3G Americas releases White Paper on MIMO (Smart Antennas)

3G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the GSM family of technologies including LTE, announced that it has published an educational report titled, MIMO Transmission Schemes for LTE and HSPA Networks as a tool to increase awareness of smart antenna systems – also known as multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology – and help guide their deployments in HSPA and LTE networks within 3GPP’s specifications and technology standards. The 3GPP evolution continues to be the leader in standardizing the most advanced forms of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas.

Smart antenna, or MIMO, technology is commonly defined as, the use of two or more unique radio signals, in the same radio channel, where each signal carries different digital information, or two or more radio signals that use beam forming, receive combining and spatial multiplexing (SM). Relative to a traditional 1x1 antenna system, a 2x2 MIMO system is expected to deliver significant cell throughput gain.

The MIMO Transmission Schemes for LTE and HSPA Networks report provides an overview and detailed information of the current and emerging MIMO techniques that significantly increase the performance of HSPA and LTE networks.

“Smart antenna technology has arrived and will be a vital part of mobile broadband communications,” stated Pantelis Monogioudis, Ph.D, of Alcatel-Lucent LTE-Advanced Technology Strategy. “It is an exciting time for smart antenna technology as 3GPP has provided the leading technical standards for MIMO that the industry will utilize to improve the capabilities of mobile broadband.”

MIMO was first standardized in 3GPP Release 6 (Rel-6), and was further developed in Rel-7 with spatial multiplexing for HSPA+ using Double Transmit Adaptive Array (D-TxAA). As the report highlights, the use of multiple antennas at both transmitter and receiver allows:

• Substantial increase in peak data rate
• Significantly higher spectrum efficiency, especially in low-interference environments
• Increased system capacity (number of users)

Based on simulation results presented in the report, it was shown that the relatively simple MIMO transmission scheme based on 2x2 closed-loop SM, at low user equipment (UE) speeds, can increase by 20 percent the downlink (DL) sector spectral efficiency relative to a single antenna transmission, as well as increase the cell edge efficiency by approximately 35 percent. More advanced antenna configurations can provide benefits that are significant for users that are receiving a strong signal as well as cell edge users.

The 3GPP Rel-8 LTE specifications, completed in March 2009, included the most advanced forms of MIMO of any standard in the industry, and now, 3GPP is studying even more advanced MIMO enhancements for inclusion in 3GPP Rel-9 and Rel-10 for LTE-Advanced.

The white paper, MIMO Transmission Schemes for LTE and HSPA Networks, was written by members of 3G Americas, and is available for free download on the 3G Americas website here.

800 or 2600MHz: Frequency Impact on Fixed Deployments

From a presentation by Richard Keith, Director of Global Strategy, Broadband Access Solutions Home & Networks Mobility, Motorola at LTE World Summit

Drivers for TD-LTE

From a presentation by Matthias Reiss –Head of LTE Radio, NSN

Complex LTE IPR System

Markus Münkler, Vodafone Group R&D spoke about IPR Regime for LTE @ LTE World Summit, Berlin

Progress since 2005
•ETSI has improved visibility of standards essential IPR across its membership
•NGMN Ltd has produced indications of the total royalty burden of candidate technologies LTE & WiMAX
•Placed IPR royalty rates in the middle of the next generation mobile economy debate
•Raised the IPR discussions to the attention of the EU and other regulatory bodies
•Built a legally sound platform of trusted collaboration among technology stakeholders

Interim conclusion
•IPR transparency has improved among engaged industry stakeholders
•However, new challenges have emerged from outside the technologydevelopers
•Therefore, IPR royalties remain a stumbling block on mobile technology developments

Firefly for British Kids

A new mobile designed for kids, the Firefly phone, is set to launch in Britain later this year, but the four year-old target audience already has adults in uproar.

The Firefly phone, a tiny handset for toddlers which packs just five buttons including “Mum” and “Dad” keys, and extensive parental controls, has been a hit in Ireland, and it set to go on sale in the UK later this year.

But the phone has caused concern amongst parental groups, with Aine Lynch, chief executive of the National Parents Council going so far as to question “where parental responsibility is going”.
“Why would kids need to be contacted by mobile phone? Why are they not in the care of their parents, teachers or supervisors?”, she said.

Indeed. Still it could be amusing to see nursery lessons interrupted by the Nokia ringtone, and we’ve seen tweens rocking iPhones before so perhaps a controlled environment is better than nothing at all. And certainly more appropriate than the Penis phone. We’ll let you know if the Firefly phone leads to the downfall of civilization or not.


Surprisingly this phone was announced couple of years back, I cant see why its taking so long.

The French have already said no to such phones but we Britishers are much more tolerant (in all aspects ;) so you may find children using them soon.

