3 Italy selects Ericsson to upgrade its network with LTE and HSPA (Italy)
Ericsson is strengthening its partnership with 3 in Italy and managed services network infrastructure. To cope with the boom in mobile data traffic, 3 Italy has renewed its agreement with Ericsson with the objective to enhance its broadband network mobile in terms of coverage, capacity and performance.
After the end of March 2012, three Italy is the only operator in the country to offer network-wide access to mobile broadband internet with speeds up to 42Mbps in the downlink and up to 5.76 Mbps on the uplink. The agreement will also enable 3 Italy to have a network already LTE prepared at 100 Mbps for commercial launch in 2012. With this contract Ericsson strengthens its position as a leading provider of 3 for Italy network infrastructure.
Once the upgrade is complete, customers will have access to a 3 Italy network Mobile Broadband technology. The extension of the partnership, which already included an agreement for managed services, will enable 3 Italy to pursue a constant improvement of processes, a reduction in costs and a greater operational efficiency. Furthermore, the introduction of advanced plant operations at Package EPC (Evolved Packet Core), will enable the early stages of launch LTE services, connection speed to 100Mbps.
Vincenzo Novari, CEO, 3 Italy, said that thanks to the success and effectiveness of cooperation with Ericsson, they continue to be a reference in Italy for innovation and development of mobile broadband network. They are doing a step further to meet the growing demand for connectivity and services mobile broadband by businesses and consumers Italians, extending the end of March HSPA + coverage to the whole Italian territory and launch services LTE already this year. Their network will become even more efficient in managing data traffic, thus ensuring the customer a better experience.
Blueberry Nuncio, President of Ericsson Mediterranean Region, said that the trust 3 Italy has placed in making them the partner of choice for infrastructure network is an additional incentive to support operators that want to be competitive market and are investing in updating networks offer better performance, capacity and a more extensive coverage in the area.
Further, they are excited to continue to support 3 Italy, former long-time partner, evolution of its infrastructure to a fourth-generation mobile network, at a time when innovation and dynamism are crucial for their Country.
Everything Everywhere may launch 4G services in 2012 (UK)
Mobile operator Everything Everywhere has reportedly applied to the regulator Ofcom, seeking permission to provide the new generation 4G LTE service on its existing spectrum. The regulator claims that the operator may be able to launch the new service by this year itself, enabling users to stream and download high definition videos without interruption.
In a statement, the regulator has said that allowing Everything Everywhere to re-use its spectrum in this way is likely to bring material benefits to consumers, including faster mobile broadband speeds and — depending on how Everything Everywhere uses the spectrum — potentially wider mobile broadband coverage in rural areas.
Further, Ofcom has considered whether allowing Everything Everywhere to use this spectrum in this way would distort competition, and provisionally concluded that it would not. The statement also said that given the benefits this would bring to consumers, Ofcom is minded to allow this change of use.
The regulator had initially said that 4G services would be launched in 2013-14.
A spokeswoman for Everything Everywhere said that it’s very important that the UK does not get left behind in the building of a new infrastructure for the digital economy. She added that they welcome the notice of 1800MHz licence variation from Ofcom, as it suggests Ofcom’s willingness to encourage the early deployment of 4G LTE.
However, reports reveal that Vodafone may not be in agreement with the regulator’s move. The company has said that it comes as a surprise that the regulator is now considering giving the largest player in the market permission to use its existing spectrum for 4G services before the rules for the auction have even been concluded or it has divested spectrum as required by the European Commission. The company also claims they seriously doubt that consumers’ best interests will be served by giving one company a significant head start before any of its competitors have a clear path to 4G.
Globe signs network modernization deal with Huawei (Philippines, China)
Globe Telecom has signed a deal with Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, for a US$ 700 million mobile network modernization program to be rolled out within the next five years, across the nation. According to company reports, Alcatel-Lucent will manage the project.
As per the company, the network modernization includes an all-IP infrastructure, pervasive 3D coverage, double fiber optics capacity, 4D and LTE readiness, along with overall quality and resiliency. Further, at least $570 million of the total amount is expected to be spent this year and in 2013.
Globe aims to offer customers a robust network that can provide unparalleled customer experience that will set the company apart from other competitors. Further, the new Globe network and IT system is expected to not only address current customer needs, but also provide additional capacity for more sophisticated use of mobile and broadband technologies.
The updated network will offer improved call quality under pervasive 3G coverage, rare dropped calls, and instantaneous SMS delivery as well as fast Internet access.
DTAC plans 3G network roll-out by 2013 (Thailand)
Mobile network operator DTAC has announced its plans to roll out 3G services across 940 districts by the end of next year. According to reports, Jon Eddy Abdullah, CEO, DTAC has said that they plan to become a leader in 3G service through a nationwide network expansion on the analogue 850-MHz frequency, covering 940 districts by 2013.
He added that DTAC will begin testing its 4G cellular broadband in Bangkok along with CAT Telecom by May. The operator has reportedly kept US$ 1.3 billion aside for the 3G network plans of which US$ 487 million will be required for a new licence.
