Ericsson and CTM sign HSPA+ Upgrade contract
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A three year contract has been signed between Ericsson and Companhia de Telecomunicaces de Macau (CTM) to supply HSPA+ network upgrade. Network coverage and capacity will be expanded and the download speed will be reached up to 21Mbps by CTM in order to meet the rising demands.
According to Vandy Poon, CEO of CTM, in order to maintain CTM’s leading role in the competitive market, the company will devote substantial investments and resources, not only to provide customers with the fastest and most reliable 3G service in the market, but also to provide the best experience they can enjoy both at work and leisure.
Through this contract, end-to-end 3G solution will be provided by Ericsson as the supplier of CTM’s 3G core network. It will also deploy and deliver the mobile soft switch and radio access network as well as carrying out related network rollout services for CTM. Besides, the landline backhaul network connecting the 3G core and the base stations will be replaced by an IP fiber network with 1000Mbps connectivity capacity to each base station.
Haiti to receive emergency GSM network from Ericsson
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Ericsson has been requested by the United Nations to deploy its Ericsson Response organization to aid relief work in earthquake-stricken Haiti. Four out of 20 volunteers on stand-by will be sent to set up a container-based mini GSM-system to enable mobile communication in the area. All the volunteers are telecom experts.
UN transportation will be used to send personnel and equipment. According to Rima Qureshi, head of Ericsson Response, aid workers can get their work done faster if they can provide them with the tools to get quickly in touch with the outside world, each other and those most affected by the emergency.
Formed in 2000 with a conviction to provide telecommunication expertise during disasters, Ericsson Response also supported relief work in Congo, Sudan, Indonesia and Philippines in 2009.
Apple and RIM sued by Kodak over Imaging Patents
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Lawsuits have been filed against Apple and Research In Motion in the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) by Eastman Kodak, alleging the infringement of Kodak digital imaging technology. The company has claimed that its patent covering technology related to a method for previewing images has been infringed by Apple’s iPhones and RIM’s camera-enabled BlackBerry devices.
According to Laura G. Quatela, Chief Intellectual Property Officer, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company, the company was bound to take this action as the discussions with both Apple and RIM had been carried out for years to resolve this issue amicably, but no satisfactory agreement was reached.
In the complaint, limited exclusion order preventing the importation of infringing devices, including certain mobile telephones and wireless communication devices featuring digital cameras is sought by Kodak.
LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson are among the 30 countries having Kodak’s licensed digital imaging technology
Ericsson and NSN picked by TeliaSonera for LTE roll-out
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: TeliaSonera has contracted Ericsson and Nokia Siemens to roll out its LTE networks in Sweden and Norway. Ericsson has been selected as the sole supplier of the common core network as well as providing LTE radio access and NSN is required to cover LTE radio equipment, LTE network management systems, and LTE multi-vendor integration and care services.
LTE services were started by TeliaSonera in the late 2009 in Oslo and Stockholm, covering the city centres to test the services.
Sweden’s 25 largest municipalities and recreation areas and Norway’s four largest municipalities will be covered under the network roll-out during 2010 and 2011. City network in Oslo will continued to be finalized by Huawei.
MTN Rwanda deploy Aradial Wi-Fi solution
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: To provide Wi-Fi services to the city of Kigali, MTN Rwanda has deployed Aradial AAA and Aradial Policy Control solution. The solution and the access controllers integrate to manage Wi-Fi base stations and operate with Ericsson’s intelligent network over the provisioning infrastructure of MTN. The move will ensure zero charging leakages in the operator’s pre-paid billing.
According to Rami Farah, CTO, MTN Rwanda, new solution will enable full control over the usage of the hotspots very cost effectively, while improving subscribers’ service experience.
Better internet connectivity could also be provided by the Rwandan operator to its customers, thus, increasing its profitability while eliminating the overheads associated with customer provisioning, authorization and accounting.
