Mikael Ricknäs, ComputerWorld, 11/4/2011

Using more spectrum and advanced antennas, vendors and operators plan to increase 4G mobile speeds. But the key to increasing speeds as researchers look at future networks, which will someday be dubbed 5G by marketers, is to shorten the distance between users and base stations, and allowing them to automatically be reconfigured.

Historically, a new mobile generation has included two basic components, a mobile standard and spectrum allocation, according to Hkan Djuphamma , vice president of architecture and portfolio at Ericsson.

Because LTE is at the limit of what is physically possible it now makes less sense to develop another standard from the ground up, Djuphammar says. Also, the allocation of spectrum has become increasingly fragmented, because the airwaves are so crowded.

That said, networks will still continue to evolve going forward, according to Djuphammar. But, at the moment, the industry isn’t working towards a big 5G launch.

The development of so-called het nets, or heterogeneous networks, which use a mixture of traditional large base stations and smaller cells, placed in areas where there are a lot of users, will be key to how mobile networks evolve, according to Djuphammar.

The basic idea is the same as with today’s femtocells, which are most often placed in homes to offload the rest of the network, while also improving coverage and providing better capacity for subscribers connected to it. But in a het net, the smaller base stations would be more integrated with the rest of the network.

It’s about building network structures that would allow devices with 2G, 3G, 4G and in most cases Wi-Fi, as well, to jump between different forms of access depending on the load in the different parts of the network and the application currently used, and can dynamically manage device access in an intelligent way, according to Djuphammar. Doing all that is a pretty challenging task, he says.

The same spectrum bands will also be used for different mobile standards. Depending on what kind of devices are connected to a base station it will be able to change the amount of spectrum used to maximize performance in real-time.

“Today we have a static allocation of spectrum, but in the future it will be completely dynamic. For example, if there are no phones in a cell that need to use GSM the entire spectrum can be used for 4G. But when a GSM phone comes back into the cell, the base station again reconfigures its spectrum allocation,” Djuphammar says.

At the KTH Royal Institute of Technology they have started to examine what networks could look like by 2020, which is when 5G would arrive if the telecom industry continued to launch a new network generation every 10 years.

The aim is a thousand fold capacity increase, according to Jens Zander, a professor in Radio Communications at the university and head of its center for wireless systems Wireless@KTH, who is also a big proponent of denser mobile networks where the distance between base stations is much shorter.

“Beyond LTE, I think the most important thing is finding good and cheap solutions over short distances, and have base stations that are as easy to install as Wi-Fi, but have much higher capacity and have better coordination with the rest of network,” Zander says.

Tech argument: wired vs. wireless edge

An import part of simplifying the installation process is the concept of self-organizing networks, which allow operators or end-users to connect a base station to the network and it would automatically be installed.

“A big part of the cost for current networks is that they have to be carefully planned,” Zander says.

Short-term improvements will include the use of more spectrum and multiple antennas. Continuous spectrum is a limited resource, so vendors came up with carrier aggregation. The technology allows operators to bunch together spectrum in different bands and use them as one data link.

A quick guide to 4G phones

Another way to increase capacity, which is already used today, is MIMO antenna technology, which uses multiple antennas in the base station and on the device to increase speeds.

The big challenge with MIMO is to fit all the needed antennas on the user device; and more antennas mean more capacity.

It is very difficult to fit more than two antennas in a mobile phone, according to Zander. For MIMO to work, the antennas need to see a slightly different version of the radio signal, which the distance between the antennas allow them to do.

How long the distance needs to be depends on the frequency used to send the data.

The growing size of many high-end smartphones, thanks to the fact that vendors are including bigger screens, will help. Also, because of their larger size, it will be easier to include many antennas on tablets and laptop.

Today, MIMO is only used to increase download speeds, but it will likely be added to upload traffic, as well.

So going forward the development of mobile networks will be more evolutionary that revolutionary.

“Maybe something will come along that the industry feels is such a big change or addition to 4G that it could be labeled 5G,” Djuphammar says.

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Juniper Research, 10/19/2011

mVoIP clients downloaded to the smartphone will account for four fifths of 640 million mobile VoIP users by the end of 2016, while alliances between carriers and mVoIP specialists will remain relatively few in number. Improved technology, more intuitive interfaces and increased user awareness all account for the increasing dominance of the app model for mVoIP, finds Juniper Research. In addition VoIP specialists are broadening their horizons as they explore the potential of alliances with social media, gaming and software companies.

