Nortel and LG Electronics have taken LTE  from the labs to the streets to complete the world’s first mobile LTE live air handover. Engineers at Nortel’s Research and Development Centre of Excellence in Ottawa showed streaming HD video on an early LTE mobile device from LG Electronics while driving at speeds of 100 kms per hour and moving between coverage sites. This advancement shows the capabilities of Nortel’s LTE solution in real world conditions and brings it closer to commercial readiness, which is expected by the end of 2009.

The milestone announced today shows that Nortel’s LTE solution can provide the reliable mobile coverage that today’s 2G and 3G network users depend on while offering much greater bandwidth, higher capacity and lower latency. Wireless networks provide pervasive coverage, keeping users connected as they move between coverage areas by handing connections over from one transmitter site to the next. Nortel’s LTE live air handover demonstrated this important capability. LTE helps bridge the gap between network demand and capability allowing operators to create a 4G wireless broadband network that can cover millions of mobile subscribers.

“Nortel continues to innovate in wireless technologies like LTE, leading the way to the next generation of true mobile broadband to support the demands of hyperconnected users,” said Richard Lowe , president of carrier networks, Nortel. “Today’s telecommunications market is experiencing a massive trend towards Hyperconnectivity  as more people and devices become connected. With the increasing popularity of bandwidth-intensive applications over mobile devices like laptops and smartphones, wireless operators need to prepare to offer a complete personal broadband experience.”

“Operators can leverage the capabilities of LTE to allow subscribers to take their personalized versions of the web – their videos, their social networks, their music, their business tools – with them wherever they are,” Lowe said.” Mature telecommunications markets can also maximize the content-rich applications and services enabled by LTE to drive new revenue.”

“Nortel, the LG-Nortel JV, and LG Electronics are accelerating the commercialization of LTE and showing consistent progress towards end-to-end interoperability to ensure alignment between infrastructure and devices,” said Jinsung Choi, head of LG Electronics’ Mobile Communications Tech Research Lab. “During our three years of collaboration we have set the bar for innovation in LTE, showing the world how true mobile broadband can bring us the highest quality communication and entertainment no matter where we are.”

The LTE demonstration was conducted over a network consisting of multiple cell sites and sectors served by Nortel’s eNodeB LTE base station and ATCA-based Access Gateway. The interoperability between Nortel’s network and the device from LG Electronics is based on 3GPP Release 8 Standard.

A recent poll by Comptel Corporation, a leading vendor of dynamic Operations Support Software (OSS), found that operators around the globe have not prepared their OSS for the advent of Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC). The poll, carried out at Comptel’s annual user group, found that while 41 per cent of respondents stated their OSS was ‘somewhat’ ready, 39 per cent admitted to being completely unprepared for FMC. This was despite the fact that a majority of operators questioned were planning to deploy a FMC strategy in the short-term (50%).

When broken down by type of service provider, the poll demonstrated that mobile operators are lagging behind fixed line providers in terms of the readiness of their OSS. Whereas only 29 per cent of fixed line providers thought their OSS totally unready for FMC, a total of 71 per cent of mobile operators placed themselves in the same category.

Mr. Simo Sääskilahti, Senior Vice President Products and Solutions at Comptel commented: “These results are encouraging as they show that operators are keen to enjoy the fruits of FMC as soon as possible. That said, service providers need to ensure they have the correct software platform in place to ensure the transition to FMC is completed as smoothly as possible. Such software is already being used today, an example being Comptel’s convergent solutions. The problem arises when legacy, non-convergent software is being used in other parts of the operators’ OSS (for example billing systems). It is apparent that OSS vendors need to advise operators effectively on how best to move to a fully convergent OSS.”

FMC is the convergence of devices and networks that will allow a voice or data session be seamlessly carried over a variety of fixed and wireless networks. FMC will allow service providers to offer value-added services across multiple access media.

Sääskilahti continued: “It is up to operators to ensure their OSS is ready for FMC. Comptel’s Dynamic OSS solutions enable telecom service providers to deliver services flexibly and charge for them effectively in a converged or legacy environment. Our software allows operators to launch new services with a fast time-to-market and we already proving beneficits to customers deploying FMC solutions, such as Taiwan’s FarEasTone and many other of Comptel’s customers.”

Mobile Distillery, the leading specialist in software solutions for mobile application production and testing services, has announced the launch of Alembic, its unique device knowledge database and device characteristic search engine. Alembic offers the most comprehensive and widely tested insight into the behaviors and capabilities of the vast majority of mobile devices available on the market. The web-based Alembic service will be previewed at CTIA Wireless 2008 in San Francisco on 10-12 September.
 