Tim Dowling from the Guardian argues against it:

There can be no earthly reason why a child of four would need a mobile phone, but there must be dozens of reasons why it shouldn't have a Firefly. Here are just a few:

• It is not possible to conduct a fruitful phone conversation with a four year old, as you will know if you have ever tried.
• Four-year-olds rarely, if ever, have information to impart of such significance that it cannot wait until they are five.
• A Firefly costs £60. Without a sim card.
• Your child should always be in the company of a responsible adult who has a phone you didn't have to pay for.
• A four-year-old with its own phone will spend all day attempting to contact Pocoyo.
• Four-year-olds never hang up.
• 52% of children between the ages of five and nine already own a mobile. Chances are you will have to buy the child a phone next year anyway, and they won't want a pink toy that doesn't do YouTube.
• If you don't know where your four-year-old is, there's no point in ringing him. He doesn't know where he is either.
• For much less money you can get tiny T-shirts with your phone number and the word REWARD printed on them.
• Four-year-olds are enough trouble as it is. The last thing we want to do is give them is the means to organise.

Femto Forum Awards 2009: Winners and Losers

The Femto Forum, Femtocells award for 2009 were announced at a dinner on Wednesday,24th of June. Here are the names of the finalists and the winners:


1. Femtocell or femtocell network element design and technology innovation
• Bewan Systems - Femtocell residential gateway
• ip.access Ltd - nano3G
• Motorola Inc - Digital picture frame
Winner: ip.access Ltd - nano3G Enterprise Solution.

The nano3G represents an evolution of the femtocell into the enterprise environment. Not only does it support the 3GPP's new femtocell standard, it also represents a step up in coverage and capacity.

2. Femtocell service (commercial, prototype or demo)
• ip.access Ltd - Facebook virtual fridge notes
• Softbank Mobile Corp - IMS-based Femto trial
• Ubiquisys Ltd - Podcast sync
Winner: ip.access Ltd - Facebook virtual fridge notes.

The service implements a "classic" application use case - where the subscriber receives a reminder message when arriving at home - but with an innovative extension that enables the message to be composed and sent using Facebook.

3. Progress in commercial deployment (vendor or ecosystem)
• NEC Corporation - Commercial contracts and live trials
• Softbank Mobile Corp - Metro area trial
• Starent Networks/Airwalk Communications/Cellcom/Mavenir Systems - Multi-vendor femtocell solution
Winner: NEC Corporation

This recognizes NEC's strong traction in the market with several commercial contracts in place and several live trials underway with operators around the world.

4. Significant progress or commercial launch by a large carrier
• Softbank Mobile Corp - Launch
• Sprint Nextel Corp - Launch
• Vodafone Group Services Ltd - Trial
Winner: Sprint Nextel Corp.

This recognizes this commercial launch, which was the world's first commercial deployment of femtocells.

5. Significant progress or commercial launch by a small carrier
• Cellcom - Launch
• Chungwa Telecom Co Ltd - Launch
Winner: Cellcom.

For Cellcom’s deployment of the world's first IMS-based CDMA femtocell network for consumers and enterprises.

6. Contribution to femtocell standards (individual or company)
• Alcatel Lucent - General contribution to femtocell standards
• Nokia Siemens Networks - General contribution to 3GPP femtocell standard
• Taka Yoshizawa - Contribution to femtocell management standardisation
Winner: Taka Yoshizawa, Thomson

For his pivotal role in defining the femtocell management specifications by working through the Femto Forum, the Broadband Forum and the 3GPP.

7. Enabling technology (components, subsystems, modules etc.)
• Epitiro - Femtocell test suite
• Kineto Wireless Inc - Femtocell gateway controller
• picoChip Designs Ltd - Optimized system-on-chip solution
Winner: picoChip Designs Ltd -picoXcell™ PC302 SoC.

This optimized system-on-chip, which supports the 3GPP's new femtocell standard, embodies five years of femtocell experience, comprehensive interoperability testing and numerous real-world deployments.

8. Social vision - use of femtocells for social / economic / environmental development
• Alcatel Lucent - Consumer research into femtocell usage patterns
• Sagem Communications - Ecodesign
• Softbank Mobile Corp - Niimi project
Winner: Softbank Mobile Corp - Niimi project.

The project illustrates how femtocells can be cost-effectively deployed to deliver services in rural environments where existing coverage is limited.

9. Award for individual contributions to Femto Forum activities
• Chris Cox of ip.access - For coordinating the FemtoZone at Mobile World Congress
• Chris Fenton of Telefonica-O2 - For achieving architectural consensus in the Network & Interoperability working group
• Taka Yoshizawa of Thomson - For leading the Management subgroup to completion of TR-196
• Aya Mukaikubo of Softbank Mobile - For wide-ranging contributions to the Marketing & Promotion and Regulatory Working Groups as well as the Services Special Interest Group
• Dave Nowicki of Airvana - For leading the business case modeling work to an outstanding conclusion
• Alan Law of Vodafone & Chris Smart of picoChip – For coordinating the interference management white paper.
Winner: Chris Fenton of Telefónica-O2

For achieving architectural consensus as chair of the Femto Forum Network & Interoperability Working Group.

