Verizon Wireless Launches LTE in 6 More Cities

Verizon Wireless activated its commercial LTE network in six more metropolitan areas, as well as expanding the 4G LTE network in Charlotte, N.C. The areas where the 4G LTE network will now be available include Clarksville, Tenn.-Hopkinsville, Ky.; Cleveland, Tenn.; Columbia and Hilton Head, S.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; and the Greater Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania.


David Small, chief technical officer for Verizon Wireless, noted, "As of today, we will offer consumers and businesses in 45 metropolitan areas the most advanced 4G wireless network on the planet, while continuing to offer the nation's most reliable 3G network coast to coast. We plan to aggressively light up 4G in new cities and bring our blazingly fast 4G LTE network to more than 100 additional cities in the next nine months."http://www.verizonwireless.com

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LightSquared Signs Another LTE Roaming Deal

LightSquared announced an LTE roaming agreement with SI Wireless, a partnership of rural independent telephone companies, delivering 3G-CDMA/EVDO technology to rural parts of Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee. The deal will provide subscribers of SI Wireless with a nationwide 4G-LTE footprint as well as satellite coverage in rural areas where there is no terrestrial network. It will also expand LightSquared's data coverage to additional rural communities in the SI Wireless coverage area.
http://www.LightSquared.com

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Level 3 Adds Wireless Backup Option

Level 3 Communications announced a new wireless backup solution that provides a reliable alternative to traditional IP network backup.


Enhancing its managed router capabilities, Level 3's wireless backup access is now available across the U.S. for the company's dedicated Internet access (DIA), virtual private network (VPN) and converged business network services.


Level 3 said its new wireless backup solution complements an already robust IP network with multiple diverse paths, offering Level 3 customers a comprehensive approach to service continuity and data recovery in the event of an emergency.
http://www.Level3.com

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Nokia Posts Solid Q1, Signs with Microsoft

Nokia reported Q1 net sales of EUR 10.399 billion, up from EUR 9.522 billion in Q1 2010, and an operating profit of EUR 439 million, compared to EUR 488 million last year.
Nokia also finalized its strategic agreement with Microsoft.


"In the first quarter, we shifted from defining our strategy to executing our strategy. On this front, I am pleased to report that we signed our definitive agreement with Microsoft and already our product design and engineering work is well under way," stated Stephen Elop, Nokia's CEO.


Some highlights from the quarterly report:


Nokia net sales were EUR 10.4 billion in Q1 2011, up 9% year-on-year and down 18% sequentially (up 4% and down
18% at constant currency).


Devices & Services net sales of EUR 7.1 billion in Q1 2011, up 6% year-on-year and down 17% sequentially (up
1% and down 16% at constant currency).


Services net sales of EUR 211 million in Q1 2011, up 43% year-on-year and 5% sequentially; billings of EUR 338
million, up 48% year-on-year and down 4% sequentially.


Nokia total mobile device volumes of 108.5 million units in Q1 2011, up 1% year-on-year and down 12%
sequentially.


Nokia converged mobile device (smartphone and mobile computer) volumes of 24.2 million units in Q1 2011, up
13% year-on-year and down 14% sequentially.


Nokia mobile device ASP (including services revenue) of EUR 65 in Q1 2011, up from EUR 62 in Q1 2010 and down
from EUR 69 in Q4 2010.


Devices & Services gross margin of 29.1% in Q1 2011, down from 32.4% in Q1 2010 and 29.2% in Q4 2010.


Devices & Services non-IFRS operating margin of 9.8% in Q1 2011, down from 12.1% in Q1 2010 and 11.3% in
Q4 2010.


NAVTEQ net sales of EUR 232 million in Q1 2011, up 23% year-on-year and down 25% sequentially (up 20% and
down 26% at constant currency).


Nokia Siemens Networks net sales of EUR 3.2 billion in Q1 2011, up 17% year-on-year and down 20%
sequentially (up 15% and down 21% at constant currency).


Nokia Siemens Networks non-IFRS operating margin of 0.1% in Q1 2011, down from 0.6% in Q1 2010 and 3.7%
in Q4 2010.


Nokia operating cash flow of negative EUR 173 million and cash generated from operations of EUR 182 million in
Q1 2011.


Total cash and other liquid assets of EUR 11.1 billion and net cash and other liquid assets of EUR 6.4 billion at the end of Q1 2011.
http://www.nokia.com

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China Mobile Tops 600 Million Users

China Mobile added 16.8 million more customers in the last three months, enabling it to surpass the 600 million user milestone.


Operating revenue for the first three months of the year reached RMB 118.172 billion (about US$18 billion), up by 8.3% over the same period of last year. EBITDA was RMB58.079 billion, up by 5.3% over the same period of last year.


