Samsung to launch the Galaxy S3 on May 3 (South Korea)
South Korean manufacturer has confirmed that it will be releasing the Samsung Galaxy S3 on May 3. The smartphone was announced by the company at the Mobile World Congress 2012 held in Barcelona and is expected to be promoted as the official smartphone of the 2012 Olympic Games, as per reports.
The Samsung Galaxy S3 will be launched simultaneously in New York, Seoul and Dubai. As per rumours doing the rounds regarding the successor of the Galaxy S2, the S3 is expected to be powered by Google Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) and a quad-core 1.5 GHz Exynos processor.
Further the phone is said to have a 4.65” AMOLED SuperPlus HD display, with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels. The S3 would boast of a 1 GB RAM with 32 GB storage capacity. There are two cameras in the phone, a 2 megapixels camera in front and a 8 megapixel rear camera offering HD recording. Reports reveal that the phone will be compatible with the LTE network as well.
The launch of the new Samsung Galaxy S3 will be held at Earl’s Court in London, on May 3.
Ericsson wins LTE contract with SoftBank Mobile (Japan, Sweden)
Video-sharing and streaming in high definition, facilitated mobility and richer multimedia content, enhanced security and improved latency are one of the many advantages that LTE users could enjoy. And soon SoftBank Mobile’s subscribers will be able to share these advantages, thanks to a new LTE network contract signed by SoftBank Mobile with Ericsson. The Ericsson network will cover Japan’s major cities – Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya – which together account for 70 percent of the country’s total data and voice traffic. SoftBank Mobile is currently Japan’s third-largest mobile operator, with more than 29 million subscribers.
Ericsson will upgrade SoftBank Mobile’s packet core network, including systems integration and deployment of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) solution, and build a new LTE radio access network using RBS 6000 multi-standard base stations. This will allow SoftBank Mobile users to experience the best possible networks in one of the world’s most densely populated areas such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya.
Junichi Miyakawa, Executive Vice President, Director and CTO of SoftBank Mobile Corp., says that to fulfill their customers’ expectations, they continue to improve their networks. With LTE, customers get increased speed and decreased latency, while they will enjoy a wide range of new services and applications. With Ericsson’s support, they will be able to offer their customers high quality LTE services.
Jan Signell, President of Ericsson Japan, said that during 2012, many new smartphones, notebooks and tablets with LTE capabilities will be launched in Japan. This will lead to a strong increase in consumer demand for higher data speeds and throughput – a demand that SoftBank Mobile will be able to meet thanks to the state-of-the-art LTE network that we will rapidly deploy.
Ericsson has signed 45 LTE/EPC contracts in 23 countries on five continents. The global LTE population coverage is 325 million, of which 215 million are covered by Ericsson networks. LTE, the next generation of mobile communication technology, enables the fast transfer of huge amounts of data in an efficient and cost-effective way, optimizing the use of the frequency spectrum. With increased speed and decreased latency, consumers can enjoy a wide range of applications – such as lag-free web browsing, online gaming, social media and video conferencing – effortlessly, while on the move. LTE will meet the demands of new and enhanced mobile internet applications of the future.
Ericsson continues to drive open standards and has had the greatest influence on the LTE specifications released to date. Ericsson expects to hold 25 percent of all essential patents related to LTE, which will make it the standard’s largest single patent holder.
StarHub selects Nokia Siemens Networks for 4G, GSM modernization (Singapore)
StarHub, the second largest mobile operator in Singapore, has selected Nokia Siemens Networks as its LTE (4G) mobile broadband infrastructure and services vendor. In order to meet the fast growing demand for smartphone data services, the operator will refarm its 1800MHz GSM band to carry LTE services.
The first phase of StarHub’s LTE network is expected to go live by the end of 2012, covering key business areas such as the Singapore Changi Airport, Marina Bay, Suntec, and Shenton Way. As part of the contract, Nokia Siemens Networks will also modernise StarHub’s GSM network, helping the operator reduce power consumption generated by network equipment by up to 50 percent. The efficient use of resources is in line with StarHub’s commitment to act in an environmentally responsible manner throughout its operations.
Neil Montefiore, chief executive officer at StarHub said that they are constantly looking at ways to provide their subscribers the greatest mobile broadband experience, and Nokia Siemens Networks has the best solutions for it. With the launch of LTE, they will be able to increase their data capacity and offer improved speeds. They have also been looking to modernize their GSM network for some time and with the Nokia Siemens Networks Single RAN platform, they’ll be able to do that efficiently while building the LTE network.
