Option and Nortel have completed the industry's first successful demonstration of live HSDPA data card calls reaching a wireless transmission rate of 3.6Mbps - faster than the majority of current broadband connections. The test calls were carried out on commercial HSDPA network equipment at Nortel's research campus in Chateaufort, France. The series of calls are the first data card calls to demonstrate downlink speed of 3.6 Mbps, at HSDPA category 6 using 16 QAM modulation.
A laptop fitted with an Option 3.6 HSDPA data card based on Qualcomm core MSM 6280 technology and commercial HSDPA network equipment from Nortel were used to achieve the download speeds.
The calls included successful 'real-world' tests with a laptop placed in a moving vehicle to illustrate the suitability of mobile wireless broadband for high quality, live TV, High Definition video on demand, MP3 download as well as new applications for the mobile workforce.
"The results of these data card trials mark a world first for Option and demonstrate our leadership position in the development and realization of mobile broadband wireless data solutions," Jan Callewaert, chief executive officer, Option. "Achieving this world first underscores the strong relationships that we have with leading chipset manufacturers and infrastructure providers -- Qualcomm and Nortel,-- and reinforces our continued commitment to bring the most advanced 3G/HSDPA technology solutions to market."
"Nortel is committed to the thorough testing and demonstration of viable HSDPA end-user equipment with vendors such as Option to help provide a faster time to market of high speed broadband wireless services," said Jean-Luc Jezouin, vice-president, GSM/UMTS products, Nortel. "Broadband technologies like HSDPA can only help operators realize the value of their existing Nortel UMTS infrastructure investments if viable end user equipment is available in the market."
Friday, December 23, 2005
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Standards: what do you leave out?
Bringing HSDPA to market must have involved a lot of debate, compromise and even horse-trading in the standards bodies, mustn’t it? Perhaps not. We asked a representative of Icera, a company at the sharp end of development, given that its first baseband processor and modem software, launched in 2005, is designed to support HSDPA, UMTS, GSM and EDGE multimode capability, to let us know what it thinks.
Icera is, obviously, a strong supporter of HSDPA. Nigel Toon, VP of sales and marketing, notes that the high-speed downlink packet access extension to WCDMA is “a pressing requirement” because, like many observers, he feels that this represents the first time that cellular technology can really offer a broadband-like service. Toon notes that ADSL and cable modems opened up the wired internet with fast access and reasonable charges and services became usable and attractive to consumers; this resulted in accelerated take-up. “With HSPDA there is the improvement in network capacity for high-speed data services for the operator,” he says. “For the consumer there is the availability of a wireless broadband access technology. Couple these two items with improved network response times and you get a technology with the ability to open up wireless data services in a similar way that DSL did for the internet. Put simply, HSDPA has the ability to enable responsive high-speed data services that consumers will enjoy - with reduced costs to the operators.”
So what have been the main standardisation challenges in bringing this new era to wireless? “With cellular standards there are always many options and possibilities. Not all of them can be mapped to ways in which the network will actually be used to deploy services. The challenge is to decide which options will not really support a valid service and therefore should not be included in the standard. It is always tempting to try to include everything just because it can be done. However, each item will require development and test effort so including obscure or irrelevant items can slow down the development and deployment process.”
How does he feel standards bodies have responded? “With regards to HSDPA the standards bodies did a good job of constraining the requirements to a well defined set. This speeded up the process of standardisation,” he says.
That aside, Icera does not believe that the standardisation of HSDPA was particularly different from any of the previous standards work. In fact as an extension of the 3GPP WCDMA standards the scope was a little more constrained than the original UMTS specifications given that much of the air interface had already been defined. “The focus of the standards body was quite well defined, which in general leads to clear goals and enhanced cooperation,” says Toon.
Were there other pressures? “There is always pressure to speed up the standardisation process in the cellular market. This is one of the most competitive and fast-paced markets in the world. Operators and manufacturers are constantly working on the next requirements. Pressure for HSDPA is coming from CDMA 1xEVDO and from the need to deploy new services to drive higher average revenue per user,” Toon points out.
Which brings us to the company’s own solution. Given its position in the value chain, how easy has it been to keep up with standards definitions? “In a conventional silicon-based solution new standards requirements or changes typically require silicon changes,” he explains. “This requires a minimum of four months (one month design plus three months silicon fabrication). In reality most changes will require six to 12 months and will only go to fabrication after the standards are finalised due to the high cost of fine geometry silicon masks. Icera can update its solution entirely in software.” In fact, the company does not need to wait for standards work to be finalised in order to deploy a new solution. Software upgrades can be provided ahead of finished standards, say for trials and prototypes. “When the standards work is completed a final tweaked version of the software can be delivered.”