“The judges were extremely impressed by the high quality and number of award submissions which reflect the health and innovation of the femtocell industry,” said Simon Saunders, Chairman of the Femto Forum. “The femtocell industry is rapidly evolving as major advances are made in the technology, standards, services and applications - these awards recognise and reward this progress. Our congratulations to the winners and to all those who participated.”

The awards were open to the whole industry and were judged independently of the Femto Forum by a panel of distinguished analysts, journalists and industry experts, chaired by Professor William Webb, Head of R&D at Ofcom.

The judging panel comprised:
• Chairman of the judging panel: Prof. William Webb - Head of R&D - Ofcom
• Dean Bubley - Director - Disruptive Analysis
• Michelle Donegan - European Editor - Unstrung
• Caroline Gabriel - Head of Research - Rethink Wireless
• Peter Jarich - Research Director - Current Analysis
• Aditya Kaul - Senior Analyst, Mobile Networks - ABI Research
• Phil Marshall - Senior Research Fellow, Technology Research - Yankee Group
• Mike Roberts – Principal Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media
• Sam Samra - Senior Director, Technical Programs - CDMA Development Group
• Adrian Scrase - Vice-President - 3GPP

The Future of Mobile Content, TV & Entertainment

Interesting presentation

Future of Mobile Content (CMMA 2009 Gerd Leonhard)

View more Microsoft Word documents from Gerd Leonhard.

Operators give Femtocells Thumbs up in Femtocells World Summit

AT&T Inc. has announced that it will launch femtocells nationwide by the end of the year, expanding the trial launch it’s been running since January.

"We will expand that into a marketing trial of the AT&T-branded 3G Microcell, which will be open to customers through our AT&T stores ... in a handful of cities,” said Gordon Mansfield, AT&T's executive director for radio access network delivery, speaking at the Femtocells World Summit in London. "We're on track for a full national launch by the end of 2009."

He also said the carrier was exploring ways to expand the femto opportunity beyond simply selling standalone home base stations that offload cellular backhaul from the macro network and boost bandwidth for cellular users. For instance, integrating a femto into other devices in the home.

Meanwhile, Vodafone UK 's surprise femtocell service launch announcement yesterday won't force T-Mobile International AG 's hand to launch a rival service in the U.K. or in any of its markets.

The German giant is sticking to its femto guns and does not feel compelled to take on the largest mobile operator by revenue with a commercial home base station service of its own, simply because Vodafone was first to market in Europe.

"We won't be pushed by that announcement," said Klaus-Jürgen Krath, T-Mobile's senior VP of radio networks engineering, speaking on the sidelines of the Femtocells World Summit in London today. "Let's see how they do in the market...

"There is not any firm launch plan that I can disclose now," he added.

T-Mobile has been busily testing and investing in femto technology for the last few years, but the operator maintains that there are still technical and marketing issues that need to be resolved before a consumer mass market solution is possible.

T-Mobile is a strategic investor in access point vendor Ubiquisys Ltd. and femto chip startup Percello Ltd.

According to French mobile operator SFR , France is a tough market for femtocells.

And one of the issues that makes the country extra special in Europe is the growing public concern about the health risks from cellular antennas and handsets, according to Guillaume de Lavallade, director of network marketing at SFR, who was speaking at the Femtocells World Summit in London.

WiFi hotspots have been disconnected in public libraries; there have been court actions to prevent the installation of cellular masts or have them removed when they're close to schools or homes; and the national government is investigating the health risk associated with masts and handsets, explains Lavallade.

"Introducing femtos in France in this environment is raising these questions," he says.

You can explain that the emitted power of femtos is 10 times less than that of WiFi, comparable to a DECT phone, and that 3G handsets emit less power when connecting to the femto than on the macro network, or that a network based on a femto architecture generates less power than a macro architecture, he says.

"It's difficult for an operator to take those facts and figures to the consumer," he says.

SFR has been trialing a femto from Ubiquisys Ltd. , which was spotted on a French Website recently.

SatNav need an integrated solution

Satellite navigation has evolved significantly in the past decade and the technology is now used in almost every walk of the life. Every body uses the satellite navigation to reach to certain destination.