Abdullah also claims that he expects the regulator to grant an LTE trial licence soon and plans to launch a brief trial network by May 2012. He added that they do not plan to launch a commercial LTE network as the 30 percent revenue share, under the current terms, negatively impacts the business case.
Abdullah states that they believe Thailand could have 3G and 4G commercial service simultaneously, which other countries are already developing. Further, he assures users that all network traffic problems will be resolved once the network upgrade project is completed.
He said that if they get a 3G licence on the 2100-MHz frequency, they plan a massive network expansion mainly in Bangkok and major provinces.
Verizon to offer special promotion price for 4G mobile data (USA)
America’s leading mobile operator Verizon will be offering users a special price plan for accessing mobile data via its 4G network. According to reports, users availing the 4G plan will receive 4 GB data per month for US$ 30, as compared to the earlier amount of 2 GB data.
While Verizon is amongst the most preferred brands in terms of service and quality, the prices are considered to be the highest amongst all operators. With this move, Verizon hopes to increase its market base to reach even the less affluent consumers.
Further, rivals AT&T and Sprint have also begun their LTE plans, causing Verizon to strengthen its position in the market.
Verizon also offers users LTE enabled handsets which are compatible with its 4G network, enabling users to surf the net and stream videos in a faster and uninterrupted manner.
AT&T lashes out at FCC over lack of spectrum (USA)
America-based wireless carrier AT&T is still fuming over the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to reject the merger with T-Mobile. Randall Stephenson, CEO, AT&T, has lashed out saying that the FCC has made it abundantly clear that they will not allow significant M&A to help bridge these delays in clearing up new spectrum.
He said that that the primary issue for the company continues to be spectrum, and in the absence of options operators have taken the logical step to make smaller transactions to acquire the spectrum required to meet demand. However, he added, that even the smallest and most routine spectrum deals are receiving intense scrutiny from this FCC, often times taking up to a year and sometimes longer for these to be approved.
Stephenson also said that in such a capacity-constrained environment they will manage usage-based data plans, increased pricing and manage the speeds of the highest volume users, as these are all logical and necessary steps to manage utilization.
He added that the deployment of LTE does give them a 30-40 percent lift in network efficiency, but at current growth rates that equates to only a year’s growth in traffic. Thus, LTE is important but it is not the silver bullet in terms of capacity planning, and so they need to continue with their spectrum push in order to meet customer demand.
Ofcom revises proposal for LTE auction plans (UK)
Independent regulator and competition authority Ofcom, has reportedly made changes to its proposal for the upcoming LTE mobile spectrum auction in an attempt to provide better mobile internet services in many rural and underserved areas.
As per sources, Ed Richards, CEO, Ofcom, has said that they are proposing a significant enhancement of mobile broadband, extending 4G coverage beyond levels of existing 2G coverage – helping to serve many areas of the UK that have traditionally been underserved by network coverage.
Further, reports reveal that the competition authority had initially reserved some portion of the spectrum for Everthing Everywhere which is no longer a part of the revised proposal. Ofcom claims that because of their current spectrum holdings, and/or the much lower risk that these national wholesalers would fail to acquire further spectrum in the auction, they do not consider it necessary to reserve any spectrum for Everything Everywhere, Telefonica or Vodafone.
The regulator also believes it is more viable to reserve some of the available spectrum for a fourth national wholesaler, someone other than Everything Everywhere, Telefonica or Vodafone.
Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom ink network sharing agreement (Germany)
Telefonica Germany and Deutsche Telekom have entered into a long term network sharing agreement with one another. According to company reports, Telefonica Germany will use Deutsche Telekom’s network infrastructure in the future to set up 2,000 Telefonica’s fiber aggregation points so as to transmit data faster and with greater capacity.
René Schuster, CEO, Telefónica Germany, has said that the agreement with Deutsche Telekom gives them the opportunity to be cost efficient, fast and flexible in a rapidly growing market. Schuster added that they offer the best quality in one of the most advanced mobile networks in Europe.
Further, with this agreement, Telefonica Germany hopes to increase the data speed at the UMTS and LTE stations in the future.
T-Mobile and Hutchison 3G enter network sharing agreement (Austria)
Mobile operators Hutchison 3G Austria and T-Mobile Austria have entered into a network sharing partnership enabling both operators to roam on each other’s network. According to company reports, the pact, starting in mid 2012, will enable T-Mobile to offer its customers in rural areas 3G services on 3′s network while at the same time providing 3 with access to T-Mobile’s 2G network.
Jan Trionow, CEO, 3, said that for their customers, nothing will change and they continue to enjoy all the benefits of super fast 3MegaNetzes, the best mobile network in Austria, and will in future benefit also from the already well-developed 2G network of their partner T-Mobile. Jan added that they will also parallel the expansion of their LTE network continued with determination.
Robert Chv¡tal, CEO, T-Mobile Austria, said that the mutual use of existing mobile networks for both partners is a win-win situation. He added that winners are ultimately all Austrian mobile customers, who benefit from quality improvements and synergies immediately.
