Looking to the horizon - 4G voice solutions
By Andrew Mitchell
Over 70 wireless operators from around the globe have now announced plans to and even begun to deploy 4G networks. For users the promises offered by 4G are most often viewed in the context of the mobile Internet - abundant and cost-effective bandwidth that enables compelling mobile applications and high quality multimedia experiences. Perhaps not always top of mind for users, the need for voice solutions has not diminished and meeting that need is something that a number of members of the 4G wireless ecosystem are aggressively pursuing.
4G Trends contacted Kevin Mitchell Director, Solutions Marketing - Mobile at Acme Packet to gain some insights and his opinions on this critical aspect of 4G wireless. Kevin obliged me with the following brief and informative interview.
Q: Data dongles and devices for LTE networks are with us today yet standards, let alone devices to deliver LTE voice have yet to emerge. What are the approaches currently being considered to deliver voice over an all-IP 4G network?
Until last year, the concern of how voice and messaging service parity would be achieved with LTE was overshadowed by a host of other issues in getting LTE to market. This is not a trivial topic as two-thirds to three-quarters of all mobile service revenue today comes from voice and messaging services. A standard is essential for LTE uptake, drawing from history where as a consistent approach to implementing voice services across service providers helped GSM take-off and become the most widely deployed mobile technology.
The good news is that a standard for voice does exist and it’s been around for a while: IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS). Now on release 9, it’s a SIP-based next generation core service for not just voice, but multimedia communications as well. The GSM Association’s Voice over LTE (VoLTE) initiative is currently engaged in selecting a sub-set of the IMS standards to deliver end-to-end voice and SMS for LTE devices, including defining roaming and interconnect interfaces.
There are three other alternatives offered up by various industry players. Voice over LTE Generic Access (VoLGA) reuses legacy voice infrastructure and UMA/GAN technology. Today, T-Mobile remains the lone service provider supporter for VoLGA. Other service providers using UMA for FMC are noticeably absent. Circuit-switched fallback (CSFB), which uses some initial signaling over the LTE RAN and then actually “falls back” to the 2G/3G TDM RAN to establish calls, is another solution. The third option is a hybrid of SIP and legacy that leverages existing circuit MSCs, but uses SIP to deliver the voice to devices connected via LTE RANs or any fixed or mobile IP broadband access network.
But back to VoLTE, it’s not merely about service parity with legacy mobile telephony, but also about access convergence and multimedia communications that makes IMS compelling.
Also, a growing number of WiMAX operators offer residential or business voice today - it’s predominately a fixed offering, that is VoIP delivered over a broadband alternative to DSL, FTTx or cable.
Q: What about existing technology solutions such as Skype or Google Talk - are these viable alternatives?
Yes, sure they are alternatives, but with trade-offs, including best-effort “roll of the dice” service quality lacking emergency service support, lawful intercept and fully staffed customer support. Over-the-top communication providers are indeed a competitive threat and increasingly so with the bandwidth increases in 3G technologies and LTE. Today mobile service providers face a new challenge in avoiding becoming a dumb pipe to the richness of the Internet. This is the same challenge that fixed line operators have faced since the advent of broadband. However, I don’t think over-the-top is a mass market replacement for mobile service provider offered voice and messaging services.
As mobile service providers own access infrastructure and the EPC along with IMS/SIP-based services core, they can differentiate themselves from OTP ASPs with the likes of wideband voice codecs for HD voice, interactive video with QoS and Rich Communication Suite services such as integrated presence and diverse messaging.
There is room too for a federated model providing value and revenue all along the chain. The federation is between over-the-top providers and the mobile broadband providers where the strengths of each provider can be leveraged-innovation from the web and quality, security and billability from mobile service providers. There are tentative moves in this direction and peaks at this model with the likes of Verizon and Skype.
Q: With LTE networks already rolling out, what solutions can (or are) operators likely to employ until clear standards emerge?
