Vodafone

Vodafone: Net neutrality won't work without second network

Lynnette Luna — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 12:24:18 -0400

Vodafone said it doesn't believe network neutrality will be successful in the wireless world without a second network.

According to David Leftley, head of technology economics with Vodafone Group's R&D, a second network is needed to provide an alternative, intelligent Internet that can prioritize the content it carries. The solution Leftley proposes is an IPX, and is already being developed by mobile operators. The IPX will include a number of private, global IP backbones designed to guarantee quality of service when users connected to different mobile operators communicate with one other.

Leftley, speaking at the Wireless World Research Forum in Stockholm this week, believes that is the way operators can monetize traffic running over their networks. "There are the network neutralists who believe we just build an infinite capacity network, as big as you can. Bandwidth is infinite, the carrier has no differentiation, and all content has infinite value. The application provider, on the whole, ignores the carrier. There is no value exchange, so I don't see how that can work," he said.

France Telecom said it saw a future with two types of networks as well, where one is a best-effort network and one offers support for quality-of-service guarantees.

The GSM Association said the first IPX network should come to fruition next year, making it possible for operators and content providers to receive "a fair commercial return for their work."

For more:
- check out IDG News Service

Related articles:
Should wireless broadband be net neutral?
FEATURE: Net Neutrality's threat to wireless

Are notebook subsidies inevitable?

Peggy Albright — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:00:34 -0400

It's no surprise that as notebook computers become embedded with wireless broadband connectivity, operators will offer subsidies and service contracts to encourage sales. Late last week, Vodafone said it will begin selling Dell's new HSDPA-equipped Inspirion Mini 9 notebook under an exclusive arrangement with Dell. Separately, Dell CEO Michael Dell suggested that notebook subsidies are inevitable. If these are hints that Vodafone is indeed taking this step, watch for other operators to follow. Article

ABI: LTE market will support 32M subs by 2013

Lynnette Luna — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:55:04 -0400

ABI Research is forecasting more than 32 million Long Term Evolution (LTE) subscribers by 2013, despite the fact that LTE networks won't be commercial before 2010. But as major operators China Mobile, Vodafone and Verizon Wireless have announced their intentions to deploy LTE, ramp up of the technology could move swiftly. ABI predicts that Asia-Pacific countries will account for the largest regional share of the LTE market, with about 12 million LTE subscribers in 2013. Article

Report: Vodafone chief to announce departure

Tue, 27 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

According to the Financial Times, Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin is expected to announce his departure from the global operator giant in July. Vittorio Colao, currently Vodafone's deputy chief executive and head of the company's European business will replace Sarin.

Sarin has most recently been a vocal debater when it comes to the company's choice of LTE and his desire to see WiMAX as a subset of the 4G technology. In 2005, Sarin was strongly criticized for the company's slowing financial results. Some investors called for him to resign. Today, the operator is posting solid profits.

To read more about Sarin's departure:
- check out this Financial Times report

Related stories:
- Vodafone CEO: WiMAX has a home in LTE. See this Vodafone LTE story
- Sprint's CTO attacks LTE. See this Sprint WiMAX story

Alltel chooses LTE for 4G

Mon, 19 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

In a move that is not surprising, Alltel announced it was committed to evolving its network to LTE during the next five years. The decision isn't surprising given the fact that Alltel typically follows in Verizon's footsteps when it comes to technology decisions. Earlier this year Verizon committed to the LTE standard to align itself with partner Vodafone.

"We do currently plan to move towards LTE in the three-to-five year timeframe vs. WiMAX, but we're still early in that," Alltel President and CEO Scott Ford said during the operator's first-quarter conference call.

Alltel's COO Jeff Fox, however, noted that the carrier won't be talking seriously about LTE this year. "We are working through our planning phase and will be talking to our board about all that over the next two quarters," Fox said. "Certainly there's no money for 4G evolution anytime in our near-term plans, and so I think from a cash-flow perspective you should not expect to see us talking about 4G anytime at least in 2008." Plus, does Alltel have enough spectrum to deploy LTE? The operator didn't win anything at the 700 MHz auction.

For more on Alltel's LTE choice:
- read this RCR article

ALSO NOTED: Vodafone U.K. adds unlimited data usage; Skypilot raises $3.4M; and much more...

