SK Telecom Implements HetNet Integration for 3G + LTE + Wi-Fi

SK Telecom is implementing Heterogeneous Network Integration technology that enables simultaneous use of different types of networks including 3G, LTE and Wi-Fi.


The technology seamlessly integrates two heterogeneous networks -- i.e. 3G and Wi-Fi, or LTE and Wi-Fi -- to provide a unified data service, the speed of which is the sum of two network speeds.


SK Telecom, which claims to be the first carrier in the world to implement this technology, said it is able to deliver up to 100 Mbps.


SK Telecom plans to implement this solution to enable simultaneous use of 3G and Wi-Fi networks in the second quarter of 2012 to realize a theoretical maximum speed of 60 Mbps service and begin LTE and Wi-Fi integrated service in 2013 to offer a 100 Mbps ultra-high speed wireless Internet service.


The first smartphone supporting Heterogeneous Network Integration technology is expected to become available this year. SK Telecom expects to apply the technology to all its handsets to be launched in 2013, after conducting an analysis of consumer responses and a study on the data distribution effect.


SK Telecom also said it will push for standardization of Heterogeneous Network Integration technolgy through 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and Telecommunication Standardization Sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T).


SK Telecom plans to demo this technology at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2012 next month in Barcelona.
http://www.sktelecom.com

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Canada's Xplornet Deploys Sandvine for QoE Measurement & Control

Xplornet Communications, which is building a 4G rural broadband service for Canada that combines a fixed-wireless network on the ground and two 4G satellites in space, will deploy Sandvine's Network Analytics product. The equipment provides an intelligence layer to measure quality of experience for their customers; especially for those using applications such as streaming video.


“With Sandvine’s Network Analytics product, we will have intelligent, real-time visibility into how our network is performing with respect to the activities that are increasingly critical for our customers. We will then be empowered to allocate network resources appropriately to optimize customer experience�? said David Miles, Chief Network Officer at Xplornet Communications Inc.


“When you watch a video online, you know whether or not the quality is acceptable – but your service provider has little or no insight into your quality of experience,�? said Tom Donnelly, COO, Sales and Global Services, Sandvine. “Forward-thinking service providers like Xplornet are using Sandvine’s Real-Time Entertainment Dashboard to quantify the online quality and implement measures to help ensure a positive subscriber experience.�?
http://www.sandvine.com

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Broadcom Launches First Gigabit Speed 802.11ac Chips

Broadcom introduced its first family of 802.11ac chips, promising devices that are three times faster and up to six times more power efficient than equivalent 802.11n solutions. The company is positioning its 802.11ac "5G WiFi" silicon as "a major evolutionary step from the existing 802.11a/b/g/n networks" as its will boost the wireless rate and the range in the home, allowing consumers to watch HD-quality video from more devices, in more places, simultaneously.


Broadcom's family of 5G WiFi solutions includes the BCM4360, BCM4352, BCM43526 and BCM43516. Some highlights:

• 80 MHz channel bandwidth that is 2 times wider than current 802.11n solutions



• 256-QAM, a higher modulation scheme that increases data transfer efficiency



• Transmit and receive beamforming



• Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) Codes



• Space-Time Block Codes (STBC)



• BCM4360 supports the PCIe interface and implements 3-stream 802.11ac specifications, and reaches speeds up to 1.3 Gbps.
  BCM4352 and BCM43526 implement 2-stream 802.11ac specification to reach up to 867 Mbps. BCM4352 supports PCIe interface; BCM43526 supports the USB interface.



• BCM43516 supports USB and reaches speeds of up to 433 Mbps with its single stream 802.11ac implementation.



• Chips with the PCIe interface are ideal for access points, routers, DSL/cable gateways and PC products; chips that use USB are ideal for consumer electronics devices including televisions, set-top boxes and Blu-Ray players.

http://www.broadcom.com
http://www.5gwifi.org/

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Mindspeed Cuts Financial Guidance

Mindspeed Technologies cuts its financial guidance for its fiscal first quarter of 2012, which ended on December 30, 2011. The company now expects revenues in its fiscal first quarter of 2012 to be approximately $33.3 million. The company's previous guidance for fiscal first quarter revenue was to be in the range of $35.9 million to $37.5 million.


