2012-08-31

Telstra trialling Samsung 4G/LTE network equipment

Telstra has confirmed that it is trialling Samsung LTE 4G network equipment in Brisbane, Queensland. //zdnet.com

It looks like Samsung gets very agressive with it's LTE marketing.

List of Samsung LTE contracts

3 UK, UK
KDDI, Japan
MetroPCS, USA
Mobilly, Saudi Arabia
RIL, India, 2012.08
Sprint, USA

US, S.Korea and Japan account for 87% of global LTE connections

It is estimated that global LTE connections topped 27 million at the end of Q2, up from around 10 million at the end of 2011; US operators accounted for 47 percent of the total, followed by South Korea (27 percent) and Japan (13 percent). That is according Wireless Intelligence.

The world’s largest LTE operator is currently the US market leader, Verizon Wireless. The US number-one first launched its next-generation network at the end of 2010 and it is now live in 337 regional markets, covering nearly 75 percent of the US population (233 million POPs). Last week, Verizon announced that it had sold 3.2 million LTE devices in Q2, bringing its cumulative total past 10 million, and representing over 12 percent of retail post-paid connections.

See more //mobilebusinessbriefing.com

And by the way my estimation of LTE subscribers number worldwide is >32 million by the Aug. 31, 2012.

O2 UK to challenge EE 4G launch

O2 UK parent Telefonica has written to regulator Ofcom threatening to challenge its decision to allow rival Everything Everywhere (EE) to launch 4G services this autumn, reports The Guardian. In the letter, O2 is thought to have given notice that it intends to appeal against Ofcom's ruling at the Competition Appeals Tribunal (CAT), potentially delaying EE's launch. Ofcom recently gave EE permission to launch 4G/LTE using existing spectrum, enabling to launch ahead of its rivals. //mobilebusinessbriefing.com

Motorola Droid RAZR HD hits FCC with LTE band 4 and 17

The global edition of the still-unannounced Motorola Droid RAZR HD, also known as the XT925, was just seen getting FCC approval. It has LTE radios, specifically in bands 4 (AWS) and 17 (700 MHz). \\engadget.com

Samsung has promised to continue litigation with Apple over patents

Samsung plans to not only appeal the jury's findings of its willful infringements, but also to pursue new patent litigation related to 4G LTE networks.

Samsung control less than an eight percent of the patents related to LTE, with Nokia, Qualcomm and Ericsson accounting for 43%. However "it only takes one bullet to kill" - just a few standards essential patents can be use to successfully monopolize entire markets.

From the other hand Apple and Samsung are under investigation in the U.S. and E.U. for allegedky abusing patent law with regard to FRAND-committed patents.

//appleinsider.com

2012-08-30

HTC One XL to be the first 4G LTE smartphone for the UK

    

The first device to make the cut to the UK will be the HTC One XL which is currently being sold in Germany and the US (as HTC One X). And Everything Everywhere would be the first operator, which will sell it.  \\unwiredview.com


Android
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, dual-core, 1.5 GHz
~700 euro at 2012.06

3 million LTE connections projected in UK in 2 years

And about half of all 4G/LTE connections will grab Everything Everywhere.



\\gigaom.com

LG U+ launches Voice over LTE services with Ericsson

LG U+ users in South Korea get access to voice over LTE (VoLTE) services. This is thanks to a decision made by South Korean operator LG U+, in partnership with Ericsson's majority-owned subsidiary LG-Ericsson, to make subscribers in South Korea benefit from commercial VoLTE (GSMA IR.92) services. 

The demand for LTE data services in South Korea has increased rapidly ever since LG U+ became the first operator in the country to launch LTE commercially on July 1, 2011. As of August 2012, LG U+ has confirmed that LGU+ is the second largest LTE provider in South Korea, serving 3.1 million of LTE subscribers. 

\\reuters.com

Another 4G/LTE MVNO launched in Russia - MTS over Yota

MTS (Russia) began providing access to 4G/LTE network in Kazan based on MVNO model. MTS's goal is to prove is it beneficial to work with LLC Scartel (Yota). If cooperation would have any success, MTS will spread out of its LTE service yota-LTE-network-wide.

Today Yota Networks announced launch of FDD-LTE 2.5-2.6 MHz (2x30 MHz) network in Kazan (Tatarstan, Russia). There are three MVNO who sell LTE services based on that RAN - Yota, Megafon and MTS. Rostelecom and Vimpelcom not join the shared network yet.

There 118 eNodes (BS) in Kazan covering about 80% of the city territory. It is 7th region in Russia, where available 4G/LTE service. Tomorrow we expect start of Yota (and Megafon) LTE services in S.Petersburg as well.

2012-08-29

Global 4G LTE subscriptions expected to grow by 334% this year

IHS iSupply predict that global 4G LTE subscriptions will reach 73.3 million by the end of 2012 - 334% increase from 16.9 million in 2011.

The figure should increase again by 181% in 2013 with total 205.7 million subscriptions.

By 2016, 4G LTE subscribers is expected to number nearly 1.2 billion.

//zdnet.com

See more - LTE subs number

Operators to invest more in South Korean LTE networks

South Korean mobile subscribers are unsatisfied with the geographical coverage of the nation’s LTE network according to a study conducted by the national regulator, the KCC. While their discontent reflects positively on the performance of the technology where it is available it raises questions about deployment strategies that prioritise certain areas over others. \\telecoms.com

More details:

  1. KT (S.Korea) 
  2. LG U+, S.Korea 
  3. SK Telecom




What is LTE-Advanced?