Mon, 05 May 2008 06:59:51 -0400

> Vodafone U.K. has added unlimited data usage to all its new monthly plans, which makes it the first U.K. carrier that does not require a separate plan for mobile Internet or email usage. Article

> T-Mobile and Nokia announced an agreement to collaborate on new mobile web and social networking services. Article

> WiFi vendor Skypilot has raised an additional $3.4 million from its current investors, Mobius Ventures and August Capital. Article

And Finally... A German syndicate announced that it has patented a chip for sending scents via text and multimedia messages. Article

Key vendors absent from new LTE licensing scheme

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Six vendors announced they have committed to a framework designed to offer predictable and more transparent IP licensing. Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NEC, NextWave Wireless, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks and Sony Ericsson have specifically agreed to royalties for LTE that total less than 10 percent of the resale price for handsets and less than $10 for laptops. However, it is up to the companies involved to decide how this (up to) 10 percent is split between them.

"The adoption of this initiative will reassure operators of the early widespread adoption of LTE technology throughout the consumer electronics industry," Ericsson's SVP, GM and CTO Håkan Eriksson said in a statement.

Notably absent from the agreement are Qualcomm, Motorola and Nortel. Without those major players, will such an agreement work out?

For more on the LTE licensing agreement:
- read this press release from the companies

Related articles:
- Vodafone CEO: WiMAX has a home in LTE. Story on Vodafone
- China Mobile joins Vodafone, Verizon in LTE trial. Story on LTE trials

Vodafone CEO: Verizon likely to deploy LTE first

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:59:55 -0400

Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin indicated in an interview with BusinessWeek that its partly owned venture Verizon Wireless would likely have to upgrade before Vodafone because the company is "riding the 3.5G wave."

"We are headed [toward LTE]. But we want to get a lot of the technical and standards and intellectual-property rights issues resolved before we say we are ready to sign up for it. Frankly, in this particular instance we have a great advantage. We have deployed something called HSDPA [High-Speed Downlink Packet Access] which is 3.5G. So if you said there is no technology available to you before 2012, we at Vodafone are completely relaxed because we are riding the 3.5-generation wave," Sarin said. "In fact our affiliate here in the U.S., Verizon Wireless, will need the fourth-generation wave faster than we do."

Is that really the case? Simply put, Verizon now has the spectrum in the 700 MHz band to deploy LTE. Vodafone has to ride the 3.5G wave until it has enough spectrum to deploy LTE. And EV-DO Rev. A appears to be running on all cylinders for Verizon Wireless.

For more on Sarin's 3.5G reasoning:
- read the whole interview over at BusinessWeek

Related articles:
- 700 MHz winners reveal plans, no big surprises Report on 700 MHz auction
- Verizon Wireless to trial and deploy LTE Report on Verizon's LTE plans

Is 3 UK moving toward a bit-pipe model?

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Kevin Russel, CEO of 3 UK, which has taken the open access model to heart by opening up its network to any application, has reset the company's business objectives by stating there will be less emphasis on developing mobile content and a greater focus on promoting mobile email, VoIP and IM services.

The Hutchison Whampoa-owned carrier made the headlines in 2006 when it announced the X-Series offering, a service that, among other things, included an 'all you can eat' data plan and came with Skype pre-installed on the subscribers' terminals. In October, 3 introduced the Skypephone that features a dedicated Skype button.

Since introducing a USB dongle, 3 says that data throughput on its HSDPA network increased sevenfold from October '07 to February '08, and mobile broadband would be a focus area. "But there are some bandwagons 3 is not big enough to jump on", Russell added. "We need to be a more focused company and not get distracted by services such as mobile TV." He also noted the company would continue to follow an own-brand handsets strategy, as this enabled it to offer more disruptive services such as Skype.

3's strategy should be watched carefully as many operators will embark on an open access model as they move into the 4G world. Is this the bit-pipe warning that Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin mentioned during his keynote at CTIA earlier this month? 3 isn't offering its own email, VoIP and IM services. It's allowing partners like Skype, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Google offer these services, possibly pushing 3 toward that bit-pipe model (for some reason the industry likes to use the phrase bit pipe instead of dumb pipe). 3's business model could ultimately turn into one where it is subsidizing devices, carrying data traffic and dealing with customer service.

3, however, says it would rather get a head start over larger competitors with email, VoIP and IM services than get distracted with developing content services. Meanwhile, many operators are talking about becoming "smart" pipes, a term I heard at FierceMarkets' 4G conference during the CTIA show. Sprint is embarking on such a strategy with its WiMAX network. It means operators leverage their assets, acting as both a content and access provider by controlling the customer experience. Third parties may be able to develop applications for the network, but the operator also partners with content providers to create optimized services. It also means the operator can charge based on function, not bits, and prioritize traffic on their networks.