As outlined earlier, there are 4 approaches available today or near future-VoLTE using IMS as defined by the GSMA IR.92 document is imminent. The limited geographic availability and form factor of LTE doesn’t demand voice at this moment (but soon). But LTE providers can offer voice softclients on laptops at the outset (and I think they should to minimize or prevent subscriber triple/quadruple play revenue loss from over-the-top). They can do this with MSC VoIP, VoLGA or VoLTE.
Q: What are the implications to 3G operators? Is there going to be a clear migration path to 4G voice and what would that look like?
Mobile service providers have not adopted much SIP or IMS today. However, nothing precludes them from doing so, and initiatives like Rich Communication Suite may incent adoption of SIP / IMS ahead prior to LTE deployment. The area with the largest SIP adoption is the core and IP interconnect borders, which does lay nice groundwork for migration to the 3G and 4G access networks. LTE is on the 5-year horizon for some 3G service providers, so they have time to roll-out IMS ahead of their 4G deployment.
VoLGA and VoLTE both offer migration, but only VoLTE offers services beyond voice and messaging of yesteryear. MSC VoIP is an interim step as well, where some investment is preserved for both voice-the MSCs at the outset-and the multimedia-SIP infrastructure for the years ahead.
Q: When can consumers expect to see the first 4G voice capable device?
For basic voice: today as a laptop with a LTE data card is a voice capable device. There will be LTE phones early 2011, but I suspect they will be dual-radio phones with voice from UMTS/CDMA and LTE being the primary data network (with 3G for non-LTE markets for data coverage). For a truly mobile LTE voice and multimedia communications device, I’d venture to say very likely in 2012. Although, once the LTE radio is available on a phone, anyone could make a call using over-the-top clients.
Less than 8 weeks to go until 4G World 2010
By Eliot Weinman
By Eliot Weinman - Conference Chair & Founder, 4G World & President, Events & Media Division of Yankee Group It’s hard to believe, but 4G World is less than 8 weeks away, October 18 - 21, at McCormick Place in Chicago. I am very pleased to report that we have already registered a significant number of attendees, well on the way to our expected attendance of over 10,000, and just last week we mailed our conference brochure. If you wish to download a copy, please use the following link: http://4gworld.com/4g-world-brochure-download/ 4G World 2010 has been greatly expanded from our inaugural event last year in a number of ways:
- We’ve expanded our keynote program, and now have more than 17 keynotes from industry leaders around the globe. Keynote info can be found at http://4gworld.com/speakers/keynote-speakers/
- We’ve expanded our operator program, with more than two dozen operators from around the globe deploying 4G today, including AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS, T-Mobile USA, Clearwire, Telstra, KDDI Corp, China Mobile, KT, Rocky Mountain Broadband, Movistar Peru, NTT Docomo and more!
- We’ve expanded our pre-conference day with special programs from WCAI, Light Reading, IEEE and the TM Forum
- Our global association endorsements now include dozens of key 4G ecosystem associations and tens of thousands of their members
- Our total sponsors and exhibitors now exceed 250 4G companies, associations, media channels and industry analysts
- The 4G World Expo will be the largest of its kind ever produced in the world. This year we expanded the Expo to run over 3 days. The 4G World Expo has more than 150,000 sf of exhibit space, 140+ exhibitors, dozens of special 4G Solutions Theater presentations, and a number of other special expo events.
- We have added a special China Pavilion on the Expo Floor with the support and participation of the Chinese government.
