If denied permission to build its 4G network through which its LTE network will be launched, LightSquared may explore their legal options, PCWorld reported. The FCC has halted construction of the network, which has solicited clientele as noteworthy as Verizon and AT&T, while it investigates allegations of interference with government GPS signals. LightSquared, for their part, contended in an open letter by CEO Sanjiv Ahuja last week that the GPS signals were constructed in error by not taking the possibility of other signals into account.

“If it is impossible to get a decision on this that allows us to go forward, I think our way forward is pretty clear, that we then have to insist on our legal rights,” said Jeffrey Carlisle, LightSquared’s Vice President of regulatory affairs and public policy. “If you have to be the bad guy, and go out and start … insisting on your property line, well, then that’s what we’ll do.”

LightSquared has made an effort to cooperate with the GPS industry to try and solve the problem. They recently designated $160 million for the sole purpose of identifying a solution to the GPS issue.

Some legal professionals don’t think LightSquared’s veiled threats hold much water. It is far more difficult to find legal avenues through the FCC against devices that only receive signals, as do government GPS devices, than it is against structures that also send signals.

“LightSquared certainly has every right to contend that GPS chose not to install appropriate filtering, and should bear the burden of solving the problem. But it cannot sue manufacturers for building GPS devices that are vulnerable to interference,” said Paul Sinderbrand, a partner at Wilkinson Barker Knauer.

If nothing else, this tough talk may at least bring the GPS people back to the bargaining table.

As AT&T takes its first real steps toward 4G LTE data plans, it is simultaneously investigating a tiered rate system, through which different data caps will be implemented for different service prices – essentially giving customer speedier services for more souped-up prices.
For the first part of 2011, AT&T’s plans to move over to HSPA+ (the same 4G brand employed by T-Mobile) and advertise their corresponding changes in service have already been implemented. Coming up in the second half of the year is the official launch of their 4G LTE network, accompanied by changes in pricing according to rate plan purchased. Like the original landline-based broadband data packages, AT&T intends to release data packages engineered to progress at different speeds with limiting data caps, in order to retain more individualized control over over cost per rate used. Customers currently have several speed/pricing options available to them, as per AT&T’s thus-far campaigning. Foremost among them are affordable internet packages with temporary speed boosts – referred to by AT&T as “speed-up sessions”, allowing temporary service speed-ups from the slower 3G to the increasingly popular 4. Following up as second-best for a low budget are the somewhat British “top-up sessions”, which offer customers data packets that increase the data packets temporarily available to customers during a billing cycle – one plan already on the market lets customers a download a max of 2 GB for $25 on AT&T’s 3G network. This plan in particular was designed in response to criticism of the AT&T’s coverage reliability in demand-heavy cities like NYC and San Francisco; the cap size is proof of the company’s claim that customers don’t consume more than that amount, on average, per month.
AT&T has already cooled the bathwater on limiting unlimited smartphone data plans; they are the first of the major cellphone companies in the states to start cutting off the mobile service that has, until this point, flowed so freely for iPhones and Androids. As per the leak that availed us to this info, AT&T is expected to start testing this new ‘tiered pricing’ plan beginning in May 2011. Whether this step in a new direction will effect further ‘innovation’ with smartphone data tier meddling is unclear; Verizon has hinted at a similar different pricing plan for its own 4G LTE phones, following its marketing upgrades from their currently advertised 3G smartphone plans. While phones become increasingly sophisticated, better apps, video chat intros and consistently improving camera resolution means bad news for customers’ wallets: higher data charges are more than likely to follow, now that AT&T has broken the ice and Verizon is planning on following suit. and, as smartphones become more and more developed, they might tether us more and more to Wi-Fi, as pricing plans and 4G snip our tie to broadband.
As smartphones get more sophisticated and apps and services turn to the cloud, the potential for innovation may get capped with higher data charges or tariffs as consumers may not want to pay higher charges for consuming content. The iPhone had brought a surge in AT&T’s data usage as it showed the potential of capturing images and videos, sharing those memories, streaming music and videos, and also browsing the Internet and downloading content. As we look towards the cloud in the future for storage and streaming, smartphones may not become so “wireless” as we’ll soon need to be tethered to an invisible wire called WiFi to save our data buckets and become less dependent upon mobile broadband to save money. Better pick up your contracts today – the future only seems to promise higher price tags.