And will be, presumably, for HSUPA as well. But is the need to standardise HSUPA really as compelling? “Yes,” says Toon. “HSUPA will bring further reductions in network latency. To the consumer this will appear as a faster more responsive network. HSUPA will also provide a high-speed uplink service so business users can send large files as well as receive them.”
Icera is, obviously, a strong supporter of HSDPA. Nigel Toon, VP of sales and marketing, notes that the high-speed downlink packet access extension to WCDMA is “a pressing requirement” because, like many observers, he feels that this represents the first time that cellular technology can really offer a broadband-like service. Toon notes that ADSL and cable modems opened up the wired internet with fast access and reasonable charges and services became usable and attractive to consumers; this resulted in accelerated take-up. “With HSPDA there is the improvement in network capacity for high-speed data services for the operator,” he says. “For the consumer there is the availability of a wireless broadband access technology. Couple these two items with improved network response times and you get a technology with the ability to open up wireless data services in a similar way that DSL did for the internet. Put simply, HSDPA has the ability to enable responsive high-speed data services that consumers will enjoy - with reduced costs to the operators.”
So what have been the main standardisation challenges in bringing this new era to wireless? “With cellular standards there are always many options and possibilities. Not all of them can be mapped to ways in which the network will actually be used to deploy services. The challenge is to decide which options will not really support a valid service and therefore should not be included in the standard. It is always tempting to try to include everything just because it can be done. However, each item will require development and test effort so including obscure or irrelevant items can slow down the development and deployment process.”
How does he feel standards bodies have responded? “With regards to HSDPA the standards bodies did a good job of constraining the requirements to a well defined set. This speeded up the process of standardisation,” he says.
That aside, Icera does not believe that the standardisation of HSDPA was particularly different from any of the previous standards work. In fact as an extension of the 3GPP WCDMA standards the scope was a little more constrained than the original UMTS specifications given that much of the air interface had already been defined. “The focus of the standards body was quite well defined, which in general leads to clear goals and enhanced cooperation,” says Toon.
Were there other pressures? “There is always pressure to speed up the standardisation process in the cellular market. This is one of the most competitive and fast-paced markets in the world. Operators and manufacturers are constantly working on the next requirements. Pressure for HSDPA is coming from CDMA 1xEVDO and from the need to deploy new services to drive higher average revenue per user,” Toon points out.
Which brings us to the company’s own solution. Given its position in the value chain, how easy has it been to keep up with standards definitions? “In a conventional silicon-based solution new standards requirements or changes typically require silicon changes,” he explains. “This requires a minimum of four months (one month design plus three months silicon fabrication). In reality most changes will require six to 12 months and will only go to fabrication after the standards are finalised due to the high cost of fine geometry silicon masks. Icera can update its solution entirely in software.” In fact, the company does not need to wait for standards work to be finalised in order to deploy a new solution. Software upgrades can be provided ahead of finished standards, say for trials and prototypes. “When the standards work is completed a final tweaked version of the software can be delivered.”
And will be, presumably, for HSUPA as well. But is the need to standardise HSUPA really as compelling? “Yes,” says Toon. “HSUPA will bring further reductions in network latency. To the consumer this will appear as a faster more responsive network. HSUPA will also provide a high-speed uplink service so business users can send large files as well as receive them.”
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
The first 3GSM World Congress
The first 3GSM World Congress of a new era is only two months away. And it’s a new era not just in terms of venue but also in terms of technology, as live networks bring HSDPA off the drawing board and into the real world. However, as issue 20 of 3GSM World Focus Online winds up a year of often breathtaking technological advances, we use our show preview section to examine one of the other, but no less significant, talking points of 2005 through the eyes of Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association: the successes - and challenges - of market-building in the developing world.
Nevertheless this will go down as the year in which HSDPA became a reality, and, according to Nigel Toon of baseband processor and modem software developer Icera, interviewed in our news analysis section, part of the reason for that is an exemplary attitude to standardisation, one that, as the company puts it, constrained the requirements to a well-defined set.
To avoid being over-celebratory, however, we have included a look at a major challenge that could come with the rollout of HSDPA networks. It comes in the form of a warning from test and measurement specialist Tektronix: if you’re not talking seriously about KPIs in the user plane you - and your network - may not be ready for 3G, let alone HSDPA.
