Mobile World Congress 2012, NEWPORT BEACH, USA: Mindspeed Technologies Inc., the industry leader in technology for small cell base stations, announced a collaboration with JUNI to jointly develop advanced long-term evolution (LTE) femtocells and other small cell dual mode 3G/LTE solutions. The collaboration combines Mindspeed’s carrier-grade Transcede SoC baseband processor solutions with JUNI’s development expertise.
Mindspeed's Transcede family of processors include complete NodeB and eNodeB SoC solutions that perform concurrent 3G and LTE processing in a single device, including time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA)/evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+) and both frequency division duplexing LTE (FDD-LTE) and time division duplexing LTE (TDD-LTE).
The recently announced Transcede T22xx series targets residential and small enterprise applications, while the T33xx series is focused on enterprise, metro and pico base stations. These products combine Mindspeed’s strength in LTE with Picochip’s leadership in carrier grade 3G.
“As a developer of femtocell solutions for LTE mobile networks, JUNI believes that next-generation networks and applications will require LTE femtocells and other small cell base stations,” said John Kim, CEO, JUNI. “The development of a broad portfolio of small cell products for the different market demands is important to serve our operator customers. Mindspeed’s dual mode T22xx/T33xx SoC baseband processor products deliver multi-standard operation with carrier-grade performance, and are the ideal solution for building our family of products.”
“Mindspeed is delighted that our Transcede SoCs have been chosen by JUNI for the company’s next-generation femtocells and other small cell products,” said Dr. Naser Adas, VP and GM, wireless and customer premises equipment (CPE), at Mindspeed. “We have been impressed by JUNI’s commitment and expertise in developing small cells. Both companies believe in the huge opportunity of this market and we look forward to a successful collaboration with them.”
Mindspeed has the most complete portfolio of SoCs in the industry, ranging from cost-effective residential 3G only, through the new T22xx and T33xx up to the micro/macro class. All Transcede family devices are supported by a complete, carrier-class software reference design to accelerate time-to-market schedules. The reference design includes RF module integration, a real-time Linux board support package, and standard-compliant physical-layer (PHY) implementation for LTE and W-CDMA and TD-SCDMA, with associated utilities and test scripts.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 27, 2012
Nominum launches world's first DNS-based solutions for mobile
BARCELONA, SPAIN: Nominum, the worldwide leader in network-based solutions and applications for service providers powered by its world-class Domain Name System (DNS) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) core engines, announced its expanding presence into the mobile broadband arena with the introduction of a new Nominum Mobile Suite, the first-ever purpose-built suite of solutions specifically designed for the changing needs of today’s mobile providers.
Mobile service providers today are under the dual pressures of ever-increasing demands for data and traffic and the need to differentiate and adapt quickly. The Nominum Mobile Suite features high-value applications to help mobile providers increase revenue, reduce churn and ultimately protect their brands – all the while making the most efficient use of their most finite resource – wireless spectrum. The launch of the Nominum Mobile Suite is grounded in the Nominum legacy in DNS solutions that started with founder and chief scientist Dr. Paul Mockapetris and updates it for the pace of today’s mobile Internet.
“Market conditions, especially the mobile data explosion and the migration to 4G, require providers to evolve their business models for the future while keeping up with the demands of today,” said Doug Miller, GM of Mobile Solutions for Nominum. “Nominum Mobile Suite is an integrated approach to helping carriers unlock the secrets to their most valuable asset – network traffic – to become more efficient, differentiated and agile.”
The Nominum Mobile Suite is built upon Nominum’s expertise in delivering high-value applications for leading fixed broadband operators. Applied to mobile, these applications support core functions around multiple mobile-specific network interfaces such as Gi, Gn and Gp DNS. The Suite helps providers achieve differentiation, efficiency and agility by addressing four predominant provider business needs.
Mobile Packet Core – This first-of-its-kind solution offers seamless integration of standard caching and authoritative DNS services into a single holistic and efficient solution for both 3G and 4G networks.
Network and Service Visibility – As networks advance and mobile customers consume more data, the need for visibility increases. This solution provides mobile service providers with anywhere/anytime access to the wealth of information generated by their network.
