Earlier this month, AT&T’s lawyers sent a confidential letter to the FCC about its plans to expand their HSPA+ network and LTE rollout. The letter was accidentally made public and it was revealed that AT&T could have actually paid much less than they should have to enact this high speed coverage across the US.

One supposed reason for AT&T’s planned merger with T-Mobile deals with their plans to expand LTE coverage as much as possible. Their plans to cover 97% of the population could not be made possible without an investment on T-Mobile’s part. However, the FCC is further questioning AT&T’s need to acquire its competing carrier because of the purchase price accidentally made public. The company may have only paid one-tenth of the initial purchase price.

The FCC is now closely examining this merger’s future effect on consumers as well as its effect on wireless competition. The FCC advocates making high speed internet available to everyone, especially those outside big cities, and AT&T claims this merger will help do just that. The temporarily available document posted online stated that the carrier company had considered and rejected plans to expand their LTE network to 97% of the US on their own for $3.8 million. The letter was then taken down at their request but its contents had already garnered attention from all over including the Justice Department’s antitrust division, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Carriers and manufacturers alike seem to be encountering an array of issues lately, including even Apple which just received a declaration of resignation from CEO Steve Jobs. While none of these big players are tethering on the edge, they do appear to have a lot on their plates. We’ll have to wait and see if the FCC approves the possibly problematic merger and it will all depend on how well AT&T defends the intentions of this relationship it is looking to establish.

As developed nations and underdeveloped nations alike look towards next generation network deployments, the advanced capabilities of Long Term Evolution technology will remain a mystery to Internet users in one of Europe’s leading nations. The United Kingdom will have to deal without LTE for the foreseeable future, according to industry analysts at Informa Telecom and Media. In spite of rising rates of data usage, two independent analysts have proclaimed that if upgraded accordingly the nation’s current HSPA networks will have sufficient space  to handle the increasing broadband demand and that a transfer to a new mobile broadband standard is anything but imminent. The prohibitive cost  of a switch simply wouldn’t justify the means.

The enduring backbone of the current network aside, there are other reasons Britain’s 4G future is lagging behind that of other reasonably well off nations. For one, the premium slices of spectrum  normally reserved for LTE networks at 800 MHz and 2600 MHz have yet to be auctioned off by the UK government. The initial selloff of frequency bands was supposed to happen back in 2008, but is now slated for sometime in 2011. In addition to the bands not being sold off, service providers must to wait until TV services complete the switch over to digital to free up the 800MHz band.

It’s thought that if Britons wait until the predicted 2015 date to go live with LTE, they may be able to skip its limited first edition of  ”4G” technology and jump into the ITU-approved true 4G realm of LTE-advanced. Not everyone is sold on waiting for a 2015 launch though. UK telecom regulator Ofcom thinks they may be able to hit the ground running with their LTE network in early 2014. However long they have to wait, British consumers will have to cope with being somewhat behind the times for a few years. The silver lining, of course, is that they won’t have to put up with years of experiments and false 4G promises. And when they finally join the technological revolution, there’ll be a vast array of battle-tested 4G handsets and dongles to choose from. Cheer up Brits, the future is worth waiting for.

Despite the European continent’s best efforts to appear more laid-back and less media-crazed than North America, they still value the time they spend in front of the television. Whether they’re watching the football match or game shows with “tasteful nudity,” they’re probably just as apt to freak out in cases where they encounter a consistently choppy cable signal.

Technological advancements are generally designed to cut out such nuisances, but with many of Europe’s more advanced nations on board with the LTE standard for wireless broadband service, they’re finding it just may present some of their entertainment pastimes with some difficulties.

According to tests conducted by Belgium’s Excentis, cable customers are likely to experience signal interruption when LTE-enabled phones are put to use within six meters from the set top box. This is a preferable side effect when compared to the other European researchers’ prediction that mobile device usage of new 4G spectrum would result complete blackout of television services by the end of this year.

Regardless,settling for the lesser of two evils is none too desirable and has prompted the European Union to call for measures to be taken in order to quell such signal interference. Mobile and Cable providers have begun to discuss possible solutions for the troublesome clash between cable and LTE, but until they start finding some answers people may have to maintain a 7 foot radius from their TV at all times.

Perhaps most troublesome in this whole equation is that the UK’s transition to digital TV by 2012, stands to suffer greatly from the issues with LTE, as signal strength will take a hit with each ring. This begs the question, with Verizon and AT&T set to launch their LTE networks within the U.S. come 2011, what have they done to deal with such issues– if anything?

Congratulations Clearwire for “successfully” deploying a WiMAX network in New York [City]. The first “4G” network in NYC is theirs, but all I can really wish them is good luck on their endeavor. In a few months time, they will have the sort of competition that can really call them out on the question of quality while providing an alternative method of service.

The fact that they are the first 4G provider in the nation’s #1 market should get the city’s more technologically savvy to immediately sign onto their service, prying them away from the competition– but only initially.