- We’ve expanded our Special Events Programs, including three Power Breakfasts sponsored by Alvarion, FierceMarkets and AT&T
- Finally, we’ve expanded the conference program development and other special events, with collaboration from a number of industry leaders:
- Backhaul and IP Core Summit - hosted by Light Reading
- Femtocell Market Assessment - hosted by Femto Forum
- 16th Annual WCAI International Symposium (including a special WCAI operator breakfast)
- 4G Technology Track - Hosted by 3G Americas
- 4G Operational Transformation Strategies and Tactics Track - Hosted by TM Forum
- 4G World / RCR Ecosystem Awards - Presented by RCR Wireless News
- LTE and 3G: The Next Leap Forward program - Hosted by Qualcomm
- RCR Wireless Buzz Zone - Live on the Expo Floor
- Innovative Enterprise Applications - Hosted by Forbes
- 4G Professional Development Training Programs from Award Solutions, IEEE and TM Forum
- These and other special events can be found at: http://4gworld.com/home/special-events/
If you haven’t already registered for 4G World 2010, now is the time. Visit http://4gworld.com/register/ to register on-line now See you in Chicago!
My 51M Beats Your 100M
By Chris Nicoll
By Chris Nicoll, Distinguished Research Fellow, Yankee Group
We in the prognosticating industry (if there really is such a thing) like to forecast the beginning and end of things. And we are rarely correct. GSM didn’t commoditize mobile services to the point where there were not competing players offering differentiated services. Those of us in the North American market should probably have taken note. But we have several of our own examples to choose from too. The iPhone didn’t doom Verizon Wireless or Sprint or even T-Mobile into obscurity (nor did it kill off regional players like Metro PCS and Cellular South who are doing just fine, thank you) just as Verizon’s ability to offer a fixed/mobile bundle hasn’t doomed the other players. The question is not: Why didn’t it doom the other players; the question is: Why did we think it would?
So when the LTE networks show up later this year, is that the end of WiMAX in the US? I’m not a huge fan of how the Clearwire WiMAX network has been rolled out. I tend to think that when you are giving such a long runway to gain market advantage, you should probably sew up the major markets before competitors come to play. I don’t think there is much advantage to playing in the smaller markets but not in the major ones. Maybe I’m wrong. But I don’t think so.
But despite the Clear/Sprint 4G network currently covering only approximately 51M of the US population, when Verizon is expecting to cover over 100M by the end of this year, I don’t think we can sound the death knell for Clear either. Yes, I know, there are rumblings about Clear moving to LTE, but ahead of the Harbinger network Clear is starting to offer wholesale services (can you say Best Buy?) showing a bit of strategy flexibility. Good move. And I think the facts will show that in two or three year’s time, there are folks who just like the Clear service, brand and are loyal customers. Seriously, we can’t really take that for granted. Toyota knows this all too well. It took its lumps, but has bounced back handsomely. Clear may end up shifting technologies to LTE, but will there be a Clear in two or three years? Yeah I think so.
What is clear (no pun intended) is that there is not ONE market all of these operators are dipping into. There are MANY (and I’m not even going to try and spell them out right now) markets, with differing price points, service needs and even device requirements. Think not? I point again at the Sprint Pre-Paid services and those are masterfully aligned with different market requirements: Virgin Mobile for data heavy users, Boost for voice users, Assurance for low-income families and is supported by state programs, and Common Cents Mobile for the budget conscious. Not to mention Sprint’s Post-Paid users.
Just as there is no one killer app, there is not a golden technology bullet solving all problems and no one device to fit all users. There is also not one best network or one user to fit all markets. We should all stop talking like there is one.
National public safety organizations seek support to oppose ‘D’ Block auction
By Andrew Mitchell
‘D’ Block - that valuable, yet contentious 10 MHz slice of 700 MHz spectrum, continues to be a hot topic for both operators and a number of public safety organizations across the US. Unless things change, the FCC plans to once again put the ‘D’ Block up on the auction block sometime in the first half of 2011. Public safety, along with state and government organizations are hoping to change that though.
Spectrum at 700 MHz was freed just over a year ago, at the completion of the digital television (DTV) mandate in the US. 700 MHz is a particularly valuable allocation because it provides better propagation characteristics - permitting coverage over greater distances for the same signal power, when compared to higher frequencies. So why wouldn’t operators be hungry to stake their claim of 700 MHz for an LTE or 4G deployment?
