Telefónica Previews "Frigo" Application Platform

Telefónica unveiled "Frigo" -- a new service that it has developed that lets customers access, manage and enjoy apps on any mobile phone, tablet, netbook, mobile PC, set-top box TV and many other homescreen devices.


Frigo's idea is to create an "anywhere" applications folder that automatically backs itself up and shares resources across the cloud to any authorized device. Frigo uses Qualcomm's Xiam recommendation engine to enable Telefónica to provide customers with content, services and offers uniquely tailored to their individual needs and interests across all of their connected devices. Ericsson's Mobile Service Delivery Platform (MSDP) solution powers Frigo's application store elements.


Frigo works across a number of operating systems -- including Android, Windows Mobile, Java and Symbian -- and is being launched this year in seven Telefónica territories: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Spain and UK.


Telecom Italia also plans to launch Frigo in April.


Telefónica said Frigo supports the aims of the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC) -- the alliance of telecommunications companies committed to building a global open applications platform.


Tanya Field, Director of Telefónica's Mobile Data Group, said: "The real value offered by Frigo with regards to multi-platform is ‘all my stuff, anywhere, anytime'. The outcome for users will be true ownership of their apps and content through a personalised and consistent service that can be accessed and enjoyed on the device of their choice. Frigo also opens up opportunities to reach and retain vast new segments of customers because it is not restricted to specific, high-end devices and smartphones."http://www.telefonica.com31021

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Altair Looks to TD-LTE Trials with Alcatel-Lucent

Altair Semiconductor announced that its TD-LTE chipset, alongside Alcatel-Lucent's LTE infrastructure, has successfully completed interoperability (IOT) testing and will take part in several upcoming TD-LTE field trials in India and China.


TD-LTE operates in unpaired spectrum.


"TD-LTE, specifically in emerging markets, represents the highest growth potential for LTE in the coming years, and is a strategic focus area for Altair," said Eran Eshed, Co-Founder and VP of Marketing and Business Development at Altair Semiconductor. "After more than a year of close collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent on commercializing our respective TD-LTE products, we feel confident in our ability to meet the performance and maturity expectations of our carrier customers, with a solution that also meets the aggressive price targets of carriers in these markets."http://www.altair-semi.com

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Vodafone Extends Support for Télécoms Sans Frontières

The Vodafone Foundation will extend EUR 1 million in support to the disaster relief agency Télécoms sans Frontières (TSF) under a three year partnership. Télécoms sans Frontières specialises in bringing wireless communications to affected areas to help humanitarian relief agencies coordinate their efforts and to enable displaced families to make a three minute call to reassure loved ones.


Vodafone has also been trialling a portable GSM network that could help TSF and relief workers in the wake of a disaster. Vodafone, working alongside Huawei at its Mobile Innovation Centre in Madrid, have developed a prototype portable GSM network that can be set up to handle free local calls among relief workers in less than 40 minutes. The equipment can be packed into three suitcases, which can be transported on commercial flights, avoiding the inevitable delays that surround cargo deliveries of bulkier equipment.
http://www.vodafone.com
http://www.tsfi.org/

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Telefónica O2 Germany Picks NSN and Huawei for LTE

Telefónica O2 Germany has selected Huawei and Nokia Siemens Networks as its main technology partners for its LTE network. The carrier plans to begin marketing LTE service during Q2 2011.



Huawei Technologies will be the supplier in Southern and Western Germany and Nokia Siemens Networks in all other areas of the O2 network. The rollout in the rural areas is already in progress.



Since September, O2 already operates LTE pilot networks in Munich / Ebersberg and in Halle / Teutschenthal. In these areas, large-scale friendly user tests have been carried out since December. They involve several hundreds of O2 customers and non customers testing the new technology at home free of charge for several months.



