The latest from Telecom-Funda
| 3GPP Rel. 8 Fast Dormancy Moves Quickly | Top |
| Back in summer this year I ran a post on UMTS state switching and Fast Dormancy evolution to highlight the challenge current mobile devices have with battery consumption due to applications running in the background that access the Internet periodically. A major part of the current solution to the issue is a functionality referred to as "Fast Dormancy" which saves battery capacity by setting the radio link into Idle state quickly. This comes at the expense of a longer delay once data has to be exchanged again with the network and an increased signaling load in the network. The fix for both downsides comes with the introduction of a new parameter in the Signaling Connection Release Indication message in 3GPP Release 8. With this parameter, the radio connection is not put into the Idle state but instead in the Cell-PCH state which is similar but doesn't have the afore mentioned downsides. Have a look at this post for a more detailed explanation . Usually, standards changes take years before they end up in real networks. This one, however, is quite simple to implement and there is real demand for it today. Now there are first indications from NSN, a vendor for 3G infrastructure, that they have implemented it and have run some first tests in a lab together with Qualcomm, one of the companies producing 3G radio chips. Good stuff, let's see how quickly this is pushed out to real networks and real devices. | |
| Femtocell market update for the 3 weeks to 7 Nov 2010 | Top |
| Verizon launches 3G femtocell Verizon has started offering a 3G (EV-DO) version of its Network Extender femtocell with a price tag of $250. The device is an upgrade to the existing Samsung 2G femto. ABI Research's Aditya Kaul suggests that the 'low key' launch and high price indicate a reluctance on Verizon's part to push the product hard. Interestingly, Telecompaper describes the device as a picocell , rather than a femtocell, which ties in with Samsung exec Youngsy Kim's keynote address at 4G World, advocating more picocells in future networks. Etisalat announces successful femtocell trials Etisalat has deployed the first femtocells in the UAE , supplied by Alcatel-Lucent. Commercial launch is targeted before the end of the year. VHA also trials femtocells Vodafone Hutchison Australia has started femtocell trials . The company expects to deploy femtocells for business customers before the end of the year, and plans a consumer rollout some time in 2011. Femtocells get a boost in Taiwan Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) has given its approval to femtocells . Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone responded by announcing that they will start buying femtocells in a big way, and will offer subsidised femtocells to subscribers in 2011. (The subsidy will amount to about US$100 per device.) The operators will have to propose femtocell installation plans for review by the NCC , which will issue installation permits and then inspect samples of the femtocells. The sampling ratio will be 1.6% (much lower than the 10% for 2G and 3G base stations), and home-use femtocells will be exempt. Meanwhile, Taiwanese manufacturer Alpha Networks says it plans to penetrate European, American and Japanese markets with its WHU-FAP01 3G femtocell. SKT selects Contela for Data Femto service picoChip says SK Telecom will use Contela's end-to-end femtocell solution for its Data Femto offering , to be launched in Korea later this year. According to picoChip, SKT's service will be the first in the world to use 3GPP's luh interface between the access point and the femto gateway. Telefónica moving towards LTE picocells Telefónica executive Lluch Ladron told the Broadband World Forum that his company is focusing on improving indoor LTE penetration in 2.6 GHz spectrum by " moving towards street-level picocells and femtocells ". He said that Telefónica does not favour Wi-Fi because of the lack of operator control over quality of service. Operators at the Broadband World Forum agreed that LTE alone will not solve network capacity problems . Femto Forum chairman Simon Saunders pointed out that it currently costs $7-$9 per Gigabyte to carry data traffic on a mobile network, and that by using femtocells in key areas operators can reduce this cost by a factor of four. £20 Sure Signal femtocells snapped up Vodafone UK offered 2,000 of its Sure Signal femtocells for a special price of £20 (a £30 discount on the