48:47 -0500

Looking to solve the WiMAX island conundrum, Sprint Nextel is making good on its promise to launch CDMA/WiMAX devices. It's first device, a dual-mode laptop card developed by Franklin Wireless, will be available in retail stores this week. The device will allow laptops users to seamlessly switch between mobile WiMAX and Sprint's EVDO service by searching for any mobile WiMAX signal and then switching to the slower EVDO network when out of range.

For the time being, Baltimore is the only city where this concept is practical, but Sprint foresees it becoming more widely used as the new Clearwire builds out its mobile WiMAX network. The PC card will sell for $150 with a two-year subscriber agreement, after a $50 mail-in-rebate. Sprint announced earlier this month it will offer dual-mode CDMA/WiMAX products and services as an MVNO of Clearwire under the brand "Sprint 4G."

For more:
- check out AP

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Alcatel-Lucent steps up LTE investments, backs off WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:22:05 -0500

New Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen said his plan to return the company to profitability includes stepping up investments in LTE and pulling back on WiMAX investments. During a conference call with reporters, Verwaayen said the company, which has posted seven straight quarters of losses, will increase investments in LTE as the world's major operators plan to deploy the 4G technology as well as continue investing in WCDMA and CDMA2000 1x EV-DO. It will reduce spending on WiMAX, GSM and CDMA 1x. Nortel also announced earlier this year a shift in focus from WiMAX to LTE.

Alcatel-Lucent said it would eliminate 1,000 management positions and 5,000 contracting jobs on top of the 16,500 positions the company has already said it would lop off by the end of 2009. These latest reductions, Verwaayen said, will make the vendor "more agile" by eliminating in-house duplication.

For more:
- read FierceWireless
- check out RCR News

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On the Hot Seat with FairPoint's Michael Brown

Jim Barthold — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 09:04:10 -0500

While the mobile industry buzzes about Clearwire’s use of WiMAX as a fourth generation mobile technology, a conventional wireline service provider, FairPoint Communications, is taking a more retro approach in its New England properties. Rather than building out a new mobile network, FairPoint, which is buying up most of Verizon’s New England landlines, is using WiMAX to feed broadband voice and data to hard-to-reach places starting in Vermont next year and proceeding throughout about 10 percent of the New England footprint after that. The carrier is using newly available 3.65 GHz spectrum the federal government’s making available on the cheap to drive broadband into the rural areas FairPoint serves. Jim Barthold, contributing editor to FierceWireless caught up with Michael Brown, FairPoint’s vice president of network engineering, to dig a little into the thought processes for the not-so-mobile deployment the carrier plans.

FierceWireless: So, if you’re rolling out a new technology like WiMAX anyway, why not step up and make it mobile?

Brown: We did investigate that (but) the price differential between the 802.16d portable standard and the 802.16e mobile standard was quite significant when we did our due diligence and made our selection back in April.

FierceWireless: Using 3.65 GHz spectrum and portable technology, though, shuts your subscribers off from roaming agreements with national players like Clearwire. Are you worried they might hear about Clearwire’s national mobile service and wonder why they can’t get it when they leave your territory?

Brown: I’m not really that concerned about using different spectrum. This is primarily just an access method to the network; we’re not trying to do a ubiquitous wireless play.

FierceWireless: OK, so why 3.65 GHz?

Brown: Being free is definitely a plus for us. In addition, we liked the fact that it was registered spectrum so once we put it in place a competitor can’t come in. We like 2.5 GHz for sure, but since we didn’t want to spend a lot of money until we actually closed on the (Verizon) deal, that put us a little late to be able to start the process to negotiate for that spectrum.

FierceWireless: What will subscribers get?

Brown: We’ll be mirroring our broadband DSL offer (7.1 Mbps for $39.99; up to 3 Mbps for $34.99 or up to 768 kbps for $17.99 a month). They won’t be calling and asking for the WiMAX service; they’ll just be calling and asking for a broadband package and we may elect to do that via DSL or via wireless.

FierceWireless: Will you throw video into the package?

Brown: We don’t have plans to roll out video throughout New England. We’ve done some testing in a lab environment and are able to pass video across the WiMAX platform … but the thing that we’re concerned about is the amount of bandwidth that’s available when you’re trying to deliver HD channels. You’re still looking at between 5 and 7 megs for HD in MPEG-4.

