Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on those sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
Carriers test 5G in the lab
Twenty-five mobile operators have announced plans for lab testing of “5G” technologies, according to a recent report by Viavi Solutions. Of those 25 operators, 12 have progressed to field tests and four have announced plans to launch 5G trials. The Viavi report notes five operators have claimed to have hit data speeds of at least 35 gigabits per second in 5G trials, with Etisalat demonstrating speeds up to 36 Gbps; Ooredoo conducting tests at 35.46 Gbps; and Optus, M1 and Starhub having achieved data speeds of around 35 Gbps. Viavi added the other operators have reported data speeds of at least 2 Gbps. The report also revealed mobile operators are testing 5G technology across a range of spectrum bands, ranging from below 3 GHz up to the 86 GHz bands. Five network equipment vendors have announced they are involved in these 5G trials, including Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung and ZTE, with some operators working with multiple vendors on their 5G trials. … Read more
The possibility of a Sprint/T-Mo merger
Sprint’s chairman is reportedly ready to do a deal with T-Mobile US as soon as the U.S. spectrum auctions conclude, but analysts are not confident the two companies will merge this year, citing timing and possible resistance from Washington as factors that could delay or derail a deal. “It seems clear that Sprint will try again to merge with T-Mobile. The question is whether T-Mobile will be interested, at least right away,” said analyst Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson. “Sprint’s financial position is deteriorating again, and they have once again slashed spending on their network, so they need a deal, and the sooner the better. But T-Mobile has time on its side; the longer they wait, the better the deal they will be able to strike.” Moffett said T-Mobile US can probably delay a deal without worrying that a cable operator or another bidder will swoop in to try to buy Sprint. “Sprint’s extreme overvaluation makes it unlikely any other acquirers would come knocking,” Moffett said. “T-Mobile has time on its side.” Not all analysts see Sprint as overvalued. Wells Fargo Securities expects Sprint stock to outperform the overall market in the months ahead, a forecast based partly on the value of the company’s rich spectrum portfolio. … Read more
T-Mobile US launches LTE-U
T-Mobile US is getting a jump on using unlicensed spectrum to bolster network performance, announcing it has begun deploying LTE-U technology across its mobile network. The move comes on the heels of the Federal Communications Commission certifying its first LTE-U devices able to tap unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHz band to support licensed services. Approved devices include those from T-Mobile US network partners Ericsson and Nokia. T-Mobile US’ LTE-U plans involve the use of 20 megahertz of unlicensed spectrum in the 5 GHZ band to provide additional LTE capacity for the carrier. The carrier explained the technology can “intelligently tap into and share underutilized unlicensed spectrum without affecting other users on the same band, including those using conventional Wi-Fi.” “LTE-U constantly seeks the least utilized channels to maximize efficiency and performance for everyone,” the carrier noted. “As demand on the Wi-Fi network increases, LTE-U backs off, and as Wi-Fi demand wanes, customers can tap into that unused capacity for LTE.” … Read more
5G tests in China
Qualcomm, ZTE and China Mobile announced plans to conduct interoperability testing and over-the-air field trials based on the “5G New Radio” specifications being developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project. The trials are set to take place later this year. The companies said the trials will tap spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band and be geared towards 3GPP Release 15 standards, which are expected to be the first step towards the next-generation technology. The trial will also make use of massive multiple-input/multiple-output antenna technology, adaptive self-contained time-division duplexing, beamforming techniques and scalable orthogonal frequency division multiplexing-based waveforms. The trials will follow China Mobile’s 5G NR guidelines and utilize prototype devices from Qualcomm and base station solutions from ZTE to simulate real-world scenarios across a set of use cases and deployment scenarios. … Read more
Ruckus Wireless to be acquired by Arris
Ruckus Wireless has agreed to be acquired by video and broadband hardware maker Arris, following weeks of rumors and negotiations. Arris will buy the Wi-Fi equipment maker for $800 million in cash, plus the additional cost of unvested employee stock awards. Less than one year ago Ruckus was bought by Brocade Communications for $1.2 billion, net of cash on Ruckus’s balance sheet. When Brocade made its offer, Ruckus had a market value of roughly $900 million and had about $300 million in cash. Just a few months after buying Ruckus, Brocade agreed to be acquired by chipmaker Broadcom, (formerly Avago). Ruckus competes with several of Broadcom’s customers, so Broadcom decided to sell Ruckus along with Brocade’s network switch business. “Arris has been absolutely determined and enthusiastic from the first day that we announced,” said Ruckus COO Dan Rabinovitsj. “There has been a ton of interest in this business … and there was a whole bunch of activity around this.” One source told RCR Wireless News that three different private equity firms wanted to invest in Ruckus and that a deal fell through at the last minute when the parties could not agree on terms. Nonetheless, Rabinovitsj described the Arris deal as a “happy ending” for Ruckus. … Read more