regular price). According to What Mobile, the devices quickly sold out. Broadcom to buy Percello US silicon vendor Broadcom has signed a deal to buy Israeli femtocell chip developer Percello for $86 million . The company also confirmed the rumour that it acquired Radioframe's femtocell assets almost a year ago, and said the Percello acquisition should enable it to lower the femtocell bill of materials and accelerate time to market. ABI Research sees the announcement as a sign of maturity in the femtocell industry . EE Times agrees, adding that it " presents a very plausible scenario for femtocell integrated in a broadband gateway box, and shows the future of femtocells potentially priced on par with WiFi ." Even so, $86 million looks like a high valuation for Percello, whose chip shipments are mainly via Ubiquisys (the number 3 femtocell supplier by volume, according to my estimates). Femtocells outnumber macrocells in US According to Informa's latest Femtocell Market Status Report , femtocells now outnumber macrocells in the United States. Informa estimates that the US currently has 350,000 femtocells (offered by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon) and around 256,000 macrocells . The report also highlights that the number of operator femtocell deployments worldwide has increased from 11 to 17 over the last quarter. ALU bangs the femto drum Despite some financial challenges , Alcatel-Lucent has expressed very public enthusiasm for femtocells over the last few weeks. First it claimed 12 commercial femtocell deals in only 3 months , with 20 trials ongoing ( including Etisalat , see above). Then it announced frame agreements with the 3 big Chinese mobile operators , with femtocells specifically mentioned as part of the China Unicom contract. Finally, ALU CEO Ben Verwaayen told investors that interest in femtocells is growing rapidly as mobile operators seek ways to manage increasing data traffic. Best of all, I understand that another episode of the Wilson Street femto soap is due out any time now. Will SFR's new Neufbox be femto-enabled? There is some speculation that the "3G+" marking on SFR's new Neufbox home gateway indicates that the device will contain an embedded femtocell. It seems more likely that this refers to the 3G+ USB dongle used as a back-up for the DSL link (a feature which is already supported by the existing Neufbox), but you never know… In other news… Ofcom advises UK consumers to consider getting a femtocell. Ericsson CTO Hakan Eriksson spreads misinformation about femtocells. Elisa exec bizarrely suggests femtocells are more expensive than macro networks. David Chambers argues that open access is the right approach for enterprise femtocells. Report on femtocell session at 4G World. Femtos aid the recovery effort after floods in Thailand. Femto Forum publishes APIs to advance LTE interoperability . T-Mobile tests Cel-Fi repeater for US home coverage. Ruckus Wireless introduces end-to-end carrier Wi-Fi solution for data offload. But are carriers who use Wi-Fi for offload sufficiently concerned about Wi-Fi security? Will Wi-Fi Direct give femto manufacturers "a kicking where it hurts the most"? Cellcom deploys Bridgewater EPC 500 system for IMS femtocell services in Wisconsin. BelAir adds CDMA2000 support to its stand picocell. BelAir CTO Stephen Rayment gives his perspective on the pico / metro femto market … and again . Acme packet sponsors ip.access User Group meeting . David Chambers interviews the company's Director of Solutions Marketing, Kevin Mitchell. SySDSoft ports LTE femto-eNB protocol stack to ARM9 processor. MimoOn announces mi!Spectrum femtocell LTE air interface scheduler. Agilent announces calibration and verification testing software for Percello-based femtocells. AirHop integrates eSON software with picoChip's PC302 chip. Airvana HubBub Femtocell wins award. ADB acquires Pirelli Broadband Solutions. Cisco's Jim Tavares interviewed about femtocells at 4G World. David Chambers interview and video – with me. Smartphone use accounts for 65% of all mobile traffic worldwide. Verizon introduces tiered data pricing option. NSN claims 50% more efficient smartphone signalling with Cell_PCH. Orange UK iPhone users are the most dissatisfied. Demand for in-flight mobile data more important than voice for the next in 2-3 years. The next innovation – human basestations! Tagged: Alcatel-Lucent , Broadcom , Etisalat , Femto Forum , Femtocell , femtocells , | |
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