Thursday, August 12, 2010

AT&T on Net Neutrality: Wireless is Different

Commenting on the recent Verizon + Google net neutrality announcement, AT&T opined that wireless networks indeed deserve separate governance rules from wireline broadband networks because they simply cannot deliver the same capacity.


In an official company blog, Joan Marsh, AT&T Vice President of Federal Regulatory, writes "We are constantly striving to increase the efficiency of our spectrum resources, but the amount of available spectrum in any given market is finite. And while we regularly split cell sectors and add additional cell towers, there are very real limits placed on cell site construction by zoning and local approval boards."


She argues that policymakers should protect wireless broadband networks from "onerous new net neutrality regulations" and work toward freeing more spectrum for commercial usage.http://attpublicpolicy.com/government-policy/wireless-is-different/

Global HSPA+ Network Upgrades Accelerate

A total of 58 networks have been upgraded to HSPA+ in the last 18 months, according to a research study completed by the GSMA's Wireless Intelligence service. Over 100 hundred operators have committed to HSPA+ globally and that the technology now accounts for 15-20% of the 300 commercial HSPA deployments worldwide. Upcoming HSPA+ service launches are expected in the coming months from AT&T; Chunghwa and Far EasTone in Taiwan; Singapore's SingTel, Japan's SoftBank; and Germany's T-Mobile, O2 and E-Plus.


GSMA notes that real world performance of HSPA+ networks rivals the performance seen on mobile WiMAX networks. A recent GSMA backed study by Signals Research Group found HSPA+ downlink data rates above 5Mbps around 50 percent of the time, with peak speeds of around 17 Mbps.


The most common version of HSPA+ (64QAM) offers theoretical top speeds of around 21 Mbps. Several carriers, including Telstra in Australia, are rolling out HSPA+ dual carrier technology, capable of peak download speeds of 42 Mbps.
http://www.gsmworld.com

Cricket Begins Selling Huawei's 1xEV-DO Modem

Cricket Communications, which serves about 5.3 million customers in 35 states and the District of Columbia over its CDMA2000 1X and 1xEV-DO wireless network, will offer Huawei's EC1705 modem at a suggested MSRP of $64.99. It will be paired with a variety of mobile broadband service plan options, deliver downlink speeds of up to 1.4 Mbps.
http://www.mycricket.com
http://www.leapwireless.com

China Mobile Selects Nokia Siemens Networks' IMS Platform

China Mobile has selected Nokia Siemens Networks to implement its IMS Core platform, hiQ MMTel application server and Session Border Controller (SBC). This will support a wide range of IMS-based applications like Multimedia Telephony (MMTel) for China Mobile's corporate customers in Beijing, Yunnan, Xinjiang, Jiangxi, Hunan and Fujian.


Nokia Siemens Networks will, in the future, expand the IMS core network deployment and offer additional multimedia applications on top of voice applications such as video sharing and multimedia conferencing, for both corporate and individual customers of China Mobile. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.nsn.com

Nokia Siemens Networks Meets China's TD-LTE Test Specifications

Nokia Siemens Networks confirmed that it has passed the complete TD-LTE test specifications defined by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). A trial in the 2.3GHz band was completed at the MIIT lab in Beijing, China. After the test, Nokia Siemens Networks also achieved the world's first high-definition TD-LTE video call, including handover, with a Samsung TD-LTE device.


The high-definition video call demo showcased interoperability between Nokia Siemens Networks' LTE infrastructure and Samsung's TD-LTE USB dongle. The company said this marks a definitive step toward ensuring early availability of a functioning TD-LTE ecosystem for commercial deployments.
http://www.nsn.com

VI Systems Ships First Circular VCSEL Arrays

VI Systems GmbH introduced the first circular chip arrays of its Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) with 7 channels for data rates of up to 5 Gbit/s per channel. Target applications are short reach and very short reach optical receivers and transceiver modules used in optical communication networks as well in chip-to-chip optical interconnects in the computer industry.


The operating wavelength of the new VCSEL is 850nm. The chip arrays are available in a ringlike 6 + 1 channel configuration with one emitter in center.


VI Systems notes that future serial standards at 28 Gbps are currently being developed within Common Electrical Standard (CEI-25/28 Gbps), Fiber Channel 32 Gbps and Ethernet IEEE 40/100 Gbbps as well as in a number of custom specific applications.
http://www.v-i-systems.com