FierceWireless: How about the infrastructure? Will you be able to deliver adequate signals, for whatever use, without using outside antennas?

Brown: We designed it to where you can have the indoor antenna, but because we’re dealing with a lot of foliage, there will be some applications where we have to put on an external antenna. Our primary plan is to use the subscriber unit which is an indoor antenna.

FierceWireless: How do you make sure subscribers get an adequate broadband signal?

Brown: We’ve designed everything to not have a subscriber more than two-and-a-half miles from an access point and we’re making sure that each subscriber has access to at least two access points so it is more or less a mesh architecture. For towers, we’re using anything that sticks up high: grain silos, existing towers, and we’re doing some free standing towers ourselves.

FierceWireless: You’ve said mobile is out of the equation for now. What about portability? Will subscribers be able to cart their laptops around their residences or even outside or will they be tied to the antenna?

Brown: The units are 802.16d in a 3.65 GHz spectrum for the wide area network but they’re 802.11 on the local area network. The manufacturers that we’re working with have a PCMCIA card that goes into the laptop very much like Verizon or AT&T’s air card … just different technology (and spectrum).

FierceWireless: FairPoint is aggressively building out broadband in Verizon’s former New England territories. How does this WiMAX end game play into that equation?

Brown: It’s an extension of our next-generation network, another access platform to that network. We’re leveraging the next-generation network, the 10 gigabit Ethernet network and this comes back into that very quickly and allows us to be able to push quite a bit of bandwidth out to the customer and provides pretty good quality of service.

Infonetics: Worldwide sales of WiMAX dropped in 3Q

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:15:56 -0500

Worldwide sales of fixed and mobile WiMAX equipment and phones/Ultra Mobile PCs dropped 21 percent to $245 million in 3Q08 from 2Q08, and are expected to continue sliding through 2009 as the economic recession puts the squeeze on the market, according to a new report from Infonetics. Article

Alvarion to cut jobs, costs amid uncertain 2009

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:06:34 -0500

WiMAX vendor Alvarion said it is eliminating 11 percent of its 1,000 employees by the end of 2008 as a way to stay profitable and ride out a slow economy in 2009. The vendor also is cutting management salaries and will incorporate other cost-saving efforts the company said should result in annual cost of goods and operating expense savings of about $15 million. The moves will cost $3 million in a one-time charge in the fourth quarter.

During a conference call with analysts, CEO Tzvika Friedman said the company hasn't experienced any order cancellations but faces a combination of project delays, slow-down in deployments among existing customers and longer sales cycles in 2009. Greenfield operators are expected to face difficulty in raising capital.

"The spreading global recession cannot be ignored," Friedman said. "We're seeing capex reductions from various operators and sales cycles are lengthening in some cases. We have to balance the need to prepare for a difficult and uncertain environment with the need to find a way to achieve profitable growth anyway."

For more:
- take a look at Unstrung

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Carriers still mixed on WiFi in handsets

Jim Barthold — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:44:12 -0500

The value of WiFi in a mobile device depends more on the network than the chips that power the device or the applications that run on it.

It's hardly news that carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile are gaga for WiFi, while Verizon Wireless is lukewarm at best and Sprint Nextel, with its new Clearwire mobile WiMAX relationship, is a WiFi waffler.

The carriers like to control their networks and the devices that run on them but it's unlikely that kind of skewed business model will be able to exist much longer as more consumers use unlicensed spectrum to access broadband applications on any number of consumer devices, including cell phones. Even the least ardent WiFi fan--Verizon Wireless--probably won't be able to remain aloof.

"We're re-looking at WiFi in terms of customer experience. We've not made a decision on where we are with that," said Brenda Raney, a Verizon Wireless spokeswoman who repeated the corporate mantra that a powerful 3G network obviates WiFi.

The push for WiFi is led by players such as Skyhook Wireless, which offers a software that creates a hybrid 3G/WiFi environment for GPS. But Skyhook isn't alone. It has solid support from the chip community in its belief that 3G alone won't adequately deliver for every device from every location--particularly in urban valleys and indoors--so you need WiFi to bolster the GPS experience.

Qualcomm, a chipmaker that even Skyhook CEO Ted Morgan admits has "traditionally been a little anti-WiFi," is part of the GPS community embracing WiFi.

