Today the WiMAX Forum announced that effective February 1st, 2012, Ronald Resnick will retire from his role as the President of the WiMAX Forum.

“Mr. Resnick has been a valued part of the WiMAX leadership for the past eight years,” said Dr. Mohammad Shakouri, Interim Chairperson of the WiMAX Forum. “The WiMAX Forum would like to thank Mr. Resnick for building a strong foundation for this organization, which will continue its work in standardizing and certifying technology to bring broadband to underserved markets across the world. We all wish Mr. Resnick the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

The WiMAX Forum also announced that Declan Byrne has been unanimously elected as Acting President of the WiMAX Forum. Declan Byrne joined the WiMAX Forum in 2010 as the Senior Director of Marketing. Prior to joining the WiMAX Forum, Byrne worked for Airspan as Chief Marketing Officer.

The WiMAX Forum performs a similar function as the WiFi Alliance; it promotes the use of the technology and tests compatibility. WiMAX Forum-certified gear is tested to for compatibility to the standard, so for example, a Samsung WiMAX basestation will work with a Huawei WiMAX client.

The IEEE develops communications standards. They include IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), which the WiMAX Forum promotes and enforces, and IEEE 802.11 (WiFi), which the WiFi Alliance promotes and enforces.

Last week the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) approved the “WirelessMAN-Advanced” as part of IMT-Advanced world-wide 4G technology standard. WirelessMAN-Advanced is based on the IEEE 802.16m. The WiMAX Forum calls it WiMax 2.0 (pdf)

Key features of WiMAX 2.0 include:

• Radio specification for FDD and TDD
• Support of IMT-A frequency bands
• At least 2 times the average data throughput of current Release 1.5 in similar spectrum
• Advanced interference management methods to support true reuse 1 deployments as compared to current reuse 3 deployments
• Round trip access latency is reduced to less than 10-20 ms levels which will allow more demanding services like online gaming etc.
• Support for self organizing networks
• Support for femtocells
• Support of relay stations
• Multicarrier aggregation up to 100 MHz
• Co-existence of 16e and 16m base stations and backward compatibility
• Over 70 VoIP calls per MHz

Analysts say there is perhaps a 75% technology overlap between the two dominant broadband wireless standards, LTE and WiMAX. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Advantages of WiMAX 2 over LTE Advanced:

• Simple, fast and cheap
• Compatible with WiMax 1.0 and 1.5
• Can use licensed or unlicensed spectrum
• Fewer patent issues
• Less telco overhead and control

Dailywireless depends 100% on my single WiMax connection. It’s been (mostly) reliable since 2009, and costs me only $40/month. I get truly unlimited service, use my WiMAX dongle for both my laptop and my desktop, and watch Netflix at night.

You can’t do that on LTE. You’d go broke. It’s that simple.

WiMax combines the simplicity and speed of Wi-Fi with the mobility of cellular. It works. WiMAX lost a year or two in development and LTE was put on a fast track. The result; WiMAX got only a one year advantage, while Telcos jumped on duplex FD-LTE. India and China moved the momentum to TD-LTE.

But WiMAX 2.0 is simple, fast and license-free. It’s going to be hard to kill.

Related Dailywireless articles include; China: The Big Picture, End Near for Indian WiMAX?, Internet Traffic: 18 Minute Gap?, LTE Vs WiMAX in Asia: World War IV?, Age of Exascale, LTE in Japan by December, ZTE Criticized, Big Contracts for Alcatel-Lucent, 3G Launches in India, Qualcomm India: For Sale?, Qualcomm Gets Indian Partners, Vendors Scramble for Indian Backhaul, India’s Broadband Auction: It’s Done, WiMAX & LTE: Policy Vs Pragmatism, WiMAX: Good News, Bad News, Yota: Planetary LTE Swap, Yota Dumps WiMAX, WiMAX Forum: Not Dead Yet

Commentary, Conferences, Corporate News, LTE, Spectrum News, WiMAX Deployments, WiMAX News | No Comments »

Telecom networking giant Ericsson is buying BelAir Networks, adding its outdoor WiFi technology to Ericsson’s portfolio, reports Kevin Fitchard of GigaOM.

BelAir gear is used extensively by AT&T (in NYC, Chicago and San Francisco), Cablevision (with a large-scale deployment in the NY area), and Time Warner Cable (with a large-scale deployment in the Los Angeles area). Bright House Networks turned on a 2,000 hotspot network across Florida.

