Wireless

Wireless Growth News

Edited By Greg Galitzine on October 14, 2008

A newly released report from Informa Telecoms & Media indicates that 2007-2008 witnessed significant growth in the prepaid mobile services market. At the end of last year, there were nearly 2.33 billion prepaid subscriptions worldwide, of which two percent of subscriptions accounted for prepaid WCDMA accesses. According to the research, by 2013 there will be approximately 3.93 billion prepaid subscriptions, generating concomitant revenues of over $382 billion. The consultancy predicts that from 2007-2013, growth might slow down to a global compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just over nine percent; Still, the prepaid market will account for over eighty percent of new mobile subscriptions. It's expected that the key drivers of future growth of the prepaid mobile services market will be very-low-income customers in developing markets. In other next-generation wireless news, Alcatel-Lucent today announced a €22 million deal with South African mobile operator Vodacom SA to upgrade its existing 3G network. The goal is to boost the capacity and coverage of Vodacom's network so that the wireless carrier can offer its customers a wide range of advanced next-generation mobile broadband services. The 3G wireless network will be based on Alcatel-Lucent UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and HSDPA/HSUPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access/High Speed Uplink Packet Access) technologies.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Next-Generation Communications, Research, Wireless

Laptop Guardian Security Solution Goes Global

Edited By Greg Galitzine on October 22, 2008

In order for all the exciting next-generation communications services to be widely adopted by corporate users, certain conditions must be in place, among them ubiquity and security. Not only do business users need access to their applications everywhere and anywhere, the access they crave must be secure. Earlier this week, Alcatel-Lucent announced global availability of a high-speed packet access (HSPA) version of its OmniAccess 3500 Nonstop Laptop Guardian (OA3500 NLG). This solution is designed to protect and recover stolen laptops and data, and was previously available only on CDMA-based 3G networks. (TMC's Rich Tehrani wrote here about the earlier model, which is offered by Sprint on its CDMA network in the US.) Furthermore, in a recent survey of 255 executive level IT, security and compliance decision makers in the U.S. and Germany, it turns out that 76 percent of respondents believe it is necessary to protect a lost or stolen laptop with more than encryption alone - such as having the ability to locate the device using GPS and remotely revoking access to data. And in a finding that should serve as a warning to complacent mobile operators everywhere, 50 percent of companies said they would switch to an operator that offers a security solution that protects lost or stolen laptops used remotely, provides auto virtual private network capabilities, and allows IT to manage laptops even when they're turned off. For more details on Alcatel-Lucent's OmniAccess 3500 Nonstop Laptop Guardian solution, check out the Web site. SingTel of Singapore, Magyar Telekom of Hungary, and broadband carrier IIJ (Internet Initiative Japan Inc.) of Japan all unveiled plans to offer the device on their networks.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Corporate News, Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Next-Generation Communications, Security, Wireless

ALU Expands China Telecom Network

Edited By Greg Galitzine on December 2, 2008

Years ago, people looked to areas like China and India as so-called greenfield opportunities. These were places unencumbered by legacy telephony systems, with growing demand and a chance to deploy next-generation communications technologies to address the needs of the region, rather than rely on aging copper wires, crumbling infrastructure etc.... Today we learned that China Telecom, China's leading telecom operator, has selected Alcatel-Lucent to provide an end-to-end solution for the carrier to increase its capacity and coverage of its mobile voice and data network throughout the country. Valued at $230 million (US) the contract calls for CDMA wireless networking solutions to be deployed in 56 cities of 9 provinces in China. The deployment is currently underway and the expanded network will begin providing commercial services by the end of 2008. The deployment will comprise a range of base stations designed to fit a variety of scenarios, from usage-heavy urban areas to rural areas where population is scarce. According to the announcement, the base stations can be readily upgraded to support 3G services in the future.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Next-Generation Communications, Wireless