Good and detailed explanation of LTE Advanced. \\extremetech.com


  1. Introduction 
  2. LTE-Advanced's major new features
  3. LTE-Advanced's new device and base station configurations
  4. LTE-Advanced's shaift towards a cleaned-up, unified wireless spectrum
  5. 3GPP Release 11, and the future of LTE-Advanced

Sony unveils the Xperia V with LTE

Android 4.0.4 ICS out of the box
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4, dual-core, 1.5 GHz
8 GB flash (2 GB for applications, 3.7 GB for music, pictures, videos...), support microSD up to 32 GB
4.3" 720p HD touchscreen, Reality Display with Mobile Bravia Engine 2, 720p, 1280x720, 16 million colors
13 mpix rear cam., 1080p full HD, 16-x zoom, autofocus, Sony Exmor R matrix
720 HD front cam.
LTE
NFC
Clear audio+
MHL
1750 mAh
dust and water resistant, IP55/57+ (1 m deep up to 30 min)
Pink, black and white
129 x 65 x 10.7 mm, 120 g

Availability: 4q2012, announced at IFA2012

SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon Pro S4 - new family

Qualcomm announced new set of its SoC - Qualcomm Snapdragon Pro S4 (actually it was just S4 before).  
  • Technology: CMOS
  • Process: 28 nm
  • CPU Structure: RISC
  • Width of Machine Word: 32 bit
  • Primary (RAM) data bus: 32 bit
  • Supported Instruction: ARMv7 
  • quad-core "Krait" SoC
  • 1.5 GHz - recommended min., 1.7 GHz - recommended max.
  • level 1 cache per core - 32 KiB data cash / 32 KiB instruction cache
  • level 2 cache per core - 1024 KiB
  • Technology: CMOS 
  • aSMP (Asynchronous Symmetric Multiprocessing) - enables each core to power up and down independently as required, allowing for maximum performance combined with good battery life.
  • support resolutions up to 2048x1536 QXVGA
  • up to 20 mpix camera (up to 1080p video encode/decode), up to 3 cameras, stereoscopic 3D capture support
  • 3G/LTE toggling
  • LPDDR2 SD RAM interface
  • Adreno 320 GPU (twice as fast as Adreno 225)
  • Hexagon QDSP6 500 MHz
  • GPSOneGen 8A with GLONASS
//zdnet.com //mforum.ru

Qualcomm APQ8064 Snapdragon S4 PRO is the SoC of the new spersmartphone LG Optimus G. 

Leap (U.S.) completes Verizon spectrum deal

Leap Wireless has completed a deal to sell "excess PCS and AWS spectrum" to Verizon Wireless, and to acquire 700 MHz frequencies in Chicago from Verizon. Leap said that the transactions generated net cash proceeds of US$120 million, which it will use to support its ongoing LTE rollaout. \\mobilebusinessbriefing.com

NTT DoCoMo added 5 more LTE devices

NTT DoCoMo (Japan) set to offer new Android devices "for launch in or after September":

- Sharp SH-01E, smartphone
- Huawei Ascend HW-01E, smartphone
- LG Optimus G L-01E, smartphone
- NEC Casio Medias Tab UL N-08D
- Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 Plus SC-01E

\\mobilebusinessbriefing.com

UE: Samsung Galaxy Note 2 - rumors

Android JB
Samsung Exynos 4412, 1.4 GHz, quad-core
5.5" Super AMOLED, 1280 x 720)
4G LTE
8 mpix

According to a leaked spec sheet, the Galaxy Note II from Samsung is going to launch with some very impressive specs. Unveiling will taking place in just a couple of days at this year’s IFA in Europe. \\droid-life.com

UE, Reviews: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 4G LTE, SCH-i705



"The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 4G LTE (Verizon) delivers on 4G speeds and features, but is too expensive to recommend".

One more review from \\reviews.cnet.com

Like to read more reviews?


2012.08.24 Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 LTE hands-on /androidcommunity.com
2012.08.24 Verizon Galaxy Tab 2.7 with 4G LTE unboxing /slashgear.com

UE: Coolpad Quattro 4G - one more for MetroPCS



Android 2.3 Gingerbread
1 GHz, single core
microSD 
4"
WiFi, BT, GPS
1600 mAh

A brand new smartphone Coolpad Quattro 4G has been revealed by the folks at MetroPCS complete with mid-range specifications

\\slashgear.com

UE: Bell Samsung Galaxy S2 HD LTE gets ICS update

Bell Samsung Galaxy S2 HD LTE has now started receiving the update to Android 4.0 ICS over-the-air.  \\unwiredview.com



Android 2.3 Gingerbread
1.5 GHz, dual-core
4.65" 1280x720 Super AMOLED HD touchscreen
LTE
8 mpix rear cam., LED flash, @1080p HD video capture
2 mpix ff cam.
9.27 mm

Operators
AT&T, USA, as AT&T Galaxy S2 Skyrocket HD
Bell, Canada, as Galaxy S2 HD LTE

2012-08-28

UE: Motorola Droid RAZR M 4G LTE coming soon


Source: http://www.slashgear.com/droid-razr-m-4g-lte-leaked-with-photos-and-info-27244143/

Android 4.0 ICS out of the box
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S4, dual-core
8 GB storage, microSD up to 32 GB
4.3" qHD 960x540 Super AMOLED Advanced, Gorilla Glass 2 by Corning
8 mpix rear camera, single LED flash, @1080p video rec.
3 mpix ffacing cam., @720p video
GSM/UMTS/HSPA+ global roaming 
microUSB
BT
mobile Hotspot (up to 8 devices in LTE network)
non removable battery 
4.44 ounces

Availability
Sep.2012 expect. 