"Finally the time has come: LTE is bringing fast Internet to the country as well. Thanks to our high speeds, customers in rural regions can now also watch videos online, download large data packages and play computer games, says René Schuster, CEO of Telefónica O2 Germany. "Covering these white spots is only the first step. As soon as the requirements of the Federal Network Agency are being fulfilled, we will offer LTE800 in the cities also. This could even happen in only a few months."

http://www.o2online.de/

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ZTE Confirms 18 TD-LTE Trials and Contracts

ZTE has secured 18 contracts to supply TD-LTE solutions globally. These contracts are for trial and commercial networks in 12 countries across Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS, or the former Soviet Republics) and the Asia Pacific region, including India.



ZTE noted that it is actively cooperating on Interoperability Tests with mainstream chipset providers such as Qualcomm, Innofidei, Altair, Sequans and ST-Ericsson.



KPN will conduct an LTE technology in Germany and Belgium with ZTE.



In addition, the E-Plus Group will launch a TD-LTE field trial in Germany in Q1 2011. The trial is based on 2.6 GHz spectrum that E-Plus acquired in the German spectrum auction. China Mobile, with its leading position and rich experience in the operation and maintenance of TDD networks, will provide technical support to this trial. ZTE will provide base stations developed on the advanced SDR platform and co-siting solution of LTE FDD/TD-LTE.http://www.zte.com.cn

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Rogers Begins LTE Trials in Ottawa

Rogers Communications commenced a Long Term Evolution ("LTE") wireless network technical trial in the Ottawa area. The tests will validate how LTE technology performs across a variety of spectrum frequencies in urban, suburban and rural environments, as well as actual throughput speeds, performance quality and interoperability with our existing HSPA+ network.



Separately, in its quarterly financial reports, Rogers reported that wireless network revenue growth was fuelled by data revenue growth of 32% and net subscriber additions of 123,000. Wireless data revenue now comprises 31% of wireless network revenue. The carrier activated a record 635,000 additional smartphones during the quarter, of which approximately 29% were for subscribers new to the company. http://www.rogers.com

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Verizon Advances Enterprise Identity Management

Verizon announced an enhanced set of Enterprise Identity Management services to help businesses authenticate the identities of employees, partners and customers.



The enhanced suite of services, which is delivered "as-a-service" via the cloud, aims to reduce the complexity and risk associated with identity management programs.



Verizon currently manages 25 identity programs for countries around the globe, and in November the company announced a massive program with the U.S. medical community to issue identity credentials to 2.3 million health care professionals to help physicians manage online access and the secure exchange of confidential patient information.




"For the most part, we have found that authentication methods used by enterprises today are either inadequate or difficult and expensive," said Peter Tippett, Verizon vice president of security and industry solutions. "Until now, there's been no single service that delivers a total-solution offering that includes the critical features -- such as registering users, providing identity proofing and issuing identity credentials -- required to truly meet the needs of today's enterprise."



Verizon also announced the creation of an Identity Advisory Board, which will give Verizon's enterprise clients the opportunity to work collaboratively in addressing their needs to better manage the identities of workers, increase transparency for transactions and strengthen data protection. The board plans to synthesize the input received to create new features and capabilities that meet the requirements of today's distributed enterprise.

http://www.verizon.com
http://www.verizonbusiness.com

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AT&T Adds Web Application Firewall Service

AT&T introduced a new web application firewall service, a network-based firewall and a secure e-mail gateway service all aimed at meeting corporate network security compliance requirements. The company also announced it has received ISO 27001 certification, a globally recognized confirmation of trustworthy and effective information security practices.



AT&T Web Application Firewall Service -- a fully managed security service that combines Web Application Firewall technology with expert management and 24x7x365 security monitoring to help protect Web applications and their underlying systems. The service helps customers protect their Web applications without interrupting legitimate traffic. It also facilitates customers in complying with Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard 6.6 requirements by aiding automated web application scanning and detecting vulnerabilities in web-facing application code.



