Cyfrowy Polsat commences LTE trial (Poland)
Cyfrowy Polsat, Polish satellite DTH provider, has commenced a consumer trial of Long Term Evolution (LTE) services using the 4G network being launched by Mobyland and CenterNet.
All 2,000 participants in the trial, which will last until the end of June, will be allowed 100GB of free data per month, 50% of which may be taken between the hours of 8am and midnight.
Cyfrowy Polsat is also offering trialists a USB modem from IPWireless which is capable of supporting download/upload speeds of up to 73Mbps/25Mbps.
According to the company, it is working with Huawei with a view to raising speeds even further, to 100Mbps/50Mbps. If the trial is deemed a success, it is reported in the Polish press that Cyfrowy Polsat is planning a commercial launch for July.
Telefonica, Alca- Lu complete LTE trial (Peru)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A live Long Term Evolution (LTE) call trial has been completed by Alcatel-Lucent and Telefonica Peru using the 700MHz frequency band. Demonstration of 4G performance has been claimed to be given by both the companies in real-world network conditions, achieving good in-building coverage.
LTE data upload and download capabilities were also tested, reportedly reaching speeds 20 times faster than the average in HSPA. The tests conducted by Telefonica are just a part of the LTE field pilot it started in the Peruvian capital of Lima.
LTE coverage capabilities are analyzed by the operator along with its capacity to support the delivery of new mobile applications.
Une-EPM wins 2500MHz-2690MHz spectrum (Mexico)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The tender for mobile spectrum in the 2500MHz-2690MHz frequency band has been won by Une-EPM Telecomunicaciones. The license is valid for ten years and can be expanded by an additional period of ten years.
According to the company, it will use the spectrum to deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE), putting it head-to-head with established cellcos Comcel, Movistar and Tigo. COP8 billion (USD4.05 million) will be paid by Une for each of the ten spectrum blocks of 5MHz it has won.
Une plans an investment of around COP150 billion in the new project and launch mobile services in the first half of 2011.
Orange to partner P4 for LTE tender in Poland
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A joint venture has been planned by Polish mobile operators P4 (Play) and Orange Poland for participation in the tender for Long Term Evolution (LTE) spectrum rights. An application has already been filed to the national competition watchdog UOKiK by the operators for clearance of the cooperation.
The tender for two frequency blocks of 35MHz each in the 2.6GHz frequency band is expected to be announced in the next few weeks. Operators have opined that the blocks are much too large for the needs of a single operator and suggested the regulator may want to see more cooperation in the industry.
According to Orange, it will take a final decision on whether to partner with Play after it receives the competition regulator’s opinion and the tender details are published.
Rostelecom to construct LTE network in Sochi (Russia)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: An application has been filed in the State Commission for Radio Frequencies by Russian national operator Rostelecom for permission to construct Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks in Sochi. LTE development in the same region is also on the cards of mobile operator MegaFon.
Both operators are sponsors of the Winter Olympics 2014 which will be held in Sochi.
However, it has been argued by the ministry that building two LTE networks in the city is impractical and has called for negotiation between the players.
Verizon talks to rural wireless operators for 4G network
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Verizon Wireless and rural wireless operators are in discussion to expand its 4G network to consumers in non-urban areas. Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless network is currently build by using USD4.7 billion worth of spectrum it acquired in the Federal Communication Commission’s 700MHz auction in 2008.
Licensing spectrum to local carriers for a small fee is also considered by Verizon which would then resell the 4G service to their customers. It is still not clear whether Verizon or the local cellcos would install the equipment in the rural regions.
According to senior vice president and chief technology officer for Verizon Wireless, the licenses the company bought in the 700MHz auction cover the whole US and it plan to roll out LTE throughout the entire country, including places where it don’t offer our CDMA cell phone service today.
AT&T plans to deploy HSPA+ again (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: HSPA+ is declared to be deployed by AT&T across its network while earlier it was reported that the operator will skip the evolution by jumping from HSPA straight to Long term Evolution (LTE).
The operator has not yet denied the LTE build which is still scheduled to start in 2011. But at the same time a faster national back-up network would allow AT&T to be more flexible in how quickly it adopts 4G technology.
According to John Stankey, CEO of AT&T Operations, it would cost AT&T less than USD10 million to upgrade to HSPA+, with coverage of 250 million by the end of this year.
Deutsche Telekom to partner Harbinger for LTE (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In a bid to make up lost ground to US rivals, Deutsche Telekom and Harbinger Capital are in a preliminary partnership discussion with each other. Harbinger Capital is the hedge fund planning to build a wholesale Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the US.
The struggling US unit of Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile USA is in talk with Harbinger to rent capacity on its proposed new network, though no decisions have yet to be taken. Plans to build an LTE network using terrestrial spectrum owned by satellite networks was announced by Harbinger in March and added that new network will achieve population coverage of at least 260 million by 2015.
Last week another announcement was made by the firm as per which it has hired former Orange CEO Sanjiv Ahuja to lead the project. It reportedly needs to raise between USD1 billion and USD2 billion in equity and bank financing to fund the network.
Qatar telecom contracts NSN for 3G overhaul
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Qatar Telecom has appointed Nokia Siemens Networks to modernize and upgrade its third-generation networks. Base stations and backhaul technology will be supplied by Nokia Siemens to increase Qatar Telecom’s third-generation network capacity.
This will also enable a smooth transition to the faster technologies HSPA+ and Long Term Evolution. Management system has also been provided by Nokia Siemens to optimize Qatar Telecom’s network. Besides, the vendor continues to operate it under an existing managed services contract.
The order value has not been disclosed by either of the company.