"We continued to experience a weaker demand environment in the fiscal first quarter of 2012, primarily related to a slower work-down of inventory levels in the channel than we had anticipated, across the entire product portfolio," said Raouf Y. Halim, chief executive officer of Mindspeed. "That said, based on positive trends in channel inventory and customer point of sales data through the month of December, as well as current backlog, our perspective is that the demand environment is stabilizing. We also believe we will see improving gross margin trends in the fiscal second quarter," added Mr. Halim.
http://www.mindspeed.com

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JDSU Acquires Dyaptive Systems for Wireless Test Emulators

JDSU has acquired Dyaptive Systems, a developer of capacity test solutions for 2G, 3G and 4G wireless networks, for an undisclosed sum.


The Dyaptive test solutions are used to emulated thousands of mobile devices to support network capacity planning. The Dyaptive solutions emulate high-bandwidth applications, such as streaming video across multiple wireless devices, to ensure quality performance for service providers and their customers. Specifically, Dyaptive offers a software-defined, radio-based solution that cost-effectively scales to thousands of application-loaded mobile devices. The company, which is based in Vancouver, generated revenue in the high single-digit millions during the trailing 12-month period. Approximately 40 employees will be joining JDSU.


JDSU said this acquisition expands its test position in LTE trials and deployments by extending network testing in the labs and field to devices and applications.


“Dyaptive’s portfolio complements JDSU’s expansive set of wireless test tools, software and services, extending from the lab to the field and all the way to the end user experience,�? said David Heard, president of JDSU’s Communications Test and Measurement business segment. “JDSU’s focus on mobile service assurance is a key element of our growth strategy as dependence on wireless devices at home, work and play continues to explode worldwide.�?http://www,jdsu.com

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Mindspeed to Acquire Picochip

Mindspeed Technologies agreed to acquire U.K.-based Picochip Limited, a leading supplier of integrated system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for small cell base stations, for a purchase price of approximately $51.8 million, plus a potential earnout payment of up to $25 million payable in the first calendar quarter of 2013.


Picochip specializes in femtocell SoCs. Its publicly announced customers include Alpha Networks, AT4 Wireless, Airspan (partnered with Fujitsu), Intel, ip.Access, Ubiquisys (supplying NEC and Motorola), Willtek, Xinwei Telecom, Zyxel and a number of other major OEMs and ODMs.


Mindspeed said the acquisition will make it a clear market leader in small cell base station solutions for next generation mobile broadband communications infrastructure.
http://www.midspeed.com
http://www.picochip.com

• Picochip was founded in 2000. Its investors have included AT&T, Atlas Venture, Highland Capital Partners, Intel, Pond Venture Partners, Rothschild, Samsung, and Scottish Equity Partners.

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AT&T Announces 11 More LTE Networks

AT&T announced LTE rollouts in 11 more markets, including New York City metro area, San Francisco and Los Angeles. This brings AT&T's LTE footprint to 26 markets covering 74 million consumers. Active markets now include Athens, Ga.; Atlanta; Austin; Baltimore; Boston; Chapel Hill; Charlotte; Chicago; Dallas-Fort Worth; Houston; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; New York City metro area; Oakland, Oklahoma City; Orlando; Phoenix; Raleigh; San Antonio; San Diego; San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Francisco, San Jose, and Washington, D.C..


AT&T noted that it is the only U.S. carrier offering LTE and HSPA+.


John Stankey, President and Chief Executive Officer—AT&T Business Solutions, speaking at Citi’s 22nd Annual Global Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference in San Francisco, said the company regrets that its T-Mobile USA acquisition did not get approved but that it had no regrets about pursuing the deal.


He also noted that at the end of 2011, 80% of AT&T mobile data traffic was be carried on its upgraded Ethernet-based backhaul links.


Another data point, Stankey noted that AT&T is now experiencing less than 1% of dropped calls.
http://www.att.com

• AT&T launched its first LTE market on September 19, 2011.

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Sprint Confirms LTE Launch in 1H

Sprint confirmed plans to launch commercial LTE services in Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and San Antonio in the first half of 2012. Six other small market launches are also slated for the first half of the year.


