4G Global Update - June 20, 2011

 

 

Spain Attracts 11 Bidders in Mobile Spectrum Auction

TelecomPaper

Eleven operators have placed their bids in the tender for 270 MHz of spectrum in Spain. The bidders include Vodafone, Telefonica, Orange, Ono, Jazztel, Telecom Castilla la Mancha, R, Telecable de Asturias, Opnatel and Cota. Spain is auctioning 58 blocks in the 800MHz, 900MHz and 2.6GHz frequency bands. More

 

M1 Readies for LTE Launch in Singapore

TeleGeography

Singaporean mobile operator and broadband provider M1 is claiming a first for the country, with the announcement that it will launch LTE services commercially. The operator will initially target large enterprise customers in the city-state's financial district including Marina Bay, Suntec and Shenton Way, with full national coverage by 1Q12. M1's dual-band mobile network will operate in the 1800MHz and 2600MHz bands offering maximum theoretical transmission speeds of 75Mbps/37.5Mbps (download/upload), rising to 150Mbps/75Mbps by the end of 2012. More

 

Sprint Will Develop 4G LTE with LightSquared in U.S.

Wireless And Mobile News

WCAI members LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared's 4G LTE network in the U.S. Sprint will become a significant customer of LightSquared's 4G LTE network. This information was disclosed in a letter from Billionaire Philip Falcone to investors. More

 

KeyOn Acquires Business VoIP Provider CommX in U.S.

Connected Planet

WCAI member KeyOn Communications, a company that has acquired 13 broadband wireless providers in rural parts of the U.S., last week announced it has made a different type of acquisition. It has purchased the assets of business VOIP provider CommX. “We always felt that our strategy should be a vertically integrated one,” said KeyOn CEO Jonathan Snyder, in an interview. “In the marketplace we’re seeing demand for value added services and higher bandwidth. We have been proactive in getting our cost structure in line so we can provide those services.” KeyOn delivers broadband services using a variety of technologies, including WiMAX, unlicensed 2.4 GHz equipment and the Motorola Canopy offering. More

 

Samsung Electronics Enters Japanese LTE Market

The Korea Herald

Samsung Electronics marked its splash into the global 4G telecom market in earnest with a contract for providing LTE equipment to Japan’s second-largest mobile phone operator. Samsung will help KDDI to launch its LTE services starting next year, the Seoul-based electronics company said on Monday. KDDI’s plans follow close on the heels of NTT Docomo that launched LTE services late last year. In 2008, Samsung Electronics became the first electronics company in the world to publicly demonstrate its LTE technology. The firm is currently collaborating with more than 30 companies around the world with LTE, among which eight are seeking to go commercial. More

 

Qualcomm Nears Indian LTE Launch (and Exit)

Mobile Business Briefing

Qualcomm says it is close to finalizing a deal with an Indian operator, which could see it launch TD-LTE services in the country before year-end. The US chip giant was the surprising winning bidder for a slot of 20MHz TD BWA spectrum in the 2.3GHz band during Indian auctions last year. Speaking to The Hindu Business Line, Kanwalinder Singh, Qualcomm’s president of India and South Asia, said: “We had earlier announced a four-step strategy for our broadband venture – to invest in spectrum, accelerate the ecosystem, to introduce one or more operators as partners and eventually exit. We are at the third step and we are in talks with operators.” Singh did not reveal which operators the chip giant was talking to, but previous reports have suggested that Bharti Airtel could be a contender. More

 

Cox: We're Not Selling Our Spectrum

Light Reading

Cox Communications has no plans to sell its valuable 700MHz and Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum leftover from its canned 3G wireless network buildout, Cox's wireless head said Thursday. This runs counter to what Cox President Pat Esser reportedly told Bloomberg, but Kelly Williams, Cox's VP of wireless product operations, said the report that Cox would sell the network to a Tier 1 carrier or shut it down was based on a misunderstanding. "While we do not intend to build a 3G network, we have all the options on the table relative to 4G," Williams said. "We have not ruled anything out." More

 

Tech Firms Join Nortel Patent Sale

The Wall Street Journal

Apple, Intel and Ericsson are among the technology giants that will vie with Google to buy a trove of patents from the bankrupt Canadian telecom-equipment maker, Nortel Networks. Nortel, whose remaining assets remain in bankruptcy proceedings, delayed the auction by seven days until June 27, citing a "significant level of interest" in the portfolio. The trove of 6,000 patents covers key swaths of the high-tech world, including Wi-Fi, social networking and a 4G LTE wireless technology. More

 

Russia, Alcatel-Lucent Extend JV to Develop LTE Components

Computer Business Review

State Corporation Russian Technologies and Alcatel-Lucent have expanded their joint venture, Alcatel-Lucent RT, to develop and manufacture LTE components customized for the Russian market. The companies will set up a R&D Center in St. Petersburg operated by Alcatel-Lucent RT that will be fully integrated with Alcatel-Lucent's wireless operations. Russian experts will be employed in the center to ensure a focus on the development of LTE specific features for the Russian market. More

 

New WiMAX Operator in Zimbabwe Wants Interconnection for Mobile VoIP Services

TeleGeography

A new WiMAX-based network operator is aiming to launch in Zimbabwe as early as this month under the name "Spiritage," writes TheAfricaReport. The start-up's CEO Zachary Wazara claims that interconnection agreements with other operators are in the process of being finalized by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe before the company can launch a ‘mobile' data/voice service based on "4G and WiMAX base stations" following an investment of $25 million. More