Belair’s outdoor metropolitan picocells, including the BelAir100SP Strand Picocell, which can be mounted outdoors on cable coax. The BelAir100SP combines both 3G and dual 802.11n radios with a built-in a DOCSIS 3.0 Modem, plant power supply, and power protection/splitter.

BelAir and Ericsson declined to discuss the deal, says Fitchard.

“Ericsson does not comment on rumors or speculation,” Ericsson spokesman Jimmy Duvall said via email.

With cable operators and Verizon now merging their interests, Belair’s (Ericsson’s) strand-mounted hotspots seem likely to add Verizon 3G and LTE to strand-mounted gear.

Carriers typically offer free WiFi access – if you’re a subscriber. All others pay.

Carriers are embracing Wi-Fi and major mobile network equipment providers such as Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola and Ericsson are endorsing access agnostic (licensed/unlicensed) small cell networks.

LTE-Advanced also includes features to enable faster and easier implementation of het-nets.

A wireless heterogeneous network is able to maintain service when switching between a cellular network and WiFi.

Competitors include Ruckus Wireless and Israel’s Wavion, which is re-introducing their beamforming gear. Each has landed big deals in Europe and Asia. Ruckus and KDDI have teamed on a 100,000-hotspot network in Japan. Ruckus has announced a large number of installations around the world.

Alvarion recently bought Wavion. Wavion Base Stations feature 802.11n in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz unlicensed bands as well as 700 MHz licensed bands.

Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent have become the early LTE leaders as a result of modernization contracts with Verizon and AT&T, according to In-Stat analyst Chris Kissel. The top LTE Vendors have their eye on het-nets.

Ten, $2,500 strand-mounted LTE picocells (with free WiFi for subs) will beat one $250,000 cell tower anyway you cut it.

See Dailywireless: Verizon-Cable Deal: Too Cozy?, Cross Marketing of Verizon & Cable Begins, Verizon Buying Nationwide AWS Spectrum from Cable, Comcast Adds Wireless Tower Business, BelAir: We’re MIMO, Too! , Wavion: 3X3 MIMO for Muni Wi-Fi, Carrier-run Public WiFi Nets Expand, Towerstream Launches Wholesale MuniFi, AT&T Moves to Hotzones and Picocells, AT&T Hotzone in Wrigleyville, Free AT&T Wi-Fi for Charlotte and NYC Gets Another Free WiFi Proposal

Broadcasting & Cable, Cellular News, Corporate News, Enterprise, EV-DO/HSDPA, Grass Roots Wireless, LTE, Municipal Wireless, Wi-Fi Deployments, Wi-Fi News | No Comments »

During AT&T’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Randall Stevenson blasted the FCC over its leadership in making additional spectrum available to carriers, reports ReadWriteWeb.

Stevenson said that because of AT&T’s spectrum crunch it will be forced to raise prices and take additional actions against the highest data users.

Stevenson’s remarks come as AT&T announced that it sold 9.4 million smartphones including 7.6 million iPhones in the the fourth quarter of 2011.

AT&T is complaining about lack of spectrum. Who do they have to blame for that?

Verizon and Sprint acquired spectrum. AT&T didn’t.

AT&T wanted to buy T-Mobile for $39 billion. It smacked of hubris. If AT&T wanted spectrum they could have bought it for one-tenth the cost – as Verizon did with cable’s AWS spectrum. The $3.6 billion Verizon/Cable deal valued the spectrum at $0.69 per MHz-POP (the number of people covered by each megahertz).

In psychoanalytic terms, Stevenson’s remarks resemble a phenomena known as transference. The facade is falling.

AT&T has to buy 2.1 GHz MSS spectrum from Dish Networks or buy 2.6 GHz from Sprint. There is no other option.

If AT&T goes with Dish:

• AT&T would have to pay top dollar. Dish says they’re not after a quick buck, they want a hedge against satellite tv. Dish, no doubt, is getting offers from T-Mobile and tech companies like Google.
• AT&T may have problems getting LTE-based iPhones to work on the odd, 2.1 MSS frequency and it will take them 2-3 years to build the network.
• AT&T would have to spend $5B to construct 2.1 MSS infrastructure – and Dish doesn’t even have FCC approval (yet) for terrestrial ATC. T-Mobile might use their current AWS infrastructure. Way cheaper.

