Wavesat samples Mobile WiMAX, Wi-Fi, XG-PHS multi-mode chipset

Wavesat today introduced its new family of 4G Broadband Wireless chipset named Odyssey, with a multi-mode 4G architecture enabling WiMAX Wave2, Wi-Fi, XG-PHS and seamless migration to future 4G technologies such as LTE.

The first product in the Odyssey family, the Odyssey 8500, is powered by a multi-core architecture incorporating multiple ultra low power DSPs, offering flexibility, high performance and low power consumption, without any trade off. The SOC manufactured using advanced Embedded DRAM technology requires no external memory, thus saving customers valuable real estate, cost and power consumption for very small form-factor portable and mobile applications such as wireless USB dongle, mobile handsets and other consumer electronic devices.
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Mobile backhaul equipment market set to skyrocket due to exploding mobile data/video use

Mobile operators and backhaul transport providers spent $3.7 billion worldwide on mobile backhaul equipment in 2007, and are expected to increase their spending in the high double-digit percents from 2009 to at least 2011, according to Infonetics Research’s latest Mobile Backhaul Equipment, Installed Base, and Services report.

“All market indicators support continued growth of the mobile backhaul market. Manufacturers and service providers have had residential broadband and corporate services as the main thrust of their businesses for a long time, and now mobile backhaul makes up a third area that nearly all of them are focusing on. We expect to see the Ethernet mobile backhaul revolution really kick off in 2009,” said Michael Howard, principal analyst of Infonetics Research and lead analyst on the report.
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Tele2 secures 2.6 GHz spectrum in Sweden

Tele2 is one of the winners when the auction for next-generation mobile network in Sweden concluded this last week. With the frequencies for 4G that Tele2 in Sweden now has been awarded, Tele2 will be able to build the next generation mobile network offering access speeds of more than 10 times faster than today’s network.

“With the four frequencies we secure the next generations mobile broadband and will be able to offer our customers a significant higher access speed, which we are pleased about,” says Niclas Palmstierna CEO Tele2 Sweden.
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Telenor acquires license for 2.6 GHz spectrum in Sweden

The Swedish Post and Telecommunications Authority today concluded the auction of spectrum in the 2.6 GHz band, regarded as key to the next generation of mobile technology. Telenor Sweden was awarded a license for 2x 20 MHz in the auction, granting Telenor substantial opportunities to provide 4G services and high-quality mobile broadband.

“This is the most important spectrum auction since the 3G frequencies were distributed, and I’m very pleased that Telenor Sweden now holds this opportunity to build high-quality 4G networks and provide our customers with the many possibilities provided by next generation mobile services and Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. With this spectrum, we will be able to provide high-quality mobile broadband with speeds of up to 300 Mbit/s, a major leap forward in the mobile race,” said Johan Lindgren, CEO of Telenor Sweden.
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LTE to lead OFDM-based technologies by 2014, says Visant Strategies

The early favorite in 4G wireless is the long-term roadmap for UMTS, LTE, but other technologies are now gaining support, according to a new study by Visant Strategies.

“We see LTE as the leading OFDM-based platform in 2014, accounting for 39 million subscribers and $9 billion in equipment revenues, with the market accelerating the next three years after that as far as subscribers and infrastructure sales go,” said Andy Fuertes of Visant Strategies. “These next six years will lay the foundation for 4G with the market really growing in earnest during the years after that.”
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Kyocera Wireless Demonstrates Emerging Wireless Technologies at CTIA Wireless 2008

Kyocera Wireless Corp. (KWC) illustrated its strong position in the development of several emerging wireless technologies by staging live demonstrations at its booth at the CTIA Wireless 2008 trade show in Las Vegas. Included in the demonstrations are Near-field Communication (NFC), WiMAX, Femtocell and a proprietary software architecture for device-based management of dynamic content handoffs between 3G and 4G networks.