Subscriber Affinity – Leveraging the DNS platform, this solution enables providers to create network-based, value-added functions, from security from viruses and phishing attacks to parental controls and scheduling tools to enhanced end-user applications, which can improve subscriber experience and ultimately, improve loyalty.
Spectrum Efficiency – In addition to decreasing latency, this solution also manages wireless spectrum by preventing malicious activity enabling providers to quarantine abusive or infected customers, and addressing other forms of anomalous traffic.
Mobile service providers today are under the dual pressures of ever-increasing demands for data and traffic and the need to differentiate and adapt quickly. The Nominum Mobile Suite features high-value applications to help mobile providers increase revenue, reduce churn and ultimately protect their brands – all the while making the most efficient use of their most finite resource – wireless spectrum. The launch of the Nominum Mobile Suite is grounded in the Nominum legacy in DNS solutions that started with founder and chief scientist Dr. Paul Mockapetris and updates it for the pace of today’s mobile Internet.
“Market conditions, especially the mobile data explosion and the migration to 4G, require providers to evolve their business models for the future while keeping up with the demands of today,” said Doug Miller, GM of Mobile Solutions for Nominum. “Nominum Mobile Suite is an integrated approach to helping carriers unlock the secrets to their most valuable asset – network traffic – to become more efficient, differentiated and agile.”
The Nominum Mobile Suite is built upon Nominum’s expertise in delivering high-value applications for leading fixed broadband operators. Applied to mobile, these applications support core functions around multiple mobile-specific network interfaces such as Gi, Gn and Gp DNS. The Suite helps providers achieve differentiation, efficiency and agility by addressing four predominant provider business needs.
Mobile Packet Core – This first-of-its-kind solution offers seamless integration of standard caching and authoritative DNS services into a single holistic and efficient solution for both 3G and 4G networks.
Network and Service Visibility – As networks advance and mobile customers consume more data, the need for visibility increases. This solution provides mobile service providers with anywhere/anytime access to the wealth of information generated by their network.
Subscriber Affinity – Leveraging the DNS platform, this solution enables providers to create network-based, value-added functions, from security from viruses and phishing attacks to parental controls and scheduling tools to enhanced end-user applications, which can improve subscriber experience and ultimately, improve loyalty.
Spectrum Efficiency – In addition to decreasing latency, this solution also manages wireless spectrum by preventing malicious activity enabling providers to quarantine abusive or infected customers, and addressing other forms of anomalous traffic.
Residential gateway market projected to triple from 2012 to 2015
EL SEGUNDO, USA: Residential gateways are expected to become the new hub of the so-called digital living room when they take over from set-top boxes, with the vigorous gateway market projected to triple from 2012 to 2015, according to an IHS iSuppli Consumer Platforms topical report.
Shipments of residential gateways and thin client boxes that act as receivers are miniscule at present, but their numbers will grow dramatically as cable and wireless operators begin to roll out services offering broader connectivity and seamless access. Worldwide gateway and thin client shipments are projected to reach 4.2 million units in 2012, up from just 345,000 last year and a mere 1,000 in 2010. Shipments then are expected to continue to climb quickly during the next two years—rising to 6.7 million units in 2013, to 10.4 million in 2014 and to 12.6 million by 2015.
“While the set-top box has been the heart of the home media environment, acting as the home’s primary media interface to the outside world and also connecting to the network and the TV, the residential gateway will be the next step up as it is able to link together an even wider range of devices,” said Jordan Selburn, senior principal analyst for consumer platforms at IHS. “Through the residential gateway, a set-top box acting as a central server can be connected to any number of thin client boxes—and eventually to other media devices being used in the home, like smartphones or tablets—in order to deliver content. As such, gateways can become the nucleus of the digital living room, where consumers have seamless access to material from a wide range of sources.”
Factors to help gateway market take off
Although gateway devices will center on the North American region during the next few years and limit the size of the overall residential gateway space in the near term, the market will continue to expand as emerging regions begin to adopt the model. If the current set-top box market is any indication, countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China could propel the gateway space during the latter part of the decade and beyond, IHS predicts. In North America, many of the leading operators are moving to the server/client model, with the “Whole Home DVR” service offered by DirecTV, Comcast and others as the first step.