Originally the ‘D’ Block spectrum was intended to be sold in Auction 73, which ended in March 2009. What was unique about ‘D’ Block bids was the requirement for bidders to enter into a public-private partnership in which deployments would grant priority of access to public safety agencies and first responders. But Auction 73 bidders failed to meet the FCC’s reserve bid of $1.3 billion for ‘D’ Block, with many hinting at concerns of unethical practices that occurred during the process. In the end, ‘D’ Block failed to sell and now there’s growing support to “block” the FCC from putting it back on the auction block in 2011.
The Public Safety Alliance (PSA), a partnership of leading public safety organizations, is actively looking to the wireless industry to support ‘D’ Block allocation to public safety. ‘D’ Block plans suggested that carriers would grant public safety access to the spectrum in an emergency but what public safety organizations envision is control of that spectrum and federal funding to help build out and maintain a nationwide broadband network for public safety. H.R. 5081, The Broadband for First Responders Act and S. 3625, The First Responders Protection Act are identified as being “critical first steps” in passing legislation to support this vision. So what would a wireless operator’s stake be in such a vision, especially since public safety organizations say that they don’t want to be constrained by the costs of commercial networks or contention for access to them. One outcome might be to build, maintain or even operate the network on behalf of public safety.
So how do operators feel about PSA’s position? Yucel Ors, Director of Legislative Affairs at APCO (Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials) International says that they “have support from the wireless industry, from operators and manufacturers.” Notable on that list today are AT&T and Verizon, along with Alcatel-Lucent and Motorola, a long-tenured provider of private mobile solutions to public safety. What is interesting however is that both supporting operators were successful in acquiring rights to 700 MHz in Auction 73, with Verizon squeezing out Google, to land a large chunk of the ‘C’ Block and AT&T securing the ‘B’ Block.
So why is it that AT&T and Verizon would support PSA’s position? Is it because they believe a nationwide broadband network for public safety is in the interests of the greater good? Perhaps it’s because they could have a role in building, maintaining or operating such a network? Or is it because if the ‘D’ Block auction is blocked, that AT&T and Verizon competitors or potential competitors are the ones likely to be blocked from access to this highly valuable spectrum? We’ll watch to see if the PSA’s list of supporting operators grows.
4G World® 2010 Conference Program Released
By Andrew Mitchell
Official program brochure outlines 4G wireless industry’s premier event
October 18 to 21 at McCormick Place, Chicago
BOSTON - August 3, 2010 - The Events and Media Division of Yankee Group announced today the publication of the official conference brochure for 4G World 2010. With visionary keynotes and more than 175 speakers in 80+ sessions, 4G World 2010 is the 4G industry’s “must attend” event of the year. The expanded and comprehensive four-day conference program also features participation from more than 250 sponsors and exhibitors and more than 10,000 attendees. The event website is www.4GWorld.com.
According to Eliot Weinman, conference chair and president, Events Division of Yankee Group, “2010 has been a watershed year for the 4G wireless industry. Around the world there are more than 110 operators in 48 countries that are investing in LTE networks, and there are more than 500 WiMAX networks deployed in over 145 countries. The global impact of 4G and the rapid expansion of the mobile Internet will change the face of communications and computing for billions of users around the globe. At 4G World 2010 wireless industry business and thought leaders will share their insights and predictions for 4G wireless and the mobile Internet.”