Vaughan O’Grady
Nevertheless this will go down as the year in which HSDPA became a reality, and, according to Nigel Toon of baseband processor and modem software developer Icera, interviewed in our news analysis section, part of the reason for that is an exemplary attitude to standardisation, one that, as the company puts it, constrained the requirements to a well-defined set.
To avoid being over-celebratory, however, we have included a look at a major challenge that could come with the rollout of HSDPA networks. It comes in the form of a warning from test and measurement specialist Tektronix: if you’re not talking seriously about KPIs in the user plane you - and your network - may not be ready for 3G, let alone HSDPA.
Vaughan O’Grady
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Czech Operator Optimises its 3G Network
The Czech Republic based Eurotel has selected UK-based wireless network optimisation specialists Arieso to maximise the performance of its new 3G network, which went live at the start of December. Eurotel will use Arieso's pioneering algorithm-based product Altaro to optimize its 3G network, which includes the HSDPA technology upgrade, in order to deliver the best possible levels of service to its subscribers.
Altaro uses unique algorithm technology to process network performance data from multiple sources, including network planning tools, switch counters and drive-testing solutions. Altaro combines this data alongside elements such as base site location, power levels, antenna type, direction and tilt, to automatically generate a network configuration whose performance best meets the parameters set by the operator. For operators, Altaro is the most cost-effective solution to enable the best possible coverage, traffic capacity and quality of service for 2G, 2.5G and 3G mobile networks for least cost.
Commenting on Arieso's appointment, Pavel Kolár, Chief Network Officer of Eurotel Praha said, "All of us at Eurotel are committed to the success of our 3G service. To achieve this goal we wanted to select a network optimisation tool that would quickly establish 3G service of a high quality. From the suppliers in our tender we selected Arieso because Altaro fully met our expectations. We are close to UMTS launch and Altaro helps us to optimise our growing initial network so that we can offer our customers the sort of attractive services and reliability necessary for 3G."
Earlier this year, Arieso announced a contract with UK network operator O2 to optimise its 3G network.
Altaro uses unique algorithm technology to process network performance data from multiple sources, including network planning tools, switch counters and drive-testing solutions. Altaro combines this data alongside elements such as base site location, power levels, antenna type, direction and tilt, to automatically generate a network configuration whose performance best meets the parameters set by the operator. For operators, Altaro is the most cost-effective solution to enable the best possible coverage, traffic capacity and quality of service for 2G, 2.5G and 3G mobile networks for least cost.
Commenting on Arieso's appointment, Pavel Kolár, Chief Network Officer of Eurotel Praha said, "All of us at Eurotel are committed to the success of our 3G service. To achieve this goal we wanted to select a network optimisation tool that would quickly establish 3G service of a high quality. From the suppliers in our tender we selected Arieso because Altaro fully met our expectations. We are close to UMTS launch and Altaro helps us to optimise our growing initial network so that we can offer our customers the sort of attractive services and reliability necessary for 3G."
Earlier this year, Arieso announced a contract with UK network operator O2 to optimise its 3G network.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
T-Mobile Paints a Plane
T-Mobile has taken to painting an entire plane to advertise their German network. The company is re-branding an Airbus A319 operated by the German low-cost carrier, Germanwings with its colour scheme and logo. The "Spirit of T-Mobile", as the jet is called, on Friday took off for Hamburg after the official naming ceremony. Amongst others, the passengers included the complete Bundesliga soccer team of FC Cologne as well as almost 30 Cologne fans, who had won the flight with their favorite club to the away game at Hamburger SV in various prize games.
"The magenta-colored 'Spirit of T-Mobile' increases our market presence and is at the same time a strong expression of our close partnership with Germanwings," emphasized Martin Knauer, the member of the management board responsible for Sales and Service Operations at T-Mobile International. "With a passenger plane as a likeable ambassador, T-Mobile is blazing new trails in advertising. We are expressing the regional affinity with FC Cologne through the joint naming ceremony with the team."
Dr. Andreas Bierwirth, managing director of Germanwings, stressed the things the two companies had in common: "For us, T-Mobile is the ideal partner for such a form of marketing cooperation. We are both the quality leaders in our respective business sectors and we are both pursuing the strategic goal of securing a top position on the European market with our offers."