\\slashgear.com

Is it the same as Motorola Droid RAZR HD?

Telstra (Australia) to extend LTE to cover 66% pop.

Now Telstra support up to 500,000 LTE connections - 340,000 data only (dongles and MiFi) and 160,000 LTE capable smartphones. Company expect that in 2013 80% of the mobile broadband devices they sell will be 4G and seven out of 10 handsets they sell will be HD. The planned network expansion will see more than 1,000 new LTE base stations installed by mid 2013 increasing coverage to 66 percent of the population, Telstra says. \\itwire.com

SmarTone (HongKong) launch LTE1800

Vendor of the LTE1800 solution is Ericsson. All SmarTone 3G HSPA+ price plans will now be 4G enabled. A new range of volume-based price plans has also been introduced.
4G is available as of today to selected customers by invitation. It will be generally available to customers on September 11th. \\cellular-news.com

UE: More details on LG Optimus G Lightning




Android 4.0 ICS
Qualcomm APQ8064 S4 Pro quad-core processor; Adreno 320 GPU
2 GB RAM
4.7" True HD (1280x768) IPS LCD 320 ppi, Stripe RGB IPS 15:9 aspect ratio (G2 Touch Hybrid Display is thinner than current TSPs)
4G LTE with VoLTE
13 mpix camera
1.3 mpix front camera
BT 4.0, WiFi, USB2.0 HS, A-GPS, MHL. DLNA, NFC
LiveZooming, Cheese Shutter
2100 mAh (800 cycles to 80% charging)
131.9 x 68.9 x 8.45 mm 
145 g

Availability
S.Korea, Sep. 2012
NTT DoCoMo, Oct-Nov.2012 as L-01E

Samsung signed with RIL LTE deal worth US$20 million

Reliance Industries (as subsidiary Infotel Broadband Services) and Samsung signed a deal worth US$20 million. As part of the deal Samsung will supply and deploy in Jamnagar and Mumbai 3000 eNodeB to RIL and 3G/4G LTE core infrastructure solutions. 1st phase - shipping 100 BS by Dec. 2012. Plans are to deploy Samsung's Smart Cloud Solution based on distributed RAN. 
It is first commercial LTE contract for Samsung in India. RIL plan to use TD-LTE technology. \\voicendata.ciol.com

2012-08-27

LTE Roaming soon became the hit of the season

The Service Provider Information Technology company, Syniverse Technologies Inc. (NYSE: SVR) believes that interoperability and roaming challenges associated with Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be its key focus areas in the coming two to three years.
LTE will lead to many more roaming agreements between operators than what they have done in 3G or 2G.
Syniverse's competitor in roaming services, Roamware Inc. believes that LTE roaming opportunity in India is as big as US$50 million to $60 million (INR 2.7 billion to INR 3.3 billion) in the next two-to-three years. \\lightreading.in

Reviews: Bell Motorola ATRIX HD LTE Review

One more review of Bell Motorola ATRIX HD LTE \\mobilesyrup.com

Drive-tests: Sprint 4G LTE Network Performance on the Moto Photon Q

Being the closest ATer to a Sprint LTE market (Atlanta, GA), I hopped in a car on Friday and made the nearly seven hour drive to Atlanta to test the Photon Q in its ideal environment. Raleigh, NC remains a Sprint 3G-only market for now, where I typically find speeds below 1Mbps (0.1Mbps - 1.5Mbps seems to be the typical range). As we've seen in our previous investigations of LTE performance on AT&T and Verizon, the move to 4G LTE can be significantly faster than HSPA+, and definitely compared to Sprint's EVDO. \\anandtech.com


The overall performance stats are below:
Sprint LTE Performance (Atlanta & Athens, GA)
 AverageMinMaxStdDev
Downstream5.98 Mbps0.094 Mbps32.6 Mbps6.06 Mbps
Upstream4.82 Mbps0.152 Mbps14.3 Mbps3.36 Mbps
Latency59.8 ms31 ms578 ms44.3 ms

Sprint Galaxy Nexus now has 4G LTE network

Recently Sprint Galaxy Nexus debuted on the Sprint wireless network in the United States, and Sprint just last month rolled out their new 4G LTE system in the US across the nation, finally giving the a powerful processor and 4G LTE connectivity of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus 4G a cellular super-speedway worthy of its feature set. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Sprint is on sale now starting at $0.01.

\\mobilebloom.com

Vodafone Germany announces Asus Transformer Pad Infinity TF700KL



Android
Qualcomm Snapdragon S4, 1.5 GHz
1 GB RAM, 16/32/64 options, microSD up to 32 GB
10.1", 1920x1200, Corning's Gorill Glass 2
8 mpix cam.
LTE



Price: 
E819.90 or US$1.026 in Germany, 2012.08
E169.90 or US$213 for Vodafone Germany, 2012.08

Anailability
2012.08.25 Expecting at IFA2012 in Berlin

\\theverge.com  \\thedroidguy.com

2012-08-25

Smart Communications start commercial LTE 2100 network

LTE now commercially available in Philippins regards to Smart. Frequency band is 2100 MHz, I dont know if it is band 1, band 23 or may be band 10? If you know, please let me know exact band . The rival Globe Telecom soon plan to start LTE 1800.

