China Telecom Tests 260 Mbps FDD- TDD Carrier Aggregation with Nokia

China Telecom, in partnership with Nokia Networks, has demonstrated the world-first FDD-TDD carrier aggregation including a user device chipset.

In the demo, Nokia’s LTE base station achieved interoperability with a commercial user chipset developed by Marvell. A stable peak download speed of 260 Mbps was achieved in the carrier aggregation demonstration with FDD 20 MHz in 1.8 GHz and TDD 20 MHz in 2.6 GHz spectrum. For the total speed, FDD spectrum contributed to 150 Mbps while TDD spectrum contributed to 110 Mbps.

“It’s highly satisfying to achieve yet another world-first* toward commercialization and globalization of FDD-TDD carrier aggregation,” said Zhang Qi, Vice President of TD-LTE, Nokia Networks. “This achievement with our partner China Telecom will also encourage other operators globally to look at further spectrum combination for FDD-TDD carrier aggregation into advanced 3GPP Rel-12. We are already working with many major operators globally to deliver FDD-TDD convergence for commercial use.”

http://www.nsn.com

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Broadcom's 2X2 MIMO 802.11ac Mobile Chip Delivers 650 Mbps

Broadcom announced a 5G WiFi (802.11ac) 2x2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) combo chip for mobile devices that delivers 650 Mbps Wi-Fi data throughput and 50 percent better coexistence performance with Bluetooth. The device also offers improved location accuracy down to one meter.

Key Features

• 867 Mbps PHY rate/80MHz channel bandwidth
• Enhanced Wi-Fi and Bluetooth coexistence performance
• Low power PCIe host interface for WLAN; UART for Bluetooth
• Combines two 802.11ac streams at 80MHz channel bandwidth via PCIe interface
• Support for Android, Windows and Chrome operating systems
• Integrated Power Amplifier (PA), Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) and internal TR switch
• Transmit beamforming and Low Density Parity Check Codes (LDPC)
• High accuracy Round Trip Time (RTT) based indoor location technology
• Broadcom TurboQAM implements the highest data rate in 2.4 GHz
• First to enable Angle-of-Arrival direction finding technology on smartphone

"The combination of 5G WiFi and 2x2 MIMO unlocks the full potential of today's smartphones and tablets. These technologies are becoming de facto requirements for connectivity in high-end mobile devices," said David Recker, Broadcom Senior Director, Wireless Connectivity. "With the BCM4358 we are addressing critical multi-radio interference challenges while setting a new bar for performance that reflects Broadcom's continued commitment to be first to deliver the most powerful solutions in the market."

http://www.broadcom.com

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AVG Technologies to Acquire Location Labs for $140 Million

Amsterdam-based AVG Technologies N.V. agreed to acquire privately-held Location Labs, a start-up based that that uses location awareness to provide mobile device management and protection, for approximately $140 million initially, plus up to an additional approximately $80 million in cash consideration over the next two years based on the achievement of certain performance metrics and milestones.

Location Labs’ integrated platform for mobile operators, pre-installed service on Android smartphones, and mobile subscription services including family, safety and personal device management, are all expected to complement and expand AVG’s existing mobile offerings. The company is based in Emeryville, California.

AVG said the acquisition significantly broadens its position as the online security company by accelerating its mobile security business. With the acquisition and organic growth, AVG is creating a global business that should generate $60-70 million in mobile bookings in 2015, and anticipates this scaling to around $100 million in mobile bookings in 2016.

“Location Labs has effectively cracked the code for mobile monetization through its highly successful business model with industry partners. This acquisition significantly accelerates AVG’s mobile strategy in this area,” said Gary Kovacs, Chief Executive Officer, AVG Technologies. “According to industry estimates, the number of mobile-connected devices will exceed the world’s population by the end of this year alone. The combined existing mobile user base of both companies gives us the unprecedented opportunity to deliver online security to approximately a quarter of a billion devices as we see more people go mobile to get online.”

http://investors.avg.com
http://www.locationlabs.com

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Nokia Announces Metro Remote Radio Head, Software Enhancements

Nokia Networks announced its the Flexi Metro Remote Radio Head (RRH), 60MHz carrier aggregation for LTE and new software features for its Liquid Radio platform.

The new Nokia Flexi Metro RRH for LTE is designed for extremely dense networks in the busiest metropolitan areas using existing macro network sites. Nokia said the RRH’s sensitivity can be tuned and output varied from 2 x 5W down to 2 x 50mW to match any deployment’s need for high capacity mobile broadband. Combined with Nokia’s Centralized RAN, the Nokia Flexi Metro RRH allows more cells to be concentrated in a given area.

The software enhancements to Nokia Networks LTE-Advanced Carrier Aggregation enable evolution to 60MHz aggregation bandwidth in LTE and TD-LTE, delivering up to 450 Mbps peak downlink rates, as supported by upcoming Category 9 devices.

The company is also launching Enhanced HSUPA Interference Cancellation, a new Liquid Radio WCDMA Software Suite feature that reduces interference for up to 60% gain in uplink throughput to fit up to 30% more users per cell.