Highlighted keynote speakers include:
- Eran Gorev, President and CEO, Alvarion
- Glenn Lurie, President, Emerging Devices, AT&T
- Ashraf M. Dahod, SVP and GM, Mobile Internet Technology Group, Cisco
- William Morrow, CEO, Clearwire
- Mike Lanman, President - Enterprise and Government Markets, Verizon Wireless
- Håkan Eriksson, Senior VP, CTO, Ericsson
- Matt Bross, Chief Technology Officer, Vice Chairman, Huawei USA
- Roger D. Linquist, Chairman, President & CEO, MetroPCS
- Bruce Brda, Senior VP, GM Networks, Motorola
- Michael Matthews, Head of Strategy and Business Development, Nokia Siemens Networks
- Kim, EVP and GM, Telecommunication Systems Business, Samsung
- Bob Azzi, Senior VP, Network, Sprint
4G World 2010 also welcomes the “who’s who” of the world of 4G, including key global industry sponsors, associations, media, research and training organizations. Program partners include TM Forum, Award Solutions, Light Reading, WCAI, Femto Forum, Forbes Magazine, 3G Americas, Fierce Markets, ETSI, GS1, IEEE, Senza Fili, Maravedis Research, RCR Wireless and Rethink Research. Major corporate sponsors of 4G World 2010 include Ericsson, Nokia Siemens, Alcatel Lucent, AT&T, Alvarion, Sprint, Clearwire, Motorola, Cisco, Juniper Networks, Huawei, Qualcomm and Samsung.
Attendees of 4G World will have access to a broad and comprehensive program of critical current and forward looking business, technology and regulatory topics. Sessions will examine Backhaul, Core Convergence, 4G Operator Deployments and Business Models, 4G Technology Roadmap, Femtocells, 4G Operational Transformation Strategies, Vertical Industry Apps and M2M, Future of the Mobile Web, Evolution of m-Commerce, LTE/WiMAX, Mobile Internet Innovations and more.
With a three-day expo, 4G World 2010 is poised to be the largest exposition ever assembled focused on the 4G revolution.
Additional special events at 4G World 2010’s expo include press functions, the 4G World Solutions Theater, RCR 4G Innovator Awards Ceremony, RCR Buzz Zone, Power Breakfasts and much more. The complete program brochure can be downloaded at http://www.4gworld.com/2010/email/images/4gw-brochure-final-web.pdf.
About 4G World
4G World, is the first and only conference and expo covering the entire ecosystem of next-generation technologies that enable the mobile Internet revolution, including mobile network infrastructure, advanced devices, applications, and content. Drawing 10,000 attendees and 250 sponsors and exhibitors from across the entire 4G wireless, mobile broadband, and mobile internet ecosystem, 4G World is the premier 4G business transformation event, where the entire industry gathers to chart its future direction. The event website is www.4GWorld.com
Contact:
Kate Walsh
Sr. Director of Marketing
Yankee Group Events and Media
kwalsh@yankeegroup.com
A Harbinger of Sorts: Build It and Will They Come?
By Chris Nicoll
By Chris Nicoll, Distinguished Research Fellow, Yankee Group
Harbinger’s announcement of the creation of Lightsquared as the first new 4G operator in the U.S. in ages has generated a lot of buzz (would you expect less from a company with its foundation in the capital markets?). There are so many angles to play with here, this should be fun for a while. Let’s get started:
Does it worry anyone that Harbinger Capital Partners is a private investment firm specializing in event/distressed strategies? Does the building of a Greenfield nationwide 4G cellular/satellite network qualify? There’s more: According to their website, “Harbinger Capital Partners seeks to invest in alpha-generating ideas that are uncorrelated to investment cycles.” What? The leader putting this together also has special talents - again, according to their website: Philip Falcone leads Harbinger’s investment team, “relying on his extensive experience in distressed debt, leveraged finance, and special situations across an array of market cycles.” We are talking about billions of dollars of investment capital, and the principal and the parent company, so to speak, has great experience in distressed debt and distressed strategies? Does this distress anyone? See, this could get really interesting.
But wait, there’s more! Harbinger seems to have only about 50% of the funding for the venture in place, as they expect to pay for the network build-out from revenues generated by the initial builds; the devices are not really available and will have to be specially built; and the idea is to hope that the FCC will relax its requirements that Lightsquared’s devices also be able to connect to a satellite so Lightsquared won’t really have to actually launch any expensive satellites or make purpose-built devices. Hmm. That is a big IF. The CEO has extensive experience in building and operating networks in Pakistan and France, but will need to hire some solid NAM market, regulatory and operational expertise, not to mention a really GREAT salesperson. (Yes, I know, NSN is going to operate the new network as well. From India. Has anyone done that before on this scale?)
