W-CDMA

3G W-CDMA equipment up 12% in 3rd quarter

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:15:02 -0500

After ramping up in 2Q 2008, in large part due to Beijing Olympics preparations, the worldwide radio access network equipment market slid 6 per cent to US$9.6 billion in 3Q 2008 on sharp declines in the CDMA segment, reports market research firm Infonetics Research. The firm said that, while most segments of the market declined in 3Q, the W-CDMA equipment segment--including base transceiver stations and base station controllers (radio network controllers, or RNCs--increased 12 per cent in 3Q 2008, and is up 19 per cent year-over-year. Article

GSMA and NGMN to cooperate on future networks

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:59:57 -0400

The GSM Association (GSMA) and the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance have agreed to cooperate to help push the development of mobile broadband communications. Specifically the two bodies will work to ensure that users of next generation networks such as those based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) will be able to roam on to existing networks based on GSM, WCDMA and HSPA. A second area of cooperation will be focused on the development of the necessary commercial frameworks and technical platforms to ensure that current and future mobile services will be able to work, and travel, across next generation and legacy networks. Thorny issues such as intellectual property rights and spectrum requirements will also be part of the cooperation process.

For more on this story:
- go to Mobile Europe

Related stories:
NGMN announces "unprecedented" IPR plan. Article
GSMA officially backs LTE for mobile broadband. Article

French to consult (again) on 3G licence

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:59:56 -0400

The French regulator ARCEP has launched a public consultation process to canvass opinion on the assignment of the remaining frequencies in the 2.1GHz band. These assignments are of particular importance to potential greenfield operators who, if allocated 2.1GHz spectrum, will also be able to gain access to the 900MHz band. The announcement of a public consultation is the latest move in the ongoing saga of French 3G spectrum allocations. In April 2008 the French Government announced that the application procedure it launched in March 2007 regarding the assignment of the remaining 2.1GHz band frequencies had been unsuccessful. The Government therefore invited ARCEP to hold a public consultation with the aim of having a solution by the end of September 2008. French broadband provider Iliad applied for the fourth licence in October last year but the application was rejected by ARCEP on the grounds that it failed to meet the necessary financial criteria. Iliad has indicated that it is still interested in obtaining the fourth 3G licence. The consultation process closes on the 18th of July.

For more on this story:
- read Cellular News

Related stories:
Rumour mill: 4th French 3G licence shelved. Article
French operators play politics to stop 4th UMTS licence. Article

O2 Germany picks Huawei for base stations

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:59:56 -0400

It's official. Chinese vendor Huawei announced today that it will outfit O2 Germany with more than 8,000 GSM and W-CDMA base stations for its network by the end of 2009. FierceWireless:Europe first reported this back in January but now both 02 and Huawei have publicly announced the deal.

The operator plans to increase its GSM coverage throughout Germany and also increase its UMTS coverage to 60 percent of the country. In addition, O2 will expand HSDPA and launch HSUPA using Huawei's technology.

For more:
- see this Huawei press release

Related stories:
Huawei scores again with O2 Germany. Read this Huawei story
NextWave, Huawei trial mobile WiMAX. Read this Huawei story.

HSDPA deployments spreading fast

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:59:57 -0400

Seven out of every eight 3G/WCDMA operators have launched HSDPA services according to the latest figures from the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). A total of 211 WCDMA operators have launched commercial services in 91 countries, of which 185 operators (87.6 per cent) have also launched HSDPA--High Speed Downlink Packet Access. HSDPA mobile broadband services are now commercially available in 80 countries. There are 103 commercial HSDPA operators in Europe, 36 in APAC, 24 in the Middle East and Africa region, and 22 in the Americas. Eighty HSDPA operators commercially launched services during 2007, representing a growth rate of 80 per cent. The download data speeds delivered by operators are also increasing with 116 supporting 3.6MB/s peak and 38 (more than 20 per cent) offering 7.2MB/s peak. High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) services have been launched by 34 operators in 26 countries.

For more information:
- go to Mobile Europe

Nokia Siemens in joint LTE development with DoCoMo

Thu, 06 Dec 2007 06:59:57 -0500

While other mobile operators talk about implementing LTE, the next technology step after HSPA, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) and the leading Japanese operator, NTT DoCoMo, have announced that NSN's LTE base station product has been chosen for DoCoMo's Super 3G (LTE) base station project.

The new base station, which NSN has developed with its partner Panasonic Mobile Communications, will be used by DoCoMo for trials of LTE together with WiMAX and CDMA DO (data only) Revision C in its labs outside Tokyo. The hope to commercially deploy a network using some, or all, of the technology in the 2011-2012 timeframe.

DoCoMo has been a long-term pioneer of wireless high-speed technologies--being the first to deploy a commercial W-CDMA network in 2001, several years before other mobile operators in the US and Europe. However, industry observers claim that this move by NSN is an attempt to position itself as a supplier with technical vision and remove itself from the crippling price war that is impacting both NSN and other infrastructure vendors. NSN has also been selected as one of four vendors for Verizon Wireless's LTE trial.

For more on this story see: Lightreading

Finland first with 900 MHz W-CDMA launch

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:59:00 -0500

3G operators in Western Europe will watch with keen interest the deployment of the first 900 MHz W-CDMA network by the Finnish operator, Elisa, given that this frequency band is expected to significantly improve 3G network coverage--and, in particular, indoor penetration.

Almost everywhere in Western Europe, the 900 MHz spectrum is strictly tied to the use of GSM services, although as these GSM licenses come up for renewal, it is anticipated that regulators will permit the deployment of different technologies in the GSM spectrum.

But there has been some resistance regarding in-band migration to W-CDMA at 900 MHz, mostly from W-CDMA-only operators which do not have licenses for spectrum in this band, as well as from GSM players who operate only in the 1800 MHz band.

However, as with all new network technologies, 3G handsets supporting the 900 MHz band are likely to be in short supply given the low volumes expected from this small-scale deployment.

For more about this story:
- read these articles from Telecoms.com, Mobile Europe and Cellular-News