The residential gateway model also has a pull and push component driving it forward, further ensuring that the market will grow rapidly. Among service providers, gateways can save money by allowing them to move to a server/client configuration that is less expensive than putting a hard drive into each set-top box. Operators also can charge for the increased connectivity provided by gateways, boosting provider revenues in the process. On the part of consumers, gateways with real-time, high-definition video transcoding capabilities will become a must-have feature in the connected world, allowing media to be correctly rendered in the tablets and smartphones that users already possess.
The key component within the residential gateway box—the media processor—is now ready for prime time, IHS believes. Tasked with converting media into the right format and resolution for a given rendering device, the media processor requires substantial computation power, and until recently was out of reach for even leading-edge media processors without a separate co-processing chip.
All that has changed, however, with companies like Intel Corp., Broadcom Corp. and STMicroelectronics launching products aimed at the gateway and client markets. Intel was the first to release a chip—the CE4200—for handling real-time transcoding, and quickly began to forge relationships with major set-top box manufacturers. For its part, Broadcom has the BCM7425 and other similar chips in volume production, while STMicroelectronics has its “Orly” chip scheduled for production in mid-2012.
Residential gateways are not expected to settle on one single networking standard but incorporate a mix that will be dependent on region and operator. Wired or wireless, Cat 5, coax or powerline—all will vie to be the backbone of the connected home.
Source: IHS iSuppli, USA.
Shipments of residential gateways and thin client boxes that act as receivers are miniscule at present, but their numbers will grow dramatically as cable and wireless operators begin to roll out services offering broader connectivity and seamless access. Worldwide gateway and thin client shipments are projected to reach 4.2 million units in 2012, up from just 345,000 last year and a mere 1,000 in 2010. Shipments then are expected to continue to climb quickly during the next two years—rising to 6.7 million units in 2013, to 10.4 million in 2014 and to 12.6 million by 2015.
“While the set-top box has been the heart of the home media environment, acting as the home’s primary media interface to the outside world and also connecting to the network and the TV, the residential gateway will be the next step up as it is able to link together an even wider range of devices,” said Jordan Selburn, senior principal analyst for consumer platforms at IHS. “Through the residential gateway, a set-top box acting as a central server can be connected to any number of thin client boxes—and eventually to other media devices being used in the home, like smartphones or tablets—in order to deliver content. As such, gateways can become the nucleus of the digital living room, where consumers have seamless access to material from a wide range of sources.”
Factors to help gateway market take off
Although gateway devices will center on the North American region during the next few years and limit the size of the overall residential gateway space in the near term, the market will continue to expand as emerging regions begin to adopt the model. If the current set-top box market is any indication, countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China could propel the gateway space during the latter part of the decade and beyond, IHS predicts. In North America, many of the leading operators are moving to the server/client model, with the “Whole Home DVR” service offered by DirecTV, Comcast and others as the first step.
The residential gateway model also has a pull and push component driving it forward, further ensuring that the market will grow rapidly. Among service providers, gateways can save money by allowing them to move to a server/client configuration that is less expensive than putting a hard drive into each set-top box. Operators also can charge for the increased connectivity provided by gateways, boosting provider revenues in the process. On the part of consumers, gateways with real-time, high-definition video transcoding capabilities will become a must-have feature in the connected world, allowing media to be correctly rendered in the tablets and smartphones that users already possess.
The key component within the residential gateway box—the media processor—is now ready for prime time, IHS believes. Tasked with converting media into the right format and resolution for a given rendering device, the media processor requires substantial computation power, and until recently was out of reach for even leading-edge media processors without a separate co-processing chip.
All that has changed, however, with companies like Intel Corp., Broadcom Corp. and STMicroelectronics launching products aimed at the gateway and client markets. Intel was the first to release a chip—the CE4200—for handling real-time transcoding, and quickly began to forge relationships with major set-top box manufacturers. For its part, Broadcom has the BCM7425 and other similar chips in volume production, while STMicroelectronics has its “Orly” chip scheduled for production in mid-2012.