Some other new capabilities:

• HSPA Carrier Aggregation with Dual-Band HSDPA: uses two 5MHz WCDMA carriers on different bands to double downlink peak rates to up to 42Mbps and Dual-Cell HSUPA enables devices to upload data simultaneously over two adjacent carriers to raise peak transfer rates to 11.5Mbps - both supported by upcoming terminals.
• LTE-WCDMA and LTE Intrafrequency Load Balancing for effective load balancing: helps operators eliminate congestion in highly loaded networks and better optimize resources between users.
• HSPA rapid receiver for high-speed trains enables operators to deliver better voice quality and faster uploads for passengers commuting (at 250-350 km/h) in and out of megacities and other busy areas.
• Nokia’s Services for HetNets help solve the complexities of deploying high density networks for operators. Overall costs can be reduced by adding capacity in an intelligent manner, only where and when it is needed. Advanced planning and optimization services ensure that all layers of the network work seamlessly for subscribers.

“Operators are densifying their networks by splitting macro cells or adding more network layers for the vital extra capacity needed especially in metropolitan areas,” said Thorsten Robrecht, vice president, Mobile Broadband portfolio management at Nokia Networks. “As the distance between cells decreases and network layers increase, mobile devices cause greater interference. Liquid Radio realizes the full performance of high density macro networks with increased cell density, less interference and maximum throughput.”

 http://nsn.com/portfolio/products/mobile-broadband/single-ran-advanced/flexi-multiradio-10-base-station

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DragonWave's Harmony Enhanced Delivers Long Reach in 6-42 GHz Bands

DragonWave introduced its next generation, Harmony Enhanced, all-outdoor microwave system operating in the 6-42 GHz spectrum bands and capable of increased reach by >30% thanks to high output power.

Harmony Enhanced merges the company's flagship Harmony Radio and Horizon Compact+ into a next-generation, ultra high-capacity microwave system featuring an integrated switch.

The company said its Harmony Enhanced allows operators to cost effectively scale networks with the industry's leading system gain, highest spectral efficiency and increased capacity that is enabled through 112 MHz channel support, 4096QAM capability, Bandwidth Accelerator+ and MIMO. These capabilities allow Harmony Enhanced to deliver > 2 Gbps in a single radio, with scalability via MIMO to 4 Gbps in a single channel. Bandwidth Accelerator+ provides > 2 times throughput improvements with the inclusion of header optimization and the industry's only bulk compression working in tandem. It also features integrated Ethernet switching with WRED queuing, E-LINE and E-LAN support and upgradability to MPLS-TP, enables a true all-outdoor installation without the need for an additional access switch.

"The Harmony Enhanced represents an important consolidation and improvement to the DragonWave product portfolio by providing industry leading scale and reach in the microwave bands" said Greg Friesen, vice president, product management, DragonWave. "By providing a future-proof LTE backhaul solution, Harmony Enhanced will allow operators to meet the requirements for next generation architectures with scalability, integrated Ethernet switching, MPLS-TP upgradability, SynchE and 1588v2, so that their end-users can be assured the utmost in service delivery."

"Building end-to-end mobile broadband solutions requires a flexible backhaul component. With the help of Harmony Enhanced we can provide optimized backhaul with tested interoperability and integration into the network," said Gerhard Staudenherz, head of OEM product business line, Nokia Networks. "Our partnership with DragonWave supports our strategy for mobile broadband and our joint customers benefit from a single, integrated solution."

http://www.dragonwaveinc.com

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Telefónica Picks Alcatel-Lucent for 100G Backbone in Spain

Telefónica has selected Alcatel-Lucent’s 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) a 100 Gbps optical network throughout the north-west, eastern and southern regions of Spain.  The backbone will enable Telefónica to improve the capacity of its regional networks to meet rapidly growing consumer and business demand for high-speed, ultra-broadband Internet connectivity. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Alcatel-Lucent said its DWDM solution with integrated OTN switching and aggregation will support increasing traffic created by video and cloud applications.  The network has 8.8 Tbps of capacity and is ready to grow to 24 Tbps. The network will offer auto-restoration features based on a GMPLS control plane in every regional domain to advance reliability and uninterrupted quality of experience for customers.

http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Nokia Networks and Intel Open Innovation Centre in UK

Nokia Networks and Intel have opened an innovation center in Bath, UK to encourage the development of new mobile broadband applications and services based on Nokia Networks’ Liquid Applications with support from its AppFactory. The solution, is powered by Intel technology-based servers and deployed at base stations, aims to bring intelligent data processing closer to users at the network's edge.

EE is the first operator to begin testing in the new UK innovation center.

“The opening of this innovation center in the UK gives us the chance to continue to introduce world-leading new services on to our LTE network,” said Mansoor Hanif, Director of RAN & Programs at EE. “Testing in this state of the art new center offers us an opportunity to fully explore the value which our network can bring to our customers, through innovations such as Liquid Applications, keeping us ahead of the competition and bringing the best minds in innovation to the UK.”

http://nsn.com/news-events/press-room/press-releases/nokia-networks-and-intel-accelerate-the-development-of-new-applications-and-services

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