The Changing Role of Voice

As social media becomes ever more mainstream, Juniper Research anticipates the role of voice within the broader communications market changing and becoming available as an extension of other applications, such as gaming and social networking. Specialist companies, e.g. Vivox, are pioneering such services in the gaming industry, and Skype’s acquisition by Microsoft and several Facebook alliances with VoIP providers will accelerate this trend.

“Eventually voice may become one of several options in an environment where multiple methods of communicating are possible on the same platform,” says Juniper Research’s Anthony Cox. The report notes, however, that circuit-switched technology will continue to be important for the foreseeable future, particularly in less developed markets.

Further findings include:

·The number of mobile video calling users will exceed 130 million by 2016, spurred by the launch of mobile video calling by major players and technology improvements.

·Mobile VoIP and mobile video calling services will develop significantly faster in developed markets, due to a correlation between 3G and 4G roll outs and the take up of mobile VoIP and mobile video calling.

·There is, as yet, no clear role for advertising within the mobile VoIP and mobile video calling business model, though this is beginning to come for VoIP on the desktop.

The mVoIP whitepaper is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full report.

Juniper Research provides research and analytical services to the global hi-tech communications sector, providing consultancy, analyst reports and industry commentary.

More…

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We knew more or less that an announcement of this sort was coming. Back in July, Dan Hesse had teased us face-to-face with the promise of a “great story this fall around 4G,” and now the time to tell that tale has arrived. At its strategy event today, Sprint finally went public with plans to “simplify its network” by converting its 1900MHz holdings and LightSquared’s 1600MHz spectrum (“pending FCC approval”) to LTE, an industry favorite. Helping the operator make that transition is the swath of 800MHz spectrum it reclaimed from the, now defunct, iDEN push-to-talk network — which had been a drain on the company’s resources. This spectrum, acquired from Nextel, will be phased out by mid-2013 and rolled into LTE. The company plans for a rapid deployment of this new 4G network, with the first LTE markets and handsets to hit in mid-2012, and the full rollout mostly completed by 2013. Current subscribers signed up for WiMAX plans won’t have to worry as their devices will continue to be supported throughout 2012.

Beginning tomorrow, Sprint’s consolidating its 4G LTE (including LightSquared), 3G and Direct Connect networks into one single architecture. All the major technical milestones, such as test calls and field integration, have cleared their hurdles and work on over 22,000 cell sites are currently in process. Samsung, Alcatel Lucent and Ericsson have partnered with Sprint to install multimode 3G and 4G base stations to handle the network’s future traffic, essential for deploying the multitude of frequencies required by hosted devices. Prospective iPhone 4S users on the network will be able to take advantage of better signal strength and improved voice service as Sprint intends to also offload the latter onto 800MHz.

Expect a steep “reduction in roaming costs” and deeper signal penetration throughout the operator’s expanding national footprint over the course of the next two years. Naturally, LTE speeds on this new network will be significantly improved over the currently in-use WiMAX, and a planned implementation of WiFi offloading should help to cut congestion by 20 percent. By the end of next year, Sprint aims to have a combined WiMAX/LTE population coverage of 176 million — with 123 million covered by LTE and 76 million overlapping both. When the network build-out is nearly complete in 2013, the company should have over 250 million blanketed in LTE, far outstripping the stagnant 120 million served by WiMAX.

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Matt Hamblen, ComputerWorld, 9/27/2011

Ruggedized Kyocera DuraMax will be first phone to support Sprint Direct Connect push-to-talk service

Sprint on Sunday will launch a new rugged wireless phone along with a next-generation push-to-talk service called Sprint Direct Connect that offers speedy data capabilities.

The ruggedized Kyocera DuraMax, which will be available on Sunday for $69.99 with a two year service agreement, is the first Sprint handset to use the new PTT (Push-to-Talk) service.

The DuraMax is designed to be the workhorse for the new Sprint Direct Connect service, which will be supported by two more phones that are slated to ship in the fourth quarter.

The rugged phone set for release next week has a 2-in. display, a 3.2 megapixel camera and is designed to meet high-level military standards for resisting dust, operating at extreme temperature levels, and for vibration and water immersion.