Residential gateways are not expected to settle on one single networking standard but incorporate a mix that will be dependent on region and operator. Wired or wireless, Cat 5, coax or powerline—all will vie to be the backbone of the connected home.
Source: IHS iSuppli, USA.
BLU Products announces Studio 5.3
MIAMI, USA: BLU Products, one of the fastest growing mobile phone providers in the US, announced the release of its latest smartphone, the BLU Studio 5.3. With an ergonomic and stylish design, the BLU Studio 5.3 is the ideal personal communications device, combining the user experience of a tablet, with smartphone portability. The main features of the device are its powerful battery, one of the longest–lasting on the market today, and its massive high resolution 5.3" WVGA LCD screen all at an incredibly affordable price.
The BLU Studio 5.3 is powered by MediaTek's MT6573 processor, which incorporates a POWERVR Series5 SGX GPU to enable advanced 3D graphics capability bringing gaming and user interface capabilities that were previously available only to high-end smartphones. The device will be on display at Mobile World Congress at the MediaTek exhibit located in Hall 1, stand 1C58.
"MediaTek is a natural partner by providing an energy efficient and highly capable mass-market application processor, which will enable its clients to achieve new levels of capabilities and meet emerging consumer demands for advanced performance in lower-priced smartphones," said Samuel Ohev-Zion, founder and CEO of BLU Products.
The BLU Studio 5.3 is currently available unlocked with Dual SIM support at several online retailers in the US, and throughout Latin America with the MT6573 650MHz variant. An upgraded version with MT6573T in 800 MHz will be launched globally, including in Europe and Asia, before the end of March at a retail price of 199 Euros unlocked. The device will offer HSDPA 3G support, as well as Android v2.3 Gingerbread OS.
The BLU Studio 5.3 is powered by MediaTek's MT6573 processor, which incorporates a POWERVR Series5 SGX GPU to enable advanced 3D graphics capability bringing gaming and user interface capabilities that were previously available only to high-end smartphones. The device will be on display at Mobile World Congress at the MediaTek exhibit located in Hall 1, stand 1C58.
"MediaTek is a natural partner by providing an energy efficient and highly capable mass-market application processor, which will enable its clients to achieve new levels of capabilities and meet emerging consumer demands for advanced performance in lower-priced smartphones," said Samuel Ohev-Zion, founder and CEO of BLU Products.
The BLU Studio 5.3 is currently available unlocked with Dual SIM support at several online retailers in the US, and throughout Latin America with the MT6573 650MHz variant. An upgraded version with MT6573T in 800 MHz will be launched globally, including in Europe and Asia, before the end of March at a retail price of 199 Euros unlocked. The device will offer HSDPA 3G support, as well as Android v2.3 Gingerbread OS.
China cellular M2M connection revenue to exceed $2.7 billion in 2016
SINGAPORE: The M2M market is largely characterized by cellular module shipments and connections. China’s cellular connection revenue, which constitutes more than one-third of the Asia-Pacific’s (APAC) M2M market, is expected to grow from $642 million in 2011 to $2.76 billion in 2016.
“China’s latest economic five-year-plan has placed the ‘Internet of Things’ as a key, strategic national industry initiative for the country,” says Jake Saunders, VP of forecasting. “Carriers have made significant progress through 2011 in terms of developing technologies, unified platforms, applications, and strategic co-operation.”
China Mobile started M2M development early, positioning it as its third wave of its long-term business offerings. It has also moved into developing M2M standards and promoting economies of scale, positioning itself as an integrator with no real focus on an end-to-end solution approach. China Unicom has launched sector-specific M2M applications such as Bank New Horizon, Ocean New Horizon, and Logistics New Horizon.
In addition, China Unicom has also made inroads into the telematics market as a telematics service provider (TSP). China Telecom is a late-comer in the domestic M2M market and seeks to gain fast market entry by offering value-added services through their strong relationships with enterprise clients.