Telecom New Zealand Chooses Alcatel-Lucent for IP MPLS

Edited By Greg Galitzine on December 5, 2008

When faced with the need to accommodate the need to backhaul traffic from its cellular W-CDMA and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) traffic, Telecom new Zealand turned to Alcatel-Lucent and its IP Multi-Protocol Label Switching (IP/MPLS)-based mobile backhaul solution.
The solution features ALU's pseudowire technology, which is designed to adapts various traffic and media types from the W-CDMA base stations into IP/MPLS. Telecom New Zealand sees this as a benefit for future-proofing their solution, as they transition to a W-CDMA and HSPA deployment. By deploying ALU's solution, the backhaul network will have the flexibility and cost-effective scalability needed to support strong traffic growth and will allow the operator to scale and rapidly roll out innovative mobile broadband services. According to the release: Alcatel-Lucent's pseudowire solution includes the 7705 Service Aggregation Router (SAR) which is deployed in cellular base station sites to consolidate and aggregate traffic. The Alcatel-Lucent 7705 SAR allows service providers to scale traffic and simultaneously flatten their cost-curves for leased bandwidth, therefore improving their competitiveness. The 7705 SAR inherits its software architecture from the widely deployed IP/MPLS Service Router product line, retaining and building on its qualities but at a price and form factor appropriate to the cell site and hubs.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Corporate News, Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, Next-Generation Communications, Wireless

Base Stations' Affect on Backhaul

Edited By Greg Galitzine on December 8, 2008

Writing in his latest The Middle Mile column today, titled Bigger Isn't Always Better, Dr. Alan Solheim addresses a number of issues critical to those looking to deploy base stations, touching upon various constraints such as reach, available spectrum, and teledensity and how they affect the operator's choice in selecting the appropriate solution for deployment at the base station. As Solheim writes: The discussion surrounding base station size (Macro, Micro, Pico or Femto) is certainly subject to ... confusing barrage of information and misinformation. The need to continue to adapt one's product lines to track the changing requirements has never been more apparent. Those who cannot bring themselves to cannibalize their existing products with new offerings or who cling to traditional, TDM based technologies will be left behind in this rapidly evolving new world. Make sure to check out the article here.

Posted in Broadband, Wireless

ALU Wins Femtocell Deal From Chunghwa Telecom

Edited By Greg Galitzine on December 10, 2008

A recent ABI Research study posited that although femtocells hold tremendous promise for carriers, 2008 would pass as a fairly low-key year for femtocell vendors, with only "about 100,000 units" expected to ship in this year. 2009 will bear more fruit and 2010 will be the year when the market moves to double-digit millions in volume. Well Alcatel-Lucent is doing their part to move the deployment numbers in the right direction, announcing a femtocell contract from Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan's largest telecommunications provider, to deploy the first femtocell network in Taiwan, which is designed to enhance the coverage of Chunghwa Telecom's mobile network inside homes and offices. Alcatel-Lucent will supply the operator with a comprehensive end-to-end solution including its Base Station Router (BSR) Femto -- which incorporates 3G W-CDMA radio access and core network elements into a single unit. The deployment will also include service routers and Home Device Manager from Motive, now part of Alcatel-Lucent's portfolio.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Corporate News, Next-Generation Communications, Wireless

ALU In TD-SCDMA Pact With China Mobile

Edited By Greg Galitzine on December 16, 2008

Alcatel-Lucent, through its Chinese flagship company Alcatel Shanghai Bell, has won a significant contract for a TD-SCDMA mobile network trial in China Together with Datang Mobile, Alcatel Lucent announced that they were awarded the largest share in China Mobile's tender for the second phase of its trial to address the growing demand in China for broadband Internet access services on mobile devices. The deployment of China Mobile's phase II TD-SCDMA network will cover 28 cities across the nation. Under the agreement Alcatel-Lucent and Datang Mobile will provide the TD-SCDMA solution for 11 of the 28 cities, including Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Changchun, Hefei, Guiyang, Kunming, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Yinchuan and Urumqi. Upon the project's completion in June of 2009, the subscribers in these 11 cities will be able to enjoy a full range of multimedia services including ring back tones, multimedia messaging service and more.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Broadband, Next-Generation Communications, Wireless

ALU Enables Blackberry Launch in Vietnam

Edited By Greg Galitzine on December 18, 2008

Viettel, a leading mobile operator in Vietnam, Alcatel-Lucent and Research In Motion announced the launch of the BlackBerry wireless solution in Vietnam.