Leslie Presutti, product management director-CDMA for Qualcomm, said the chipmaker can't afford to be anti-anything when it comes to providing a good GPS experience.

"Customers are looking for the best functionality and they want to have more ubiquity for GPS whether they're indoors or outdoors or in a challenging environment," she said. That means something that goes beyond Qualcomm's Assisted GPS (A-GPS) product even though "everyone in the market agrees (it) is the best solution for even reaching indoors today."

Verizon is so enamored with A-GPS that Raney said there is no need to adopt WiFi for GPS. "We don't have that issue," she said.

Everyone does, countered Presutti, without singling out Verizon. "A-GPS has its limitations so when there are environments where we know A-GPS just won't be able to operate to the degree that we would like it to, we start to look for hybrid or complementary technologies," she said.

WiFi, everyone agrees, is a complementary technology, even if it doesn't always draw carrier compliments.

For AT&T, which recently acquired privately held managed WiFi services provider Wayport for about $275 million in cash, WiFi is a way of life. The company leans heavily on the connecting to the unlicensed spectrum for application downloads to its iPhone and links its triple-play residential networks with WiFi.

"We want to provide ubiquitous broadband for our customers and our WiFi footprint is a key piece of that," said Jenny Bridges, an AT&T spokesperson who responded to interview requests via email. However, AT&T declined to talk about Wayport when it announced the acquisition.

Without specifically naming AT&T, Raney said Verizon's needs are different because "we have such a pervasive 3G network. WiFi is a complement to that but ... we don't necessarily need to offer it."

That's changing, even though it's probably not happening fast enough for WiFi proponents. "Verizon has traditionally been allergic to WiFi. They view it as unclean and a risk to their business," said Morgan.

The sledgehammer that's breaking down Verizon's resistance is, in all likelihood, not Skyhook's GPS system but just the full weight of the WiFi movement. To say WiFi is ubiquitous would be understating.

"There's a pretty compelling case to put WiFi in a phone. If you think about things like spectrum management and making it easy and a good experience for people to do all the multimedia on the phone ... WiFi makes sense," said Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director of the WiFi Alliance. "Generally speaking, most carriers have come around to the idea that WiFi is actually additive to their strategy and won't cannibalize subscribers off the paid minutes."

Verizon is going to have to give in eventually, Davis-Felner deduced, even though the company's most hyped new product, the BlackBerry Storm, doesn't include WiFi.

"A lot of the coverage of the Storm really noticed that the WiFi was missing. It's a feature that's expected and people notice when it's gone," she said.

Unlike BlackBerry devices offered by other operators, no Verizon BlackBerry device is WiFi-enabled. That doesn't mean every Verizon phone is WiFi vacant; it just means the carrier is selective about the types of phones it offers with the capability, said Raney, who reiterated that 3G is enough.

"Wireless is primarily designed for mobility and that's where the company's focus has always been, people who want to take their connectivity with them," she said. "We offer customers 3G networks; they don't have to go looking for a hotspot. They pay us on a monthly basis for the service and it's a secure network. WiFi typically is not secure."

Clearwire says it's not wedded to WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:45:53 -0500

Having solidified its merger with Sprint's Xohm WiMAX business and secured the $3.2 billion investment from Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House Networks, Intel and Google, Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff announced his company will go to market with WiMAX service branded "Clear" and noted that the company would also consider deploying LTE down the road.

"Mobile WiMAX and LTE have a lot in common--far more in common than either of these technologies have with today's 2G or 3G technologies," Wolff said during a conference call. "Consumers really don't care about the technology."

According to Wolff, "if it makes sense for us to do so several years from now when LTE becomes commercially available" the carrier will go in two 4G technology directions.

Clearwire also announced that Sprint's Xohm market in Baltimore will be rebranded as Clear, but the 46 pre-WiMAX networks already operating under the Clearwire brand will continue to carry that name. The assumption is they will be rebranded Clear once mobile WiMAX is ready in those markets. Clearwire also announced it will roll out commercial mobile WiMAX in Portland, Ore. early next year.

"Several additional markets are in various stages of design, development and construction," Wolff said. These include existing Sprint markets that have been under way in the planning and development stages.

"At this point one of our most important tasks is to integrate these assets with ours," Wolff said. "We intend to share more details about our network expansion plans early next year after we've had an opportunity to meet with our new board to discuss our new products."