“These demonstrations illustrate the strength of KWC’s technology portfolio while giving visitors to the show a glimpse into the future of wireless communications,” said Cheri de Lacy, KWC’s divisional vice president of strategic planning. “From our demonstration of the world’s first MIMO-enabled WiMAX device to our role as the exclusive handset provider for the first-of-its-kind North American NFC trial on a CDMA network, KWC has the experience and the vision to assert a leadership position in these key emerging technologies.”
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Alcatel-Lucent to Demonstrate 3G and 4G Wireless Broadband at CTIA Wireless 2008

Alcatel-Lucent will showcase its leadership in the deployment of 3G and 4G wireless broadband services, mobile TV/video and other multimedia content, mobile backhaul and the evolution to all-IP networks at North America’s leading wireless telecommunications industry event, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) Wireless 2008 Trade Show and Exhibition, to be held from April 1 - 3 in Las Vegas.

“Based on current market dynamics, we believe there is room for the continued growth of 3G networks, in terms of the numbers of subscribers being supported and the kinds of innovative services that can be introduced,” said Cindy Christy, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Americas region. “And as the next generation of services develops, operators need more than just broadband wireless access networks — they need a comprehensive solution that offers an end-to-end quality of experience for their subscribers. To make 4G a reality we believe it is critical that the industry as a whole works to ensure that there is a very rich ecosystem of technologies and vendors. At Alcatel-Lucent we are well positioned to bring together the software integration and management skills necessary to build a broadband business — not just a broadband network.”
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New In-Stat Service Launched, Initial Research Finds 3G/4G Deployments and Subscribers Growing Rapidly, 2G Technologies to Dominate Through 2012

High-tech market research firm In-Stat has launched a new research service to provide subscribers comprehensive deployment information for Mobile WiMAX, HSPA, EV-DO and future 4G technologies. The 3G/4G Deployment & Subscriber Tracker service provides detailed quarterly deployment information on HSPA, EV-DO and 802.16e WiMAX. Deployment information includes operator, infrastructure vendor, deployment date, as well as quarterly highlights and analysis. In addition, the service includes semi-annual 5-year forecasts of 3G/4G subscribers by wireless broadband technology and geographic region.

According to Daryl Schoolar, a Senior Analyst with In-Stat, “Access to this type of comprehensive data will allow marketing and sales management to track their growth and performance relative to their competitors. Product marketing and corporate strategy will be able to quantify business opportunities by regions and technology. This is especially important when a business looks to where it should invest its resources regarding wireless broadband.” The new service is backed by a team of analysts who have extensive expertise in the cellular and WiMAX space, at the device, carrier, and infrastructure levels.
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Alcatel-Lucent Launches 9900 Wireless Network Guardian for Mobile Broadband Network Management

By Jeff Orr, Editor
Mobile Broadband News

Alcatel-Lucent today announced the Alcatel-Lucent 9900 Wireless Network Guardian (WNG), the industry’s first mobile broadband network management solution. Alcatel-Lucent’s research found that all IP traffic should not be treated equally. Instead, the patterns and the consumption are analyzed enabling smarter decisions about application and network optimization.

The 9900 WNG looks at a wireless IP network differently than a wired IP network or even a wireless network that is not based on IP. “The increased use of mobile broadband applications and devices is impacting resources of operators now – creating a blind spot,” said Mike Schabel, General Manager for the 9900 WNG. The product addresses a gap in current mobile operator networks that could lead to network disruption as wireless network operators increasingly support new data services, devices, and applications based on Internet protocol.
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Mobile WiMAX Faces a Diminishing Time-to-Market Advantage, According to ABI Research

Service providers with the right spectrum, available capital, and access to enough sites to place base stations are in a great position to take advantage of WiMAX’s headstart on the 4G market. But LTE (Long-Term Evolution) and UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband) are vying for 4G as well - and even though mobile WiMAX has a time-to-market advantage over LTE, delays in certifications by the WiMAX Forum (coupled with delays in network rollouts) could narrow that window of opportunity.