The cellular module market, a key measure of the M2M market currently, is facing growing commoditization and price pressures from China-based module vendors. These include not only SIMCom Wireless Solutions, Huawei, and ZTE, but smaller vendors as well, including Quectel, Neoway, and Fibocom.
Practice director, Sam Lucero, says: “Lower operating costs have played a significant part in this ongoing commoditization trend and have forced western module vendors to up their game by moving up the value chain. In addition, the three largest Chinese module vendors are able to leverage the scale of adjacent product offerings.”
China’s cellular module shipment is forecast to grow from 3.76 million in 2011 to an estimated 13.61 million connections in 2016, constituting 32 percent of APAC’s forecast in 2011 and growing to 37 percent by 2016.
“China’s latest economic five-year-plan has placed the ‘Internet of Things’ as a key, strategic national industry initiative for the country,” says Jake Saunders, VP of forecasting. “Carriers have made significant progress through 2011 in terms of developing technologies, unified platforms, applications, and strategic co-operation.”
China Mobile started M2M development early, positioning it as its third wave of its long-term business offerings. It has also moved into developing M2M standards and promoting economies of scale, positioning itself as an integrator with no real focus on an end-to-end solution approach. China Unicom has launched sector-specific M2M applications such as Bank New Horizon, Ocean New Horizon, and Logistics New Horizon.
In addition, China Unicom has also made inroads into the telematics market as a telematics service provider (TSP). China Telecom is a late-comer in the domestic M2M market and seeks to gain fast market entry by offering value-added services through their strong relationships with enterprise clients.
The cellular module market, a key measure of the M2M market currently, is facing growing commoditization and price pressures from China-based module vendors. These include not only SIMCom Wireless Solutions, Huawei, and ZTE, but smaller vendors as well, including Quectel, Neoway, and Fibocom.
Practice director, Sam Lucero, says: “Lower operating costs have played a significant part in this ongoing commoditization trend and have forced western module vendors to up their game by moving up the value chain. In addition, the three largest Chinese module vendors are able to leverage the scale of adjacent product offerings.”
China’s cellular module shipment is forecast to grow from 3.76 million in 2011 to an estimated 13.61 million connections in 2016, constituting 32 percent of APAC’s forecast in 2011 and growing to 37 percent by 2016.
Connected world demands relationships, not just eyeballs
BARCELONA, SPAIN: The GSMA predicted there will be 24 billion connected devices by 2020, but the MWC Connected Consumer keynote speakers from eBay, Best Buy and IPG warned that brands will not reap the benefits unless they rethink the way they interact with consumers.
Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, was in the audience and has the following comment: “We could not agree more, and urge brands to approach mobile advertising in terms of relationships, not just eyeballs and reach alone. Mobile advertising is about engagement. Facebook for one is super aware of this and will make it a mantra when it launches mobile advertising in the coming months.
“eBay mentioned an iPad app that illustrates how this can work - the app in question alerts eBay users of inventory related to the program they are watching. The eBay app also underscores the notion that mobile advertising has to be relevant or it will be ignored or perceived as spam.
“There is also a danger that social media savvy consumers will hit back: "If you pepper consumers with stuff they are not interested in you will get vigilante consumers who will shut you out," warned Interpublic Group’s CEO and chairman Michael Roth.
“Another key theme to emerge from the Connected Consumer Keynote is that connected devices have the potential to be the central dashboard of people’s lives. But the industry, particularly operators, must do more to make this a reality. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn warns that operators’ expensive, confusing data plans and locked devices are inhibiting visions of a connected world. We agree – the connected consumer value proposition is not being fully developed.”
Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, was in the audience and has the following comment: “We could not agree more, and urge brands to approach mobile advertising in terms of relationships, not just eyeballs and reach alone. Mobile advertising is about engagement. Facebook for one is super aware of this and will make it a mantra when it launches mobile advertising in the coming months.
“eBay mentioned an iPad app that illustrates how this can work - the app in question alerts eBay users of inventory related to the program they are watching. The eBay app also underscores the notion that mobile advertising has to be relevant or it will be ignored or perceived as spam.
