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!
FCC spectrum auction hit by flurry of activity
The Federal Communications Commission’s move this week to expedite a conclusion to the more than 2-month-old Auction 97 proceedings caused a ripple in the FCC spectrum auction that required some day-to-day adjustments. The FCC late last week said it planned to move the auction process to its “stage four” requirements with the resumption of activity yesterday. That move required bidders to be active on 100% of their bidding eligibility in each round, and resulted in a furry of activity. Yesterday’s opening round (247) witnessed 63 new bids, which was a sharp increase from the single-digit number of new bids that ended last week and caused the FCC to delay bidding on the next round. Following the delay, 85 new bids were placed in round 248, which resulted in the FCC scaling back the total number of scheduled bidding rounds from 14 rounds to just 10 rounds, with each round continuing to last just 10 minutes. The day’s remaining eight rounds of bidding averaged 65 new bids each. Financially, the rash of new activity added more than $100 million in new auction proceeds, pushing Auction 97’s record haul past $44.8 billion. Most of the action continued to center on second- and third-tier markets, with the auction’s big-ticket items remaining all but wrapped up. … Read more
Reality Check: Fixed wireless myth busting
New Yorkers, rejoice! According to an article in Crain’s New York Business, about 90% of commercial buildings are not wired with enterprise-class broadband, and “a technology known as fixed wireless broadband” is coming to their speedy-connectivity-deprived rescue. Reading this piece brought to light that there are still a lot of old fixed wireless myths floating around out there, and that dispelling them not only underscores the utility of fixed wireless, but why it’s the more economically viable option for proliferating high-quality Internet connectivity: 5 myths of fixed wireless — Fixed wireless is useful for rural deployments, but not urban: If fixed wireless fits the bill for the Big Apple, then clearly it has gone far beyond rural into the most urban of urban environments. Perhaps most importantly for city dwellers, fixed wireless is significantly less disruptive to foot and street traffic than wireline technology. … Read more
2015 Predictions: CEM, big data, security will be important in 2015
The new year is upon us and while there are a number of evolving trends driving the industry in 2015 and beyond – from big data, to cloud, 5G and security – there clearly is work to be done. January is a prime time for setting goals, so following are six resolutions network operators should keep in mind if they hope to keep pace with customer demands and remain competitive. Focus on the customer experience and service personalization This should be a no-brainer and a resolution for every year moving forward. Don’t just manage traffic, but manage the user experience. Improved network performance can increase adoption, so use technology to enhance user experience and build brand value. Leverage network insights to protect, improve and monetize the subscriber experience. Optimizing the network and properly managing bandwidth will not only boost performance, it will ultimately enhance the user experience for over-the-top applications like video, voice over Internet Protocol and unified communications. While preserving high service-level agreements, don’t forget to implement proactive and real-time monitoring to quickly resolve any issues that could harm the consumer’s experience, such as abandoned applications and services. … Read more
Vitesse talks Ethernet in connected cars
In this Q&A session, Vitesse Semiconductor CTO Martin Nuss discusses connected cars and Ethernet’s role in ensuring their functionality and security. RCR Wireless News: Connected car is a fairly broad term. What exactly does it mean? Martin Nuss: While the “connected car” concept has been around for quite some time, it historically focused on optimizing the car’s internal functions and on-board diagnostics. Today, it really includes anything an LTE connection can enable within the car to improve the in-car experience, such as the infotainment system, sensors and cameras for parking assistance and collision avoidance, navigation, and eventually, driving autonomy. The important distinction is that we’re talking about the car’s connection to the outside world, not the driver and/or passengers. This new generation of intelligent vehicles is really reflective of the larger “Internet of Things” trend, where we reap the most economic benefits by connecting more and more things to each other and the cloud. … Read more
SK Telecom partners with Nokia for 5G
SK Telecom and Nokia announced they will work together to develop fifth-generation mobile network technologies. The two companies will research and develop core 5G network technologies such as cloud-based virtualized base station technology. A major focus of the partnership will be developing ‘cmWave/ mmWave 5G technology,’ which uses spectrum resources in ultra-high frequency bands (6GHz or higher) for data communications. The technology is being discussed as one of the possible core 5G technologies. The companies announced plans to work toward demonstrating 5G in 2018 and commercializing the service in 2020. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