Tariff "Plan 3500" cost P3500 a month for 10 GB data with P450 for each excess GB, free dongle and 2 year contract. Targeted to early adapters. Device is Huawei E392 dongle. \\rappler.com

Quad-core Samsung Galaxy S3 with LTE arrives in Germany

Quad-core Samsung Galaxy S3 with LTE support is on the way to Germany.
Sales to start from October 2012. It's going to be overpriced with €749 ($939). Germany would be the first market for Quad-core Samsung Galaxy S3 with LTE outside S.Korea. //unwiredview.com

Will FaceTime on coming iPhone crash LTE networks?

Are the nation's LTE wireless carriers prepared for the video chat data crunch expected to come with the next-generation iPhone and other devices that are expected to launch this fall?

The answer: It depends on whom you ask.

"Bandwidth in 4G LTE networks initially is not going to be a problem, but over time, if you use it for interactive video or watching moves, yeah, it's going to be a problem," Hourihan said.

A common complaint with FaceTime even over Wi-Fi has been video freeze-ups and dropped calls that make the experience difficult. If LTE isn't available at the tower near a FaceTime user, 3G networks might offer a worse experience than Wi-Fi. //computerworld.com

2012-08-24

Samsung Galaxy Stellar 4G LTE - soon for Verizon?

"We don’t know what the handset looks like, but it should have a “compact design” that “fits comfortably in the hand.” The Stellar will come with Amazon’s AppStore pre-installed for some reason. It will cost $99.99 on contract (after a $50 mail-in rebate), or $499.99 without an agreement". \\unwiredview.com

Reviews: Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 LTE

One more "hands-on" of Samsung SCH-i705 Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 LTE. //androidcommunity.com



Android ICS 4.0.4 + Touch Wiz UX
Qualcomm MSM8960 Snapdragon S3, 1.2 GHz, dual-core SoC
1 GB RAM, 8 GB on board, microSD up to 32 GB
7", WSVGA TFT, PLS 1024 x 600
3.2 mpix rear, 0.3 mpix front
802.11 B/G/N
BT 3.0
USB 2.0 Host port

Operators: Verizon from Aug.17, 2012
Price: US$349,99 at Aug.2012

3 UK to launch LTE in 2013 based on Samsung's solution

3 UK has confirmed it will commercially launch LTE next year, signing up Samsung to help build-out the new network. As part of the deal with Samsung, the South Korean vendor will deploy LTE base stations and core, “including all associated systems and network support services,” across 3's nationwide network. The solution will be tested by the pair this year and will move to “full deployment and commercialisation” in 2013. Everything Everywhere then agreed to sell two chunks (2x15MHz) of 1800MHz spectrum to 3, which 3 said would more than double the capacity on its network.  \\mobilebusinessbriefing.com

Virgin Mobile plan to develop LTE 3.5 GHz in Russia?

Trivon Network (Virgin Connect) start recruiting in Russia. Unknown sources from the market told Virgin Mobile plan to develop LTE 3500 business B2B/B2C \\rbcdaily.ru

Romania's regulator validates LTE spectrum applicants

As per local press speculation, operators participating in the auction have now been confirmed as Vodafone Romania, Cosmote Romania, Orange Romania, Romania Cable Systems (RCS&RDS) and 2K Telecom. \\telegeography.com

Reviews: Motorola Photon Q 4G - once again

Your Thumbs will love the Motorola Photon Q 4G //mashable.com

The main draw of the Photon Q 4G LTE is obviously going to be its keyboard. The phone is priced to compete with a number of other more powerful smartphones on the market, and a full $50 over the iPhone on Sprint.

If a keyboard is a necessity for you, then we can definitely recommend the Photon Q as a solid option and a great transition device for BlackBerry lovers looking to make the jump to Android.

If you don’t see yourself using the keyboard, however, then you’d be better served to pick up another Android device on the carrier such as the HTC EVO 4G LTE, or Samsung Galaxy S III.

Verizon 4G LTE AWS specrum purchase approved!

FCC approved a US$3.9 billion AWS spectrum purchase from the cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox. That is huge possibility for Verizon to add more LTE capacity. Operator plan to develop FDD LTE in AWS band country wide as well as existing 700 MHz LTE network.

AWS would gain popularity in Americas even more

Not only does Verizon's deal with the cable companies bring it new AWS spectrum, it also paves the way for T-Mobile to acquire significant AWS spectrum holdings from Verizon in a separate transaction. "As a result, Verizon and T-Mobile can soon apply 152 AWS licenses toward nationwide build-out and support of LTE services, providing more incentive and confidence for silicon, device and infrastructure suppliers to invest more aggressively in AWS support on LTE equipment," said a new Current Analysis report, which Westfall coauthored.

Further, upcoming AWS auctions are designated in Latin American countries such as Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru, complementing current AWS support in the United States, Canada and Chile. Consequently, AWS has become "an essential LTE band for LTE roaming support in North America and Latin America, advancing AWS as a solid candidate for one of the essential seven or eight LTE bands deemed critical for global roaming LTE devices and services," said the Current Analysis report.

\\fiercebroadbandwireless.com

Reviews: Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 Hands-on with LTE



YouTube Video



Short Hands-on review Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 tablet from \slashgear.com

2012-08-23

LTE 4G business supremacy: Reliance Industries v/s Bharti Airtel

Despite an unprecedented delay in LTE launch by Reliance Industries that will pitch against Airtel, analysts have started predicting success for RIL's telecom venture in India. But Airtel will not give up and grow in global telecom markets.