AT&T Network-Based Firewall Service -- newly enhanced new self-servicing capabilities for customers including the ability to directly manage aspects of their security policies in real-time through a convenient online portal as well as the ability to download policies into a convenient PDF format for use with compliance audits. These new features are designed to increase productivity and effectiveness by providing customer administrators with more direct control over security requirements and resources.



AT&T Secure E-Mail Gateway service -- newly enhanced with new Data Leakage Prevention (DLP) capabilities, off-site archiving, and encryption features to help customers comply with data privacy and retention regulations, meet legal discovery requirements, and implement data loss prevention measures.http://www.att.com/security

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4 Minute Video: LTE Security Gateway

LTE networks leverage all-IP backhaul from cell sites to the packet core. But does this IP topology introduce security risks? RadiSys' Jeff Sharpe discusses the new class of LTE Security Gateways that address this challenge.http://www.radisys.com

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Ericsson and Polycom Cooperate on Telepresence

Ericsson and Polycom will offer an integrated end-to-end solution for hosted telepresence services. The joint offering integrates the Ericsson IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) network and Polycom infrastructure and telepresence endpoints.
http://www.ericsson.com
http://www.polycom.com

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Japan's EMOBILE Outsources with Ericsson

Japan's EMOBILE announced a network outsourcing contract with Ericsson. EMOBILE also recently selected Ericsson to enhance its network with 42Mbps HSPA technology.
http://www.ericsson.com

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RIM Announces LTE and HSPA+ for PlayBook Tablet

Research In Motion (RIM) plans to launch two additional BlackBerry 4G PlayBook tablets during the second half of 2011, featuring support for LTE and HSPA+.


RIM has now announced plans to offer four BlackBerry PlayBook tablets:


1. BlackBerry PlayBook with Wi-Fi

2. BlackBerry 4G PlayBook with Wi-Fi + WiMax

3. BlackBerry 4G PlayBook with Wi-Fi + LTE

4. BlackBerry 4G PlayBook with Wi-Fi + HSPA+


In addition to the Wi-Fi and 4G connectivity referenced above, each tablet can also support:


1. Bluetooth tethering

2. Mobile hotspots (ie. a MiFi, smartphone or other portable device equipped to act as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot)

3. BlackBerry Bridgehttp://www.rim.com

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CenturyLink to Resell Verizon Wireless, Gains LTE Access

CenturyLink will be an authorized agent of Verizon Wireless, offering equipment and service plans to its residential and small business customers. Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.


In addition, CenturyLink customers will have access to Verizon Wireless' 4G LTE network which is available today in 38 major metropolitan areas and more than 60 airports, and will be expanded to an additional 140 markets by the end of 2011.
http://www.centurylink.com

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CenturyLink Revenue Slide Continues

CenturyLink reported Q4 2010 revenues of $1.72 billion compared to $1.84 billion in fourth quarter 2009. This anticipated revenue decline was primarily due to the impact of access line losses and lower access revenues, including the anticipated impact of lower universal service fund receipts and wireless and long distance traffic migration. These decreases more than offset revenue increases driven by growth in high-speed Internet customers, data services demand from business customers and data transport demand from wireless providers.

• Added nearly 29,000 high-speed Internet customers during the quarter and ended 2010 with 2,394,000 high-speed Internet customers.



• Reduced access line losses by 12% compared to third quarter 2010 and 15.8% compared to fourth quarter 2009.



• Generated free cash flow (as defined in the attached financial schedules) of $342 million in fourth quarter 2010, excluding nonrecurring items of $7.1 million and $9.1 million of acquisition related capital expenditures.



• Achieved approximately $85 million in synergies from the Embarq acquisition during fourth quarter 2010 and ended 2010 with estimated annual run rate synergies of more than $340 million.