As part of its Network Vision program, Sprint is deploying multimode base stations across many of its cell sites throughout the country. The company said 3G customers will notice improvements in voice quality, signal density and data speeds as this occurs. The first completed deployment of a multimode base station was in Branchburg, N.J., in December 2011. As additional areas receive 3G enhancements and 4G LTE service, announcements will be made.


“Within the first half of 2012, Sprint customers should experience first-hand the wide-reaching improvements we have made in terms of boosting voice and data quality,�? said Bob Azzi, senior vice president – Network, Sprint. “With advanced smartphones and sophisticated wireless modems, our customers are using more and more mobile data, and one of our top priorities is to provide the best technology possible to improve our customers’ experience.�?


Speaking at Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference , Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said the company is holding off on any further investment in LightSquared until its spectrum interference issues are resolved. The company has extended an internal deadline with LightSquared to the end of the month, hoping the issues will be resolved.


Hesse also admitted that the carrier throttles data capacity to about 1% of its unlimited data plan users when their usage becomes excessive.
http://www.sprint.com

• Under its Network Vision plan, Sprint will repurpose some of its 800MHz spectrum for Sprint 3G service, thereby enhancing coverage, particularly the in-building experience for customers. Augmenting its 1.9GHz footprint with 800MHz, Sprint expects its CDMA coverage density will increase throughout the country. More density generally equates to fewer dropped calls and a more seamless network experience for customers.



• Sprint's suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and Samsung.>/li>

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EZchip Partners with Marvell on Next Gen NPU

EZchip Semiconductor has selected Marvell to be the ASIC partner for its next generation network processor, the 200-Gigabit NP-5. EZchip, which had disclosed its NP-5 plans last year, said it already has signed a tier-1 router vendor for the forthcoming silicon. Samples are expected by the end of the year.


The companies were also partners for EZchip’s NP-4 100-Gigabit network processor, which is currently in production.


“We are very pleased that our leading tier-1 customers have selected to continue the EZchip path,�? said Eli Fruchter, EZchip’s CEO. “EZchip currently has a commanding position in the marketplace by providing our customers with significant time to market advantages. We believe that with the NP-5 we will further our market leadership. We will bring the NP-5 and its variants, similar to the NP-4 and its variants, to the market at the earliest possible time and allow our leading customers to continue to build on their success in the marketplace with EZchip.�?http://www,ezchip.com

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China Telecom to Launch as MVNO with Everything Everywhere

Everything Everywhere, the joint venture that operates the networks for T-Mobile (UK) and Orange (UK), has signed China Telecom as an MVNO on its network. The partnership marks the first time that a Chinese telecom operator has launched MVNO services outside China.


"Entering the UK mobile market is a strategic move for China Telecom (Europe). We selected Everything Everywhere based on the strength of its network, and Transatel’s proven track record of getting MVNOs up and running quickly and efficiently. We are keen to launch the service in the UK as soon as possible as there is a real gap in the market for the provision of tailored mobile services and competitive tariffs aimed at the growing Chinese population in the UK," stated Yan Ou, Managing Director of China Telecom (Europe).http://everythingeverywhere.com
http://www.chinatelecom-h.com

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Cisco Terminates its ūmi Home Telepresence Product

Cisco reportedly is dropping its ūmi telepresence system for the home. The news was first reported by CRN magazine.


Cisco ūmi, which was introduced in October 2010, combined an HD video camera, a console and a remote. It was positioned as a premium home telepresence system with pristine video and audio quality delivered over a broadband connection. The system offered dynamic resolution scaling based on available bandwidth (1080p, 720p, and 480p supported).


However, Cisco priced the consumer gadget at $599 a piece and each unit required a $24.99 a month subscription service, in addition to broadband service.http://home.cisco.com/en-us/telepresence/umi/

• In March 2011, Cisco announced interoperability between Cisco umi and its Cisco TelePresence portfolio for businesses.

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Netflix: 2 Billion Hours of Streaming in Q4

Netflix streamed more than two billion hours of TV shows and movies to its members in the fourth quarter of 2011. The company said it now has more than 20 million streaming members, including international customers.
http://www.netflix.com

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KT Kicks Off its LTE Network

KT has launched commercial LTE services in five districts in Seoul. KT is using the 1.8 GHz band ((2 X 10MHz)) and promising top theoretical downlink speeds of 75 Mbps. 2G services using this spectrum are being terminated.