For developers, marketing and product managers, the sheer detail and accuracy of Alembic allows them to clearly understand their market potential and base their prototypes on tested data. It is now possible to identify which makes and models of mobile handsets their application could potentially work on before they write a single line of code, reducing the investment and production risks incurred for the development of mobile applications.
 
Based on Mobile Distillery’s seven years of R&D and in-depth handset knowledge, Alembic includes the detailed characteristics, performances and behaviors of more than 1000 Java handsets which are used by consumers and businesses today. More than 30 new devices are being added to Alembic every month on a worldwide basis, as new devices come to market. No other solution in the industry today offers this level of detail.
 
Alembic’s powerful query interface greatly simplifies searches based on multiple handset criteria. Its core data is the result of rigorous, industrial testing, with handsets tested for +1000 individual characteristics, behaviors and performance benchmarks, which are then checked and verified by Mobile Distillery’s dedicated integration teams. Developers simply select the different capabilities and features they plan to include in their applications such as Bluetooth, 3D graphics or GPS; within seconds, Alembic generates a unique list of every device that is capable of supporting that particular feature set.
 
As a powerful add-on service to Alembic, developers can also work directly with Mobile Distillery to integrate their own specific device criteria. These new parameters are then included in Mobile Distillery’s software and rigorous testing processes for future use.
 
A key feature of Alembic is that it is directly integrated into Celsius, Mobile Distillery’s automatic porting suite. This allows developers, from a single interface, to search devices compatible with their application all in one click for compilation. With Alembic, developers also know which device is supported by DeviceAnywhere’s testing solution, which provides developers real-time interaction with handsets directly from their computer, enhancing the whole mobile application production workflow from prototyping to development through testing and backfilling.
 
“For many companies, the cost of dealing with the hundreds of devices and thousands of configurations often means that their mobile applications never make it off the drawing board. With Alembic, for the first time, companies can base their development decision on accurate, verified information; this is like giving developers a personalized crystal ball to understand their market,” said Eric Lemaréchal, Co-Founder and CEO of Mobile Distillery.
 
“With Celsius, its automatic porting suite, Mobile Distillery has changed the way developers approach mobile applications, giving them the power to create complex applications with a high level of automation and control, reaching the best of every device. Now, thanks to Alembic, they can save hundreds of hours of investment with just a few clicks. For developers, the combination of Alembic and Celsius is the next best thing to remove the problem of fragmentation once and for all,” said Vincent Berge, Co-Founder and General Manager of Mobile Distillery.

Nokia Siemens Networks has been selected as the 3G radio network infrastructure supplier for the consolidation of the two operators’ 3G radio access network infrastructure under MBNL, in the process creating the UK’s most extensive 3G network providing near complete population coverage by the end of 2009.
 
The contract has been awarded by MBNL, the 50:50 joint venture formed at the beginning of 2008 between 3 and T-Mobile UK to supervise the creation and operation of the joint network on behalf of both companies. The network consolidation agreement will significantly increase both operators’ 3G network quality and coverage, accelerate the provision of new high-speed mobile broadband services and deliver substantial cost savings as well as environmental benefits.
 
The first integrated cell site was commissioned in early February. Since then MBNL has concluded a pilot in the Leeds and Bradford area which successfully validated that the network consolidation technology will deliver the desired benefits focused on achieving nationwide 3G coverage.
 
Emin Gurdenli, Technology Director at T-Mobile UK, said: “We are now moving ahead with the large scale consolidation of cell sites. A key objective was to ensure that we achieve scale and integrate quickly and smoothly, minimizing costs whilst quickly expanding coverage so as to enable a much improved service experience for our growing number of mobile internet and broadband customers. We believe that with Nokia Siemens Networks as our principal technology partner, MBNL will deliver on its objective of creating what will be Europe’s largest HSDPA network in record timescales.”
 
Graham Baxter, Chief Technology Officer for 3 UK, said: “High-speed mobile broadband is going to be a key enabler for both consumers and businesses looking for convenient access to Internet-based services wherever they are. This innovative network collaboration agreement will help to accelerate the adoption of new services in a timescale each of us could not have achieved on our own. It also enables us to cost effectively meet customer demand for wider coverage, faster speeds and greater capacity that is starting to arise as mobile devices become the most cost-effective and convenient route to access the Internet.”
 