With plenty of  carriers worldwide boasting of “4G” service while failing to reach the 100mbps download threshold, it’s refreshing to see a new take on the naming of a carrier’s  latest incarnation of wireless broadband technology. Telstra is currently touting their HSPA+ service as their “Next G network,” a far more accurate marketing cry than that being hailed by the USA’s T-Mobile or anyone else that hasn’t quite reached 4G speeds.. Regardless of how many G’s or which G they are, Telstra is still in the trial phase of upping their speed game via involvement with LTE technology. By all accounts their experiments with that standard of mobile broadband is going swimmingly.

During a third trial conducted this past week, Telstra used Ericsson solutions to achieve throughput speeds of up to 80mbps on a video call between the largest Australian service provider‘s Sydney and Melbourne offices– a distance of around 900 kilometers. According to Telstra’s executive director for networks and access technologies, Mike Wright, the trial with Ericsson aimed at “testing how this new technology integrates with the core of the Next G network.”  They don’t see a separate network that results in the scrapping of their HSPA+ network, but a combination of what’s they already have working with LTE innovation. How that incorporates the use of LTE-enabled devices remains to be seen, but Telstra claims to have “a very clear roadmap” for future use of the technology; essentially meaning, it’s for them to know and you to find out.

Telstra’s previous two LTE trials were conducted using Huawei and Nokia Siemens technology, respectively. The latter trial achieved actual 4G speeds of 100mbps over a span of 75km, substantially less distance than the most recent trials with Ericsson.  Regardless, consistently hitting download speeds of 80mbps is an impressive feat that Telstra will no doubt take in stride as it attempts to build up it’s network down under. If you’re curious to get a first-hand look at the high-speed wonder of Telstra and Ericsson’s LTE efforts, take a look at the video below:

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?

Celcom, a Malaysian mobile carrier, has begun to test LTE technology with the help of Huawei Technologies and Ericsson. This bodes well for the long-term prospects of LTE technology, as yet another major service provider has shunned WiMax for its 4G standard competitor.

Celcom hopes to fully comprehend the deployment of LTE technology rather than fall victim to the slings and arrows of the trial and error process that comes along with the premature roll-out of a fledgling technology. While it may be asking a lot to perfect the distribution of the competing 4G format prior to its release, Celcom stands to gain a lot of acclaim with an appreciative customer base when there are fewer kinks in their service to iron out.

“We have clear reasons for doing [these] trials [to find out] what the technology can do for us,” said Celcom Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Shazalli Ramly.
As of now the company has not been granted LTE frequency spectrums –as the Malaysian government has yet to make a decision on how to issue them– but they plan on obtaining the rights very soon. Celcom intends to expand their infrastructure, and Shazalli said that they have plans to invest over RM 1 billion-per-year, for the next three years, into their goal. The money will be funded through capital expenditure.

Two international telecommunications operators will begin testing LTE. This adds to the previous announcement that two other telecoms have begun LTE testing.

Tele2 NL will launch LTE in the Netherlands, according to Telecompaper. The operator built a trial network in Diemen and Amsterdam. It was based on E-UTRA technology. Speeds using this technology are suppose reach 100MBps upload and 50MBps upload speed. In the spectrum auction, Tele2 purchased four licenses in the 2.6GHz frequency. The company payed EUR400,000 for 2x20MHz in the 2545MHz2565MHz band paired with the 2665-2685Mhz band.

Tele2′s MVNO service  had 383,000 users at the end of March 2010. This is a solid base to start subscribing new LTE users. The auction was late, but it’s still an important market. They’ll be able to launch the technology faster as more networks become active. The devices will soon catch up with the development.