Samsung's Galaxy S II LTE and the Pantech Vega LTE are among the handsets initially on offer. The carrier aims to attract 4 million LTE subscribers in 2012.


By the end of March, KT's LTE network is expected to cover 26 cities and by the end of April, the network will cover 92% of South Korea's population. Overall, KT expects to invest KRW 1.3 trillion for the nationwide LTE and the majority of this spending is expected in the first half of the year.


KT is leveraging "LTE WARP" technology to share resources among up to 144 base stations. Cloud and virtualization technologies are also being employed to improve network capacity while minimizing radio wave interference between cell units.
http://www.kt.com

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Acacia Research Settles Patent Dispute with NSN

Acacia Research Corporation, which acquires patents from inventors and them licenses the intellectual property to other parties, announced that is Lamba Optical Solutions subsidiary has reached a deal with Nokia Siemens Networks that resolves patent litigation currently in the courts. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.acaciaresearch.com

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Fast Packet Processing -- Appliances Integrate Cloud Services

Connectivity to the cloud will become an essential element in home services and associated gateway and NAS appliances. Vinay Ravuri, Vice President and General Manager of the Processor Business Unit at AppliedMicro. http://www.apm.com/

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IBM to Acquire Green Hat for Cloud Testing Software

IBM agreed to acquire Green Hat, a privately-held company developing software quality testing for the cloud, for an undisclosed sum.


Green Hat leverages cloud computing to conduct testing on a software application prior to its delivery. Green Hat creates a virtual environment that simulates IT infrastructure elements, without the constraints of hardware or software services. The approach eliminates the need to construct a actual testing lab made up of both hardware and software. The company was founded in 1996 and is jointly headquartered in London, England and Wilmington, Delaware.


Upon the acquisition close, Green Hat will join IBM’s Rational Software business. The Green Hat software testing solutions also will be offered through IBM Global Business Services’ Application Management Services (AMS).


"This acquisition extends IBM’s leadership in driving business agility and software quality by changing the way enterprises can manage software development cost, test cycle time and risk," said Kristof Kloeckner, General Manager, IBM Rational. “Together, we offer the most complete solution available today for agile software development and testing, with flexible options such as the cloud. Green Hat’s application virtualization capabilities will help our customers accelerate their delivery of business critical software."http://www.ibm.com
http://www.greenhat.com

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Saudi Telecom Appoints Alcatel-Lucent for LTE

Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has selected Alcatel-Lucent for its national LTE network. STEC plans to launch LTE services in 11 key cities in Saudi Arabia in the first phase of its rollout. Alcatel-Lucent was selected to support STC’s LTE network deployment in the Northern Region of the Kingdom, following a successful trial of the technology.


Alcatel-Lucent, through the ngConnect Program, is also helping STC build an ecosystem of leading companies to provide content, applications and innovative services to meet needs of subscribers in Saudi Arabia.


Alcatel-Lucent noted that it now has 20 LTE contracts.
http://www.alcatel-lucent.com

• On September 14, 2011, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) announced the launch of its LTE network. The network supports a top downlink rate of 100 Mbps.

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Procera Names VP of Worldwide Sales

Procera Networks named Brian Ahearn as its Sr. Vice President, Worldwide Sales. He previously worked at 2Wire, (recently acquired by Pace plc), where he lead a team that included account management, field engineering and professional services. He also previously served at Avaya, where he led the global service provider sales force focused on growing business and market share with major carriers like AT&T and Verizon. http://ww.proceraneworks.com

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Marvell Acquires Xelerated for its Programmable Switching Silicon

Marvell has acquired Xelerated, a supplier of network processing and programmable Ethernet switching silicon, for an undisclosed sum.


Xelerated, which is based in Stockholm, Sweden, features a deterministic Dataflow Architecture in its silicon designs for high-speed programmable network processing. Its target markets include Carrier Ethernet, Unified Fiber Access, Mobile Backhaul and Transport platforms. The privately-held company was founded in 2000. Investors include AP6, Accel, Atlas Venture, Alta Partners and Amadeus Capital.