The branding of the "Spirit of T-Mobile" - an Airbus A319 with the registration D-AKNS - is part of a three-year marketing cooperation campaign by T-Mobile and Germanwings. The T-Mobile emblem is not only on the outside of the plane but also on the inside of the plane, for instance on the folding tables in front of the seats and on boarding cards. The jet carries up to 144 passengers to their travel destinations throughout the whole of Europe.
Monday, December 05, 2005
TELECOM REPORT: Wireless Phones As Status Symbols
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- It's not enough any more to make wireless phones that are easy to use, work well and have great features. Now more than ever, customers also want "cool" phones that cater to their self-image.
At least that's how top executives explain it. In recent weeks, the chief executives of both Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Nokia have repeatedly stressed how they want to build "iconic" phones that are the envy of the industry.
The desire to make products with a strong "hip" factor, of course, is nothing new. Companies have been trying to become the King of Cool since the rise of the modern corporation and rapid advances in 20th century technology.
"That's always been the underlying goal," noted Bill Hughes, a wireless handset analyst at market researcher In-Stat.
Still, efforts to develop phones that also serve as status symbols have probably been heightened by the craze over Apple Computer's iPod series of tiny music players. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in fact, is often described as an "icon" himself because of all his cult-like inventions.
Hoping some of that success would rub off, Motorola even struck up a partnership with Apple to sell an iPod-related phone called the Rokr (rocker), though that handset has not exactly achieve "iconic" status.
Yet the blazing success of Motorola's supersleek, superchic Razr phone has clearly upped the ante. The company sold a whopping 6.5 million Razrs (pronounced razor) in the third quarter, possibly the highest sales rate of any wireless phone ever.
Though the Razr only accounted for about 17% of the 38.7 million phones that Motorola shipped during the quarter, the cutting-edge design of the handset has wowed consumers and done wonders for the company's brand image.
Sales of the Razr have also helped Motorola to narrow the gap with market leader Nokia. Motorola's global share of handset sales has surged to 19% from just under 14% a few years ago. The company aims to build on those gains in upcoming quarters with a slew of new models based on the slim Razr design.
"We've got a tremendous opportunity to build iconic, thin products," Motorola CEO Ed Zander told Dow Jones in an interview.
Nokia, for its, part, has seen its market position fall in recent years to 33% from a peak of 40% amid stiffer competition from the likes of a resurgent Motorola and other rivals such as Samsung, LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson.
For now, though, Nokia's position appears impregnable. The company's phones have always been known for their sound designs, ease of use and reliability. Indeed, the company overtook Motorola as the market leader in 1999 by churning out millions of high-quality handsets with attractive designs.
Yet Nokia has stumbled in recent years, missing out on the craze for phones with a clamshell design and failing to anticipate the clamor for ultra-slim handsets. Motorola's Razr has become a status symbol for the rich and famous. Tennis star Maria Sharapova, for example, totes around a pink version of Motorola's Razr.
Nokia executives say they've gotten the message.
"We still have a ways to go in improving our design,' CEO Jorma Ollila said Thursday at an annual event in New York with investors. "Many of our customers share this sentiment."
Perhaps Nokia's coolest new product this year is the 8800 model, a slim candybar design made of sparkling stainless steel. "The 8800 has been a huge hit, perhaps the most iconic premium product in the marketplace," Ollila said.
Motorola, of course, would beg to differ, but the point has been driven home to Nokia and other handset makers. Thin is in. So are good looks. Within a few months, other manufacturers such as Samsung plan to deliver products to compete with the Razr.
The goal, Hughes said: "Industrial design that's art."
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) -- It's not enough any more to make wireless phones that are easy to use, work well and have great features. Now more than ever, customers also want "cool" phones that cater to their self-image.
At least that's how top executives explain it. In recent weeks, the chief executives of both Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Nokia have repeatedly stressed how they want to build "iconic" phones that are the envy of the industry.
The desire to make products with a strong "hip" factor, of course, is nothing new. Companies have been trying to become the King of Cool since the rise of the modern corporation and rapid advances in 20th century technology.
"That's always been the underlying goal," noted Bill Hughes, a wireless handset analyst at market researcher In-Stat.
Still, efforts to develop phones that also serve as status symbols have probably been heightened by the craze over Apple Computer's iPod series of tiny music players. Apple CEO Steve Jobs, in fact, is often described as an "icon" himself because of all his cult-like inventions.
Hoping some of that success would rub off, Motorola even struck up a partnership with Apple to sell an iPod-related phone called the Rokr (rocker), though that handset has not exactly achieve "iconic" status.