Paul Tyler, head of Asia Pacific region at Nokia Siemens Networks, with spectrum being a scarce resource, it needs to be optimally utilised. The increasing use of smartphones and data hungry applications is putting a huge pressure on existing spectrum making refarming a viable option for operators. By allocating existing GSM spectrum to LTE, StarHub can cost-efficiently offer 4G mobile broadband services to its customers.
Nokia Siemens Networks will provide StarHub its Single RAN platform, built around the compact, energy efficient Flexi Multiradio Base Station, which will enable StarHub to run GSM and LTE concurrently on the 1800 MHz band. The company will also provide its Evolved Packet Core platform including Flexi NS (Network Server) and Flexi NG (Network Gateway). In addition, Nokia Siemens Networks will provide software for personalized customer experience management, including Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) and One-NDS subscriber data management (SDM).
Nokia Siemens Networks will also upgrade its NetAct network management system to enable a consolidated and effective monitoring, management and optimisation of StarHub’s LTE and GSM networks. Support services from Nokia Siemens Networks include network implementation, consulting for PCRF, and full set of hardware and software care services including spare part management, emergency support, software maintenance and third-party software support.
Rogers LTE network now live in Calgary and Halifax (Canada)
Rogers Communications announced that Canada’s fastest and largest LTE network is now live in Calgary and Halifax. With this further expansion, Rogers brings LTE to nearly 12 million Canadians with plans to cover almost 60 per cent of the population by the end of the year.
John Boynton, Rogers Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, said that they are thrilled to offer their LTE network to even more Canadians in the east and the west. Now, Calgarians and Haligonians can enjoy the benefits of speeds on their mobile devices comparable to what they would get at home. And, they can do it on an LTE network that is Canada’s fastest and largest for a robust and reliable experience.
LTE is the fastest mobile network technology in the world, enabling Canadians to use their mobile devices to download apps, stream live HD sports and download HD files, such as movies and music or play on-line games, with virtually no delays or buffering.
Rogers was the first to launch an LTE network in Canada last summer, starting with Ottawa, followed by Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and surrounding areas. The company will bring LTE to more than 25 additional cities across the country this year. On the east coast, in addition to Halifax, Rogers recently launched LTE in St. John’s being the first to bring the fastest speeds to Newfoundlanders. In the west, Rogers will continue to expand in Alberta, with plans to launch LTE in Edmonton in the coming months.
Rogers currently offers the largest selection of LTE devices of any carrier in Canada with seven in its line-up. This includes two smartphones, a smartphone-tablet hybrid, two tablets, a Rocket Stick and a mobile hotspot. Rogers also offers LTE-ready plans for the iPad.
This month, Rogers will launch two new exclusive smartphones including the first Windows LTE smartphone — the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC One X — the first smartphone in Canada designed with Beats Audio for an incredible audio experience.
The national launch of Rogers LTE network reinforces its proud history of innovative firsts and its commitment to investing in Canada’s digital future. Rogers was the first carrier in North America to launch an HSPA+ network and offers Canada’s only coast-to-coast GSM network. Rogers was also the first in the world to launch BlackBerry devices. In Canada, Rogers was the first to offer LTE devices, the first to offer iPhone and the first to bring Android products to customers.
India to become world’s second largest mobile broadband market (India)
The GSMA has announced that India will become the second largest Mobile Broadband market globally within the next four years with 367 million Mobile Broadband connections by 2016. In doing so, India will overtake the US, which will account for 337 million Mobile Broadband connections by 2016, but will still be second to China, which will have reached 639 million Mobile Broadband connections in the same period.
Since 3G licenses were first awarded to mobile operators in India in September 2010, Mobile Broadband connectivity has grown steadily. There are now more than 10 million HSPA connections across the country, and this is expected to grow exponentially, by 900 per cent, to more than 100 million connections in 2014. This will make India the largest HSPA market worldwide within the next two years, surpassing China, Japan and the US in the process.
According to a company report Anne Bouverot, director general of the GSMA, said that the mobile industry in India is set for immense growth as Mobile Broadband technologies such as HSPA and LTE start to proliferate, but there is scope for far greater development. Further, to take full advantage of this, the Indian government should facilitate the timely release of additional spectrum in a fair and transparent way for all stakeholders. The benefits are clear to see – a 10 per cent increase in Mobile Broadband penetration could contribute as much as US$80 billion of revenue across the country’s transport, healthcare and education sectors by 2015.
As per a GSMA study, despite a large rural population, mobile growth in India is being largely driven by more affluent communities in cities. Net additions in urban areas reached 85 million last year compared to 57 million in rural areas, with mobile penetration increasing by 20 percentage points in urban areas to 161 per cent, against a 6.5 percentage point rise in rural areas to 36.6 per cent.
