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.
Beeline Kyrgyzstan offers free modems with notebooks
Beeline Kyrgyzstan is offering free 3G modem for subscribers buying a notebook or netbook in outlets of the Intermedia retail chain till August 31.
The modems from Beeline also work on its 2G network.
US business non-handset wireless spending to surpass $5 billion by 2014
A new research has revealed that the numbers and types of 3G and 4G devices other than mobile handsets such as tablets, notebooks and e-readers that are required by US business is becoming a larger portion of the overall business wireless spend. The researchers forecast that spending on non-handset 3G and 4G services will exceed US$5 billion by 2014.
According to researchers, as businesses become more mobile and as wireless connections become more ubiquitous, it is inevitable that new technology will be employed by business in an effort to raise productivity. It is no surprise to see this category of spending grow and it will become an even larger portion of wireless spending moving forward.
The report also unveils that enterprise spending makes up over 62% of business spending on non-handset data services, spending over $1.9 billion in 2010.
Moreover, the administrative and support services, healthcare and social services, and professional services verticals will all grow over 70% from 2010 to 2014. The healthcare and social services vertical represents the largest share of spending, over $400 million in 2010.
Nokia Siemens Networks Launches MQA for Mobile Broadband
Nokia Siemens Networks has launched a Mobile Quality Analyzer (MQA) for Mobile Broadband that uses a mobile device client to report on the quality of 3G connections. It can combine this data with subjective feedback from subscribers, as they download data or surf the Internet, to get a clearer picture of their mobile broadband experience, effectively ‘crowd-sourcing’ mobile network optimization. The application is part of the company’s Insight & Experience Framework.
According to Jari Eskola, Insight & Experience Solution Expertise, Nokia Siemens Networks, the mobile broadband market is growing rapidly and improved broadband service quality is fast becoming a differentiator for operators globally. MQA for Mobile Broadband provides operators with information to plan and efficiently adjust their network capacity as well as speed up resolution of customer complaints.
Nokia Siemens Networks advises that operators clearly outline to subscribers the client application’s use, exactly what sort of data it collects and how their privacy is protected. Take-up rate could be improved by offering bonuses such as additional SMS and voice minutes or data allowances to those who accept its use. MQA for Mobile Broadband can also provide real-time insight into device and network operation to customer service agents helping them accurately troubleshoot and resolve user issues.
MQA for Mobile Broadband consists of a client-server architecture based on technology from Ciqual. The measurement client can be downloaded by subscribers to their laptops, netbooks or notebooks with external or embedded 3G Modems. The client app evaluates signal strength in the cell and measures if broadband throughput rates are sufficient for the online services being accessed. The results are then sent to a measurement server for real-time display and analysis.
To complete the active tests that measure connectivity quality, MQA for Mobile Broadband can also periodically present an optional, brief questionnaire to assess the user’s personal experience. The client-software can be used without affecting price plans or causing tangible effects on speed of the broadband connection or even battery life.
Telstra launches business laptops with Acer
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Acer Computer and Telstra Business joins hand to to release three ready-to-go business laptops and data plan bundles with built-in wireless mobile broadband connectivity. These bundles will make it easier for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) to join the remote workforce revolution, thus providing better services and products to small business.
According to Telstra Business Group Managing Director Deena Shiff, 2010 Back to Business SME survey1 found that not only was the availability of finance a serious concern for about 70 percent of those polled, but investing in technology, including wireless broadband, featured in the growth plans of one in four.
Charles Chung, Acer computer regional Managing Director feels that expansion of 3G embedded notebooks, with their eight hour battery life, onto the Telstra Next GTM network for business customers means all-day, on-the-go computing is now in the reach of more SMEs.
HSDPA growth continues
This is good news for South African cellular providers who were amoungst the first in the world to back this new technology.
According to GSA, 58 HSDPA-enabled devices have now been launched by 18 suppliers. The majority of these devices are handsets (26 models), ahead of PC cards/embedded modules (24), USb HSDPA modems (4) and wireless routers (4).
Sixteen HSDPA devices are capable of operation at 850 MHz, in support of major 850 MHz HSDPA network deployments in Australia and North America, and potentially in many more markets throughout the Americas, Asia and elsewhere.
Forty-seven HSDPA devices (i.e. 81%, and representing an increase of 28 models in 6 months) also support GSM/EDGE, thus ensuring service continuity and the best user experience of mobile broadband services.
The survey total of 58 devices excludes a rapidly increasing number of notebooks, laptops and tablet PCs with embedded wireless wide area networking (WWAN) capability for HSDPA broadband access.
The survey notes 16 PC products from 8 PC manufacturers, which have been launched mostly in partnership with mobile network operators.
HSDPA is fast becoming a mature technology with South Africa forming one of the 37 countries to offering this service commercially.
A recent related survey by GSA stated that the number of HSDPA networks planned, in deployment or launched has reached 120 in 55 countries, of which 58 are providing commercial services in 37 countries today. GSA forecasts that the number of commercial HSDPA networks world-wide will reach 85 by end 2006.
HSDPA and the local market
The growth of HSDPA worldwide is a good indication of the increasing importance of being able to connect anywhere.
In Africa the evolution of the Internet seems to have slipped quickly to wireless mobile technologies as the infrastructure needed for fixed line connectivity represented a problem for many African nations.
Wireless mobile connectivity in Africa has become the market which has been predicted to dominate.
In South Africa the cellular providers are fast gaining in the data arena on the fixed line provider, Telkom, due to the incumbent’s inability to meet the needs of the South African market place.
The number of fixed lines in South Africa has fallen and to add to this problem Telkom are unable to deliver ADSL services fast enough to potential subscribers.
Many are choosing the easy to install mobile services of the cellular companies as a way to bypass months of waiting for a Telkom ADSL installation.
Telkom have started to improve their service delivery but the process is too slow for many who are now content to stick with the more expensive but better serviced cellular offerings.
Source- http://www.mybroadband.co.za
Technorati : Cellular, Mobile, South Africa
Ice Rocket : Cellular, Mobile, South Africa