For full year 2011, CenturyLink expects operating revenues (excluding the effects of the pending Qwest transaction and any nonrecurring items that may occur ) to be 4% to 5% lower than 2010 operating revenues, as compared to the 6.5% decline in 2010 operating revenues compared to pro forma 2009 operating revenues. In addition, due to (i) anticipated revenue growth associated with the expansion of CenturyLink's Prism TV service, (ii) the revenue impact of the expected continued improvement in the rate of access line loss and (iii) the effects of additional fiber investment, the Company expects its year-over-year rate of revenue decline (excluding the pending Qwest transaction and any nonrecurring items that may occur) to be 2% to 3% by fourth quarter 2011.

The Company currently expects 2011 capital expenditures, excluding any capital related to the integration of the pending Qwest transaction, to be approximately $1 billion, or 16% higher than 2010 capital expenditures of $864 million. This increase is primarily due to the Company's planned incremental fiber to the tower investment for 2011.
http://www.centurylink.com

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Verizon Partners with Intrado on Advanced 911

Verizon and Intrado announced a strategic partnership to deliver advanced 911 capabilities in the U.S.


Verizon Emergency Communications Solutions will combine Verizon's global IP network and managed and professional services with Intrado's advanced 911 technologies to deliver calls and data services to emergency response personnel at public safety answering points (PSAPs).


The new 911 services will be conducted via an IP-enabled communications platform that will be able to support emerging and future capabilities such as consumers sending photos, videos and text messages to public safety responders during an emergency event. The new offering will also build a foundation to enable car safety systems to transmit key crash information, such as how fast the vehicle was traveling at the time of impact, the number of passengers present or whether a vehicle flipped over.


The companies are already upgrading the Denco Area 911 District in North Texas to an IP-based 911 platform.
http://www.verizon.com
http://www.intrado.com

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LightSquared Completes Post Launch Testing

LightSquared crossed another milestone in its bid to launch a nationwide, wholesale-only, integrated wireless broadband and satellite network. The company has completed post launch testing and acceptance of the SkyTerra 1 satellite and Space-Based Network (SBN) from Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems.



Boeing has successfully completed its work on integrating the satellite's communications with the ground segment to form the first integrated wireless broadband and satellite network. The satellite, among the most powerful commercial satellites ever built, and its state-of-the-art ground based beam-forming system, will provide ubiquitous nationwide coverage and enable integrated satellite-terrestrial service using products that are similar to today's typical mobile devices in terms of size, capabilities and build costs.



SkyTerra 1 was launched on November 14, 2010 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It has a 22-meter L-Band antenna and will relay high-data rate radio frequency signals to and from four LightSquared terrestrial gateways located in the United States and Canada.



LightSquared is the new company backed by Harbinger Capital Partners that is building a nationwide LTE + satellite wholesale network. The company has agreements with Qualcomm, Nokia and two other device manufacturers. Qualcomm is integrating L-Band LTE technology in its mainstream chipset roadmap and has developed a satellite air interface technology. The Enhanced Geostationary Air Link (EGAL) enables the satellite mode of operation in mobile devices. These technologies will be integrated into silicon, including Qualcomm's MDM9600 chipset, which is an LTE multi-mode solution. Nokia will supply branded, data-centric products for LightSquared customers. AnyDATA and BandRich will provide embedded modules, USB data modems, and other devices which are expected to launch during the second half of 2011.http://www.lightsquared.com

• In January 2011, the FCC issued a conditional waiver of the Ancillary Terrestrial Component (ATC) Integrated Service Rule to LightSquared. This waiver will allow LightSquared's wholesale customers to provide either dual-mode or terrestrial-only devices as part of an integrated satellite-terrestrial broadband service. LightSquared said the FCC's grant of this application is an essential building block for its network.