Under the terms of this agreement, Alcatel-Lucent will provide integration services, leveraging its strong local presence in the region to provide Viettel with end-to-end implementation, launch, delivery and support services for the BlackBerry solution in the Vietnamese market.

Alcatel-Lucent's participation thus enables Viettel to focus on the delivery of customer facing services in order to quickly meet market demand.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Corporate News, Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Next-Generation Communications, Wireless

China 3G Market Can Still Be Huge Opportunity

Edited By Greg Galitzine on January 2, 2009

In a recent AP item, reports of a highly politicized "scramble" by telecom equipment manufacturers for their piece of a potential $41 billion pie, were set in motion by China's move to roll out third-generation or 3G mobile phone services. According to the AP report: Chinese sales could be crucial for suppliers such as Motorola Inc., Alcatel-Lucent SA and Nokia-Siemens Networks as global demand slumps. The report cites state-run media claims that China Mobile (which together with China Unicom dominates the mobile operator landscape) is looking to sign up 100 million 3G subscribers in the next three years. It remains to be seen if foreign-owned companies will get a fair shake at the business. The AP report said that it's possible that Chinese regulators may ...try to boost China's high-tech industry by ordering wireless carriers to buy domestic products. Beijing has tried to use such restrictions to nurture other fields, prompting complaints by the United States and other trading partners. China's leading domestic suppliers are Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Ltd. Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China Ltd., a Beijing consulting firm was quoted in the report as saying that foreigners might only be in line for less than half of China's 3G orders. Given the size of the market, an opportunity to provide equipment to serve even half the potential customers might not be such a bad thing after all.

Posted in Next-Generation Communications, Wireless

Alcatel-Lucent in the LTE Spotlight

Edited By Greg Galitzine on February 18, 2009

Alcatel-Lucent has been at the center of much of the big LTE news emanating from Barcelona this week. LTE, or long-term evolution, is a fourth-generation (4G) wireless networking technology designed to succeed today's 3G wireless networks. 4G networks based on LTE will reportedly enable download speeds of up to 100Mbps, and will most likely be considered as alternatives to DSL, cable, satellite, and other current broadband offerings. Dick Lynch, Verizon executive vice president and chief technology officer, delivered a keynote address at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona today, and in his speech, Lynch offered details regarding the operator's 4G LTE plans. Lynch announced that Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone, has chosen Alcatel-Lucent among a select group of primary network vendors for its initial LTE network deployments in the United States. Utilizing their existing spectrum, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone have been field testing 4G LTE networks in Minneapolis, Columbus, Ohio, and Northern New Jersey in the United States, as well as in Budapest, Dusseldorf, and Madrid in Europe. These field trials have demonstrated download rates of 50 to 60 Mbps peak speeds. Utilizing its recently acquired 700 MHz spectrum, Verizon Wireless hopes to expand its 4G trials this summer, with the goal of commercially launching its LTE network in 2010. Ben Verwaayen, chief executive officer of Alcatel-Lucent, commented, "With LTE's bandwidth and its ability to co-exist with the current 3G platform, we look forward to partnering with Verizon Wireless to build the next-generation foundation that will economically enable new forms of communications using both fixed and wireless, as well as mobile broadband." In other news related to Alcatel-Lucent's LTE plans, the company announced it has completed a series of data calls - involving terminals from third-party suppliers using Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology for Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum (TD-LTE), a mobile broadband standard that will be used by operators in China and across the globe. Alcatel-Lucent also introduced a software module designed to enable service providers to expand the capabilities of their wireless networks through the rapid introduction of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology.

Posted in Alcatel-Lucent Corporate News, Alcatel-Lucent Technology News, Next-Generation Communications, Wireless

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