The network will likely be built-out late compared to the incumbent mobile operators and it is a wholesale network. SO this is a true Greenfield - not just upgrading an existing network. That comes with its own benefits, and challenges. What both hoping will prove to be a smart move, and probably characteristically not in keeping with the incumbent vendors’ choices, is that Lightsquared has chosen perennial North American bridesmaid Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) to build out and operate the network. NSN has for the past year been struggling to find its own identity in North America after losing the Nortel LTE auction to Ericsson and getting shut out of the incumbent operator LTE builds. But they have some top-notch next-generation LTE gear just dying to be installed in a Greenfield network somewhere in the U.S. Seems like a match made in heaven.
The strange thing about all of this is that the Lightsquared network is likely coming online at about the same time as what could be one of the fastest growing segments of mobile devices: the Connected Automobile. Think this is far fetched? Microsoft AND Google have both entered into the market, partnering with Ford and GM respectively and how many of you have devices in your car that translate a cell signal into WiFi so the tykes can play with their iTouches and iPads? Think about Ford’s next generation of SYNC, Google’s Android environment, and the buzz that is starting around the connected car. This is about a lot more than being able to verbally call up your tunes and figure out your navigation directions. These guys are looking to turn the auto into the next internet-enabled experience. The dynamics here are just too good to ignore.
There are lots of potential wholesale customers beyond the WalMarts and KMarts that have been mentioned, too. Remember at CTIA a few years ago when P Diddy enlightened the audience about his idea of BRAND? That he was the biggest VNO around and nobody knew it, but he knew his customers better than any of us? Next up might be MTV with their strong brand and loyal TV following. Why not take the video mobile? Don’t you want to track ‘Snookie and The Situation’ on the go? Or do I have the wrong channel? Beats me, not my kind of show. But I’m sure there are millions of folks who do know, and do care.
What is clear is that Harbinger is not just following the leaders. From the choice of vendor, to the means of operating the network, to the potential customers they are looking to attract, the entire event screams ‘next generation.’ The question is: Next generation WHAT? But you can’t succeed if you don’t try. Stay tuned.
Chile records another telecom first in Latin America: Net Neutrality Law
By Wally Swain
By Wally Swain, Senior Vice President, Yankee Group
Chile’s Congress has passed the region’s first Net Neutrality law and the bill only awaits presidential ratification. Perhaps northern countries would find this pretty ho-hum stuff but few countries in Latin America even have this on the agenda.
Chile has always been the most advanced LA country in telecom starting with being the first market to introduce long distance competition back in the nineties. Technologically Chile was the first to have MPLS and Entel PCS has always been to first to launch advanced mobile services from EDGE to HSPA. The company is strongly touted to be first out of the gate with LTE as well, perhaps before the end of this year.
Net Neutrality raises passions both from users and operators.
Probably everyone would agree that ISPs should not block content except where laws explicitly ban it (e.g. child pornography). Similarly, the management or owners of an ISP shouldn’t be able to impose their political views by blocking access to rival parties’ sites or webpages which promote ideas they don’t agree with. Religious freedom will be respected as well.
The operators might not like it but they will have to accept that they shouldn’t block Over-The-Top providers like Skype. Users will be infuriated and regulators will investigate anti-competitive behavior. I think blocking OTTs is just bad business practice: I’ll switch ISPs until I find one that reliably delivers the OTT services I use, rather than stop using Skype (say) for long distance calls. (Mysteriously, our Internet line here in Colombia always seems to drop in the middle of long Skype calls. Hmmmm…. Could be just statistical but in any event it’s sufficient evidence of poor service that we have to maintain a second separate provider in Yankee Group office and will be switching primary providers as soon as we can!)
The controversial bit of Net Neutrality is around network management: do operators have the right to, for example, throttle back bandwidth to/from P2P sites to maintain the integrity and service quality of the network.
