Wireless Asia articles from July 2008

Wireless Asia archives from July 2008

CDG's new 4G strategy is smart ... and inevitable.(THE SIGNAL)
July 1, 2008... August marks my 12th year covering wireless telecommunications in Asia, and while the business has changed remarkably since then, there have been a few dependable constants among the many changes I've seen. The biggest? Probably the CDMA...

Femto sells, but who's buying?(NEWS ANALYSIS)
July 1, 2008... Before femtocells can live up to industry and analyst hype, operators have to not only make sure customers get a good experience, but figure just who those customers are. Femtocells have generated much excitement as a way for mobile...

Nokia and Qualcomm kiss and make up over patent fight.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
July 1, 2008... Nokia and Qualcomm finally--inevitably--settled their patent disputes out of court in late July. The two exchanged lawsuits in several jurisdictions across the Atlantic over the past two years because of the expiry in April 2007 of their...

EV-DO, TD-SCDMA plan to survive in LTE world.(NEWS ANALYSIS)
July 1, 2008... With LTE fast emerging as the 4G technology of choice for cellular upgrades, rival cellular technology camps are making moves to ensure they have a role to play in an LTE world. The CDMA Development Group's proposed technology path from...

Sony Corp, Canon, Eastman Kodak, Hitachi, Victor, KDDI, Kenwood, Panasonic, Nikon, Olympus, Pioneer, Samsung Electronics, Seiko Epson, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba form a consortium to develop specifications for interconnecting products.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... Sony Corp, Canon, Eastman Kodak, Hitachi, Victor, KDDI, Kenwood, Panasonic, Nikon, Olympus, Pioneer, Samsung Electronics, Seiko Epson, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba form a consortium to develop specifications for interconnecting products using...

Sprint withdraws from the NGMN Alliance.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... Sprint withdraws from the NGMN Alliance after the group expresses its support for LTE over Wimax.

KT buys Firetide gear to deploy a new municipal wireless network covering Korea's Gangneung City and Gyeongpo Beach that doubles as both a citywide sensor network.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... KT buys Firetide gear to deploy a new municipal wireless network covering Korea's Gangneung City and Gyeongpo Beach that doubles as both a citywide sensor network for emergency preparedness and free Internet access for tourists visiting the...

CSR and Skyhook Wireless announce a partnership.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... CSR and Skyhook Wireless announce a partnership aimed at making Wi-Fi-enabled devices location-aware

Japan Rail.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... Japan Rail announces plans to install Wi-Fi access on its high-speed Shinkansen train line linking Tokyo and Osaka from March next year

Intel sells its RFID operation to Seattle-based Impinj.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... Intel sells its RFID operation to Seattle-based Impinj, who will add Intel's R1000 ("Tilden") reader radio chip to its RFID product family.

Chunghwa Telecom partners with Nokia Siemens Networks to build a Wimax network in Kaohsiung.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... Chunghwa Telecom partners with Nokia Siemens Networks to build a Wimax network in Kaohsiung to provide mobile broadband services during the World Games 2009.

Nokia partners with Singapore's IDA, SingTel, QMax and iCELL.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... Nokia partners with Singapore's IDA, SingTel, QMax and iCELL to improve usability and enhance security for handheld devices accessing the public Wireless@SG network.

Motorola.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... A Motorola survey concludes that almost 50% of businesses using GPS save an average of more than $50,000 annually in fuel expenses.

Qualcomm launches Phase II of its Wireless Reach program with Princess Mother's Medical Volunteer (PMMV), the Thailand Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), CAT Telecom and Huawei Technologies.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... Qualcomm launches Phase II of its Wireless Reach program with Princess Mother's Medical Volunteer (PMMV), the Thailand Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), CAT Telecom and Huawei Technologies. The project provides underserved communities in seven...

In Bangladesh, AlwaysOn Network Bangladesh (AONB) launches anew wireless network powered by SOMA Networks equipment to deliver free Internet access to Bangladesh primary Schools and colleges.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... In Bangladesh, AlwaysOn Network Bangladesh (AONB) launches anew wireless network powered by SOMA Networks equipment to deliver free Internet access to Bangladesh primary Schools and colleges, as well as competitively priced broadband services...

In Taiwan, NEC establishes an R&D Center for Wimax systems.(SHORT BURSTS)
July 1, 2008... In Taiwan, NEC establishes an R&D Center for Wimax systems, while Motorola partners with consulting firm M-Skylink to open its first Wimax interoperability lab.

Femtos set eyes on the enterprise: femtocells are set to challenge Wi-Fi's FMC home zones both at home and at work. The business case for corporate femto: voice quality matters.(RESEARCH NOTE)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] While new Wi-Fi standards are holding their position well in the high definition media networking market--despite challenges from ultrawideband and others--their place is less assured in the market for fixed/mobile...

