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Today's Headlines
April 1, 2011
WCAI's Regional Operator, Engineering Committees to Meet April 7 at 4G Caucus WCAI Share    
Backhaul presentation, LTE transition discussion, a regulatory update, 3.65 GHz band harmonization presentation and more will be the highlights of the WCAI member meeting on April 7, the second and last day of the WCAI 4G Caucus. Come hear from DragonWave CTO Erik Boch, JAB Broadband Vice President Technical Operations Bret Westwood, WCAI Counsel Paul Sinderbrand of WBK and other industry experts and learn from your peers during an informal -- yet informative -- discussion that will follow the presentations. The meeting is organized by the WCAI's Regional Operator and Engineering committees and is open to WCAI members only. The 4G Caucus will be held on April 6-7 in Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C. metro area). For more information, please see the agenda. Register now! Spain Seeks EUR1.5B-EUR2B from Telcos in 4G Auctions The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Share
Spain's Industry ministry Friday said it plans to raise between EUR1.5 billion and EUR2 billion through the auction of 4G mobile telephony spectrum later this year. Bernardo Lorenzo, a deputy industry minister, said the auction will start in late June-early July, and should be completed in less than a month. He added that companies will pay for most of the spectrum this year, with a smaller amount to be paid early next year. Lorenzo said dominant mobile operators, like Telefonica, Vodafone and France Telecom, will face some limits to the spectrum they can bid for, but the auction will be open to all operators in the country. Spain's auction comes after the sale of 4G licenses and spectrum in Germany last year netted EUR4.38 billion in revenue for the government. More
IEEE Approves Next WiMAX Standard ComputerWorld Share
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has approved IEEE 802.16m, the standard for the next generation of WiMAX, which may deliver downstream speeds of more than 300M bps. IEEE 802.16m, also known as WirelessMAN-Advanced or WiMAX-2, was developed as the next step after 802.16e, the first global standard for mobile WiMAX. More Reliance Fleshes Out Its LTE TDD Plans Light Reading Share
Reliance Industries, which is in the early stages of rolling out its LTE TDD network in India, is looking to team up with some atypical partners to help jump start the country's BWA services market. "There is no better network than [the one] Reliance is building for the Facebooks, Twitters and Googles of the world to partner with and use this network as a reference framework of a rich experience," said Mathew Oommen, Reliance's new president of corporate strategy. All the major online service players "have a great opportunity to partner with companies like Reliance to offer truly differentiated digital media services," added Oommen. RIL is the only company to hold a BWA license that covers all of India's 22 circles following its acquisition in June 2010 of Infotel Broadband Services, which had splashed out more than $2.7 billion on 2.3GHz airwaves in India's BWA spectrum auction. And the wireless world is watching RIL's every move, as the company is set to be in the vanguard of the LTE TDD ecosystem in India. More LightSquared: GPS Issues Won't Stall LTE Network Launch in US Light Reading Share
Would-be 4G wholesale provider and WCAI member LightSquared says it's still on track to launch initial LTE markets in the U.S. by the end of 2011 despite renewed interest from some government bodies about the potential for interference to GPS receivers from the new network. The Harbinger Capital Partners LP-backed venture has previously said it wants to launch its first LTE markets in the third quarter of 2011, with up to nine markets expected to be active by the end of the year. "Our launch is still on track. We're looking for a launch by the end of the year certainly," Jeff Carlisle, executive vice president for regulatory affairs and public policy at LightSquared, told Light Reading Mobile. More
T-Mobile Accelerates Czech HSPA+ Roll Out TeleGeography Share
T-Mobile Czech Republic, majority owned by Deutsche Telekom through the CMobil consortium, is accelerating its planned rollout of HSPA+ technologies in the country, adding dozens of additional cities to its footprint this spring. The cellco currently covers 42.5% of the population, including 97 cities and towns, and 232 smaller villages. More MetroPCS Completes LTE Footprint in US ConnectedPlanet Share
MetroPCS flipped the "on" switch on its network in Tampa, Fla., rolling out the final market in its 14-city footprint in the U.S. According to CEO Tom Keys, Metro would have launched Tampa back in January when it completed the rest of its launch, but spectrum issues prevented it from going live on its original timeline. MetroPCS is now focused on building up its networks inwards rather than outwards. Its initial LTE rollout targeted its busiest cell sites in its 14 markets. Phase II will now address CDMA cell sites in its footprint that haven’t yet received the LTE treatment. "Our goal is to have a complete overlay," Keys said. MetroPCS also plans to start testing VoIP over LTE (VoLTE) this year with the hope of offering an all IP voice service next year. Once it starts moving more voice traffic to VoIP, MetroPCS will start switching off CDMA 1X carriers and aggregating their capacity into the LTE network, giving it more bandwidth for both data and enhanced voice services, Keys said. More
Time Warner Cable Said to Be Testing WiMAX Smartphone in US FierceWireless Share
WCAI member Time Warner Cable is testing a WiMAX smartphone, according sources with knowledge of the company's plans. A Time Warner spokesman confirmed that the company's product teams are working with unnamed vendors on future mobile products that would include a voice-calling component, but he declined to provide further details. More First Large-Scale 4G Commercial Deployment in Canada LteWorld Share
Barrett Xplore has become the first operator in Canada to commercially launch a large-scale WiMAX/4G network. The network, which was announced for the first time in October 2010, became commercially available in February 2011 in selected areas of Québec, and a launch is also planned in Ontario in the near future. More  WCAI 4G Caucus April 6-7 Arlington, Va. (Washington, D.C. metro area) The 4G Caucus will bring together high-level executives from leading operators, vendors and system integrators, as well as government officials and media representatives. Industry experts will examine operational, technical and regulatory challenges companies face as they are rolling out next-generation networks and services in the United States and beyond. Register now! Carrier Wi-Fi: Why It's Not About Wi-Fi -- Webinar April 14 4 p.m. EDT/20:00 GMT While more mobile carriers begin to welcome Wi-Fi into their networks and businesses, questions remain if this is a short-term tactical fix to urgent data congestion issues or a long-term strategic move. It's neither. Wi-Fi is actually a long-term tactic and a short term strategy. With 802.11 standards set to address seamless roaming between Wi-Fi and cellular networks, and deliver speeds of more than a gigabit per second in 2012, Wi-Fi has the potential to remain a relevant part of a mobile carrier's small cell strategy.Register now! Previous editions of WCAI's 4G Global Update are
available on the Global Development Committee website: www.wcai.com/blog_wp/.
Spectrum bands such as 2.5-2.6, 2.3 and 3.4-3.6 GHz increasingly serve as global bands for broadband wireless services. Globally harmonized spectrum, flexible use, consistent regulatory treatment and interoperability are required for such bands to achieve this potential. To advance this goal, the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI) created the Global Development Committee (GDC) for service providers. This newsletter advances GDC's work by keeping opinion leaders abreast of worldwide developments. For questions, submission of news items or to become a GDC member company, please contact WCAI Vice President, Communications & Strategy and 4G Global Update Editor Susan Polyakova. Creating
Business Value Through Industry
Leadership! PUBLISHED BY WCAI's
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (GDC) |
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