Although masts and the 3G access networks are being combined, each company’s core network and T-Mobile’s 2G network will not be shared. Both parties will retain responsibility for the delivery of services to their respective customers and use their own frequency spectrum. Nokia Siemens Networks' industry-leading radio access solution will replace most of the two operators’ communications stations across the UK and equipment at the remaining sites is being upgraded and reconfigured for higher quality and capacity. The solution, featuring energy-efficient Flexi base stations from Nokia Siemens Networks, will allow a reduction the number of sites in the network by about 30 percent.
 
As well as network infrastructure, Nokia Siemens Networks will deliver project management, network deployment and managed spare parts capability, as well as care services to maintain network performance and increase its efficiency.
 
“This contract is an endorsement of our successful partnership with the two companies and we are committed to supporting them in their growth objectives as well as simplifying the network and reducing their operating costs. Our role in creating the UK’s largest 3G network underscores Nokia Siemens Networks’ leadership in managing advanced and complex network integration projects for the benefit of our customers,” said Spencer Rigler of Nokia Siemens Networks.
 
Synergies in network operations will be achieved thanks to the leading-edge Multi-operator Radio Access Network (MORAN) solution from Nokia Siemens Networks, allowing their networks to function independently. There are several benefits of this unique technology including full flexibility while merging the two networks, the re-use of existing infrastructure and the reduction of the number of sites.
 
In addition to cost savings and improved network quality, the integration will also deliver environmental benefits as the Nokia Siemens Networks Flexi base station helps achieve power savings at site of up to 70% compared with traditional 3G equipment

According to Dutch market research company, Telecompaper, the Dutch mobile industry generated EUR 1.62 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2008, showing an increase of 1.2 percent compared to same quarter last year and growth or 6.3 percent when compared to the first quarter. This increase was due to the continued growth in non-voice revenue and strong seasonal growth in total revenues.

Compared to the same quarter last year, non-voice service revenue continued to increase, growing 25.5 percent, while voice revenues fell 4.5 percent year-on-year, mainly due to cuts in MTA and roaming prices.

For the first time, Telecompaper is releasing a five-year forecast for the market. The Dutch mobile market is expected to show a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.7 percent during the period 2008-2013, reaching a value of around EUR 7.7 billion in 2013.

"Growing demand for mobile non-SMS data services will drive overall market growth, but reductions in roaming prices and mobile termination rates will keep voice revenues under pressure in the short term," said Alejandra van de Roer, Telecompaper senior analyst and author of Telecompaper's quarterly mobile market monitor for The Netherlands.

This was a strong seasonal second quarter for all operators, as all showed at least 5 percent growth compared to the first quarter, says Telecompaper. Vodafone Netherlands and KPN realised the strongest quarterly growth, while Vodafone was again the only operator able to increase revenues year-on-year. As a result, Vodafone saw its revenue market share increase 1.9 percent points to 29.4 percent, boosting its number-two position in the market. KPN saw its share drop to 45.8 percent, down 1.1 points, while T-Mobile lost 0.7 points for a share of 24.9 percent. In terms of subscriber numbers, the Dutch market grew by 388,000 in the second quarter, to a total 20.044 million customers. Market penetration rose to 122.0 percent at the end of June, from 112.2 percent at the end of Q2 2007.

While KPN remained market leader with 45.9 percent of all subscribers, the incumbent operator lost market share (1.8 percent) to the other operators. T-Mobile (including Orange) increased slightly its strong second place position, reaching a market share of 26.3 percent, and Vodafone was also able to increase its market share, to 21.8 percent from 21.2 percent in the same quarter last year. The total number of mobile subscribers is expected to reach 22.6 million by 2013, showing a CAGR of 1.9 percent, according to Telecompaper estimates.

The GSMA, the global trade group for the mobile industry, has announced that the number of worldwide subscribers using Mobile Broadband (HSPA) networks has topped the 50 million mark from 11 million one year ago. Global uptake of HSPA technology among consumers and businesses is accelerating, indicating continued traffic growth for high-speed mobile networks worldwide. Wireless Intelligence expects the number of HSPA connections to be growing by 4 million per month by the end of 2008.

The number of operators with commercial HSPA networks has reached 191 and there are now over 740 HSPA-enabled devices (including mobiles, dongles and notebooks) available from 116 manufacturers.

"These figures highlight the global success of Mobile Broadband and the fact that we are continuing to see greater and greater economies of scale," said Rob Conway, CEO and Member of the Board of the GSMA. "This is driving down the cost of devices and equipment and enabling more and more users across the world to enjoy easy access to media-rich services anywhere at anytime."