RIL is sitting on a huge cash reserve of around Rs 1 lakh crore, India Today reported. It paid 12,847 crore for bagging BWA spectrum in 2010. RIL is currently talking with telecom equipment companies such as Huawei, Ericsson, ZTE, Samsung, Nokia Siemens etc. for its LTE roll out.

Entering the voice business, using BWA license, will increase the addressable market for RIL. A data-only LTE strategy will lead to small market with a size of around $750 million revenues. It may not be enough to build a business case, given the fact that it paid $2.5 billion for the spectrum. Bundling of voice and data may increase its market manifold.

RIL's LTE modem and dongle to sell at lower price points than that of Bharti's which sell at Rs 7,500-8,000. It is not impossible for RIL Infotel to price an LTE dongle at a 35 percent discount to Bharti's current price or at around Rs 5,000.

\\telecomlead.com

Altel has enlisted Bercut (Russia) to supply LTE software

As per the terms of the contract, Bercut has agreed to implement the mechanism of charging for data transmission and LTE subscriber services. In addition, Bercut will provide to Altel (Kazakhstan) an interface to the advanced end-to-end ‘WeTree’ Service-Orientated Architecture (SOA) platform, which will allow Altel to create and introduce new services rapidly. According to Bercut’s press release, Altel, somewhat ambitiously, expects the introduction of LTE to help grow its subscriber base to around four million users; as at 31 March 2012 the operator claimed a subscriber base of just 1.351 million, equivalent to a market share of 6%. //telegeography.com

Telekom Austria Group selects Ericsson's LTE

Ericsson will upgrade 2G and 3G networks and provide LTE RAN infrastructure for Telekom Austria Group's operators in Austria, A1 and Croatia, Vipnet. Rollout is already started based on Ericsson's RBS 6000.

Telekom Austria connections base is about 23 million. \\reuters.com

UK will get 4G/LTE on dongles?

Everything Everywhere got permission to re-farm its 1800 MHz for LTE network. Kester Mann, senior analyst at CCS Insight, said that he believes it is unlikely that smartphones capable of offering LTE for the 1800 MHz spectrum will be available in 2012. More likely to wait them in 2013. Until that time it would be only LTE dongles available. That significally reduces the potential target market. \\telecoms.com

Megafon is close to announce commercial TD-LTE network in Moscow

MegaFon is at the end of the process of development LTE TDD network in Moscow. Regulator (Roscomnadzor) already issued its permission. We can expect start of services Sep.1, 2012.
There are "few hundreds of TD LTE base stations installed" in the Megafon network in Moscow, as company representative told me. Company will use band 38 (2.5-2.6 GHz).

New network will be good addition to the existing Scartel's LTE FDD network, which is in the same holding with Megafon. That means, that subscribers to Megafon MVNO service will be able to get better coverage and service. The dongle Huawei E398 (RUR1990), which is the only LTE modem for the Megafon LTE customers at the moment is able to support both FDD and TDD networks and 3G/2G as well. Tablet Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE which is second of two Megafon's LTE user devices does not support TD-LTE.

In February 2012, Megafon entered into a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with Scartel LLC, a related party of the Company since July 2012, which operates under the Yota brand. for the joint development and provision of 4G/LTE services in Russia.

The MVNO agreement enables the Company to provide 4G/LTE services to its customers using the network of Scartel and enables Scartel to use network infrastructure of MegaFon to provide voice services to its customers.

In March and April 2012, the Company prepaid Scartel an aggregate amount of $50 million (1,641 at the exchange rate as of June 30,2012) for the provision of future interconnection servives under MVNO agreement. The amount of the advance was included in prepaid expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets as at June 30, 2012.

(Yota is the trade mark of Scartel).

47% of US consumers don't feel need for 4G LTE

47% of surveyed don't feel they need access to a 4G LTE network
26% thought all 4G LTE networks were largely the same

Research note: despite all the 4G advertizing, consumers aren't really focused on it.

51% of respondents indicating that either they didn't know who had the best 4G network or that ann 4G networks were the same.

Of the 55% apparently contemplating next iPhone purchase, 44% indicated they would choose Verizon as their carrier, 29% - AT&T, 14% - Sprint, 13% T-Mobile.

//newc.cnet.com

Reviews: Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE /pcworld

One more review Motorola Photon Q 4G.

  

Conlusion:

Though a bit on the chunky side and hampered by a mediocre camera, the Photon Q is a solid choice for anyone who wants a phone with a physical keyboard. If you're a huge texter, or if you compose a lot of email messages on your phone, this model is well worth considering. It's not perfect, but the Photon Q is currently the keyboard phone to beat.

//pcworld.com

Want more reviews?

2012-08-22

U.S.Cellular Launches Next 4G LTE Smartphone

Samsung Galaxy Metrix 4G

Android 
1 GHz 
4.0", touchscreen
5 mpix rear-facing camera, camcorder
front-facing camera
Slide-out QWERTY

Price: US$179 after rebate

MetroPCS may sign for LTE roaming before the 2012 end

MetroPCS, the fifth-largest carrier in the U.S., has one little problem: while it will finally have filled out 97 percent of its 14 metro areas with LTE by October, its 14 metro areas don't include everyone. So it's looking for roaming partners.