Marvell said Xelerated's AX and HX family of network processor and programmable switches complements its own existing product portfolio of packet processors, ARM-based SoCs, wireless and low-power physical layer devices widely used in infrastructure, data center and enterprise networking equipment.


Marvell also confirmed that it will continue to work with EZChip on NP-4 and NP-5 processors and is committed to the long term relationship with EZChip.


"Programmable wire speed processing and advanced traffic management are two of Xelerated's strongest IP assets and are essential for Service Provider deployment of their enterprise and subscriber services," said Eva Lindqvist, CEO of Xelerated. "Joining the Marvell family is a fantastic opportunity for us to exploit the full potential of our technology and provide more comprehensive end-to-end solutions to our customers."http://www.marvell.com
http://www.xelerated.com

• In September 2011, Xelerated announced volume production of its HX family of 100G network processors (NPU) for packet-OTN, mobile backhaul/PTN and Carrier Ethernet Switch-Routers. The company said it now racked up 20 system design wins for the HX family of NPUs, the first will go into production later this year. The HX chip delivers wirespeed processing and advanced traffic management with deep packet buffering and can be used for pizza box and line card slot capacities of 20-200 Gbps. These line cards are designed for aggregation and transport, and support a range of interface types including GE, 10GE, 40GE, 100GE and OTU0-OTU4. In mobile backhaul, the HX family implements complete L2 and L3 switch-router applications.

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SK Telecom Develops LTE + Wi-Fi Femtocell

South Korea-based SK Telecom has developed its own Wi-Fi Integrated LTE Femtocell to spur its 4G rollout.


The ultra-mini base station improves indoor coverage using both Wi-Fi and LTE, while significantly reduce equipment installation and operating cost. SK Telecom uses POE (Power over Ethernet) to ease installation. The company said its design also minimizes interference between the frequencies within the cellular bands.


SK Telecom plans to build LTE networks in 84 cities across the country by April 2012, eight months ahead of schedule, after which it will utilize Wi-Fi Integrated Femtocells to boost its service quality.


The carrier plans to deploy its Wi-Fi Integrated LTE Femtocells in densely populated regions, focusing primarily on central commercial areas of major cities where LTE traffic and users are concentrated, and then be expanded to areas with high data demand – i.e. indoor areas like shopping centers, offices, houses, and school, etc.


Kang Jong-Ryeol, Head of Network Technology Center of SK Telecom said, "SK Telecom has already installed over one million repeaters to expand LTE coverage including indoors and underground areas and will continue to enhance its LTE service quality by installing Wi-Fi Integrated LTE Femtocells. Furthermore, SK Telecom will keep on developing and providing femtocell technologies suitable for many different environments so as to create an optimal data communication environment for customers."http://www.sktelecom.com

• In November 2011, SK Telecom announced an LTE Smart Cloud Access Network (SCAN) pilot deployment. SCAN separates digital signal processing from the base stations and concentrates it in one place, allowing the network to respond to traffic demands in certain locations. Additional antenna radio units can be deployed at a lower cost instead of a full base station. The smart cloud base stations also cooperate with each other to reduce interference, especially in border areas in the network.



• SK Telecom inaugurated its 4G LTE service in Seoul on July 1, 2011. The network provides a maximum downlink speed of 75Mbps, which is five times faster than that of its 3G WCDMA network (HSUPA) and 1.9 times faster than Wibro that provides maximum downlink speed of 39.8Mbps and maximum uplink speed of 10Mbps. The network uses the 800 MHz band. The company plans to expand the frequency bandwidth for LTE from one-way 5MHz (at the time of service launch) to 10MHz by the fourth quarter of 2011 to achieve the full downlink potential.
  
  
  The LTE rollout in Seoul was accomplished by building 1,772 Radio Units (RU) and 609 Digital Units (DU). In addition to this, the company will also use its 200,000 existing 800MHz repeaters to offer seamless and flawless 4G LTE service in all areas of Seoul, including underground and indoor areas.



• In January 2011, South Korea's SK Telecom announced the selection of Samsung Electronics, LG-Ericsson and Nokia Siemens Networks as key equipment suppliers for its LTE network.

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