It will be interesting to see how operators approach this open access world. We could very well see a no one-size fits all answer to this and everyone still making money.--Lynnette

British Telecom mulling WiMAX play in the U.K.

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:59:55 -0400

According to a report in the Financial Times, British Telecom's CEO designate, Ian Livingston, said BT is mulling whether to invest in WiMAX. BT has considered such an investment for a few years now. Currently, BT's wireless service makes use of Vodafone's network, so a WiMAX network of its own would allow the company to better direct its wireless strategy. With the 2.6 GHz spectrum auction coming up in the U.K., all eyes are on BT to see whether it will bid to win spectrum to ultimately build a WiMAX network. BT, however, told the Financial Times that it has made no commitment to either bidding in the auction or to pursuing a WiMAX network.

For more on BT's wireless plans:
- read this article from the Financial Times

Related article:
- Operators play wait and see with WiMAX in Europe Report on the 2.6 GHz auctions in Europe

Motorola intros platform to support both WiMAX, LTE

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 07:59:57 -0400

Motorola introduced a common wireless broadband platform capable of supporting both mobile WiMAX access points and the Long Term Evolution (LTE) evolved Node-B. Motorola says the design should reduce operators' deployment and operating costs. With Motorola's flexible modem technology, common platform can support either WiMAX or LTE by being software configurable.

Fred Wright, senior vice president, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility, said in a press release: "We're building upon our OFDM expertise and early success in WiMAX 802.16e as we develop our LTE product solutions. We can reuse about 75 percent of the basic application software and platform technology we developed for WiMAX in our LTE products, thereby advancing our development efforts. For example, the new common wireless broadband platform is expected to be commercially deployed in WiMAX networks in 2008, followed by the LTE application available by late 2009, giving us the advantage of deploying LTE technology on a field proven platform."

To find out more about Motorola's new platform:
- check out this article from TMCnet

Related articles:
- On the Hot Seat with WiMAX Forum's Ron Resnick Report
- Vodafone CEO: WiMAX has a home in LTE Report

FEATURE: On the Hot Seat with the WiMAX Forum's Ron Resnick

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

Ron Resnick, president and chairman of the WiMAX Forum, has a lot to be happy about as mobile WiMAX enters 2008 poised for some massive rollouts. I recently spoke with Mr. Resnick about what's in store for the technology, including the debate between WiMAX and LTE, how operators can make money and work being done on global roaming. -Lynnette

FierceBroadbandWireless: What are you expecting at the CTIA show this year in terms of the apparent debate between WiMAX and LTE?

Resnick: Let's take a step back and look at last year when Vodafone challenged the [GSM ] membership to be prepared for WiMAX. This year in Barcelona, CEO Arun Sarin proposed some sort of convergence between the two, and he's giving a keynote at CTIA. Bottom line is that in one year, WiMAX has become a formidable player in the ecosystem and is now recognized by world's largest operators. It's not just a technology. There is a presence now. We are seeing at least 260 deployments in 110 countries. The view I'd say that I have is that WiMAX has happened and LTE is still two to three years out. It's so difficult to create metrics when one is just launching and the other is in the future.

Click here to read the rest of the interview...

On the Hot Seat with Ron Resnick

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:18:12 -0400

FierceBroadbandWireless: What are you expecting at the CTIA show this year in terms of the apparent debate between WiMAX and LTE?

The performance of WiMAX and LTE are very similar. So to me it's not about technology. It's about the fact is there is one technology available that operators can get a leg up on while the other technology is not coming out for two to three years. It's a very interesting situation operators are put in because they have to decide whether to wait or deploy now.

FierceBroadbandWireless: What are your views on the convergence between WiMAX and LTE in terms of one 4G standard?

Resnick: WiMAX now has its place. It's an IMT-2000 technology. It's global. Should there be one technology in the future? Would everyone agree that should happen? If so, how does it happen and what is the execution plan? Whatever gets decided on for 4G-and we think a great choice is 802.16m-it needs to be backward compatible to 802.16e … I think it's wonderful if we can make that happen whereby we figure out how to take the two and make it work so that no one loses. That is basically is what my view of the world is.

FierceBroadbandWireless: How do you see WiMAX players making money in this new mobile broadband world?