So when will we see MetroPCS phones roaming the nation on LTE? There's a good chance it'll happen before the end of next year, Ed Chao, MetroPCS said.

//pcmag.com

Reviews: Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G



Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S Lightray 4G is essentially the Droid Charge with just one or two new features and a much higher price tag. The phone's ability to play live TV is nice, but I'm having a hard time recommending the Lightray when you can get the unlocked Samsung Galaxy Nexus for considerably less. If you're set on buying a smartphone on MetroPCS, look into the LG Connect 4G: Although it does come with a bit of bloatware, at least it has LTE and more-modern specs.

/pcworld.com

Public Safety: Harris Corp. BTS-100 ruggedized tablet

The BTC-100 ruggedized tablet from Harris Corporation leverages 700 MHz Long-Term Evolution (LTE) to meet the current and future needs of public safety agencies.

The Harris BTC-100 tablet delivers mission-critical information to first responders in real-time for instantaneous communication and coordination during day-to-day activities and emergency situations.

The Harris BTC-100 tablet features front- and rear-facing cameras and noise-cancellation technology to improve the quality of voice communications. The hardened rugged enclosure with sunlight readable display provides reliable operation in heat, cold and other extreme environments. The tablet also offers integrated Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for added connectivity, GPS and internal sensors for location and movement tracking. The tablet includes an interchangeable, high-capacity battery for extended use.

//defpro.com

Reviews: Hands-on with the LG Motion 4G



LG Motion 4G - is the new Android smartphone for the MetroPCS. If you like to get more details about it - go //cnet.com

Sprint vs T-Mobile USA - two unlimited data options comparision

Conclusion. On a financial basis, T-Mobile wins at every tier, and offers an even better deal if you're willing to bring in your own phone and forgo a contract. T-Mobile also addresses the lack of an iPhone with its own Micro SIM card and ability to serve unlocked iPhones, but that's likely too much of a hassle for most customers. Sprint has a superior lineup, even if its phones can't yet take full advantage of the fastest possible network.

Of course, coverage is the real wild card. Customers in the few Sprint LTE markets that are up will have a superior experience. Coverage on either carrier will vary greatly depending on location, time, interference, and local wireless traffic. By the numbers, T-Mobile offers the best deal, but you should do your homework before committing to either unlimited data option.

//news.cnet.com

CSL - only 7K LTE connections in 1 year

CSL Hong Kong using LTE 1800 (2x20 МГц) and LTE 2600 MHz launching at the end of 2010. LTE 1800 is mainstream for the company. Vendor iz ZTE with its dualband solution. Traffic growing by a factor of three year on year.

Christian Daigneault, chief technology officer, CSL:

“In Europe there is not enough competition. Here in Hong Kong there are five operators in a small market and the competition forces us not to stop. Customers are very demanding, so as soon as one operator [makes a move] then everybody else has to follow.”

Recent visits to Western Europe revealed the disparity in network performance, he says. “In the UK and France I was on EDGE very often, and you don’t see that in Hong Kong. We are now in a different league. We’re on 4G and already thinking about dual band and LTE Advanced, so the lag in Europe is becoming pretty large. It seems to me that, in some countries because of the economic situation, there are sort of agreements between operators not to deploy. And if nobody does it then there’s no pressure to deploy LTE.”

An important benefit of LTE 1800 for CSL, says Daigneault, is that it will be deployed more widely across the globe than 2600, opening up a better device ecosystem and improved opportunities for international roaming.

CSL and SK Telecom (S.Korea) already in LTE 1800 roaming agreement.

Only 7970 LTE subs as at June 2012

\\telecoms.com

New GCF-Certified handset: Samsung SC-06D

Samsung SC-06D

#GSM/EDGE 850, 900, 1800, 1900;
#3G/HSPA 2100, 850;
#LTE 2100

\\globalcertificationforum.org

Terminal for LG Uplus (S.Korea)?

Is LG Optimus G the same as LG LS970 Eclipse?

LG Optimus G with its


Android 4.0.4 ICS JB
Qualcomm S4 Pro quad-core processor
2 GB RAM
4.7" True IPS
4G LTE with VoLTE
13 mpix camera

looks like the same that LG Eclipse LG LS970 looks like

Processor: quad-core Qualcomm Krait / Adreno 320 GUI
RAM 2GB
4.67" (rumors)
3G/4G radios (CDMA 820 / 850 / 1900; LTE band 25 1850-1915 and 1930-1995)
NFC, BT 4.0,  WiFi bgn, GPS, SVLTE
5.2"x2.8" (130.9x71.6 mm)

Date: not announced, seen at FCC's docs Aug.10
Operators: Sprint ?, AT&T ?

Lets wait for more details 

Rogers launches first LTE network in New Brunswik

Rogers is continuing to expand its LTE network, expanding coverage in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver, and adding a number of new cities from coast to coast with the plan to cover approximately 60 per cent of the population by the end of the year. Rogers plans to launch LTE in Trois Rivières, Sherbrooke, Quebec City, Kingston, Ajax, Pickering, Oshawa, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Niagara, Windsor, Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, London, Barrie, Sudbury, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Kelowna, Whistler, Abbotsford and Victoria. More cities will be launched in 2013.

\\equities.com

Sprint expands LTE to Baltimor, DL is up to 15 Mbit/c

Sprint officials showed off new 4G LTE cellular service today in Baltimore, the carrier's 16th market in the U.S. to get the technology.