Orange Moldova launched a two day public demonstration of LTE in Chisinau. The public will be able to test the 4G technology in Orange’s retail store located in the capital. The operator hopes the demos will help users better understand the potential for LTE. The technology is believed to have download speeds of 100MBps. Orange launched GSM-900 services under the brand Voxtel in 1998. It was the first mobile telephone service in the country. In December 2009, the company increased maximum download speeds on its 3.5G network to 21MBps.

LTE will be rolled out in Moldova over time. The company hasn’t formulated a time line as to when roll out will occur. The operator teamed with Alcatel-Lucent, Orange Labs and the National Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Information Technology and the Ministry of Telecommunications, two government regulators.

There has been a lot of LTE activity going on recently and its happening around the world. Clear Mobitel began LTE trials in Cornwall, United Kingdom. Optus, an Australian operator recently released its findings from the first round of LTE test network.

Clear Mobitel will use space in the 800MHz frequency range around the area of Caradon Hill. It’s expected that 300 people will take part in the first phase of the project. The company will focus on testing LTE as a viable high speed wireelss broadband solution for the rural consumer. Clear Mobitel purchased the spectrum space after the turn of analogue TV broadcasting in April 2009.

Optus claims its download speeds peaked in excess of 50Mbps. Nokia Siemens Networks provided the equipment for the testing with the core network hosted at NSN’s Pyrmont office. The trial, which occurred over two base stations in Gordon and Pymble in northern Sydney used NSN’s Flexi base station, network gateway and network server products. The spectrum uses 10MHz of paired spectrum in the 2100MHz band. The trial was to test upload/download speeds, ping times and handover between the two base station.

The second phase of the testing will test full load, heavy use along with 2G/3G/LTE interoperability. They will probably expand the test to include more people. It will help see how the network can handle large volume of use. If the speeds reported are close to being true, it’s another great opportunity to showcase the advantages that LTE has over its competition.

After phase two, Optus will probably have to upgrade or build more base stations before beginning commercial services in Sydney. Clear Mobitel’s launch will probably be somewhat slower, with it only being in the firs phase of testing.

Verizon Wireless will now begin LTE trials with users in five U.S. cities. The announcement was made in a conference call with hardware and software partners that will design devices for the 4G network.

Boston and Seattle hosted the LTE technical trials. The speeds reported during the trials were 5-12 Mbps for download and 2.5Mbps for upload speed. It’s a significant increase over the 3G connection. Verizon is making progress towards its self-imposed deadline of rolling out 4G in 25-30 markets by the end of 2010.

Most likely, it will be Verizon employees and some partners testing LTE devices on the Verizon network. The company also announced it will end unlimited data plans, going to a tiered service like AT&T. It’s the start of pricing for LTE data plans when the networks are launched. Early on, the devices will be LTE-enabled USB dongles. It’s widely rumored that Verizon will unveil a LTE-enabled iPhone from Apple later this year or early in 2011.

AT&T recently announced its spending around $19 million this year, more than any other carrier  on updating its current network to HSPA+ before migrating towards LTE. AT&T won’t begin technical trials of LTE until 2011, putting them several months behind Verizon in the launch of the 4G technology. The company will probably fall behind Verizon again, losing subscribers to the new 4G technology.

The larger question is whether consumers will embrace a tiered pricing system. CLEAR, a direct competitor of Verizon and LTE offers unlimited data services along with phone capabilities using a WiMAX network. The speeds aren’t as fast as LTE, but users don’t have to worry about going over a data limit and paying exorbitant overage fees for using too much data.

Alcatel-Lucent and Telefonica Peru completed a Long Term Evolution trial in the 700MHz frequency. It was demonstrated in real network conditions, achieving good signal indoors.

The test achieved 20 times faster than HSPA. The tests are part of Telefonica’s LTE pilot tests in Lima, Peru. Telefonica is analysing LTE coverage capabilities as well as its capacity to support new mobile applications.

Telefonica is an international company that really stands behind LTE as the 4G technology of the future. They’ve teamed with Alca-Lu, Nokia Siemens Network, NEC and ZTE to test the technology in most of their markets.