High-speed mobile access opens up a wide range of services for consumers, including interactive gaming, music and video streaming and the easy sharing of pictures and entertainment. Businesses can use fast Mobile Broadband to rollout advanced solutions for flexible working and to enable field workers to have quick and easy access to the company's information systems.

The most widely-deployed peak data speeds over HSPA are currently between 3.6Mbps and 7.2Mbps. This translates to an end user speed of more than 1Mbps, comparable to many of today's fixed line broadband services.

AdMob, the mobile advertising marketplace, has released its July statistics from its mobile advertising network. The data reveals that total the total number of ad impressions on the AdMob network increased by 10 per cent over June to 3,991,772,572 ads worldwide.
 
According to the figures, Nokia and Openwave are the top browsers in the AdMob network, with a with 34 per cent and 29 per cent share respectively. On a global basis, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry, Palm, and Safari (Apple) all had less than five per centmarket share.
 
This month's report also focuses on the increasing use of the mobile Internet in Africa, with particularly strong growth in Nigeria and Egypt.  AdMob has seen traffic increase 21 percent since the company began tracking the African market in Q1 2008. The report also noted that the Nokia dominates device market share throughout Africa, with 50.6 percent of the market.
 
Other key data from the report:
  – Traffic from Smartphones continued to increase, while 25.6 percent of worldwide ad requests were from Smartphones in July, up from 24.3 percent in June
  – The Nokia N95 has overtaken the SonyEricsson k800i to be the top device in the UK with an 8.3% market share in July

According to a new report from ABI Research, the fixed-mobile convergence market is on the move. UMA-based Wi-Fi dual-mode solutions are said to have seen some significant penetration in both Europe and North America, due largely to successful market introductions by T-Mobile in the US (T-Mobile @Home) and Orange (unik) in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
 
The first real competitive solution that could rival Wi-Fi-based products has now appeared, in the form of Sprint's nationwide (US) femtocell-based AIRAVE solution. The questions remain: is there room for both types of convergence in the market; and which solution is best placed to succeed, asks ABI?
 
ABI forecasts a total of 103 million access points of both types to be in service by 2013. Vice president and research director Stuart Carlaw says, "We expect cellular-based femtocells to have taken over the baton from UMA- and SiP-based Wi-Fi solutions by 2013, seizing 62% of the market." He goes on to add that,
"Although UMA-based Wi-Fi solutions have seen early gains in greenfield markets, these solutions have not proliferated much outside their current carrier footprints. This can be attributed partly to the carriers' desire to assess femtocell developments, but also to lingering concerns regarding the concept of Wi-Fi based fixed-mobile convergence."
 
ABI Research's study "Fixed-Mobile Convergence" examines the opportunity for UMA and SIP in converged network services, dual-use handsets, Wi-Fi access points, picocells and femtocells. It includes a review of the current standards position and activities of the major vendors. 
 

UK MVNE CallKey has announced that a merger with one of it's leading competitors, CallBlue, has been successfully completed.

This merger results in CallKey expanding its network capability with the addition of an HLR (Home Location Register), and MSC (Mobile Switching Centre). This combination expands CallKey's ability to act as a full MVNE (Mobile Virtual Network Enabler) providing the technology and services to facilitate companies to become full global roaming MVNO's in a very short time.

By owning the technical infrastructure that underpins the service, unlike other roaming providers, CallKey says it has complete control over call costs, quality, security and billing. Callers always receive the best quality because all calls are switched directly from the home network.

CallKey claims to be one of the world's first and largest suppliers of Travel SIMs, which abolish high roaming fees that are usually charged by incumbent Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

The company offers a 100% white label platform where MVNO's can customise everything as their own, including having their own branding of SIMs and web portal, plus customised audio prompts and short-codes.  MVNO's can set up multiple sub-distributors, each with their own discrete pricing, and customisation.

Each MVNO is also given access to their own personal "back office" where they can fully manage their customer and sub-agent accounts, plus view all CDRs in real time. A comprehensive online diagnostics facility provides necessary information for customer support.

CallKey also provides a full A-Z wholesale rate sheet optimized for various regions, including the EU, where MVNO's can set their own tariffs, thus determining their profit margins. By offering free inbound calls in over 50 countries and cheaper outbound, MVNO's are able to target corporate and leisure travellers, and genuinely compete against incumbent Operators.

CallKey offers full customisation options, where its core technology can be applied using standardised toolsets defined in an API (Application Programming Interface). The API allows a development partner or customer full network control.