Network Vision calls for Sprint to first deploy LTE over the 1.9GHz spectrum it holds, followed by the 2.5GHz spectrum at some point and the 800MHz spectrum later, Chu said. The 1.9GHz channel offers wide geographical coverage, which means Sprint won't need to add more cell sites or towers as additional subscribers buy and use LTE smartphones and other devices, Chu said. The 2.5GHz channel offers greater LTE capacity, while the 800MHz channel will help with in-building coverage.

Some more information about antennas, RRH, small-cells is article too. Vendors for small cells are: ALU and Samsung. Vendord for the main RAN - ALU, Ericsson and Samsung.

\\computerworld.com

Samsung Galaxy S3 to come to MetroPCS

MetroPCS will bring the blockbuster Samsung Galaxy S III to market with its no-contract 4G LTE plans later this year, according to MetroPCS handset chief Tony Lau.


//pcmag.com

IGR Study Discussed the potential of VoLTE

VoLTE Promises to Significantly Lower Voice Infrastructure Costs and Improve Both Voice Quality and the Overall Customer Experience.

iGR believes that VoLTE is very important to LTE operators as it enables them to eventually terminate their legacy, circuit-switched voice 2G/3G network infrastructure in favor of consolidating voice traffic on the all-IP LTE network platform.

This promises to significantly lower voice infrastructure costs and improve both voice quality and the overall customer experience. In addition, VoLTE allows voice service to be integrated into other applications and content, such as games and social networking apps.

"However, the path to VoLTE is likely to be challenging for all parties. It will not be until much later this decade that the majority of U.S. voice traffic is on VoLTE and not traditional circuit connections", Iain Gillott, president and founder of iGR.

\\virtual-strategy.com

Public Safety: ALU announced First Responder Video

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is to provide first–response emergency teams the ability to view and rapidly share multiple video and data feeds simultaneously on mobile devices. 

Fire, ambulance and police teams will be able to share critical emergency situation information with operation controllers via video and data streams – thanks to Alcatel-Lucent’s First Responder Video solution. Building on Bell Labs research in multimedia and cloud, the First Responder Video utilizes 4G LTE mobile broadband networks to convey real-time video and information rapidly and cost-efficiently.

\\dailymarkets.com

AT&T Invests $365 million In Indiana Network In 1h2012

LAFAYETTE, Ind., Aug. 20, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- AT&T today announced that it has invested $365 million in its wireless and wired networks in Indiana through the first half of 2012. Network upgrades include activation of new cell sites or towers to improve network coverage, deploying faster connections to enable 4G speeds, and adding spectrum capacity to support additional traffic.

First-half upgrade highlights include:

  • Launch of AT&T 4G LTE in West Lafayette, Bloomington, Muncie (including the three area university campuses), Lafayette and Westfield; bringing customers the latest generation of wireless network technology.
  • Addition of an AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Zone in downtown Indianapolis, and activation and expansion of AT&T's 4G LTE service in the Indianapolis pro football stadium. This includes an expanded stadium Distributed Antenna System (DAS)--among the largest of its kind in the U.S.--and DAS installations in a number of other Indianapolis venues.

\\sacbee.com

Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE - more reviews

Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE rewied again and again:

\\gottabemobile.com
\\engadget.com

2012-08-21

Colombia's Authorities push back LTE auction for Dec.2012

The Ministry of Information Technology and Communication in Colombia and the country’s spectrum agency (Agencia Nacional del Espectro, or ANE) have once again postponed the planned auction of spectrum licences suitable for the provision of Long Term Evolution (LTE) services in the country. According to the 4G Auction Analysis paper, the first sub-band is from 1710MHz-1755MHz, paired with 2110MHz-2155MHz; the second sub-band is comprised of 2525MHz-2570MHz, paired with 2645MHz-2690MHz (for FDD allocations), and 2575MHz-2615MHz (for TDD allocations free of guard bands). The third sub-band is 1865MHz-1867.5MHz, paired with 1945MHz-1947.5MHz.

 \\telegeography.com

MetroPCS - unlimited LTE plan US$55 - voice and data

The promotional plan, which bundles unlimited voice, text and data for $55 per month, is only going to be offered for a limited time but is much cheaper than similar plans offered by other LTE carriers. For example, Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) charges $30 per month for 2 GB, $50 for 5 GB and $80 for 10 GB of LTE data.

As part of promotion, MetroPCS will also launch LG Motion smartphone for US$149.

//fiercewireless.com


3UK to buy LTE1800 spectrum from EE (UK)

Following the decision announced today by UK regulator Ofcom to allow Everything Everywhere (EE) to offer LTE services in its existing 1800 MHz spectrum rom September 11, 2012, EE has revealed plans to sell part of its 1800MHz spectrum to 3UK. The sale is in line with the European Commission’s competitive assessment of the merger of Orange and T-Mobile in the UK in March 2010, which required EE to divest 2x15 MHz of its 1800 MHz spectrum. //telecoms.com

Everything Everywhere now can refarm 1800 MHz for LTE

Ofcom approved an application made by Everything Everywhere to refarm its existing spectrum in the 1800 MHz band for 4G / LTE. Ofcom noted that varying EE's existing 1800 MHz concession would deliver "significant benefits to consumers". More of it, the regulator noting "no material risk that those benefits will be outweighted by a distortion of competition". Ofcom has confirmed that it has now issued varied licences to EE which authorise the operator to inaugurate LTE services from 11 September 2012. \\telegeography.com

Is it right time to wrap up voice into LTE data packages?