The Business News Americas’ article on the new Chilean law reported:
“ISPs cannot “interfere with, discriminate against or modify” content, applications or services unless this is a necessary measure to guarantee the users’ privacy or protection from an internet security threat.” (from Business News America 16 July 2010)
Network performance was notably absent from this press report so I “tweeted” with Pablo Bello who was a driving force behind the bill when he headed the Chilean telecom regulator (Subtel) under the previous government (@pablobello).
He told me that Subtel has 60 days to produce detailed regulations based on the law so really we won’t know anything definitive until then. However, he believed that the key to the Chilean law was the more precise concept of “no discrimination” rather than the vague concept of “neutrality”. It would be illegal to target a particular site based on its name or on the belief that “this site always causes trouble” but it would be perfectly legal to develop some engineering definition of dangerous or abusive behavior and block all sites that met that criterion.
To pick on every operators’ least favorite video site, it would be illegal to block “www.BitTorrent.com” but legal to establish a rule that says “We will throttle back access to sites that have used an average bandwidth that exceeds X Gbps during any contiguous period of T seconds.” The rule could be used to control P2P sites like BitTorrent but would apply to any high bandwidth consumer site including YouTube or Hulu if the sites or their users were engaged in dangerous or abusive behavior.
Obviously operators would have to prove that the rules they established were fair and reasonable, but as long as they were applied equally to all sites, both operators and users should get what they want: continued access to content in a non-discriminatory manner over a network that delivers a consistent experience to all users.
Other Latin American countries should study Chile’s law especially Colombia: maybe my Skype performance would improve.
Alcatel-Lucent and Slugglish iPhone4 Uploads, Putting a Drag on LTE?
By Ken Rehbehn
By Ken Rehbehn, Principal Analyst, Yankee Group
Engadget reports AT&T has tagged Alcatel-Lucent as the culprit behind sluggish iPhone4 upload performance. According to Engadget, AT&T pointed to a network software fault that will be quickly addressed by the vendor.
This is a serious issue because it comes on the heels of a highly public RNC failure in an Alcatel-Lucent UMTS radio network in New Zealand. The press attention ALU received from its South Pacific failure potentially stirred operator concern just as LTE bid opportunities ramp up.
AT&T’s issue, while probably quickly fixed, certainly adds to any existing concerns lurking in the operator community. Lost greenfield LTE contracts may be the result.
To be sure, Alcatel-Lucent is in an excellent position with two early critical LTE wins under its belt in the U.S. Effectively delivering on its commitments to Verizon Wireless and AT&T will reassure prospective LTE operators and put ALU in a strong position for LTE growth.
While equipment suppliers typically perform their critical role behind the operator’s closed back office door, ALU and its marquee LTE customers must consider changing. ALU and its customers need to communicate success in early days of LTE network testing. Publication of informative deployment quality metrics can buttress ALU’s position, helping ensure a long and prosperous future as an LTE supplier. For ALU, this need is obvious. For operators like Verizon Wireless and AT&T, it is less so; however, a strong Alcatel-Lucent translates into long-term supplier continuity essential for lower CapEx spend and outstanding network quality.
Getting word out about success in these significant LTE network rollouts is good for all parties. Secrecy followed by failure, on the other hand, will be a quick road to an LTE dead end.
4G World 2010 Delivering Powerful, Expanded Program and Content
By Andrew Mitchell
With 14 industry executive keynotes and over 60 breakout sessions and workshops, 4G World 2010 is once again shaping up to be the industry’s “must attend” event for 2010. The program line-up includes over 175 speakers, with over 30 network operator speakers alone, from around the globe as well as vendors representing all facets of the 4G wireless industry ecosystem. Over 250 exhibitors, sponsors and over 10,000 attendees will come together for this year’s event. The event will be in Chicago at McCormick Place, October 18 through 21.