Yet the blazing success of Motorola's supersleek, superchic Razr phone has clearly upped the ante. The company sold a whopping 6.5 million Razrs (pronounced razor) in the third quarter, possibly the highest sales rate of any wireless phone ever.
Though the Razr only accounted for about 17% of the 38.7 million phones that Motorola shipped during the quarter, the cutting-edge design of the handset has wowed consumers and done wonders for the company's brand image.
Sales of the Razr have also helped Motorola to narrow the gap with market leader Nokia. Motorola's global share of handset sales has surged to 19% from just under 14% a few years ago. The company aims to build on those gains in upcoming quarters with a slew of new models based on the slim Razr design.
"We've got a tremendous opportunity to build iconic, thin products," Motorola CEO Ed Zander told Dow Jones in an interview.
Nokia, for its, part, has seen its market position fall in recent years to 33% from a peak of 40% amid stiffer competition from the likes of a resurgent Motorola and other rivals such as Samsung, LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson.
For now, though, Nokia's position appears impregnable. The company's phones have always been known for their sound designs, ease of use and reliability. Indeed, the company overtook Motorola as the market leader in 1999 by churning out millions of high-quality handsets with attractive designs.
Yet Nokia has stumbled in recent years, missing out on the craze for phones with a clamshell design and failing to anticipate the clamor for ultra-slim handsets. Motorola's Razr has become a status symbol for the rich and famous. Tennis star Maria Sharapova, for example, totes around a pink version of Motorola's Razr.
Nokia executives say they've gotten the message.
"We still have a ways to go in improving our design,' CEO Jorma Ollila said Thursday at an annual event in New York with investors. "Many of our customers share this sentiment."
Perhaps Nokia's coolest new product this year is the 8800 model, a slim candybar design made of sparkling stainless steel. "The 8800 has been a huge hit, perhaps the most iconic premium product in the marketplace," Ollila said.
Motorola, of course, would beg to differ, but the point has been driven home to Nokia and other handset makers. Thin is in. So are good looks. Within a few months, other manufacturers such as Samsung plan to deliver products to compete with the Razr.
The goal, Hughes said: "Industrial design that's art."
Sunday, December 04, 2005
The Czech Republic's Eurotel Praha launched its UMTS network yesterday. This is one year earlier than Eurotel committed to in its UMTS license. No extra activation is needed to enter the world of UMTS - customers only need a Eurotel SIM card and a UMTS enabled handset.
"Data services are being used more and more frequently. The demand for quality and fast mobile transmission and Internet access is increasing. People want to use their mobile handset for voice calls, but also as a full-scale source of information and entertainment. And we are bringing everything to our customers now," said Stanislav Kura, Chief Strategy and New Product Development Officer of Eurotel Praha, "And we are certainly going to further extend the music, TV, and other content," he added.
Eurotel�s UMTS network covers the area of Prague and downtown Brno. Next year Eurotel will cover other cities in the Czech Republic as well. Eurotel plans to cover more than 50 % of the Czech population over the next two years.
Initially the maximum data transmission speed in the UMTS network will be 384 kbit/s. At the beginning of the next year Eurotel is going to increase the speed up to 1.8 Mbit/s by implementing the HSDPA upgrade. Within the following two years the speed will continuously grow to 14.4 Mbit/s. In combination with the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology, now being used by as many as 56,000 customers, Eurotel will make the high-speed mobile data communication available to more than 80 % of the Czech population.
"Data services are being used more and more frequently. The demand for quality and fast mobile transmission and Internet access is increasing. People want to use their mobile handset for voice calls, but also as a full-scale source of information and entertainment. And we are bringing everything to our customers now," said Stanislav Kura, Chief Strategy and New Product Development Officer of Eurotel Praha, "And we are certainly going to further extend the music, TV, and other content," he added.
Eurotel�s UMTS network covers the area of Prague and downtown Brno. Next year Eurotel will cover other cities in the Czech Republic as well. Eurotel plans to cover more than 50 % of the Czech population over the next two years.
Initially the maximum data transmission speed in the UMTS network will be 384 kbit/s. At the beginning of the next year Eurotel is going to increase the speed up to 1.8 Mbit/s by implementing the HSDPA upgrade. Within the following two years the speed will continuously grow to 14.4 Mbit/s. In combination with the CDMA2000 1xEV-DO technology, now being used by as many as 56,000 customers, Eurotel will make the high-speed mobile data communication available to more than 80 % of the Czech population.
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