A founding group of five telecoms technology organizations have launched The WhiteSpace Alliance, an international trade association that aims to promote and foster use of unused TV band ‘White Space’ frequencies to deliver wireless broadband Internet services at reasonable cost to rural, under- and unserved areas.
White Space Alliance Looks to Promote Super Wi-Fi
Posted by: Mike Boehne | December 28th, 2011 | No Comments »
Verizon Wireless, Cablecos Partner on Spectrum, Services
Posted by: Mike Boehne | December 5th, 2011 | No Comments »
Verizon Wireless is picking up additional wireless broadband spectrum from SpectrumCo, LLC, a cable industry joint venture consisting of Comcast (63.6%), Time Warner Cable (31.2%) and Bright House Networks (5.3%). Verizon Wireless is paying $3.6 billion for SpectrumCo’s 122 Advanced Wireless Services spectrum licenses, which cover 259 million Points of Presence (POPs).
China Passes U.S. as World’s Largest Smartphone Market
Posted by: Mike Boehne | November 28th, 2011 | No Comments »
China smartphone shipments surged 58% quarter-to-quarter in 3Q to reach a record 24 million units, vaulting over the US to become the world’s largest smartphone market, according to research from Strategy Analytics’ analyst Linda Sui. (LINK: http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=reportabstractviewer&a0=6871) Multinational and local brands’ bolstering smartphone models, heavy subsidization driving down retail prices and carriers’ aggressive 3G data plan promotions drove growth in 3Q, according to Sui.
Nokia, in handsets, and Symbian, in mobile operating systems, are market leaders in China, while Samsung, Apple, ZTE, Huawei and HTC “are upping their game with high-end and low-end models,” Sui wrote in a research note.
Nokia shipped 6.8 million smartphones in 3Q. Samsung ranked second, having shipped 4.2 million units. Taken together, the two accounted for 46.1% of the China market.
Mobile connections in China are forecast to exceed 1 billion come May next year, while mobile penetration will reach 74%, according to a GigaOm report. (LINK: http://gigaom.com/broadband/china-mobile-phone-subscriptions/?utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_source=cnn&utm_content=more-smartphones-now-sold-in-china-than-in-u-s_443823) That compares to some 303 million in the US.
China and India were already the world’s largest mobile markets when measured by mobile connections, according to Wireless Intelligence. The market research firm forecasts that ongoing growth in the two countries’ mobile telecoms markets will drive mobile connections to a “landmark 3 billion” in 1Q 2012 and 4.1 billion by 2015.
The U.S. can no longer claim the throne of smartphone supremacy. That honor now belongs to China, where smartphone shipments surged 58% quarter-to-quarter in 3Q11 to reach a record 24 million units, vaulting over the U.S. to become the world’s largest smartphone market, according to research from Strategy Analytics.
Colleges and Universities Accelerating Wi-Fi Deployments
Posted by: Steve Senne | October 19th, 2011 | No Comments »
U.S. colleges and universities are expanding their wireless networks and scaling back their wired LANs (local area networks), according to an Aruba Networks‘ annual survey of 298 IT professionals that focused on defining networking priorities at U.S. higher educational institutions.
Kansas City Board Chooses Tropos for Smart Grid, Wireless Broadband Network
Posted by: Steve Senne | August 1st, 2011 | No Comments »
The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities has chosen Tropos GridCom to provide the communications infrastructure aggregating smart grid applications across its 127-square mile territory. The publicly-owned utility is building out a smart grid for both water and electricity, according to a press release.
TXU Energy Adds Mobile Bill Pay to Growing Customer Smart Grid Suite
Posted by: Steve Senne | May 27th, 2011 | No Comments »
Dallas’s TXU Energy continues to innovate it when it comes to demand-side smart grid development. The electric utility has launched a customer Web site designed specifically for mobile phone users. The new site enables customers to access their accounts and pay bills through Web-enabled wireless devices, according to a TXU press release.
IEEE Approves New WiMAX2 Standard
Posted by: Steve Senne | April 6th, 2011 | No Comments »
The Standards Board of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has approved IEEE 802.16m, a standard designed to support future advanced services and applications for next generation broadband mobile communications, also known as WiMAX2.
President Obama Outlines Rural 4G Plan
Posted by: Mike Boehne | February 11th, 2011 | No Comments »
President Obama on February 10th called for a Wireless and Infrastructure Initiative with the aim of helping to fund greater deployment of 4G wireless technology by using a portion of $27.8 billion raised through voluntary incentive wireless spectrum auctions over 10 years.
4G Wireless Takes Center Stage
Posted by: Steve Senne | January 10th, 2011 | No Comments »
Last week’s Consumer Electronics Show shined a bright light on 4G wireless, with all the major wireless carriers including AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon making big announcements. AT&T and T-Mobile created a little controversy with their 4G boasts because they are claiming their HSPA+ network is already 4G capable. That’s open to debate, since many industry observers don’t count HSPA+ services as true 4G.
FCC Moves to Free Up Television Spectrum for Broadband
Posted by: Steve Senne | December 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »
The FCC this week laid part of the groundwork for implementing its plan to free up additional spectrum for broadband wireless, issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at freeing up some of the spectrum currently in the hands of television broadcasters. The NPRM could pave the way for broadcasters to voluntarily relinquish some of their spectrum holdings and to share in the proceeds of an auction of those holdings. That plan may receive some opposition, however, as broadcasters did not pay for that auction when it was licensed to them decades ago.