Thanks to Clearwire’s targeting of Generation Y-ers, it’s safe to say that they won’t be “tying them down” with a contract, leaving these Gen Y-ers free to switch carriers when a better option– like the usage of LTE technology– comes along. Clearwire is making the lethal marketing faux pas of not locking in their prime consumer base at the benefit of coming off as a nicer, gentler service provider that won’t try hurting anyone with a mean, scary contract with words in tiny print at the bottom. It may help, it may not, but they– and the rest of the technological world– should find that out in about two months.

Two months isn’t too long considering the rate that Clearwire’s marketing campaign is working at. They have yet to advertise on a large scale in NYC; there aren’t any commercials, billboards, or print/online ads available to be shown to the public-at-large yet. Oddly enough, their schedule has them set to start marketing later in October, just a month before Verizon rolls out with their LTE technology in 25-30 testing markets– this according to their official website, the LTE Innovation Center.

New York City was, strangely enough, something along the lines the 40th city that Clearwire deployed WiMAX service in. Hopefully Verizon won’t make the same mistake by starting out with smaller cities. Verizon already has the kind of customer loyalty that wouldn’t, most likely, even be hindered too greatly if their LTE technology has some initial kinks in their system. Even though Sprint is the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the brand names aren’t going to be affiliated with each other. The current lack of brand recognition is going to take months (at least) to get past.

May Clearwire perform to the best of their ability– not that there is much to have faith in. Nonetheless, we should wish them luck in their WiMax network endeavors. As to my fellow New Yorkers, I wish you happy 4G hunting. By the end of the year we should have just as many carriers to choose from as Boston.

Mobile technology for the next generation

The Mobile Broadband Forum 2010
   

The clichéd story of the school bully isn’t as far off as the elementary school playground. The time-old story of the failing and yet powerful thug taking the smart kid’s homework has evolved into a slightly more civilized business arrangement. Intel, the desperate underachiever, has been trying to cover its shortcomings by purchasing technologies from other companies. In its most recent purchase, it bought out German chip-maker Infineon’s WSL (Wireless Solutions Business).

This 1.4 billion dollar deal gives Intel a chance at gaining a foothold in the ever-growing wireless market, which until now has been dominated by Intel’s more successful rival, ARM. The WSL Business makes both 3G and 4G chips for wireless devices including smart phones, laptops and netbooks. Intel sees this deal, set to finalize in the first quarter of next year, as an opportunity to further its wireless market interests, particularly in smart phones, whose sales rose over 50% in the last year.

But while this may seem like a beneficial move for everyone involved, WSL made up about one third of Infineon’s profit last year, and its profits are only rising. It seems like Infineon is losing out on its main breadwinner to the tune of 1.4 billion, but the smart kid always loses in these urban fairytales. Occasionally, however, the bully meets an even bigger bully as may be the case in the future because Intel has invested heavily in Clearwire, a WiMAX company, which may very well soon go under to alternative LTE technology-based companies. In the meanwhile, Intel is still the big kid on the block.

And while Infineon nurses its bruises, Intel slowly morphs into what is becoming a compilation of technologies bought off other companies. Its most recent acquisitions include Texas Instrument’s cable modem unit, McAfee’s antivirus, Infineon’s WSL, and all this within the month of August. And so the world watches as their childhood nightmares recur, if not with different characters – and everyone waits for next quarter’s report card.

According to a rumor at Boy Genius Report, Verizon Wireless will launch LTE in 25 markets on November 15. It’s expected that Verizon will announce the launch along with its new tiered pricing plans, removing unlimited data from all its plans.

There’s also a rumor stating that the first Verizon LTE-enabled handsets will be available on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. Another rumor is that there will be a dual-mode iPhone for Verizon arriving in stores in January. That’s the flimsiest of all the rumors. It’s going to be a tough negotiation to get iPhone on Verizon’s network. It makes so much money for AT&T and having iPhone on Verizon’s network would mean an enormous migration away from AT&T.

The other rumors seem to be more plausible. Verizon spent a lot of time developing the network, working with USB dongles in Boston and Seattle. They’re currently conducting field testing on five markets. Verizon is also updating their current CDMA network, meaning it should be simple to add LTE to these base station as soon they’re ready. Verizon plans on covering 100 million people by the end of 2010.

Motorola introduced its latest WiMAX Evolution solution. It’s so operators can upgrade their existing from mobile WiMAX to 802.16M or WiMAX 2.0 or TD-LTE. It also allows operators to add LTE to their existing networks. The solution is customized for rapidly spreading 4G networks. Motorola’s enhanced WiMAX offering is based on a single RAN solution. It supports the current technology and provides operators with a cost-effective way to upgrade their networks.