ABI Research is confident that UMB will not gain traction, as the true battle for 4G blossoms between mobile WiMAX and LTE.
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ABI Research Predicts More Than 90 Million 4G Subscribers Worldwide in 2013

The total number of 4G subscribers worldwide, including both LTE and WiMAX, is expected to exceed 90 million in 2013, but a number of milestones must be passed en route, according to a new forecast from ABI Research. At the end of 4Q 2007, says the firm, there were nearly 3.4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide, with 2.7 billion on GSM/EDGE/GPRS networks.

Worldwide WCDMA subscriber numbers hit 180 million in 4Q 2007. ABI Research expects migration to HSPA+ to begin in early 2010, and migration to LTE will commence by the middle of the same year. Vice president Asia-Pacific Jake Saunders comments, “We forecast the total number of WCDMA subscribers (including HSPA) to approach 720 million in 2013.”
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WiMAGIC Project Established by European Commission will Prototype WiMAX2

WiMAX chipmaker Sequans Communications is leading a new WiMAX development project that was recently established and funded by the European Commission. The purpose of the project is to develop a new air interface for the next generation of WiMAX, and to make key contributions to the IEEE 802.16m task group, which has been established to develop technical specifications for next generation WiMAX systems.

The project, dubbed WiMAGIC (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Broadband Access System for Next Generation Wireless Communications), has been accepted by the European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme for Research. Working with Sequans are 12 partners, six technology companies and six universities, from France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Greece, and Turkey.
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Coresonic and SySDSoft Announce Joint Marketing Agreement for WiMAX solutions

Coresonic AB, a provider of leading-edge baseband processor technology optimized for next generation multimode wireless modems, has announced a joint marketing agreement with SySDSoft, Inc., a leading provider of embedded software for the wireless broadband market, to promote and market each other’s complementary technologies as complete packaged solutions to mobile device developers and manufacturers.

Rick Clucas, CEO of Coresonic, said, “The significance of this agreement is the benefit it provides to the many chip designers we are talking to who have little wireless technology expertise, because their focus may be on an unrelated area such as video; between our two companies, we’ll provide a complete package comprising the world’s most area and power efficient next generation baseband processor with PHY firmware, MAC layer and protocol stacks, allowing an OEM or ODM to quickly integrate a WiMAX or other IEEE802.16-based system-on-chip into their product. Customers can come to either company for this complete package, giving them a single contact point for support and development.”
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IEEE WCNC To Highlight Latest Advances In Wireless Communications And Networking

The IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking Conference (IEEE WCNC), to be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center from March 31 to April 3, 2008, will feature the latest developments in broadband and wireless technologies, systems and services.

IEEE WCNC, co-located with the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association’s (CTIA) WIRELESS 2008 trade show, brings together researchers and engineers from business, academia and government the world over. It will include technical programs, tutorials and panel discussions highlighting the future of wireless communications technologies, business applications and market trends. It offers nearly 600 technical presentations covering the best in PHY, MAC, networking and wireless services research and design.
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Will WiMAX Deliver on Its Royalty Promises? ABI Research Has Doubts

One of the major advantages claimed by the WiMAX community over their cellular cousins is that WiMAX will come with a far lower average royalty rate than either LTE or UMB. A favorite phrase among the WiMAX OEM community is that WiMAX has effectively “democratized” the 4G space. Although ABI Research applauds the move to a more widespread intellectual property holding in the 4G realm, it could be argued that this democratization of IP will result in more, not fewer, IP royalties.

As ABI Research director Stuart Carlaw points out, “The diversification of IP holdings in 4G technologies and especially WiMAX is something of a double-edged sword. On one hand, the number of companies with vested interests in the technologies’ success is far greater; on the other hand, the number of companies likely to succeed in any market is apt to be far smaller than the number of companies that hold IP. The only vehicle left for them to recoup R&D dollars is to look for revenue from licenses.”
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