“2010 is a watershed year for the 4G wireless industry,” explains Eliot Weinman, president of Yankee Group’s Events Division and 4G World conference founder and chair. “Around the world over 70 wireless network operators have announced or commenced plans to deploy 4G networks. This is of huge significance not only to network operators and wireless equipment vendors but also to consumers, enterprises and applications developers. These networks are providing the robust, all-IP connectivity that supports the innovation and opportunity of the mobile Internet.”
Attendees of 4G World will learn from the industry’s foremost experts and thought leaders in wireless technologies, network and business operations as well as mobile content and application developers. Executives of leading network operators and 4G vendors provide keynote addresses delivering an excellent view of the “state of the industry” as well as opportunities of the future. Breakout sessions examine best practices and deep insights into the realities of practical deployments of 4G networks and solutions.
Returning for a second year, the Wireless Communications Association International (WCAI) will co-locate its 16th Annual International Symposium at 4G World. Also co-locating at 4G World will be Light Reading, who will host the Backhaul Strategies and Core Convergence for Mobile Operators Summit. 4G World 2010 is endorsed and supported by over 100 media sponsors and wireless industry associations.
The 4G World 2010 program provides a comprehensive view of all aspects of mobile broadband and the mobile Internet. This year’s expanded program includes sessions examining areas of emerging importance such as, 4G migration strategies, mobile media, enterprise and machine-to-machine (M2M) and mobile commerce applications. For further details on 4G World 2010 and an up to date view of its program please visit www.4gworld.com.
Hot in Helsinki
By Emily Green
By Emily Green, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yankee Group
I made a quick visit to Helsinki a few weeks ago; it’s a city I always enjoy. This time, besides the teeny-tiny sauna in my hotel room (a memorable treat after an early-morning run past stunning Finlandia Hall), I found something else that was hot: an exciting community of mobile entrepreneurs.
The Money Talks Forum, a unique partnership between the Finnish VC community and Technopolis, a real estate developer with incubator-style office space in Finland, Estonia, and Russia, has been held twice a year for the last four years. Entrepreneurs apply to make pitches to VCs, filling a full day with group presentations and speed-dating-style one-on-one meetings. I was invited by the Finnish Mobile Association to share some ideas from ANYWHERE to the group - but came away with lots of new ideas from entrepreneurs eager to show how what they’re doing ties directly with Yankee Group’s Anywhere vision. Some cool things I saw:
- WiFi exchange? Notava wants to help mobile operators off-load demanding connections, such as streaming video, to locally available WiFi hot-spots that are willing to dynamically sell excess capacity. Operators can also register their own capacity. While it can take 2-30 seconds to provision one of these trades, customers should never see the transfer of their activity to the other network; rather they should just see better bandwidth, seamlessly. Might not be a new idea, but with crushing mobile data loads, perhaps its time has come.
- Epuuk founders point out that the way to best use mobile screens for media is to look at what kinds of content are the same size as a mobile screen in their current format. Their conclusion: comic strips. The firm’s content delivery platform makes it fun to look at comics on a mobile screen. Right now they’re working with King Features content; Epuuk founder Lauri Gorski said, “Letting us play with their Finnish market content is low-risk for them.” I liked their Zits demo; if only I could have understood the Finnish punch line…
- Zokem joins the rising scrum in mobile data analytics, including the likes of Localytics, Flurry, Umber Systems, and more. This outfit uses client-resident software to track activity - but rather than just understanding what users are doing with their mobiles, the company wants to use the mobile as the pathway to better understanding consumers’ entire lifestyles. Since I met Ludovic in Helsinki, the firm recently landed 2M euros in additional funding.
Many of the entrepreneurs I met at the event share a common prior experience: working at Nokia. The firm has been a wellspring of innovation in the mobile sector, but is now struggling to regain leadership ceded in part to Apple. Is that the reason for the exodus of talent into new ventures? One of the event attendees said, “When big trees get trimmed, it creates more sunlight for new growth at their feet.”