However, China Mobile said it is facing challenges such as increasing saturation across the country and intensifying competition. New accounts are mainly low usage customers. There are an increasing number of multi SIM card users. Tariffs and average minutes of usage continue to decline.


http://www.chinamobileltd.comom

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Chunghwa Tests 700 MHz and 2.6GHz LTE with Alcatel-Lucent

Chunghwa Telecom Laboratories and Alcatel-Lucent conducted indoor demonstrations of applications and services on a wide variety of 4G LTE devices from various Taiwanese terminal manufacturers and outdoor mobility tests on a high-speed train.



The demonstration builds on an intensive field trial in both 2.6GHz and 700MHz frequency bands that Chunghwa has been conducting over the past 6 months using an end-to-end LTE solution supplied by Alcatel-Lucent. The LTE trial focused on testing the radio frequency (RF) network performance in terms of coverage and penetration, especially high-speed IP-based data transmission using MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology, mobility on hi-speed train and quality of service.



The tests performed on the high-speed train achieved record speeds in FTP data transmission of 90 Mbps in downlink and 34.2 Mbps in uplink while the train was running at 281 Km/h with smooth handovers between the base stations. In addition, the trial demonstrated low control plan latency with less than 115ms and superior FTP data transmission performance in fixed environment with maximum transmission capacity of 120 Mbps in downlink and 40 Mbps in uplink for each sector of LTE Remote Radio Head (RRH).



During the project period, Alcatel-Lucent conducted extensive interoperability testing with five local device manufacturers (HTC, Quanta, BandRich, Zyxel/MitraStar, WNC/Wistron) using ten different types of devices in various form factors; Smartphone, USB dongle, Indoor and Outdoor router and tablet PC with the aim to understand their readiness in LTE product development.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Neustar to Acquire Evolving Systems' Numbering Solutions

Neustar will acquire the assets and certain liabilities of the Numbering Solutions business from Evolving Systems for approximately $39.0 million in cash.



Neustar said the acquisition will further its long-term initiative to simplify operators' OSS architectures by mitigating cost and complexity, while making the evolution to next-generation networks more efficient, manageable, and flexible to meet the increasingly complex needs of end-users.



"The profound change underway in the telecommunications industry is creating significant challenges and opportunities. Neustar sits at the intersection of this transformation, delivering proven solutions and services to help our customers get the most out of their communication networks," said Lisa Hook, Neustar's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Neustar is raising the bar for the industry by integrating the Evolving Systems capabilities to create a dynamic new number management paradigm. This combination extends the breadth of Neustar's Carrier Services portfolio, providing a strong foundation for our customers to meet their current needs and allowing them to harness the power of IP into the future." http://www.neustar.biz

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Verizon Report Strong Q1 as Smartphone Penetration Rises

With strength in wireless and its FiOS operations, Verizon Communications' total operating revenues in Q1 rose to $27.0 billion and earnings reached 51 cents per share, compared with first-quarter 2010 earnings of 16 cents per share. The company's wireless subscriber base grew to 104.0 million total connections.



"In the first quarter, Verizon Wireless solidified its industry leadership with results that once again showed sustainable, profitable growth," said Verizon Chairman and CEO Ivan Seidenberg. "We are executing on our business plans and building momentum, and we are on track to meet both our revenue and earnings objectives for the year. Wireline EBITDA margins expanded for the fourth consecutive quarter, driven by continued strength in FiOS revenues and disciplined cost management. Our strategic acquisition of Terremark, which closed earlier this month, improves our ability to provide integrated, enterprise-class cloud solutions and accelerate growth."



Some highlights from the quarterly report:



Verizon is targeting comparable top-line revenue growth rates in the range of 4 percent to 8 percent for full-year 2011. The company is also targeting EPS growth of 5 percent to 8 percent in 2011, over a comparable adjusted base of $2.08 per share in 2010.



Verizon continues to expect 2011 capital spending to be essentially flat, compared with the 2010 investment of $16.5 billion. In first-quarter 2011, Verizon's capital expenditures totaled $4.4 billion, compared with $3.4 billion in first-quarter 2010, as the company aggressively invested in LTE.



Wireless



Service revenues in the quarter totaled $14.3 billion, up 6.3 percent year over year. Data revenues were $5.5 billion, up $1.0 billion or 22.3 percent year over year, and represent 38.1 percent of all service revenues. Total revenues were $16.9 billion, up 10.2 percent year over year.



Retail postpaid ARPU grew 2.2 percent over first-quarter 2010, to $53.52. Retail postpaid data ARPU increased to $20.51, up 17.3 percent year over year. Retail service ARPU also grew 2.2 percent, to $51.88.



Verizon Wireless added 1.8 million total connections, including 906,000 retail postpaid customers, and 897,000 wholesale and other connections. These additions exclude acquisitions and adjustments.