The new upgraded Sprint PTT service will gradually transfer the older Nextel Direct Connect PTT service from the iDEN network to Sprint’s CDMA (Code-Division Multiple Access) network to give faster 3G data speeds to users, generally in the 500 Kbps range. The iDen network has average data throughput speeds of just 20 Kbps to 30 Kbps.

The older iDEN network will be phased out in 2013 as part of Sprint’s plan to consolidate its networks with new equipment that serves multiple radio bands and technologies.

Sprint today said it will assist customers with migration plans to new feature-rich phones, such as the new DuraMax, over Sprint Direct Connect.

Sprint will also sell Nextel Direct Connect phones until iDen is sunseted, a spokesman said via email.

The Sprint Direct Connect coverage area will grow to match Sprint’s CDMA voice coverage area, an increase of almost three times the square miles covered by iDen today, by early 2012, Sprint said.

Also in 2012, an international PTT calling plan will begin rolling out, Sprint said.

Sprint is retaining most of the services familiar to iDen PTT users, such as Direct Connect for instant one-to-one PTT calling nationwide with any other Direct Connect customers. In addition, the newer phones will have high-speed data access, high-resolution cameras and Bluetooth, Sprint said.

PTT calling is mostly used in the services and construction businesses. It’s similar to walkie-talkie communication used in military and emergency responder settings.

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SHAPE Services, makers of the popular, cross-platform IM+ mobile instant messaging applications, is today launching its first video chatting app: IM+ Video. The new app, available here on iTunes, lets you video and voice call with your Facebook friends – and not just those using IM+.

The VoIP calls made using IM+ are not restricted to Wi-Fi, as they are with Apple’s own FaceTime video calling feature, but work over Wi-Fi, 3G or Edge. In addition, the calls can be received by friends browsing the Facebook website, including those who aren’t using the IM+ application.

After installing the app, you have to authenticate using Facebook Connect, which then brings you to a screen showing a list of your Facebook friends, both online and offline. To place a call or start a chat session, just tap your friend’s name in the list, then tap “call” or “chat.”

If the friend is an IM+ user and is on mobile, a push notification is sent to initiate the video call. Otherwise, IM+ uses Facebook chat to send a link to an IM+ Video “webphone” (an online video calling interface).

IM+ also offers a few different themes to customize the look of the application, but none are really all that attractive. Even the default interface itself is pretty bland and basic.

But the app is offering something that Facebook itself hasn’t gotten around to yet, despite its Skype integration: support for video calling within its own Facebook-branded mobile application called Facebook Messenger. Although code found within this app seems to suggest that video chat is coming soon, it hasn’t arrived yet, which gives third parties like IM+ time to establish a user base.

The IM+ Video app is free, and calls within the app are free. There are no ads or in-app upgrades offered either. Perhaps IM+ Video is starting off free so as to introduce users to other apps within the IM+ family, some of which are monetized either as premium downloads or through in-app purchases? Maybe. But according to SHAPE’s CEO Igor Berezovsky, decisions on how to monetize the new app are still forthcoming.

An Android version of the app is also now in development, we’re told.

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Tony Bradley, ComputerWorld, 8/30/2011

Wyse has improved on its PocketCloud Pro app to seamlessly connect Android mobile devices and Windows PCs

Wyse is introducing the concept of a personal cloud–a seamless connection between your mobile device and your PC–with the launch of the latest version of Wyse PocketCloud Pro for Android. The new PocketCloud Pro challenges file syncing and transfer services by providing drag and drop file sharing between Android mobile devices and Windows PCs.

Smartphones and tablets continue to evolve into more powerful and capable platforms as time goes on, but they are not PCs. We often need to access tools and data that are still sitting at our desk inside our PC, and Wyse PocketCloud v1.3 for Android takes that connectivity to a new level by connecting and sharing data as if the mobile device and PC are one.

PocketCloud Pro v1.3 is based on Microsoft RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). It provides a seamless experience for accessing files and applications spanning devices within your own personal mobile cloud comprised of your PC and your Android mobile device.

A Wyse press release explains, “For example, users can shoot a video on their Android phone, connect securely over 3G/4G or Wi-Fi to their home PC, run it through their favorite video processor, and post the finished product online–all without touching their PC, connecting wires, or sending files!”

