LTE Carrier Aggregation comes to fruition
In the first few months of 2013 there have been signs that LTE Carrier Aggregation (CA) is coming to fruition, with a series of announcements of demonstrations, trials and launch plans by network operators and equipment manufacturers, including: Ericsson, Qualcomm Technologies and Sierra Wireless provided the first public demonstration of LTE Carrier Aggregation at Mobile World Congress (MWC) [...]
NTT DoCoMo provides 3G/4G indoor coverage with dual-mode femtocells
NTT DoCoMo has announced that it will launch the world’s first combined HSDPA/LTE femtocells in December 2012, to enable improved indoor coverage for both 3G and 4G mobile handsets. Shops and offices will be able to offer high quality 3G and 4G coverage and users will be able to drop back to slower HSDPA services [...]
Yota launches world’s first “commercial” LTE-Advanced network
Earlier this month, Russian network operator Yota reported it had launched the world’s first commercial LTE-Advanced network, using equipment supplied by Huawei. The network comprises 13 base stations in Moscow and Yota has reported downlink data at up to 300Mbit/s. However, Yota has admitted that it will not have terminals available until 2013 and the [...]
Everything Everywhere 4G launch put on ice
Last month I welcomed the fact that Ofcom had expedited the introduction of 4G in the UK by allowing Everything Everywhere to launch LTE services in advance of the UK’s forthcoming auction of 4G spectrum. Today, Everything Everywhere revealed its 4G plans in more detail. Under its new brand of “EE” it will offer LTE services [...]
Ofcom decision accelerates introduction of UK 4G
After years of delays to the introduction of fourth generation (4G) mobile services in the UK, yesterday Ofcom announced a decision that could see the launch of LTE services in the UK in the autumn of 2012. Ofcom has approved an application by Everything Everywhere to use its existing 1800MHz spectrum for the delivery of [...]
O2 and Vodafone to pool their networks for LTE
While the announcement has been some time coming, I’m delighted to see that the commercial realities of 4G LTE investment have caused O2 and Vodafone to make a very wise partnership decision. Vodafone and O2 have announced that they will pool their networks of radio masts and antennas, which will accelerate their roll-out of 4G [...]
LTE news roundup
There have been a number of interesting announcements in the last few weeks related to LTE. Firstly, NTT DoCoMo in Japan has announced that the number of subscribers to its LTE Xi service reached two million on 18 March 2012 – an increase of one million subscribers since 24 December 2011. This growth has been [...]
iPad 3 launches with 4G LTE capability
Wednesday 7th March 2012 was an important date for the wireless telecommunications industry. It is the date that Apple announced its new iPad 3. As well as offering a range of compelling capabilities, such as a high-resolution display, the iPad 3 is particularly notable for supporting 4G LTE services. Not only will the iPad 3 [...]
Good 3G news and bad 4G news for the UK mobile industry
There have been two interesting developments in the UK mobile industry this month – one definitely good news for the industry and its consumers, and one distinctly bad. Firstly, the good news! We have devoted quite a bit of attention in this blog to the poor state of 3G coverage in the UK. While having [...]
Extensive LTE coverage essential to avoid 3G mistakes
In his wireless blog, Alastair Brydon advocates widespread 4G coverage, as regulators define LTE licence conditions and network operators begin LTE roll-out. It’s nice to see some European regulators trying to ensure that one of the biggest mistakes of 3G licensing – inadequate minimum coverage requirements – is not repeated with 4G LTE. With 3G, [...]
Contact Unwired Insight
+44 (0) 1480 819391
Keep in touch with Unwired Insight