In the meantime, he said, Clearwire will "dedicate most of our focus" to building a common back office system and deploying new markets based on common infrastructure.

For more:
- check out FierceWireless

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Airspan, Freedom4 demo WiMAX roaming on different spectrum bands

Lynnette Luna — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:44:07 -0500

Airspan and U.K. operator Freedom4 demonstrated a seamless handoff between WiMAX networks that operate on different spectrum bands.

The companies say the accomplishment is significant as users will be able to roam from one operating network to another, such as between a licensed Clearwire 2.5 GHz network and a license-free 3.65 GHz network. Operators will have the option to deploy a mobile WiMAX network using more than one frequency band. In the U.K., operators may only get 30 to 40 megahertz of 2.6 GHz spectrum, which may not be enough to deliver sustained high-speed data applications, according to Graham Currier, chief operating officer with Freedom4. He said dual-band roaming would enable 2.6 GHz spectrum holders to buy wholesale data from other operators and move users onto that spectrum as required. Freedom4 has a vested interest in this because it owns a large block of spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band and could offer roaming to 2.6 GHz license owners.

"Europe has a lot of historic, odd spectrum, and is very fragmented. If you want to have Europe-wide data mobility, almost every network has to work like ours," Currier said.

For more:
- read TechWorld

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HTC releases WiMAX handset

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:55:56 -0500

HTC is releasing a Windows Mobile handset in Russia that will work on GSM and WiMAX networks. Russian network operator Scartel will begin selling the HTC Max 4G on Nov. 26. The device will enable voice calls on any GSM network and will switch automatically to VoIP on Scartel's WiMAX network.

Yota's WiMAX network will also allow subscribers to download and watch videos on the large, 3.8-inch touchscreen on the handset. The device can also display up to nine television channels simultaneously, carries a 5-megapixel camera for digital photos and a secondary camera for video calling.

For more:
- check out PCWorld

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Two FCC decisions could have major impact on WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 23:33:50 -0500

Two decisions from the FCC have given WiMAX life in the U.S. and may pave the way for quite a substantial WiMAX footprint across the US. Not only did the commission approve the merger between Sprint's WiMAX business and Clearwire, which plans to roll out WiMAX in major markets, but it also gave its blessing to Globalstar's desire to offer WiMAX to rural communities. (See story No. 3)

In fact, we could see WiMAX playing a vital role in reviving the MSS industry as well as MSS players pushing the footprint of WiMAX. Many MSS operators are banking their survival on incorporating an ancillary terrestrial component (ATC) that would solve a fundamental problem plaguing their industry: operators' inability to penetrate buildings with satellite signals. That technical shortfall has had a tremendous constraint on demand and resulted in higher operating and equipment costs.

Globalstar has won approval from the FCC to incorporate WiMAX in the ATC with the help of terrestrial partner Open Range Communication. The two will offer WiMAX to more than 500 rural communities--with the help of a $267 million loan from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Program. Globalstar said it will be looking for other partners too.

There are more moves afoot among more MSS players. Clearwire announced a joint agreement with satellite company ICO Global Communications, which launched its ICO G1 satellite in April, a year ago to collaborate on a mobile video trial that began this year. The trial is focusing on increasing the value and cost effectiveness of delivering advanced interactive mobile video services. Craig McCaw, who founded Clearwire, owns a 75-percent voting interest in ICO, which has a new business model revolving around delivering mobile video and interactive navigation services to consumers.

Also last year, Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV) teamed with Nortel to deploy a trial integrated WiMAX and satellite broadband service. MSV doesn't have a terrestrial partner at this point but the company is looking for one, whether that's a WiMAX or an LTE operator.

If Globalstar makes headway with its WiMAX plans, I suspect we'll see the MSS industry play a significant and surprising role in the proliferation of not only WiMAX but LTE too.--Lynnette

P.S. - Check out our Sound Off featuring industry players debating the other FCC decision on White space...

Commission allows Globalstar to offer WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:45:33 -0500

The FCC has granted Globalstar's request to modify its ability to offer Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) services in the U.S., paving the way for the mobile satellite operator to deploy WiMAX to more than 500 rural communities with its spectrum lessee Open Range Communications. The ATC allows satellite operators to partner with terrestrial operators to offer services that can penetrate buildings, which is a major shortcoming to satellite services. Open Range Communications offers rural broadband services.