The new capability in PocketCloud Pro v1.3 automatically mounts Android smartphone or tablet SD card storage as a local drive on the Windows PC when PocketCloud is connected. Files can be dragged and dropped between the two devices wirelessly as if the Android device is a part of the Windows file system. The direct connection from smartphone or tablet to PC also avoids any security or privacy concerns that might arise from storing sensitive information in a public cloud, or transmitting it over public networks.

In addition to the new drag and drop file access, the PocketCloud Pro app still provides remote desktop capabilities as well. You can run applications on the remote Windows computer from anywhere on the planet. Wyse has developed a number of features like the Touch Pointer, keyboard auto-activation, and custom keyboards with convenient shortcuts that make it simple to manipulate and interact with the remote Windows PC from a mobile touchscreen interface.

“At its core, PocketCloud has always been about making computing on mobile devices easy, intuitive and secure,” says Daniel Barreto, general manager of the mobile cloud business unit at Wyse. “With PocketCloud you have peace of mind, knowing that your files are safely stored on your personal mobile devices and computers rather than the public Web.”

PocketCloud Pro has been named the best mobile cloud app on Android tablets by PCWorld this year. The new feature is available for any Android user with a PC running Microsoft Windows XP Pro, Windows Vista Pro or Windows 7 Pro.

You can get the new PocketCloud Pro for $14.99 in the Android Market.

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Wi-Fi hotspots will continue to grow in terms of locations, the total number of connections and their importance to network operators who face growing data demand. In its latest report, In-Stat research provides some numbers to give some sense of scale for the hotspot trend, estimating that in 2015, wireless hotspots will account for nearly 120 billion connect sessions. Helping to grow the connection number will be improved, automatic log-ins and more hotspots to tap in to.

Around the globe, In-Stat expects one million hotspot locations available by 2013, and based on the number of publicly available new Wi-Fi networks I’m seeing in my rural backyard, I’m not surprised. Businesses of every size are turning to Wi-Fi not only as a convenience for customers but also as a way to expand foot traffic, advertising opportunities and engagement. Traditional brick-and-mortar stores don’t have the most people on their networks, however. That distinction belongs to transportation hubs and convention centers, where the large crowds account for 30 percent of all Wi-Fi hotspot connects.

Laptop computers are still the No. 1 device for Wi-Fi hotspot use, which makes sense as Wi-Fi radios are standard fare for notebooks. Smartphones and tablets are catching up, however, even though many have integrated 3G or 4G radios. Device owners are apt to take advantage of free or low-cost hotspots to reduce the risk of mobile broadband data overages as carriers migrate away from unlimited data plans. The Wi-Fi connections are often faster and can use less power, which can save battery life on these mobile devices.

Network operators see the benefits of Wi-Fi offload and are likely to aid in the expansion of hotspot locations by partnering with businesses directly or through existing hotspot networks, such as Boingo Wireless. In July, for example, Japanese network operator KDDI said it would build out 100,000 Wi-Fi hotspots by March 2012 that will seamlessly work with the carrier’s WiMAX network. A seamless network transition, in addition to automatic log-in software — similar to Boingo’s current application — essentially turns Wi-Fi into the “other” cell network in this case.

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Clearwire, 8/3/2011

KIRKLAND, Wash, Aug. 3, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Clearwire Corporation (Nasdaq:CLWR), a leading provider of 4G wireless broadband services in the United States, today announced its intent to add “LTE Advanced-ready” technology to its 4G network. The announcement follows the successful completion of 4G technology trials that achieved download speeds exceeding 120 Mbps and demonstrated the potential of Clearwire‘s unmatched spectrum advantage.

The initial implementation of Clearwire‘s LTE network would target densely populated, urban areas of Clearwire‘s existing 4G markets where current 4G usage demands are high. The robust all-IP infrastructure already deployed in these markets can be leveraged to serve the company’s LTE needs, delivering significant capital cost savings compared to a similar overlay by other carriers of an existing 3G architecture.

“Clearwire plans to raise the bar again for mobile broadband service in the United States,” said John Stanton, Clearwire‘s Chairman and interim CEO. “Our leadership in launching 4G services forced a major change in the competitive mobile data landscape. Now, we plan to bring our considerable spectrum portfolio to bear to deliver an LTE network capable of meeting the future demands of the market.”