Resnick: To me, Sprint is a poster child that the world should be focused on to see how they are making money through an open Internet model. What I look at is all the goodness that Sprint is doing and for understanding an open internet model-about how to place different devices under one billing cycle and how to push WiMAX in consumer electronics products. This is an exciting time to see what happens. WiMAX is the proponent of an open Internet as opposed to what seeing in the past with a more of a walled garden approach. A number of operators say they are looking at an open model. The fact that operators made that claim is a testament to WiMAX.

Like I said, there are 260 networks but what makes Sprint highly visible is that they've been very creative. But there are other locales where WiMAX is flourishing. Korea Telecom, with its WiBro service, expects to have 400,000 subscribers by the end of this year. Their performance is now excellent. KT has some very good models and one is definitely cost-effective access. You have to take a look at what the cost is. In Europe, you're paying about $35 to use HSPA and receive about 2 gigabytes. WiMAX allows for much more capacity and an open Internet and unlimited data access model. That doesn't mean operators won't sell additional services. Google is doing this with Sprint. Microsoft and others will offer some very innovative services and interesting revenue-sharing plans. The operator has knowledge the content provider would like to have and allows for more of an opportunistic and win-win model for open Internet that needs to be developed. Everyone should be voting for Sprint's success because it's more than Xhom. It's the open Internet model and how consumers win.

FierceBroadbandWireless: The WiMAX Forum recently announced an FDD profile for the 700 MHz band. Is the forum looking at other FDD bands?

Resnick: If operators and vendors say there is now a requirement for FDD or TDD in a certain band and there is a market for it, the WiMAX Forum will approve it. There's no random decision to create profiles. It's based on a market survey and needs. As long as demand is there we can expect to see more FDD profiles coming out.

FierceBroadbandWireless: Can you give us a bit of education about 802.16m-its capabilities, standardization schedule?

Resnick: We're targeting the closure of 802.16m as a standard by the end of 2009. Our goal is to have 802.16m as part of the IMT Advanced standard. Then you'll see mobile WiMAX system profiles, called 2.0, in the 2010/2011 timeframe, It's going to be TDD and FDD and handle channel bandwidth 5, 10 and 20. Peak data rates per sector are expected to be 130 Mb/s s for the uplink and 56 Mb/s on the downlink based on a 20-megahertz channel. Mobility will be supported at 350 kilometers per hour. It will have high spectral efficiency using 4 by 4 MIMO. It's going to be a major upgrade in allowing broadcast video, peer to peer video communications, smoother handoffs and location-based services built in. It will have excellent capabilities for VoIP.

FierceBroadbandWireless: Where is the forum in terms of working on roaming?

Resnick: We have plans to announce roaming availability soon. Operators can launch in the second half of this year. We're enabling roaming by providing the right tools so operators can do it from the get go as opposed to what we're seeing other markets where roaming came after the fact. We've been working on this for two year. We have spent a lot of money on developing roaming agreements, available at no cost to the operator. We built in roaming specifications. It's critically important for the WiMAX Forum to make sure it works.

Focusing on the future

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:31:56 -0400

Focusing on the future

It's always intriguing to talk about future technologies. That's what I like about trade shows. As such, if you are attending next month's CTIA Wireless 2008 in Las Vegas, there will be plenty of discussion about future technologies.

The discussion around WiMAX, however, is beyond vaporware. The WiMAX Forum intends to make a big splash during the show to demonstrate that 802.16e has proliferated around the globe, despite the PR hit the technology is taking in terms of Sprint and Clearwire. According to Ron Resnick, chairman of the WiMAX Forum, some 260 service providers are in the midst of deploying 802.16e networks. The forum will be hosting the "WiMAX Lounge" that will feature a huge map on the wall pinpointing all of the deployments globally. Expect more noise to come out of the forum and its members around the recently announced 700 MHz profile for WiMAX. As the 700 MHz auction wraps up, you can bet vendors will be vying for contracts and the opportunity to build WiMAX in the band.

For the first time at a CTIA show, Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin will be a keynote speaker. As head of one of the world's largest mobile operators, what he says about technology gets noticed. During the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last month, Sarin argued that WiMAX could find a place within the LTE standard after the previous year warning the infrastructure industry that WiMAX threatened to eat LTE's lunch. What interesting comment will he make at CTIA?

Meanwhile, we should hear a lot about LTE at the show. Demos should be commonplace with more specific announcements surrounding product roadmaps.

Keep up to date on the happenings at CTIA by clicking on our CTIA Live! site.-Lynnette

P.S. Fierce will once again host its popular networking party. Join us on April 1 from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. at Rain at The Palm in Las Vegas. RSVP here.