The provision of Mobile Broadband in rural and remote areas will help India bridge the so-called ‘digital divide’. It will improve productivity, help overcome the constraints of transport infrastructure and provide much needed services such as banking, health and education. Given the significant social and economic benefits, expanding affordable access to Mobile Broadband should be a high priority of the Indian government.
The study reveals that with an average retail price of US$500, the cost of an LTE smartphone is four times the average monthly GDP per capita in India, and at an average of US$200, the retail price of an LTE USB dongle is twice an Indian’s monthly income on average. As LTE networks proliferate worldwide and more devices become available, costs will come down. Initiatives like the introduction of the low cost Aakash tablet in India are helping spur widespread access to the Internet in emerging markets, but more can be done.
Bouverot also said that it is important that all citizens in India have access to high-speed Internet connectivity and the transformative opportunities it provides. The current average cost of an LTE device is prohibitive for the uptake of Mobile Broadband for those on low incomes. The GSMA is committed to working with its mobile operator members to investigate innovative ways in which to make access to the mobile Internet more affordable for all.
AT&T to sell Nokia Lumia 900 from 8 April (USA)
Mobile operator AT&T will sell the Nokia Lumia 900, which is powered by Windows Phone software, in the US market. According to reports, the phone will go on sale on 8 April, with customers allowed to pre-order the same on Friday itself.
The Nokia 900 is expected to be sold at $100 with a contract of two years. With rival manufacturers Samsung and Apple controlling majority of the market share, Nokia has been actively working to establish itself in the smartphone arena. The Finnish maker hopes to target the US market with its new Windows Phone, as previously, Nokia phones powered by Symbian versions were unable to make a place amongst the iOS and Android smartphones.
The price has been kept much lower than that charged by Apple and Samsung in a bid to appeal to a larger market segment. The 4G enabled phone will use AT&T’s LTE network to offer users faster download speeds and better internet connectivity.
As per reports, the Lumia 900 comes with a display screen of 4.3-inches and an 8-megapixel rear camera. The phone also offers a front facing camera to enable video calling.
However, industry analysts remain skeptical regarding Nokia’s ability to enhance its market share over the other giants. The low price may attract certain customers but customer loyalty towards brands like Apple and Samsung is extremely high and may be tough to break.
Verizon invests over $1.8 billion in Georgia (USA)
Verizon Wireless has installed 23 new mobile sites and additional network capacity in over 279 cities across Georgia in 2010.
About 96% of the state’s population is covered by Verizon Wireless’ 3G network and over 4.2 million Georgians are covered by its LTE network. The company’s ongoing network investment in Georgia totals more than US$ 1.8 billion since the company was formed in 2000.
Verizon Wireless has invested more than US$ 60 billion nationally US$ 5.7 billion on average every year to increase the coverage and capacity of its network to add new services.
Verizon Wireless has recently launched its LTE wireless services in 38 markets and 60 commercial airports across the US including Atlanta, Athens and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Augusta, Georgia will be getting the LTE network later this year.
Wind mobile trials LTE Network (Canada)
Wind Mobile Canada has announced the trial of a live LTE network, and the introduction of High Definition Voice Calling (HD Voice) across its network.
HD Voice is a technology that provides improved audio quality and the reduction of background noise. The HD Voice service only works on selected handsets, although more are being released that support the feature.
According to Ken Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of WIND Mobile, they are very proud of their network quality and of the efforts of their people to perform ongoing and rigorous testing to maintain quality and advance innovation. The company’s ability to deliver HD Voice before any other carrier in North America and to test LTE is examples of the technologies WIND is uniquely positioned to offer as they continue to advance their network to the next evolution of mobile network technology.
LightSquared faces data network hurdle (USA)
The USA based start-up LTE network, LightSquared is facing regulatory glitches after several US government agencies cited concerns about significant interference concerns from the network’s radio spectrum allocation.
As per Lawrence Strickling, assistant secretary of communications and information in the Commerce Department, services as disparate as the GPS network and some maritime and aviation emergency communications could be affected by interference from LightSquared’s network.
Mass-market use of LightSquared’s airwaves would create a challenging interference environment that must be addressed. It is incumbent on the FCC to deal with the resulting interference issues before any interference occurs.
According to Julius Knapp, Chief of the agency’s Office of Engineering and Technology, the FCC is reviewing LightSquared’s request and will ensure that any approvals would not result in harmful interference to current licensed users. They remain committed to moving forward with an open and transparent process.
According to LightSquared, it will begin trials in Baltimore, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix early this year and has signed a US$7 billion contract with Nokia Siemens Networks to deploy a nationwide network. The company won’t sell direct to consumers, but plans to offer access to its network on a wholesale basis to the other networks.