“This is the future of mobile broadband,” said Dr. John Saw, Clearwire‘s Chief Technology Officer. “Our extensive trial has clearly shown that our ‘LTE Advanced-ready’ network design, which leverages our deep spectrum with wide channels, can achieve far greater speeds and capacity than any other network that exists today. Clearwire is the only carrier with the unencumbered spectrum portfolio required to achieve this level of speed and capacity in the United States.”

“In addition, the 2.5 GHz spectrum band in which we operate is widely allocated worldwide for 4G deployments, enabling a potentially robust, cost effective and global ecosystem that could serve billions of devices,” Saw added. “We anticipate that the economies of scale derived from this global ecosystem will act as a catalyst for the development of thousands of low-cost devices and applications. And, since we currently support millions of customers in the 2.5 GHz band, we know that our LTE network won’t present harmful interference issues with GPS or other sensitive spectrum bands.”

Clearwire also noted that since launching its first 4G market in 2009, video has become the largest component of the company’s overall data traffic and video traffic itself has increased more than tenfold since 2009. The company believes that as more video-intensive smartphones and services rise, so will the needs for Clearwire‘s high-capacity 4G wholesale network.

LTE Advanced is a 4G technical standard that calls for peak download mobile speeds of at least 100 Mbps, which far exceeds today’s commercial networks. Clearwire‘s LTE network will be “LTE Advanced-ready” meaning that it will use an ultra-high-capacity spectrum configuration that is superior to the typical configuration of the slower, more capacity-constrained commercial LTE network designs in the United States of today.

Clearwire‘s LTE implementation plan, which is subject to additional funding, contemplates deploying Time Division Duplex (TDD) LTE technology and reusing its flexible all-IP network architecture and upgrading base station radios and some core network elements, which offers significant capital savings. This will include the use of multicarrier, or multichannel, wideband radios that will be carrier aggregation capable. Carrier aggregation is a key feature of LTE Advanced that will enable Clearwire to further leverage its vast spectrum depth to create larger “fat pipes” for deploying mobile broadband service. The network would position Clearwire as the clear leader in 4G mobile broadband technology, capable of serving the current and anticipated future demands of wholesale and retail customers.

Clearwire, together with some of the largest wireless carriers in the world, is a founding member of the Global TDD LTE Initiative (GTI) which aims to bring together leading industry partners to steer the TDD LTE ecosystem as a major standard in mobile broadband technology and drive the development of next generation mobile broadband networks. Member companies that currently support more than a billion subscribers on their networks believe that a global LTE standard has the potential to achieve significant economies of scale and serve hundreds of millions of customers worldwide.

Clearwire also restated its commitment to its existing 4G WiMAX network, which covers approximately 132 million people while serving 7.65 million retail and wholesale customers and an ecosystem of nearly 110 WiMAX enabled devices, including all 4G phones currently offered by Sprint. Clearwire expects to end 2011 with approximately 10 million 4G customers.

About Clearwire

Clearwire Corporation (Nasdaq:CLWR), through its operating subsidiaries, is a leading provider of mobile broadband services. Clearwire‘s 4G network currently provides coverage in areas of the U.S. where more than 130 million people live. Clearwire‘s open all-IP network, combined with significant spectrum holdings, provides an unprecedented combination of speed and mobility to deliver next generation broadband access. The company markets its 4G service through its own brand called CLEAR^® as well as through its wholesale relationships with companies such as Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Locus Telecommunications, Cbeyond, Mitel and Best Buy. Strategic investors include Intel Capital, Comcast, Sprint, Google, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks. Clearwire is headquartered in Kirkland, Wash. Additional information is available at http://www.clearwire.com.

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Mark Sullivan, PC World, 7/20/2011

With a powerful new upgrade to HTML now emerging, developers may opt for apps that run in mobile browsers

For a couple of years now, we’ve been talking about apps for a multitude of purposes. Mobile apps continue to be the preferred way to deliver new services or content to mobile devices.

But the whole idea of the “the app” might be heading for a big change. A day may soon come when, instead of visiting the App Store or the Android Market, you’ll just click a link on your homescreen to launch an app in your browser.