Vodafone could launch femtocells this year

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:59:56 -0400

Commercial femtocell services could become available from Vodafone by the end of this year. The apparent drive behind this schedule is the potential CAPEX cost savings, which the company admits could be up to 20 percent of its 3G macro network deployments.

Vodafone, which last year finalized its RFP for femtocells, has been testing 3G home base stations from Alcatel-Lucent and Huawei in Spain for some months. However, the company's CTO, Steve Pusey, speaking at Vodafone's recent Technology Update, while highlighting the cost saving opportunity that femtocells present, also tempering the outlook for their commercial success.

"We're still studying it," said Pusey. "We've approached femtocells from a cost savings perspective. It gives us the potential to improve coverage and reduce backhaul costs. It may or may not have commercial opportunities beyond that."

Vodafone estimated that of its total network CAPEX spend for full-year 2007/2008, radio access will account for 48 percent, while backhaul will account for 32 percent.

For more on this story:
- read this article from Unstrung

Related articles:
Vodafone trials femtocells in Spain Report
T-Mobile plans femtocell trials Report

Should operators subsidize laptops?

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:59:55 -0400

A recent report from Pyramid Research indicates that wireless carriers that sell laptops in their stores may help improve uptake of their wireless broadband services. According to the report, Russia's MTS, Telefonica's O2, T-Mobile, Orange, Vodafone Globul and PLDT all sell laptops in some of their markets. BusinessWeek suggests that carriers should even subsidize laptops in order to drive demand for their data networks.

Could the trend take off in the U.S.? Verizon Wireless, for one, says it has no intention of subsidizing laptops, according to a company spokeswoman. The company's BroadbandAccess service is embedded in notebooks from the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo, Toshiba and Panasonic, and customers can click on the VZAccess manager to subscribe to service. The operator also offers daily use packages at $15 for 24 hours.

For more on the trend:
- read this BusinessWeek article

ALSO NOTED: Vodafone Australia taps Ericsson for HSPA; Do we really need 4G?; and much more...

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:59:51 -0400

> Vodafone Australia chose Ericsson as the primary hardware and software vendor to support its national HSPA network. Release

> ABI Research predicts more than 30,000 square miles of muni-WiFi networks worldwide by 2012. Article

> Is the satellite broadband market finally ready for prime time? Article

And Finally... Do we really need 4G? Article

Vodafone CEO: WiMAX can be a part of LTE

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:57 -0500

Vodafone Group CEO Arun Sarin argued that WiMAX could find a place within the LTE standard during the opening keynote at the GSMA's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Interestingly, last year Sarin gave a keynote that urged the GSM community to push the LTE standard along since WiMAX was way ahead in its development. Sarin then admitted that LTE was far from being implemented, let alone standardized, and surprised the audience by suggesting that LTE may not even be supported by Vodafone in the future. This year, he believes WiMAX should be a part of LTE.

"I think LTE has made real improvements in the last twelve months, and I would say WiMAX has made some progress as well," Sarin admitted. "The issue for me is simply resources in our industry: We only have a finite number of R&D engineers and we split them into three camps, then we would be diluting what we can do in the future. LTE standard is an encompassing standard, an accommodating standard--and as I said a few moments ago--there is a TDD section that I think WiMAX could fit into." Try telling that to the WiMAX community.

To read more about Sarin's comments:
- check out this report from FierceWireless

Related articles:
Why did Vodafone join the WiMAX Forum? Report
Sprint still plugging along with WiMAX Report

SPOTLIGHT: China Mobile joins Vodafone, Verizon in LTE trial

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:59:52 -0500

China Mobile will work with Vodafone Group plc and Verizon Wireless to trial LTE technology. The Chinese operator, which is now the world's largest mobile operator, said the trials will focus on LTE FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) and TDD (Time Division Duplex) LTE to explore the performance of the technology in different types of spectrum. Article

ALSO NOTED: LTE reaches 300 Mbps; NEC trials femtocells with mobile operators; and much more...

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 06:59:51 -0500

> Vodafone will hold a high-level meeting with a select group of infrastructure vendors to detail its plans LTE during next week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Article

> Prototype LTE systems reached 300 Mbps during a trial conducted by the LTE/SAE Trial Initiative. Article

> Stoke announced a strategic reseller alliance with Net One Systems, a Japanese networking and systems integration provider. Release

> NEC announced it is trialing femtocells with mobile operators. Article