But imagine that you have a navigation tool or gadget which acts as your own personal travel guide. It has satellite navigation, so when you get into your car it can direct you to where you want to go. It can choose the most carbon-efficient route and make sure you avoid crowded town centres, traffic jams and road works. It can let you know where the next petrol station is, and whether there is an Italian restaurant near your hotel. Before you arrive you will know which of the town car parks have spaces left. And when you've finally parked the car, take your guide with you and it will direct you, on foot, to your final destination.

For anyone who has found themselves stuck in a traffic jam, or has been unable to find a car park in a busy town centre, or has got lost on foot, it sounds too good to be true. Yet the technology to make it happen is already here. So why aren't we all carrying such a device in our pockets?

The question which then arises is that why the universal travel widget isn't at hand. One of the reasons for that is that several different worlds have to collide and co-operate. First of all there is a massive competition together with a huge confusion regarding the platforms in which such device can be built on. To start with we have got proprietary platforms like TomTom and Garmin, and then we've got the at least five major mobile phone operating systems.

The obvious competition between these different platforms has instigated some suspicion but apart from this the mobile companies also have yet to ¬recognize the potential of phones as navigation devices.

You can argue that many mobile phones are already GPS-enabled but in my opinion this doesn't necessary make them effective at navigation. For instance try using your blackberry as a navigation device and you’ll find that battery has quickly drained out. The mobile phone world is slowly coming to terms with the needs of navigation on mobiles, such as better ¬battery life and bigger screens. Infact GPS alone doesn't offer the precision needed to navigate pedestrians, and so to be useful needs to be combined with another positioning service such as Wi-Fi. This has been done with the iPhone, for example.

The accuracy and granularity of data used in satellite navigation systems is very critical and has to be improving all the time. The real problem lies in integration where the data needed to provide a coherent information service to a navigation device is held by different organisations in a number of different places. While there are companies that are providing some location-based information such as information about ATMs, speed cameras, train times or tourist sites but there is no company in my knowledge that offers everything.

Combining all the information and hence provided through a single device at a one point of time that information isn't going to be easy. The challenges which lies in this are not solely technical for example there's a data aggregation problem to bring it altogether, including highway changes, updates from local authorities and then there's a physical problem in gathering all that up.
Even if the above issues are solved there is still a major part of the problem which is revenue. How one would make money out of integrated Satnav device? There's a difference between what can be done technically and a viable ¬product that can be sold. How do you turn that into something that fits in a business model?"

Organisations that have valuable data rarely want to give it away for free, licences to reuse companies or government’s mapping data commercially are expensive. Similarly, there is no incentive for the Highways Agency or local authorities, for example, to share information about traffic conditions. Even the government website Transport Direct, which provides free up-to-date transport information, has restrictions on the integration of its content with other services.

So now you may realize that how trying to highlight the potential of the problem. It’s a mammoth task to bring all the above information together into one place as everyone wants their pound of flesh because everyone has developed their own data infrastructure and it's just very difficult to get them to agree.

I certainly hold the opinion that inspite of all these hiccups the demand for an all-in-one travel service almost certainly exists. People simply really want a so called integration or integrated device which can work across different ¬locations i.e. home, work, on the move etc.

It’s evident from the above facts that the emergence of a ¬genuinely integrated solution will depend on a government initiative to force public sector organisations such as Highways Agencies, Transport for London and local authorities to collaborate, or on a private sector organisation taking a ¬commanding lead in terms of developing location technologies.
Google is one such company which is creeping up with a whole series of ¬initiatives that are steadily putting the pieces in place. Best example for this is Google Maps which are now readily available on all mobile platforms and is integrated with traffic data from the Highways Agency. Not only this, the Google Maps application interface (API) allows third parties to build their own applications as well.

Google, no doubt is leading with an example in terms of it’s initiatives towards serving the customers in best possible way. Google certainly knows what the customers want which I believe a mini innovation in these current economic climate.

Location has always been such an absolutely fundamental framework for our lives, and we inevitably must embrace tools that allow us to manage that. I envisage a society in 20 years' time revolutionised by the ability to know all the location based information.

Mobile Phones too complicated

The majority of UK consumers see mobile phones as “overcomplicated and burdened with unnecessary features” according to a survey released today.

The research, conducted by mobile recycling specialist Fonebank showed 60 per cent of the 1,000 respondents find current mobiles too complicated to use. A third also cited “simplicity of use” as an important factor when choosing a new handset.

The survey comes at a time when new smartphone releases are dominating the headlines such as the N97 and iPhone 3G S.

Mark Harrison, director of Fonebank, said in a statement: “People think they care about ‘pixels’ or ‘megabits’ when in fact they just want mobiles that are easy to use. Calling and texting remain the primary functions of mobiles, with web surfing, emailing and music capabilities relatively unimportant.”

Interesting to see the same point being made as I made last month where I said that the manufacturers should not forget the people who just prefer simple things rather than the complicated apps and devices.