Native apps have ruled
When developing apps for mobile devices, developers usually build a “native app” — the kind of app you buy at an app store and install in the memory of your phone. Native apps have been the de facto standard for adding functionality to your phone.

To this point, most developers would agree, native apps have looked better and performed better than their browser-based counterparts. Most users have looked at the mobile browser as something to avoid, because it’s such a hassle to use — especially when you need to input data.

Native apps have been more predictable than browser-based ones, too. Because native apps run from the phone’s memory, they aren’t subject to unpredictability and inconsistency in the way various mobile browsers render them.

In addition, native apps rely less on the network: Since they store much of their content on the phone, native apps don’t rely on a network connection the way browser apps do. Browser apps typically reside on a server in the cloud and must constantly tap the cloud via a Wi-Fi or cellular connection for content. If that network connection is poor or unavailable, the browser app’s performance may suffer greatly.

But native apps are troublesome
For a long time, developers with limited resources made apps for Apple iOS devices and Android devices because doing so enabled them to get their app onto the largest number of phones.

But this rationale is beginning to lose force, in part because marketing native apps in an app store is hard for developers. In the case of iOS apps, even getting an app accepted to the App Store. Though Apple applies the same set of criteria to each app submitted to it for acceptance, developers say that if Apple doesn’t like an app — for any reason – the company rejects it.

Though developers have less difficulty getting their apps accepted at the Android Market, apps can quickly get lost among the store’s thousands of other apps, many of which are low-quality programs.

Another problem for app developers is that they must create multiple different versions of their native app for different mobile operating systems (iOS, Android, and others) and in some instances different versions of those OS families. So developers have to spend a lot of time and money “versioning” their apps, instead of improving them or creating new ones.

Lost in the super market
As noted earlier, a native app that has made its way into an app store may receive very little notice at all. As app stores have grown — and become bloated with shoddy or useless apps — accessing apps has become more of a hassle. WildTangent vice president Matt Shea says that because the big app stores are a one-stop-shop for all categories of apps, they are unwieldy and often fail to categorize and organize apps sensibly. As a result, app buyers can’t locate the perfect app for the task they have in mind even though it may exist in the store — and that’s a big problem for the app’s developer.

Shea says that poor cataloging of apps at the big app stores helps explain the rise of specialized app stores like WildTangent, which offers only games and categorizes them carefully so visitors can more easily find the apps they’re looking for.

Is HTML5 the answer?
Many people in the mobile community believe that developers could avoid these headaches if they used HTML5 to develop browser-based apps. HTML5 is the first upgrade to hypertext markup language since 1999. Though the official HTML5 standard won’t be officially completed by the W3C (Worldwide Web Consortium) until 2014, most modern mobile browsers already support the language, and many Web developers are already designing HTML5 sites.

In a nutshell, HTML5 will let browsers — desktop and mobile — do a lot of cool new things, such as location detection, and audio and video playback without plug-ins. Syncing will improve, too, so that you can watch part of a movie at work, and then continue watching it on your commuter train ride home.

Perhaps the biggest potential benefit of HTML5 is that it will enable app developers to focus on making one version of each app, which will then run smoothly in many kinds of browsers, freeing them to move on to bringing more and better apps to market. It might also encourage them to spend more money on marketing and promotion and less on the grunt work of versioning.

The network is a factor, too. With the advent of 4G networks, which can deliver content ten times faster than 3G networks can, users will be able to retrieve content from the network far faster and more reliably than in the past — and browser-based apps will have a far better chance of matching the performance of native apps.

As for promotional considerations, browser-based mobile apps reduce developers’ reliance on the app stores. In order for native apps to have a chance at success, developers must promote them through the app stores; but browser-based apps lend themselves better to Web promotion via social media like Twitter and Google+, proponents say.

Should I stay or should I go?
Though most developers believe that HTML5 is improving, they say that native apps still run better and faster than browser apps in real-life use cases.

One reason for this state of affairs involves the app’s access to the phone’s features. Many developers say that HTML5 apps can’t yet control and take advantage of a smartphone’s various hardware features — such as its processor and its accelerometer — as well as native apps can.

Nevertheless, considerable debate surrounds the question of how fast HTML5 is approaching parity with native apps when it comes to controlling the hardware assets of smartphones.

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