BSNL’s GSM mega-tender freezed due to probe (India)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 93 million line GSM tender has been put on hold by BSNL, Indian state-owned operator, after finding itself under scrutiny by government investigators. Until the investigations of all allegations of irregularities in the tender process are completed, no order will be placed by the telco.
Huawei which was one of just two equipment suppliers selected for the project was dumped from the tender process after post-bidding negotiations stalled. Amid allegations that BSNL has broken CVC rules, fresh probe has been launched by the Central Vigilance Committee (CVC) on the company.
BSNL accepted that they have already renegotiated with Ericsson and the talks could result into 20-25% reduction in price and savings of up to $1 billion. However, an emergency meeting has been planned by India’s Prime Minister’s Office to discuss BSNL’s poor performance. The company is running in loss since two years and has lost its position of second largest operators of India and has slipped to the fifth position.
First delay in the order occurred after disqualified bidder NSN attempted to get the tender blocked by the courts. Second hindrance was caused by the objections of the security agencies citing concerns over Huawei’s possible ties with the Chinese government.
CHT picks Ericsson for LTE trial
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s leading operator by subscribers has signed an MOU with Ericson to set up a small-scale Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband trial network in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan.
The basic network infrastructure including the base stations and network management systems for the 4G network will be provided by Ericsson.
The companies have set their target and are confident to complete their first testing phase by mid-2010. According to the reports of CommsUpdate, Chunghwa is looking forward to launch LTE services in 2011.
The company is also functioning with six firms including the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), HTC, HT mMobile, Asustek Computer, Coiler and the Institute for Information Industry (III) to develop LTE products in preparation for a commercial launch.
Chunghwa Telecom & Ericsson join hands for LTE trial
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A new trial network using new-generation LTE wireless technology will be set up by Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom and Ericsson under a new agreement jointly signed by them. The testing of the network would be started in northern Taiwan by the Chunghwa Telecommunication Laboratories under Chunghwa Telecom and the results would be released mid-2010.
Meanwhile, 25 networks worldwide based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology by China’s Huawei technologies are under construction. The huge area covered by Huawei, can help it to overtake Ericsson to become the world’s top telecommunications equipment maker.
Chunghwa Telecom has also announced a plan to set up a 30 million yuan ($4.4 million) call-center venture with an investment firm in Xiamen, China with the aim to expand overseas.
DAVE ready to be launched in early 2010
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Test on the 3G network built by Ericsson was successfully conducted by Canadian mobile start-up Data & Audio Visual Enterprises Wireless or DAVE Wireless. The network is schedule for a commercial launch in early 2010.
Dave has the license in ten of the country’s 13 largest cities to offer wireless services in the 2GHz frequency range. The company recently launched a campaign that urged potential subscribers not to limit themselves into long contracts with established operators such as Bell and Telus.
Both the operators jointly launched a commercial nationwide HSPA network last month.
BSNL cancels GSM network contract with Huawei (India)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: China’s Huawei lost 20 million lines GSM network contract with the state owned telecom operator of India, BSNL, after the latter cancelled it because of the unacceptable conditions imposed by Huawei.
However, Huawei has always denied the rumors allegedly linking it to Chinese government and military. BSNL has been asked by the Indian government to make sure that there are no software exploits within any equipment supplied by Huawei. BSNL might retender the contracts as the one with Ericsson covering the North and Eastern regions are also not finalized yet.
Earlier, it was reported that if there is any problem in Huawei tender, Alcatel-Lucent might take over the contract in the lines with Huawei’s tender prices.
For 25-million lines for the North Zone and 18-million lines for the East Zone, BSNL shortlisted Ericsson while Huawei was selected for 25-million lines for the South Zone. Initially, BSNL wanted to award the contract for Western zone to Huawei but later it contended that western zone was not a priority.
3G services and GSM will be provisioned for some 21 million lines. The total sum spent on these contracts is estimated to be US$6.5 billion.
