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.
Sprint, Samsung Set to Get in on Tablet Craze
Posted by: Mike Boehne | September 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
Sprint and Samsung Mobile yesterday announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Sprint’s first foray into tablet PCs, will be out this fall. Running on Sprint’s nationwide 3G network, the latest addition to Samsung’s Galaxy S product line is powered by Google’s Android mobile operating system, which opens up the door for all the third-party mobile app developers out there who are working to develop the next big Android mobile app. Both Samsung and Sprint are hoping to take advantage of the new tablet segment, now dominated by the Apple iPad.
FCC Close to Freeing up TV ‘White Spaces,’ Resulting in More Broadband Wireless
Posted by: Steve Senne | September 3rd, 2010 | No Comments »
The Federal Communications Commission is close to finalizing rules for the use of unused television broadcast spectrum, also known as “white spaces,” the Wall Street Journal recently reported.
The spectrum in question includes the vacant bands between television channels—prime spectrum bands that have excellent propagation characteristics. Google and others have been lobbying the FCC to free up that spectrum to expand wireless data communications.
Partners launch smart grid wireless connectivity center
Posted by: Steve Senne | August 13th, 2010 | No Comments »
Lockard & White, a telecom engineering and integration firm, and Full Spectrum, a manufacturer of fourth-
generation software defined radios, on August 9 launched a Smart Grid Wireless Connectivity Center
at Lockard & White’s headquarters in Bryan/ College Station, Texas.
The connectivity center will include indoor lab and outdoor smart grid environments.
The goal of the connectivity center is to accelerate smart grid deployments by providing utilities and
wireless equipment manufacturers with a facility where they can have systems evaluated in what the center
operators call “near real world scenarios.”
“Almost all smart grid deployments involve a combination of private wireless communications transporting
a variety of legacy and advanced protocols for command and control of smart grid devices,” said Lockard
& White CEO Marc Lockard in the announcement.
Several electric cooperatives already have engaged the connectivity center to test various wireless
configurations for distribution automation and advanced metering infrastructure backhaul. In addition the
center is extending invitations to certain U.S. investor-owned utilities to visit the test facility and take part
in smart grid workshops.
Nielsen Says Majority of Smartphone Users Better off With a Pay-for-Usage Plan
Posted by: Mike Boehne | July 2nd, 2010 | No Comments »
Contrary to widely-held perception, the vast majority–99%– of smart phone users would be better off with a pay-for-usage plan like AT&T’s new data pricing model as opposed to one based on a flat-rate and unlimited usage, according to analysis of 60,000 mobile customers’ phone bills conducted by the Nielsen Company for its Customer Value Metrics product. There are other opinions, particularly from consumer groups, who disagree with Nielsen’s conclusions on pay-for-usage plans.
Verizon Highlights 4G LTE Capabilities
Posted by: Mike Boehne | May 14th, 2010 | No Comments »
Verizon Wireless has embarked on some grass roots marketing in support of its high-speed wireless LTE service, which is currently in a trial in Boston. The company posted a video on YouTube that features interviews with consumers—many of college age—as they use the new service on laptops in a Boston pizzeria/ café.
CenturyLink rolls out 40G wavelength services
Posted by: Mike Boehne | March 10th, 2010 | No Comments »
CenturyLink has deployed what it calls “40Gigabit Waves” on its existing fiber optic transport network. The move is aimed at providing wholesale customers, particularly wireless operators, with a more economical alternative to using multiple 10 Gb/s connections to handle backhaul traffic. That traffic has been increasing dramatically for many carriers, driven by increased use of mobile data services.
