Bits and Bytes: WiMAX Forum news; CDG awards; and more

At the WiMAX Forum Global Congress this week in Amsterdam, a group of technical experts from several WiMAX vendors created a proposal on enhancements to the IEEE 802.16e mobile WiMAX standard for submission into the next WiMAX Forum certification release. Experts from Alvarion, Beceem, Clearwire, Fujitsu, GCT Semiconductor, Hitachi, Huawei, Intel, Motorola, NEC, Samsung, Sequans, UQ and ZTE participated in the proposal. The proposal addresses how performance enhancements will be implemented in future WiMAX products to ensure interoperability and commercial availability. The WiMAX Forum also announced the publication of the first WiMAX femtocell standard, which allows vendors to begin creating compatible equipment for certification early next year.
The CDMA Development Group announced the winners of its 2010 3G CDMA Industry Achievement Awards, which recognizes individuals and companies for excellence in deploying advanced CDMA2000 networks, products and services. Winners this year include Wang Xiaochu, president of China Telecom, for industry leadership; China Telecom for operator leadership; Motorola for subscriber technology innovation; Huawei Technologies for network technology innovation; Bakrie Telecom for innovation in wireless social and economic solutions development; KDDI Corp. and Tata Teleservices for innovation in consumer entertainment services; and The Asahi Shimbum Company and tv asahi for innovation in consumer entertainment services development.
MyScreen Mobile launched a new interactive mobile advertising technology with Claro in Argentina. The platform delivers full-screen advertisements to mobile phones for subscribers who have opted in to the service and provides rewards such as free services, special offers and discounts. MyScreen ads are full-screen ads that are delivered at the end of every call and are designed to allow customers to respond directly to the ad.
Cricket Communications Inc. chose Airwide Solutions to upgrade its next-generation, tiered messaging architecture, including a capacity expansion of its router infrastructure and implementation of an anti-spam system.
ExteNet has installed a distributed antenna system for the Trump Hotel in Chicago by deploying equipment throughout the building’s heating and air conditioning system. The system routes signals from a centralized location through the building’s ductwork. ExteNet said using the HVAC system to deploy a DAS cuts costs and installation time. The company said it takes roughly 60 days to deploy a system in a building like the Trump Hotel, which is 92 floors and 1.8 million square feet of space.
Truphone said its Truphone Local Anywhere service will be available in the Netherlands and Spain in the coming months. The company has signed agreements with Vodafone Netherlands and Orange in Spain to deliver the service over their mobile networks. Truphone Local Anywhere provides local rates and local numbers using a single SIM card. The service will now be available in Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
CounterPath Corp., which provides desktop and mobile VoIP software solutions, announced availability of its Bria iPhone Edition for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. The product is a secure VoIP softphone that works on both 3G and Wi-Fi networks. The product integrates with other CounterPath solutions as well as with enterprise and carrier infrastructure equipment, said the company.
Powerwave Technologies introduced its Walk-In MicroFlex cabinet, which is a multipurpose cell site enclosure. The company also introduced its new Netway Vision remote site management solution for 3GPP LTE networks. The product is a complete operations and management solution that provides network discovery, diagnosis and resolution from a centralized software interface.
FutureDial Inc. announced the availability of a new edition of its FutureDial Suite PC software designed to be used with Sprint phone models, including the HTC EVO 4G phone. The product allows for sharing and syncing of phone book and Outlook contacts, pictures, video clips, audio and music, and text message files between phones and PCs.
Genband said Kapsch CarrierCom AG will distribute and support Genband next-generation infrastructure solutions as a European reseller and system integration partner. Genband also announced it has won the 2010 Global Telecom Business Award with iBasis for IP Service Innovation. The companies won the award for their recent wholesale VoIP initiative that provides communications services to fixed and mobile carriers, enterprises and consumers in Europe.
Smartphone security company SmrtGuard said its products have been chosen by Trigcom in Norway to provide data protection for its BlackBerry customers. The product allows users to wirelessly back up and restore personal data as well as track and remotely remove data in the event of loss or theft.
Pioneer Cellular has chosen Jinny Software‘s messaging products to enhance its service offering. The company is providing its SMSC, MMSC and OTA products to Pioneer.
Samsung Austin Semiconductor L.L.C. said it plans to invest $3.6 billion to expand the capacity of its semiconductor fabrication plant in Austin, Texas. The expansion will create 500 jobs.