Fixed wireless seen as early 5G use case
Many operators are seeing fixed wireless access as the likely first phase of “5G” deployments as the technology can help solve the last mile problem with fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-premise deployments, while incorporating future 5G air interfaces, spectrum, radios and antenna systems into existing networks. The future development of 5G technologies promises to incorporate a range of disparate applications and requirements – from narrowband internet of things technologies and machine-to-machine communications to low latency, high bandwidth use cases like autonomous vehicles and remote industrial control – in a single network. But before the 5G standards are set and the full vision of mobile 5G is realized, telecommunication operators are working to refine their understanding of the technological components while establishing the use and business cases needed to create a return on the massive research and development spend that will ultimately result in a global 5G standard. In the U.S., Verizon Communications and AT&T have both identified 5G fixed wireless access as the first phase of deploying next-generation networks; timelines suggest this first wave is tracking for commercialization in 2017, well ahead of the standardization goal of 2020. As consumer demand for broadband to support emerging applications like streaming 4K video and virtual reality gaming grows at a fast pace, service providers are investing heavily in FTTH, which is a costly proposition. … Read more
CBRS preparation hits a milestone
The move to provide access to the so-called consumer broadband radio services spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band received a new push from Alphabet, which claims to have achieved significant milestones in implementing a platform to handle the required sharing needs of the spectrum band. Alphabet, which oversees the Google empire, said it has completed an end-to-end test of consumer devices connecting to CBRS base stations and formed a “trusted tester program” designed to ensure interoperability between CBRS base stations and the spectrum access system set to manage resources. The company explained the aptly named Trusted Tester Citizens Broadband Radio Service Device Program allows for those testers to sign up to run self-service tests to ensure their base station equipment works with the Access SAS platform. Companies included in the first batch of tests included Nokia, Juni, ZTE, Sercomm, Ericsson and Ruckus Wireless. Alphabet Access explained the regime is designed to test connectivity between the radios using spectrum allocated through the SAS and in accordance with Federal Communications Commission regulations, “and ultimately makes sure that the spectrum gets used fairly and efficiently.” “SAS certification is expected to happen this year, so we are building the foundation for a functioning and collaborative environment now,” noted Mathew Varghese, product lead for mobility at Google, in a blog post. … Read more
IoT news from MWC 2017
The internet of things represents an enormous business opportunity for companies inside and outside the mobile industry. Wireless carriers will be racing to win new customers in the months ahead, and at this week’s Mobile World Congress their hardware vendors are launching solutions designed to streamline the process for carriers and their future customers. Module maker Sierra Wireless claimed “the world’s first ‘plug-and-play’ cellular modules and routers with pre-integrated global connectivity, IoT operation management and security.” The company said enterprises shouldn’t have to source multiple connectivity solutions and management platforms in order to connect devices around the world. “The complexity of deploying IoT solutions is the biggest challenge for businesses today,” said Philippe Guillemette, CTO at Sierra Wireless. “Our new technology is much more than a SIM in a device, it’s an industry breakthrough that truly simplifies the IoT ecosystem. Our customers can focus on transforming their business and rely on Sierra Wireless to securely connect, monitor and collect data from their devices.” Sierra Wireless did not say which chip vendor is supplying cellular modems for its modules, but the company has a long history of working with Sony’s Altair Semiconductor. Huawei is also launching a set of IoT modules and the company said it will source LTE modems from Sequans. Huawei said the Sequans solution offers worldwide interoperability, as well as high performance coupled with a low power budget and a small footprint. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