Globalstar and Open Range will also obtain a $267-million loan from the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Program. This financing is contingent on various FCC conditions and other governmental approvals. Globalstar said the decision will enable it and Open Range to begin adding WiMAX to Globalstar's MSS service next year. Globalstar said it plans to pursue discussions with other possible wireless partners in the US and other countries.

"Today's FCC action is an important step in closing the digital divide in America. We expect our partner to initially deploy infrastructure in more than 500 rural communities with the ability to expand the relationship over the next six years to additional markets covering 50m people or about 15% of the US population," said Jay Monroe, CEO and chairman of Globalstar.

For more:
- read this release

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T-Mobile International wants LTE fast

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:23:42 -0500

T-Mobile International says it will skip HSPA+ and go straight to LTE, a move no doubt welcomed by vendors such as Motorola that are anxious to sell LTE as quickly as possible.

"If I need to invest into more hardware, I think it's better to start early [with LTE]. LTE is a more future-oriented technology," CTO Joachim Horn told Unstrung. He added that the operator will only deploy HSPA as long as there isn't a need to replace hardware. "We'll do every other efficiency increase that's software-based," he said. That means T-Mobile can boost its current 7.2 Mbps HSDPA network up to 14.4 Mbps on the downlink but going further to HSPA+ will require MIMO antennas.

Other operators plan to continue milking their HSPA networks by adding HSPA+. AT&T Mobility last month reiterated its position at the 4G Executive Summit in Chicago that its HSPA and HSPA+ 3G network technology still had a lot of life left in it, and that LTE would not be rolled out for at least another three years--and probably not on a large commercial scale for another five years.

T-Mobile's revelation is good news to vendors such as Motorola, which doesn't really have an HSPA story and has been heavily developing OFDMA-based WiMAX and LTE. Ericsson, on the other hand, has been pushing for upgrades to HSPA.

For more:
- read Unstrung

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ERF Wireless gets license for WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:01:12 -0500

ERF Wireless, a provider of enterprise wireless and broadband services, announced it has been granted a 3.65 GHz license to deploy WiMAX in select wireless ISP and oil and gas markets across Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana, where it is expanding its footprint. The company also said it is partnering with other companies to gain access to 2.5 GHz spectrum licenses.

"The adoption of WiMAX technology is a critical part of our current network expansion strategy," said ERF Wireless CEO, Dr. H. Dean Cubley. "We've been monitoring the progress of WiMAX technology for some time, and until now we've felt that the cost and maturity of the technology were not favorable for large-scale network deployment. However, in the past six months, there have been some dramatic improvements in both the technology and its cost-effectiveness. As a result, we are evaluating WiMAX equipment from various vendors as we prepare to deploy WiMAX at selected locations in our networks where this new technology will be most effective."

For more:
- check out this release

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Intel makes more investments in WiMAX

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 00:46:24 -0400

In a move to ensure the widespread adoption of mobile WiMAX, Intel announced an agreement with the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to jointly establish a development center for Moblin, a software platform for building applications that run on devices based on Intel Atom processor technology.

Intel said new software and applications are needed to deliver a richer, on-the-go Internet experience on the next generation of connected devices including Atom-based mobile Internet devices, netbooks, nettops and in-vehicle-infotainment systems. The Moblin Enabling Center's laboratory and its engineers will train and consult to device and software vendors, resulting in faster time to market for Moblin-based devices powered by Intel Atom processors.

Intel also announced that its investment arm, Intel Capital, will invest $11.5 million in Taiwanese carrier VMAX. Intel said its investment along with its arrangement with MOEA will enable VMAX to deploy Taiwan's first mobile WiMAX network during the first half of 2009.

Intel has various investments around the world intended to foster the development and adoption of mobile WiMAX. Most notably, the company has invested $1 billion in the new Clearwire, which, subject to regulatory approval, will be a combination of Clearwire and Sprint's Xohm network. As part of the deal, Intel will work with manufacturers to embed WiMAX chips into Intel Centrino 2 processor technology-based laptops and other Intel-based mobile Internet devices, and will market the new company's service in association with Intel's performance notebook PC brand.

For more:
- check out this release

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