An Ignoble Experiment

2. Apple's LTE policy creating carrier haves, have-nots

Entities behind the We Heart WiFi effort launched at the SXSW conference are calling on the FCC to expand the amount of TV white-space spectrum (TVWS), alleging such unlicensed spectrum is a necessary ingredient in creating the competition necessary for expanding high-speed broadband to more people.

The We Heart WiFi marketing campaign is the brainchild of Connected.io, in partnership with Union Square Ventures. The former calls itself an umbrella for policy and advocacy projects related to peer networks and networked innovation and was organized by Nick Grossman, who works on advocacy efforts focused on networks and innovation for Union Square Ventures and is also a visiting scholar in the Center for Civic Media at the MIT Media Lab.

We Heart WiFi is also sponsored by Canada-based Tucows, which is the parent company of Ting, an MVNO that operates over Sprint Nextel's (NYSE:S) network

We Heart WiFi took advantage of 14 open TVWS channels in Austin, Texas, that were connected to a single gigabit fiber backbone to provide wireless backhaul for free mobile "heartspots"--really Wi-Fi hotspots--located at top events and parties during SXSW, held March 8-10. The "WiFi" in "We Heart WiFi" is not a reference to traditional Wi-Fi but rather to "Super Wi-Fi," the moniker some have applied to TVWS--the unused spectrum that sits between TV broadcast frequencies.

Offering free Internet access at SXSW was part of an effort to get event attendees as well as non-attendees to sign an online petition asking the FCC to expand the amount of TVWS spectrum available for general use through the planned TV broadcast spectrum incentive auction. The deadline for reply comments on the FCC's notice of proposed rulemaking, which will lay the foundation for the auction framework, is March 12.

The FCC proposes to make both licensed and unlicensed spectrum available for wireless broadband from the frequencies reclaimed from TV broadcasters, which will be encouraged to voluntarily relinquish spectrum usage rights in exchange for a share of the auction proceeds.

The idea of opening unlicensed spectrum at the expense of licensed spectrum is not generally popular with mobile operators and MVNOs. Yet in an entry posted on the Ting blog, Ken Schafer, executive vice president of products for Tucows, wrote that support for the We Heart WiFi effort complements Tucows' belief that the so-called "open Internet" benefits everyone.

"Businesses (including ours) should adapt to changes in technology rather than attempting to maintain the status quo using political pressure and/or market dominance," said Schafer. "Whitespace (sic) allows anyone to innovate around wireless communications. It means that people don't have to go to a carrier or technology company or government bureau if they want to use that spectrum."

Many TVWS spectrum proponents have vilified the nation's two leading mobile operators--AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ)--for allegedly hoarding spectrum licenses and supporting spectrum auctions, which critics charge enable the companies to perpetuate an anticompetitive duopoly by giving them exclusive accces to licensed frequencies. Grossman contends much the same in his blog, The Slow Hunch.

"The bulk of our airwaves are reserved for exclusive use--either by government actors, or by corporations (like AT&T and Verizon) that have purchased the rights from the government. We do this to encourage investment in infrastructure (by granting a monopoly), to avoid interference, and to raise money for the government (through up front fees)," he wrote in a blog entry.

Grossman alleged that auctions of spectrum for exclusive use "sell out our future to bring in some cash now." The We Heart WiFi effort, he indicated, is part of an effort "to make it really clear how massive the opportunity in the open approach is."

For more:
- see this We Heart WiFi webpage
- see this Ting blog entry
- see this AVC blog entry
- see The Slow Hunch blog entry

Read more about: Tucows, TVWS
back to top


This week's sponsors are Comcast Media Center and Irdeto.
	Don't Miss an Exclusive Executive Breakfast at the 2013 NAB Show! Executives from Discovery Communications, Comcast Media Center, and more explore the impact that the battle for multiscreen viewers is having on content owners, broadcasters, cable operators, and over-the-top video players. Join FierceCable Editor Steve Donohue for this exclusive breakfast event at the NAB Show, April 9, in Las Vegas. Sponsored by Comcast Media Center and Irdeto. REGISTER TODAY!

By Tammy Parker

Comment |

3. JDSU buys Arieso to gain entry into SON, RAN and small cells

Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) alleged policy of restricting LTE network support in its iPhone 5 continues to frustrate international operators that cannot get the vendor to include support for their LTE networks in the device. Yet one quite small domestic U.S. operator will launch the device this week, along with full LTE support for its rural operation.

Norway's Telenor is the latest operator to complain about Apple's LTE support policy. Berit Svendsen, CEO at Telenor Norway, told telecoms.com that Apple's iPhone 5 will not operate on the operator's 1800 MHz LTE network in the northern district of Tromso, even though the device supports LTE on the same band in the United Kingdom and Germany.

"We are still waiting for Apple to make some small changes to the iOS so that the phone works on our 1800 MHz frequency up in Tromso," said Svendsen, adding that Telenor has been seeking the support for some six months.

The iPhone 5 also does not support LTE in the 2.6 GHz band, which is used by Telenor for LTE in the rest of Norway. Telenor does sell the iPhone 5 but must market it as a 3G device in Norway.

Apple allegedly insists mobile operators submit to its own independent testing of their LTE networks' performance before it will enable LTE functionality for iPhone 5 devices operating on their network.