At the end of the first quarter, the company had 104.0 million total connections, an increase of 6.1 percent year over year, including 88.4 million retail customers and 15.6 million wholesale and other connections.



At the end of the first quarter, 32 percent of Verizon Wireless' retail postpaid customer phone base were smartphones, up from 28 percent at the end of fourth-quarter 2010.



Retail postpaid churn remained low at 1.01 percent, and total retail churn was 1.33 percent. Both improved year over year.



Demand was strong for new LTE devices - as well as for Apple's iPhone 4, which produced the most successful first-day sales in Verizon Wireless history when it was introduced in February to existing customers.



Wireline and FiOS



First-quarter 2011 operating revenues were $10.1 billion, a decline of 2.2 percent compared with first-quarter 2010. This is an improvement from a decline of 2.8 percent comparing fourth-quarter 2010 to fourth-quarter 2009. First-quarter 2011 total operating expenses were $9.9 billion, a decline of 3.9 percent compared with first-quarter 2010.



Revenues for Verizon's FiOS fiber-optic services to consumer retail customers generated approximately 54 percent of consumer wireline revenues in first-quarter 2011, compared with approximately 45 percent in first-quarter 2010.



Consumer revenues grew 1.9 percent compared with first-quarter 2010. Consumer ARPU for wireline services was $90.55 in first-quarter 2011, up 10.5 percent compared with first-quarter 2010. ARPU for FiOS customers continues to be more than $146.



Global enterprise revenues totaled $3.8 billion in the quarter, up 1.0 percent compared with first-quarter 2010. Sales of strategic enterprise services - such as security and IT solutions, as well as strategic networking - increased 12.8 percent compared with first-quarter 2010, and accelerated from a growth rate of 8.0 percent comparing fourth-quarter 2010 with fourth-quarter 2009. Strategic services now represent approximately 46 percent of global enterprise revenues.



Verizon added 207,000 net new FiOS Internet connections and 192,000 net new FiOS TV connections in first-quarter 2011. Verizon had 4.3 million FiOS Internet and 3.7 million FiOS TV connections at the end of the quarter.



FiOS Internet penetration (subscribers as a percentage of potential subscribers) was 33.1 percent by the end of the first quarter, with the product available for sale to 13.0 million premises. This compares with 29.0 percent and 12.0 million, respectively, at the end of first-quarter 2010. FiOS TV penetration was 29.1 percent by the end of first-quarter 2011, with the product available for sale to 12.6 million premises. This compares with 25.4 percent and 11.5 million, respectively, at the end of first-quarter 2010.



Broadband connections totaled 8.5 million at the end of first-quarter 2011, a 3.0 percent year-over-year increase. FiOS Internet connections more than offset a decrease in DSL-based HSI connections, leading to a net increase of 98,000 broadband connections from fourth-quarter 2010. These are the most broadband net additions since second-quarter 2009. Total voice connections, which measures FiOS Digital Voice connections in addition to traditional switched access lines, declined 8.2 percent to 25.5 million - the smallest year-over-year decline since first-quarter 2008.



During the quarter, Verizon moved decisively to accelerate its "everything-as-a-service" enterprise cloud strategy by announcing its acquisition of cloud and managed IT infrastructure leader Terremark Worldwide, which closed in April.http://www.verizon.com

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Greenpeace: How Dirty is Your Data?

Apple earned the lowest score among large, U.S., Internet companies for the eco-friendliness of its data centers, according to a newly published scorecard from Greenpeace.

Data centers consume an increasing amount of electricity. Greenpeace calculates that if the Internet was a country, it would rank 5th for the amount of electricity usage, just below Japan and above Russia. This amounts to 1.5-2% of all global electricity; and data center energy consumption is growing at a rate of 12% a year.

Greenpeace takes the companies to task for locating their data centers in geographic locations that rely on dirty energy, namely, coal and nuclear.  Data centre clusters (Google, Facebook, Apple) are cropping up in places like North Carolina and the US Midwest, where cheap and dirty coal-powered electricity is abundant.

The companies also rank poorly for their reluctance to disclosed their energy-usage and for failing to adopt effective carbon-mitigation strategies for their data centers.

On the positive side, Greenpeace applauds Google's 20-year power purchasing agreement for wind energy in Iowa, i/o Data Centers' 5,000-panel solar array on the roof of its new 580,000 sq ft facility in Phoenix, and GreenQloud in Iceland which is powered 100% by geothermal and hydro power.

The 28-page report is posted online.http://www.greenpeace.org

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WSJ: Apple, Google Receive Phone Users' Locations

Apple and Google are each collecting location data from their smartphone users, according The Wall Street Journal. Data collected includes GPS coordinates, time stamp, signal strength, and SSID of nearby Wi-Fi hotspots. The analysis is seen accelerating the debate on mobile user privacy. http://www.wsj.com

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