After many, many years of promoting the goodness that was pioneering 3G and 4G, I have retired from this endeavour.

I can be found reblogging the fun that is - mobile social networking - or - mobsconet - as I christened it.

9pm

4G mobile broadband could be some way off for UK

New, fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband technologies are already in development, but could be delayed in the UK until 2012. That is according to PC Pro, which explained that deployments of Long Term Evolution and other new mobile broadband technologies are already beginning in the US, Europe and China. However, the UK has been slow off the mark and will not be able to participate in any of its own schemes until the 900MHz band of spectrum currently owned by Vodafone and O2 is redistributed by the government, the website reports.

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LTE activity gathering pace

Wireless internet access is going to be a better, richer experience than fixed link access Professor Michael Walker, group R&D director at Vodafone told Wireless 2.0 conference in Bristol, organised by Silicon South-West. “People think wireless can’t compete with fixed link, but it can”, said Walker, pointing out that the 100Mbit/s of FTTH is the same as the theoretical maximum throughput of LTE. “LTE capacity on 20MHz is an order of magnitude higher than HSPA,” said Walker. He said that, “in the first real field trials,” average downlink speeds of 15Mbit/s, with 4.5 spectral efficiency, were achieved. “Wimax takes three times more spectrum”, he said. “We decided with LTE that we would make sure the technology works before we buy spectrum,” said Walker. To that end, Vodafone has been working with China Mobile and Verizon to make sure LTE has compatible standards.

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UK 2.6 GHz auction pushed back again, to 2010

The UK, once set to be the first European country to auction 2.6 GHz spectrum for ‘4G’ services, is delaying its spectrum sale yet again. In November, regulator Ofcom indicated it hoped to award licenses by mid-2009, and in April it said it promised to hold the auction “as soon as possible”. Now it has “withdrawn” that statement and, in the wake of the new Digital Britain report recommendations, will bundle the 2.6 GHz and digital dividend spectrum sales into one super-auction next year. The delay is a further blow for operators that had hoped to steal an early march in mobile broadband, especially those aiming to challenge the cellular incumbents, possibly with a WiMAX network. While a few countries, notably Sweden, have sold 2.6 GHz licenses, most auctions will take place in 2010, as operators create strategies that also take account of the sale of analog TV spectrum around 800 MHz; possible broadband stimulus initiatives in some markets; and the ruling, by many regulators, that 3G services can be expanded using current GSM frequencies around 900 MHz.

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Witness the 4G Wireless Evolution

One of the most exciting parts of my job is to explore new technologies with my readers and attendees at live events. By now you probably know TMC produces the 4GWE conference in partnership with Crossfire Media — a company where Carl Ford is an integral part of building a number of communications communities. If you aren’t aware of Carl, he is a thought-leader in the telecom space having spent years developing leading edge content as part of the VON events of years past. The first 4GWE event we produced drew hundreds of attendees from around the globe and was extremely successful. We have collaborated and improved th conference quite a bit and in addition we have added a number of great new media partners and sponsors. Thanks to all of you for your support and I am looking forward to greeting the wireless industry at this show… It will certainly be very exciting considering the growth potential 4G wireless solutions have.

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On the Road to 4G

While the top-of-the-line smartphones of today rely on third-generation wireless networks, carriers are looking ahead to 4G networks, which will facilitate even faster data transfers to and from wireless devices. WiMax and LTE are two of the more talked-about technologies, but their development paths are vary and they may end up doing different jobs. Though most major U.S. wireless carriers today tout the ubiquity of their third-generation, or 3G, wireless networks, they are simultaneously planning for the future, pushing the development of fourth-generation (4G) networks that they hope we’ll all be using in a matter of years. Two of the best-known 4G technologies now on the horizon are WiMax, or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access; and LTE, or Long Term Evolution. However, these two different technologies will likely take different paths in their development and eventually be used for different applications.

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Bright future of 4G

So far we came across the term 3G, because it is the latest wireless technology that is in use today in many parts of US as well in many other developed nations. The many analysis going on regarding 3G and its advancement of 4G and 5G between the group of scientists in IEEE communication society. The basic idea behind this 3G is to augment good old TDM voice with broadband data. So far the international association of wireless telecommunication industry CTIA estimates that only 80% of the penetration is possible as the data need to be the engine of growth if voice market saturated. But 4G will provide both voice and data together under IP umbrella hence extension around wireline to wireless is possible with IP. If we are potentially talking about the 5G we can have the maximum throughput of 100 Mbps or more but in case of 4G we can look up to 300Mbps without lose as LTE is going to be the 4G technology of choice.

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Ease of WiMAX Migration to 4G Technology: Myth or Reality?

For those accustomed to a wireless interface, WiMAX (News - Alert) has long been the technology providing wireless transmission of data through a variety of transmission modes. Now, as the world of telecommunications is swiftly moving toward Long Term Evolution (LTE (News - Alert)) to adopt 4G mobile communications technology, a perceived battle between WiMAX and LTE could easily emerge.

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3G or 4G? Parsing the economics of mobile broadband

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ, NYSE:VOD) is jumping into long-term evolution (LTE), launching its first networks this year, while AT&T (NYSE:T) is taking a little more time, planning its rollout in 2011 and upgrading its 3G network in the interim. In Japan, there’s a similar story. NTT DoCoMo (NYSE:DCM) is as gung ho over LTE as its Verizon, but Softbank Mobile appears to be in no hurry.

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Nortel 4G patents may not be worth that much

Embattled Canadian vendor Nortel may have held on to some of its key LTE patents when it flogged much of its mobile business to Nokia Siemens Networks last month, but there is some debate as to whether that IPR will be the nice little earner Nortel hopes.

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