Tajikistan's leading operator, Babilon-Mobile and Switzerland's Swisscom have both complained in recent months that Apple would not support LTE in iPhone 5 devices used on their networks. Babilon refarmed its 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum and lit up LTE service in October 2012. Swisscom, Switzerland's largest telco, launched LTE at the end of November 2012 in the 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz bands.

Meanwhile, diminutive U.S. operator Strata Networks, a rural LTE partner of Verizon Wireless, is set to begin offering the LTE-enabled iPhone 5 soon at all Strata stores in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. A Strata representative confirmed to Telecompetitor that the iPhone 5 model the carrier will begin offering on March 15 supports LTE on its network.

Another Verizon rural LTE partner, Bluegrass Cellular, began carrying the iPhone 5 in November, but Telecompetitor noted that model only included support for 3G.

Veirzon's rural LTE partners are building networks on Upper 700 MHz C-Block spectrum that they lease from Verizon. The iPhone 5 devices Verizon offers for its LTE networks come equipped with unique software not available to the rural partners. Nonetheless, given the volume sales of the iPhone 5 generated by Verizon, it is apparently not too difficult for the operator's carrier partners to get their hands on the same types of device it sells.

That contrasts with the experience of small operators holding licenses for Lower 700 MHz A-Block spectrum, which has to band classes that are not interoperable. Smaller carriers bought licenses in Band Class 12, a band not held by large operators. The smaller carriers argue that without mandated interoperability across Lower 700 MHz A-Block Band Class 12 and Band Class 17--the latter is held by AT&T (NYSE:T)--device makers will cater to the needs of larger operators AT&T and Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ). The FCC agreed in March 2012 to look into the issue but has so far taken no action to change the status quo.

For more:
- see this Strata release
- see this telecoms.com article
- see this Telecompetitor article

Read more about: Berit Svendsen, rural
back to top

By Tammy Parker

Comment |

4. Infonetics: Femtocell sales set to blast off in 2013

JDSU is paying $85 million cash to gain Arieso's expertise in location-aware software solutions, small cell siting and network optimization.

The acquisition of U.K.-based Arieso will help JSDU--a network test and performance assurance company headquartered in Milpitas, Calif.--extend its visibility from the network core through the radio access network (RAN) to the subscriber location, helping to maximize the benefits of offloading data from macrocells to small cells. Arieso's software identifies "ideal locations for small cells and other self-optimizing network (SON) enhancements with surgical precision," said JSDU.

JDSU said it will integrate Arieso's products with its own solutions, such as JDSU's PacketPortal open software platform.

The complementary fit between Arieso and JDSU will enable the companies "to extend the customer-centric location-aware approach into the service and application domains, allowing mobile network operators to take a truly holistic approach to driving customer experience improvements," said Shirin Dehghan, Arieso's CEO. She founded Areiso in 2002.

The RAN optimization and SON markets are anticipated to grow from $700 million today to more than $1 billion by 2015, said JDSU, which noted Arieso's bookings for 2012 were approximately $27 million.

According to The Mobile Network, investors that funded Arieso over the years include Qualcomm Ventures, Add Partners, Oxford Capital Partners and Carbon Trust.

For more:
- see this JDSU release
- see The Mobile Network article
- see this GigaOM article
- see this telecoms.com article

Read more about: location, ran
back to top

By Tammy Parker

Comment |

5. Ericsson, InterDigital boost Hypervoice effort

Femtocell vendors can expect a "very big 2013," according to research firm Infonetics, which predicts growth will come from 3G and LTE femto sales.

View the full image on the Web.

For the full year 2012, the femtocell market totaled $425 million, up 21 percent from a year earlier. Sales of 2G, 3G and LTE femtos began ramping up late in 2012, growing 66 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter from the third quarter. Price-per-unit has been falling and shipment volumes increasing, though both have moved too moderately to drive a more rapid acceleration in adoption, explained Richard Webb, the firm's directing analyst for microwave and carrier Wi-Fi.

"That said, we believe femtocells have sufficient market drivers and support among operators to sustain continuous annual revenue and unit growth through at least 2017, starting with a very big 2013, driven by strong 3G femto sales and fast-ramping 4G femtos," he added.

The firm predicts 4G femtocell revenue will expand at a 165 percent 5-year compound annual growth rate from 2012 to 2017.

Public-space femtos accounted for slightly more revenue than consumer femtocells in 2012. And femto devices are evolving. Integrated femtos, which are built into broadband consumer-premises equipment such as DSL routers/gateways, made up 3 percent of units shipped in 2012 but are expected to encompass about half of all units by 2017.

According to Infonetics, the femto market share leaders for last year were Airvana, Samsung and Cisco/ip.access.

Infonetics also released excerpts from its latest microwave equipment report, which showed spending declined 10 percent worldwide for the full year 2012, due to price erosion and capex conservation by service providers. "We expect the market trough to hang around a little while longer before renewed growth begins in late 2013," said Webb.

Infonetics forecasts the microwave equipment market will reach $5.2 billion by 2017, thanks largely to continuing demand for backhaul capacity at macrocell sites.

Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC), Huawei, and NEC maintained their positions as the top three microwave equipment vendors in 2012's fourth quarter, but fourth-place Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU), which is the leader in the all-packet segment, has closed in considerably on NEC. Aviat Networks replaced Ceragon in the fifth-place position during the quarter, said Infonetics.

For more:
- see this Infonetics release and this release

Read more about: small cells
back to top

By Tammy Parker

Comment |