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Netronome's SSL-Inspector Opens the Blind Spot of Encrypted Web Traffic

Netronome reports increased traction for its line of SSL Inspector appliances, which leverage the power of its network flow processors to decrypt SSL traffic traversing a corporate network perimeter.
The platform addresses the blind spot of SSL-encrypted email (such as Gmail), SaaS, social media and other peer-to-peer applications that default to SSL encryption. These encrypted sessions bypass the security coverage provided by the vast majority of intrusion detection systems, firewalls, data loss prevention systems and other cyber security applications. Netronome SSL Inspector appliances solve this problem by actively searching for SSL traffic, guaranteeing that all encrypted communications are detected and optionally inspected while maintaining up to 10 Gbps of network throughput.



The company is adding three new models to this product line, including fixed-configuration 1U appliances as well as modular 1U and 2U platforms. The resulting unmatched price, performance and interface options make SSL inspection a viable option in every unprotected network location.



The expanded product line of SSL Inspector appliances feature:

• Interface flexibility: The platforms offer the highest number of 10/100, 1 GigE, and 10 GigE interfaces available in 1U and 2U systems.



• Multi-segment support: Each platform supports multiple network segments, providing SSL inspection for the largest number of networks available in a 1U or 2U platform.



• Unmatched price and performance options: The product line includes fixed configuration 1U appliances and modular 1U and 2U platforms that create the ideal combination of price, performance and port counts, enabling deployment in every network location from the branch office, enterprise WAN, data center and backbone.



• Powerful hardware acceleration: The SSL Inspector appliances are powered by Netronome NFP-3240 network flow processors. The hardware acceleration and bulk cryptography engines provide stateful and context-aware inspection of all communications at line-rate with sub-50uS latency.

http://www.netronome.com http://www.ssl-inspector.com

The SSL Encrypted Traffic Threat: Common Apps Pose Danger

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Huawei's 5-Band and 3 RATs in a Cabinet

At this week's Mobile World Congress, Huawei is showcasing its 5-band 3-mode 1-cabinet for its SingleRAN@Broad products. The cabinet supports five frequency bands and three radio access technologies (RATs) in a single cabinet, allowing for mobile operators to deploy and operate a single network, converging GSM, UMTS, and LTE.



Mr. Wang Tao, President of the Wireless Networks, Huawei, said, "Based on Huawei's SingleRAN@Broad solution, our 5-band 3-mode 1-cabinet solution elevates the dual concepts of convergence and network evolution to new heights. This powerful and efficient solution can protect and add value to mobile operators' core assets such as physical sites, spectra, pipelines, subscribers, and staff. Additionally, our innovative solution gives mobile operators the means with which to evolve quickly and easily in the mobile broadband era so that they can easily achieve their desired business goals."http://www.huawei.com

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Etisalat Commences LTE Rollout with Alcatel-Lucent in UAE

Etisalat has selected Alcatel-Lucent for its LTE rollout in the UAE beginning this quarter. The companies describe the project as the first commercial LTE network in the Middle East.



Alcatel-Lucent will supply LTE base stations (eNodeBs), all-IP wireless Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a converged end-to-end network management solution and a range of professional services including project management, planning, installation, commissioning and integration. Financial terms were not disclosed.



Alcatel-Lucent noted that it has been selected so far by 12 customers for commercial LTE deployments, including two of the world's largest service providers, and being involved in over 60 trials worldwide.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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Alcatel-Lucent and China Mobile Investigate Cloud-based RAN

Alcatel-Lucent and China Mobile will jointly launch technical and economic studies and investigate the technologies essential to build a centralized, collaborative, Cloud-based RAN (C-RAN), such as Alcatel-Lucent's recently-announced lightRadio. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed by China Mobile Alcatel-Lucent Shanghai Bell, Alcatel-Lucent's flagship company in China.



lightRadio represents a new architecture where the base station, typically located at the base of each cell site tower, is broken into its components elements and distributed through the antenna or the network for cloud-like processing. Additionally the various cell site tower antennas are combined and shrunk into a single small powerful, Bell Labs-pioneered multi frequency, multi standard (2G, 3G, LTE) device that can be mounted on poles, sides of buildings or anywhere else there is power and a broadband connection.http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

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