If AT&T goes with Sprint:

• They could purchase 40 MHz from Sprint/Clearwire and offer wholesale partnerships with media companies.
• They might offer TD-LTE iPhones, first as a Virtual Operator.
• They would have to spend many billions building out their own dense 2.6 GHz network (and backhaul).

Clearwire and Sprint will offer TD-LTE devices and services this year. Huawei’s E589 personal hotspot uses TD-LTE and supports up to 10 Wi-Fi devices at once with compatibility for FD-LTE, UMTS and GSM. China Mobile’s TD-LTE iPhone will likely work on Clearwire’s network and the cross-compatibility would lower costs.

AT&T could also keep their powder dry and wait until unused television spectrum opens up. But can they afford to wait? Probably not.

AT&T blew it. They’re only human. The iPhone can’t solve their problems.

See Dailywireless: Verizon Buying Nationwide AWS Spectrum from Cable, Verizon-Cable Deal: Too Cozy?, Cross Marketing of Verizon & Cable Begins, iBooks: Cellular’s Big Bang?

Applications, Broadcasting & Cable, Cellular News, Commentary, Corporate News, FCC Actions, GPS, iPhone, LTE, Market Metrics, Public Service, Radio Policy News, Spectrum News | No Comments »

Ekahau, a Wi-Fi site-survey leader, today announced a new version of its Ekahau Mobile Survey for the Android. The app works with Ekahau’s fully-featured site survey tool with heat-mapping capabilities for enterprise Wi-Fi networks which was previously available only for laptop-based tools.

Ekahau says the tool, designed for use on tablets and phones, is the industry’s first touch-operated, enterprise-grade site survey tool. IT administrators and wireless engineers can perform troubleshooting and optimization on Wi-Fi networks faster and easier.

Data gathered by Mobile Survey 2.0 can be integrated with Ekahau Site Survey (ESS), their laptop-based site survey and planning tool. The user can perform walk-through site surveys with a light-weight Android tablet or smart phone, and export the information to a laptop for more in-depth data and network analysis.

Ekahau Site Survey is not required, however, as all the features in Ekahau Mobile Survey 2.0 can be operated without ESS.

“Performing site surveys by carrying a laptop computer around for extended periods may not be ideal for some people. The touch-operated Ekahau Mobile Survey for Smartphones and tablets changes the way Wi-Fi networks are deployed.” said Jussi Kiviniemi, director of product marketing at Ekahau. “The operation could not be much simpler: import a floor plan image, or take a photo of the fire escape plan. Then walk around the area, tapping your location on the touch screen. You will immediately see the network infrastructure layout as well as coverage heatmapson your tablet or phone.”

It’s not cheap. Ekahau Mobile Survey 2.0 is now available from Ekahau and its distribution partners for $399.

An indoor navigation app from GAB uses Ekahau’s Real-Time Location System. In a shopping mall, it can guide you to your destination in real-time, even including Google Street View type assistance in selected locations.

A Wi-Fi site survey usually involves a walk-through to test for RF interference, and to identify optimum installation locations for access points. Currently, professional-level site survey applications exist primarily for Microsoft Windows.

Some of the market leaders include:

• AirMagnet Survey by AirMagnet
• Ekahau Site Survey by Ekahau
• TamoGraph Site Survey by TamoSoft
• Visiwave Site Survey by AZO Technologies
• WaveDeploy by Ixia (formerly VeriWave)

Ubiquity’s Airview, no longer being made, transformed a laptop into a powerful Spectrum Analyzer at a breakthrough price; just $39.

Uncategorized | No Comments »

Today Google launched a new Google Crisis Response capability on Google Maps. Google Public Alerts is designed to bring you relevant emergency alerts when and where you’re searching for them.

If you click through to “more info” on an alert, you’ll find a page showing more details about the alert, with the full description from the alert publisher with a link to their site and other useful information.

According to Google, with today’s launch of Public Alerts on Google Maps, relevant weather, public safety, and earthquake alerts from US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Weather Service, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) will be accessible when you search on Google Maps. Google Public Alerts also provides a link to more information and gives instructions to interested organizations who want to make their emergency data available through this tool.

Google partnered with the World Bank to make crowd-sourced Google Map Maker data available to first responders in disaster scenarios. Google Map Maker enables crowd-sourcing the editing and maintenance of Google’s world map. The user-generated data includes locations of hospitals, schools, settlements, water sources and minor roads.

