Mobile and wireless news

October 2007

The ITU Radiocommunication Assembly took a decision to include WiMax-derived technology in the framework of the IMT-2000 set of standards. The specific terminology of the IEEE 802.16 standard in ITU-R M.1457 Recommendation is 'IMT-2000 OFDMA TDD WMAN'.

Motorola has demonstrated what it claims is the world's first WiMAX 802.16e mobile handoffs in downtown Chicago . The network infrastructure used for this demonstration was standard Motorola WAP 25400 access points with backhaul provided by Motorola's wireless IP backhaul equipment to its Innovation Center in Schaumburg , Ill. , where a Motorola IMS provided connection to the public switched telephone network. The Chicago market is one of six in the U.S. that Sprint has awarded to Motorola to build WiMAX network infrastructure to support its announced Xohm mobile Internet services.

The European Commission has backed DVB-H as the mobile TV standard and supports a single standard approach to promote interoperability and facilitate development of the technology.

NTT DoCoMo announced it has developed and successfully tested a trial large-scale-integration (LSI) chip incorporating advanced power-saving signal-processing technologies that enable the chip to work at a sufficiently low power consumption and to be made small enough to fit into forthcoming Super 3G handsets and beyond. In the test, DoCoMo's LSI achieved a transmission rate of 200Mbps with high precision over a high-speed wireless network, while power consumption did not exceed 0.1W thanks to DoCoMo's proprietary signal-processing technology.

Huawei announced that it has been selected by China Mobile to install a new generation GSM Base Station on Mount Everest . The base station will provide mobile network coverage for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Team that plans to reach the summit in time for the Olympic Games.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade body that represents 240 airlines and 94% of scheduled international travel, has reached an agreement on a global standard for mobile barcodes, which it says "paves the way" for air travelers to use mobile phones for check-in at airports.

Ofcom has set out proposals to enable airlines to offer mobile communication services on UK-registered aircraft. The proposals have been developed jointly with other EU countries and are intended to cover all European airspace. The earliest that services could be available from UK registered airlines is 2008, subject to approval by the aviation authorities.

The CDMA Development Group (CDG) and the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) announced the publication of the Ultra Mobile Broadband air interface specification - 3GPP2 C.S0084-0 v2.0. More information on the UMB air interface specification is available at www.cdg.org and www.3gpp2.org

Ofcom has announced proposals for consultation to open up the radio spectrum bands used by mobile phone operators to allow them to launch new services and technologies and to promote competition. The consultation covers the spectrum used by Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile and Orange for their 2G networks. In line with the existing European GSM Directive, the licenses for this spectrum presently limit its use to 2G technology. Ofcom proposes to liberalise the use of this spectrum, by removing the restriction to 2G. Ofcom estimates the benefits to the UK of liberalising the 2G spectrum could be in the order of £6bn. Ofcom estimates that it would be possible to build a high quality 3G mobile broadband network covering 99 per cent of population using around 10,000 fewer sites per operator.

Mobile phones have not been found to be associated with any biological or adverse health effects according to the UK 's largest investigation into the possible health risks from mobile telephone technology. The Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) six year research programme has found no association between short term mobile phone use and brain cancer. Studies on volunteers also showed no evidence that brain function was affected by mobile phone signals or the signals used by the emergency services (TETRA). The research programme also included the largest and most robust studies of electrical hypersensitivity undertaken anywhere in the world. These studies have found no evidence that the unpleasant symptoms experienced by sufferers are the result of exposure to signals from mobile phones or base stations.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has revised the 700 MHz band plan and service rules to promote the creation of a nationwide interoperable broadband network for public safety and to facilitate the availability of new and innovative wireless broadband services for consumers. The 700 MHz Band spectrum, which runs from 698-806 MHz, currently is occupied by television broadcasters and will be made available for other wireless services, including public safety and commercial services, as a result of the digital television (DTV) transition. In order to promote broadband competition and the development of innovative wireless services for consumers, the FCC's Order also determines that licensees for one of the spectrum blocks to be auctioned - the large, 22-megahertz Upper 700 MHz C Block - will be required to provide a platform that is more open to devices and applications. These licensees will be required to allow customers, device manufacturers, third-party application developers, and others to use any device or application of their choice on their networks in this band, subject to certain conditions.

AT&T announced that it would buy the wireless spectrum licenses of Aloha Partners for about $2.5 billion. AT&T has agreed to buy Dobson Communications in a deal valued at $5.1 billion. Dobson resells wireless services under the Cellular One brand and has 1.7 million subscribers across 17 states. Verizon Wireless announced it plans to buy Rural Cellular for $757 million in cash to save on roaming costs and expand its customer base.

Gartner has announced that worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached 270.9 million units in the second quarter of 2007, which represents an increase of 17.4% from the same period last year. The firm predicts worldwide mobile phone sales will reach 1.13 billion units in 2007.

According to Wireless Intelligence, a joint venture between Ovum and the GSM Association, WCDMA HSPA cellular connections are expected to reach 40 million worldwide by end of 2008. By 2010, WCDMA HSPA is expected to represent around 45% of total WCDMA cellular connections.

M:Metrics has released for the first time its measurement of mobile social networking, announcing that 12.3 million consumers in the United States and Western Europe reported accessing a social networking site with their mobile device in the month of June. MySpace garnered the most mobile users in the United States and United Kingdom , whereas MSN was the forum of choice for mobile Web 2.0 users in the other geographies surveyed. MySpace and Facebook are the top two social networking sites accessed via mobile in both the U.S. and UK .

According to Juniper Research person-to-person (P2P) fund transfers and mobile payments in the developing world, together with the commercialization in 2009 of Near Field Communications (NFC) based mPayments will generate transactions worth approximately $22 billion.

GSM celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 7, 2007 since 20 years earlier a historic Memorandum of Understanding telecommunications agreement was signed in Copenhagen , Denmark by fifteen telecommunications operators from thirteen different countries that led to the development of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). The first GSM system worldwide was launched in Finland in 1991. More information about the historic event can be found at: www.gsmtwenty.com

Nokia and Navteq have announced a definitive agreement for Nokia to acquire Navteq. Navteq is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions.

Ericsson announced it has extended its cooperation with the United Nations to aid and improve emergency response by leveraging technological progress in telecommunications. Ericsson will provide a complete mobile telecommunications solution that can be rapidly deployed to selected humanitarian operations and that will be installed, operated and maintained by Ericsson employees.

Nokia announced the launch of its second annual competition for developers and entrepreneurs working in the mobile space. More information about the competition (including details of terms and conditions, prizes, judging and entry forms): wwww.mobilerules.org