Wireless carriers are in no rush of folding their voice services into their LTE data packages ignoring fact that ARPU go up as a result of deploying LTE as their data technology. More of it, Infonetics says that roughly one-third of carriers survayed said thay "plan to use their 2G/3G networks for voice services as long as possible".  \\bgr.com

Rostelecom plan LTE launches in North Caucasus in 2013

Rostelecom has revealed that it plans to launch its pilot LTE network in the North Caucasus federal district in 2013. Rostelecom also plans to launch test LTE network in Sochi in 2012. Infrastructure vendors choosed are Ericsson, Alcatel and Huawei. Rostelecom is obliged to offering commercial LTE services no later, then Jan.1, 2012 and offer 4G technology in all towns with at least 50,000 residents by 2019. //LTE-depot.blogspot.com via //telegeography.com, //comnews.ru

Verizon got JD approval for spectrum purchase

Verizon has secured the Justice Department's approval for a US$3.9 billion spectrum purchase from the cable companies Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox. Still FCC is yet to vote, but Chairman has said that he supports the deal. \\trefis.com

We are talking about chunk of AWS spectrum for LTE expansion.

Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE - two more reviews

This time it is Chris Burns, slashgear.com who reviewed the Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE.

  

Wrap-Ups:

As it stands, this is a rather nice piece of hardware on a surprisingly less than acceptable network. If you’ve used this carrier before and you’ve had a lot of luck, then certainly you’ll be good to go with this device. But if you’re new to the smartphone universe, we’re currently recommending that you stay away – or at least test your device out on a test run before you commit.

Motorola has once again brought on a solid piece of hardware, with a QWERTY keyboard that is easy to use and a processor from Qualcomm that has a fire in its belly as it has on each of the devices it’s been released on thus far. This device will be available throughout the USA immediately if not soon!

//slashgear.com

In the end the Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE is a great piece of hardware. The keyboard isn’t quite “PC-like” as they call it, but certainly one of the best keyboards on a phone we’ve used in a while. The screen isn’t HD but has great colors and brightness so that’s a plus. We wouldn’t really call this a triple threat but for those on the Now Network this is certainly one to consider — especially if you like the hardware keyboard.

Sadly the network is still no where near being up to par, especially with 2012 standards. Call quality was great, but data is another story. As a phone calls were clear, crisp, and rarely dropped and the speaker phone is amazingly loud on this device. Once the 4G LTE becomes a reality this phone will be a good option for the many who love a keyboard. As an added bonus this is the first smartphone from Motorola that can officially be unlocked. You can unlock its bootloader with their Unlock My Device website. The new Motorola PHOTON Q 4G LTE is available today starting at $199 with a new 2-year contract. If you love a keyboard and are willing to wait for 4G LTE go pick one up today!

//androidcommunity.com

2012-08-20

NTT DoCoMo - 5 million LTE subs, >31 million worldwide

NTT DoCoMo said its LTE users base increased by 1 million in less then a month!
Now operator serve for 5 million LTE connections, so last million took only 28 days. Company offering an unlimited talk plan among subscribers and discounted data plans. It offers several LTE dongles and nearly a dozen phones with LTE, including Samsung Galaxy S3. LTE plan cost US$82 and provides up to 7 GB data before it cuts off to a lower connection speed (without voice services). //pcworld.com

NTT DoCoMo is third in Top3 LTE operators in the world after the Verizon Wireless and very close to 2nd - SK Tel;ecom (S.Korea). The LTE Depot evaluation of  total LTE connections worldwide is >31 million as of today.

DoCoMo to Launch high performance LTE Smartphone in Oct

New handset will support throughput up to 112.5 mbit/s, three times faster then current offerings.

DoCoMo aims to increase the proportion of LTE-compatible models in its overall smartphone sales volume to 60% in the year through March 2013. By encouraging 3G smartphone users to switch to LTE handsets, the firm hopes to reduce the burden on its network. 

\\foxbusiness.com

2012-08-18

VimpelCom have no serious LTE plans for 2012-2013

Vimpelcom is in the process of installing LTE RAN in Moscow. It could be LTE 2.5-2.6 GHz network (most probably) or dual band network (LTE 800 / 2.5-2.6). Company still got no exact frequency assignments from the regulator. Start of the service planned for the 1H2013. But I do not expect huge Vimpelcom's LTE networks Russia wide in 2012-2013.

In July, VimpelCom was awarded an LTE license in Russia, allowing the Company to render services using radioelectronic devices in the territory of the Russian Federation. The license allows VimpelCom to provide services via networks that use the LTE standard and its further modifications within the frequency band of 791- 862 MHz (813.5-821/854.5-862 MHz). VimpelCom will start providing services by June 1, 2013 in compliance with the terms of the license. The roll-out of the LTE network will need to occur with a phased approach based on a predefined schedule and must be fully completed by the end of 2019. A further condition of the license award is that VimpelCom will invest at least RUB 15 billion annually until its federal LTE network is built.

The Company is finalizing its LTE investment plan.

See more \\ru-4g.livejournal.com (in Russian)

HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE kernel source code released by HTC


HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE


HTC already made the kernel source code HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE of the handset available and can now be downloaded from the manufacturer’s developer site. This news shouldn’t get you excited if you are just a regular smartphone user but the enthusiastic boys and girls of the developer communities will definitely be having a field day with this development for that matter. \\mobilebloom.com