“There is also a danger that social media savvy consumers will hit back: "If you pepper consumers with stuff they are not interested in you will get vigilante consumers who will shut you out," warned Interpublic Group’s CEO and chairman Michael Roth.
“Another key theme to emerge from the Connected Consumer Keynote is that connected devices have the potential to be the central dashboard of people’s lives. But the industry, particularly operators, must do more to make this a reality. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn warns that operators’ expensive, confusing data plans and locked devices are inhibiting visions of a connected world. We agree – the connected consumer value proposition is not being fully developed.”
Hughes releases HX System 4.0
GERMANTOWN, USA: Hughes Network Systems LLC (HUGHES) announced the planned release of HX System 4.0, bringing a host of technology enhancements to the HX product family which will enable higher performance, higher efficiency, and a number of significant new features.
Summarized below, these enhancements further strengthen the HX System's leadership in specialty markets such as IP trunking, 3G/4G cellular backhaul, Virtual Network Operator (VNO) hosting, and "Comms On-The-Move" (COTM) for airborne/maritime/land, including defense and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) solutions.
IPv6/IPv4 support
A major element of HX System 4.0 is a dual stack IPv6/IPv4 design which will enable the simultaneous support of both protocols. The ability to implement IPv6 is fast becoming a critical issue for every telecommunications service provider as the availability of new IPv4 address space is quickly disappearing. HX System 4.0 will enable operators to smoothly transition to IPv6 while continuing to support their installed base of IPv4 customers and devices.
HX90 satellite broadband router
The new HX 90 features higher efficiency and lower operational costs on satellite links through a new optimized encapsulation scheme on the outroute, and through LDPC coding on the inroute, the same coding scheme as used in the DVB-S2 standard. Combined with a major performance boost across the entire HX System family of routers, in sum these enhancements provide operators with best-in-class throughputs and efficiencies.
Defense and mobility support
HX System 4.0 brings to market key functionality and specific operational frequencies in support of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system for military and defense organizations. In addition, HX System 4.0 encompasses a comprehensive set of enhanced mobility features including integrated Doppler correction, automatic beam switching, and enhanced return channel spreading for even the most demanding COTM applications.
Network Management Enhancements
The industry leading HX ExpertNMS (Network Management System) has been upgraded in HX System 4.0 to provide enhanced management capabilities for VNOs. This new capability enables a VNO to monitor and control elements within their operational service domain, allowing a wholesale network operator to effectively partition their network and provide complete control to private users of these partitions.
Summarized below, these enhancements further strengthen the HX System's leadership in specialty markets such as IP trunking, 3G/4G cellular backhaul, Virtual Network Operator (VNO) hosting, and "Comms On-The-Move" (COTM) for airborne/maritime/land, including defense and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) solutions.
IPv6/IPv4 support
A major element of HX System 4.0 is a dual stack IPv6/IPv4 design which will enable the simultaneous support of both protocols. The ability to implement IPv6 is fast becoming a critical issue for every telecommunications service provider as the availability of new IPv4 address space is quickly disappearing. HX System 4.0 will enable operators to smoothly transition to IPv6 while continuing to support their installed base of IPv4 customers and devices.
HX90 satellite broadband router
The new HX 90 features higher efficiency and lower operational costs on satellite links through a new optimized encapsulation scheme on the outroute, and through LDPC coding on the inroute, the same coding scheme as used in the DVB-S2 standard. Combined with a major performance boost across the entire HX System family of routers, in sum these enhancements provide operators with best-in-class throughputs and efficiencies.
Defense and mobility support
HX System 4.0 brings to market key functionality and specific operational frequencies in support of the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) system for military and defense organizations. In addition, HX System 4.0 encompasses a comprehensive set of enhanced mobility features including integrated Doppler correction, automatic beam switching, and enhanced return channel spreading for even the most demanding COTM applications.
Network Management Enhancements
The industry leading HX ExpertNMS (Network Management System) has been upgraded in HX System 4.0 to provide enhanced management capabilities for VNOs. This new capability enables a VNO to monitor and control elements within their operational service domain, allowing a wholesale network operator to effectively partition their network and provide complete control to private users of these partitions.
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