The Google Elections hub and their toolkit features a Google Map of Primary Results. The Election map shows the number of votes cast in various counties.

In 2008, the company introduced Google Flu Trends, which analyzes search data to show where the flu is spreading and last year, rolled out Google Dengue Trends, which performs a similar service related to Dengue Fever.

The CNN iReport Map is a Google Map showing the location of user contributed stories. Stories can also be searched by ‘most viewed’, ‘most commented’ and ‘most shared’.

GeoLogTag 4.0, for iOS devices ($4.99), can continuously track the user’s location and adds geotagging of iPad and Google+ photos. Another new option is to import a GPX track via Mail, Dropbox or any other file management app. GPX track is an open interchange format can be used to describe waypoints, tracks, and routes.

One of the handier Google Maps Mashups that can be used everyday is Housing Maps, which maps housing posted on Craigs List to Google Maps. You mouse over a push pin for more info, or click to go to the source on Craig’s List. Housing ads always include an address or link to Google Maps, so mapping housing is fairly easy.

Geo-Wiki utilizes embedded geo-tagged coordinates for any text or picture. On Wikipedia geotagged information in articles and images, can use the template {{coord}}. Real-time geotagging relays automatically geotagged media such as photos or video to be published and shared immediately.

GeoLoki lets you discover unique content based on your location. You can get everything from transit times to wikipedia articles delivered to your phone as you go around town. It’s available as a free app on the App Store and Android Market.

GeoLoki co-founder Amber Case explains, “There are many apps out there that have location-based Wikipedia data, some examples are Wikineer (built on Yahoo’s FireEagle), Geopedia and an iOS app from SimpleGeo.

The problem with each of these apps is that you can only see the location-based content on a map, and you have to have the app open to see the information. You can’t just walk around and get interesting information pushed to you.

In other news, the Transportation Security Administration bought an emergency mass-notification system for its 50,000 personnel, the same one used for the U.S. Coast Guard, the AtHoc IWSAlerts software-based alert system.

It delivers emergency alerts over multiple channels, including the public switched telephone network, mobile, e-mail, SMS text messages and fax to recipients in dispersed geographical areas.

The AWS 2.0 system has been used for emergency alerting, staff recall, personnel accountability and response to disasters, including storms, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, earthquakes in American Samoa and Haiti, and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

In related Google Maps news, the second 45° imagery update of 2012 includes new imagery for 17 U.S. and 7 international locations in Google Maps.

Poynter has tips for journalists on how to create interactive maps and tell stories with spreadsheet data.

Applications, Cloud Services, Corporate News, Public Service, Security | No Comments »

Nuance Communications today announced a new version of its PaperPort Notes app for the Apple iPad. Nuance says for the first time, it lets people create notes simply by speaking.

PaperPort Notes is powered by Nuance’s Dragon voice recognition via the cloud-based Dragon Mobile software developers kit (SDK), which is behind a growing number of voice-enabled mobile and consumer apps.

The app supports accessing and saving documents from cloud services including Google Docs, Box.net, DropBox and PaperPort Anywhere. Users can also annotate and highlight documents, combine pages of documents from the cloud and the web, and capture documents using the built-in camera on the Apple iPad. You can see spoken words quickly returned as text directly within PaperPort Notes. It saves documents as industry standard PDF, making it easy to share notes with others.

Nuance PaperPort Notes is a free download in the Apple App Store.

The Nuance Dragon Go! app is now available for Android on the Android Market. It gives consumers direct access to over 200 destinations for mobile content simply by using their voice – including AccuWeather, Ask.com, Bing, Dictionary.com, ESPN, Facebook, Fandango, Last.fm, LiveNation, Milo.com, OpenTable, Pandora ® internet radio, Rotten Tomatoes, Spotify, Twitter, Wikipedia, Wolfram|Alpha, Yelp, YouTube, Yahoo! and many others.

The Nuance Dragon TV app lets you tell your television what you want to watch, and deliver it. The software lets users find content by speaking channel numbers, station names, show and movie names. Designed to be completely intuitive, you can say things like “Find movies with Leonardo diCaprio,” or “What’s on Bravo at 9 p.m. tonight?” and the software accomplishes the task for you. At the moment, it’s only out for device OEMs, operators and developers, at www.nuancemobilelife.com.

It may be reason enough to get a phone or tablet with HDMI output.

Android, Applications, Cellular News, Cloud Services, Corporate News, Tablets | No Comments »