“As consumer demand for mobile data continues its explosive growth, WiMAX operators around the world are facing 10GB to 30GB average subscriber data usage per month,”  Fred Gabbard, vice president of product management, Motorola Networks, said,“Motorola is working closely with these operators to plan capacity for the next five years. Our WiMAX Evolution – Single RAN solution allows operators to migrate to WiMAX 802.16m or LTE, thus reducing cost and offering the best path for 4G growth.”

The WiMAX Evolution makes the operators’ 4G choice simple and easy for reusing most of a base station. Motorola WiMAX access points are easily upgradeable to WiMAX 2, TD-LTE, FDD LTE or LTE-advanced. It meets the needs and provides significant benefits to all operators. The single RAN solution enables operators to increase network capacity. The operators can add more data usage at a lower price. End-users get four times the normal data rates, two to four more monthly data usage at lower rates and migration doesn’t effect the end user.

It allows operators to reuse equipment, using the same tower top RF heads and antenna along with the connection cables. It preserves the cost of other site mount costs, site developments and other costs with implementing a new network. It is available for Motorola’s access points, plus the current Motorola 27 LTE engagements are based on this WiMAX solution.

This all but assures that operators will eventually migrate towards the much faster TD-LTE because WiMAX 2.0 is currently being developed. It’s not even in the testing stages yet. TD-LTE has been demonstrated by China Mobile at an expo in Shanghai. It’s going to be ready to deploy in a few months. Operators that deployed WiMAX using Motorola equipment can easily switch to LTE sooner than initially thought.

Yota was the first to chose LTE over WiMAX when they decided to install 4G in 12 cities in Russia. Clearwire, currently in several U.S. markets, hinted at switching to LTE. This solution should facilitate the switch faster because the LTE technology is ready to install now.

United Kingdom regulator Ofcom granted O2 UK a trial license to begin LTE testing. It will in the 800MHz band and they will be using equipment from Huawei. The UK telecom company is already testing the 4G technology in the 2.6GHz band in September 2009.

It is part of a larger testing process conducted by O2 UK’s parent company, Telefonica. The 800MHz trials will be conducted in Carlisle during the third quarter of 2010. One of the reasons for the testing in the frequency band is to assess the interference potential between mobile LTE services and the existing television broadcast services.

In the 2.6GHz band, O2 recently began providing USB dongles to potential users. The trials are part of a six country LTE initiative. Telefonica is also conducting LTE trials in the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Argentina and Brazil.  The company’s selected many different equipment suppliers for each test, NEC in Argentina, Alcatel-Lucent in Brazil, Nokia Siemens Networks in the Czech Republic and Ericsson and ZTE in Spain.

UK, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany and Czech Republic all will get commercial LTE networks by the middle of 2011. Telefonica seems to be doing it right, testing the technology and equipment from different manufacturers to see which equipment will provide the best LTE network. It’s also important to test the inference possibilities in the 800MHz between LTE and broadcast radio and television.

It’s why the F.C.C. decided to make broadcasters in the U.S. go all digital. It helps avoid this testing. It frees up spectrum space to launch the 4G technology. The importance extends to free up spectrum space as more users adopt smart phones and use more 3G spectrum space.

In a recent Wall Street Journal article, a Verizon Wireless official hinted that the national cellular carrier will team with rural operators to launch LTE across the U.S. Verizon purchased $4.7 billion dollars in the 700MHz frequency spectrum. It covers all of the United States.

The plans include leasing spectrum space to rural operators for a fee. The rural operators would resell the service to end users. The users would be able to use the 4G service across all of Verizon’s nationwide network. The contracts will differ for each rural operator. It’s a great way for some public relations, but the contracts won’t net Verizon much money.

There’s an enormous push by the Federal Communications Commission to get broadband Internet to all Americans. They presented this theme in their National Broadband Plan presented to Congress in March. The national carriers can’t really get their service in all parts of the U.S. They’ll have to pair with regional operators to cover everyone.

Verizon has done extensive LTE testing in Boston. It’s ready to launch in Boston and Seattle. They first have to upgrade their network and then LTE will be available to most. They will end up covering most of America because their CDMA network covers a lot of the country.

WiMAX, a competing 4G technology, entered the market first. The cost of setting up base stations and lack of device development really stunted nationwide adoption. Clearwire, owner of spectrum space and early WiMAX deployer, hasn’t ruled out changing over to LTE. An initiative started by operators and equipment makers to upgrade WiMAX was recently announced, and Clearwire chose not to participate. This was an early sign that Clearwire will eventually switch over. Clearwire CEO Bill Morrow’s also hinted at switching, but not until 2012 at the earliest.

Verizon will launch LTE in a few markets before the end of 2010. It should be interesting to see how many more markets are launched in 2011 and see the development of the technology next year. Verizon has a lot of money and can make LTE work in the U.S. The government is pushing for broadband internet as the base communication in the near future. Verizon teaming up with local operators to get LTE available for everyone is a start in making that happen.