Save power, save the planet: green, power-efficient technology is a top priority for the wireless sector these days, even though it's driven by the need to save opex rather than reduce carbon footprints. Luckily for the planet, they're both means to the same end.(Cover story)
July 1, 2008... Blame it on the weather, or credit it to M Gore's traveling slide show and subsequent Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, but either way the telecoms sector--like many other industries--has developed an eco-conscience. With the news increasingly...

Wireless asset tracking: selecting the right tool for the job: real-time location systems require accuracy and reliability. RFID, GPS and chirped frequency systems are technology options, but not all will meet your minimum requirements.(APPLICATION FOCUS)
July 1, 2008... Tight profit margins and increasing global competition are driving industrial operations to achieve maximum efficiencies. This level of performance requires optimal orchestration of human and material resources, ensuring that the right...

Powering VoIP over Wimax: VoIP over Wimax requires a level of end-to-end QoS, but the real challenge could be delivering voice at power levels that don't drain terminal batteries.(TECH SPOTLIGHT)
July 1, 2008... "Disaster." "Miserable failure." These are just a couple of the terms Garth Freeman, CEO of Buzz Broadband, used to describe his experience with Wimax at a conference in Bangkok last March. Freeman warned the audience that Wimax "may not...

Anti-jamming by design: receiver techniques for detecting and characterizing RFI: unintentional jamming of GPS signals can occur anywhere and anytime and can affect large numbers of users. But simple techniques can be designed into a GNSS receiver to detect, characterize, and actually mitigate radio-frequency interference.(TECH CLOSE-UP)
July 1, 2008... With the growing proliferation of a large variety of transmitters around the world, there should be little question that the noise floor for GNSS receivers will continue to increase along with the threat of disabling in-band radio-frequency...

Wimax antennas with low visibility.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... Andrew's CSH Micro AcCELLerator base station antennas are compact trisector concealment antennas designed for minimal visual impact and wind loading. The design combines three antenna arrays into one package with a diameter of just 200...

RF transceiver for Zigbee.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... Atmel has introduced its AT86RF212 800/900 MHz IEEE 802.15.4 RF transceiver for low power wireless applications, including ZigBee. The AT86RF212 offers an industry best RF performance with a link budget of up to 120 dB in the 800 MHz and...

Teseo-based GPS receivers.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... Wi-Sys Communications has introduced its latest GPS receivers: the WS5012 magnet-mount and the WSS012-E embedded GPS receiver and antenna. Both the WS5012 and WSS012-E receivers feature the high-sensitivity, 16-channel STA8058 Teseo GPS...

Dual-antenna GPS receiver.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... SiGe Semiconductor's new SE4150L GPS radio receiver features dualantenna input capability for next-generation GPS systems. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] According to SiGe, the SE4150L was designed to ad dress three primary challenges...

Multi-standard signal analyzer.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The new R&S FSV from Rohde & Schwarz is touted by its maker as the fastest and most accurate mid-range signal analyzer available in the market today. The R&S FSV, which features a user-friendly touch screen, offers...

New wireless modem for iBurst.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... Kyocera Corp. introduced an updated USB-type modem for its iBurst mobile broadband wireless access system. This small-sized gadget allows for various methods of connecting to PCs--either via USB cable or direct to a PC's USB port. The...

Single-chip mobile TV receiver.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... GCT Semiconductor's mobile TV receiver, GDM7302, is a single-chip solution for ISDB-T one-seg and three-seg broadcasting services. The GDM7302 is the first ISDB-T receiver IC in the industry to feature a two receiver chain which can be...

New Linksys router with 'antenna-less' design.(WIRELESS GEAR)
July 1, 2008... The new Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54G2 from Linksys features a sleek design and an internal antenna. The WRT54G2 features a slim and curved profile that complements trendy home entertainment settings and ideally placed alongside...

The battle for IEEE's 60GHz standard.(ANALYST VIEW)
July 1, 2008... In the battle to dominate the high speed home media network, technologies based on Wi-Fi and others based on UltraWideBand (UWB) are key contenders. With the best supported UWB-based platform, WiMedia, looking unready to deliver high definition...

Networking opportunities across Asia.(EVENTS CALENDAR)(Calendar)
July 1, 2008... August Aug 18-20, 2008 Submarine Network World 2008 Singapore Aug 18-20, 2008 In-Building Solutions Asia-Pacific Summit 2008 Hong Kong SAR, China Aug 22, 2008 Wimax India 2008 New Delhi, India Aug...

Global decision makers flock to Singapore.(SHOW REPORT)
July 1, 2008... Asia's largest infocomm and media trade exhibition--CommunicAsia and BroadcastAsia--attracted some 67,500 visitors during the four--day conference and expo last month, with more than half the attendees coming from outside Singapore. With...

Pixels of tomorrow.(WIRELESS HORIZON)
July 1, 2008... Microsoft doesn't just want to run your mobile apps on Windows Mobile--it also wants to make your LCD screen faster, brighter and more power--efficient. Researchers at Microsoft Research have published a new approach to pixel design in...

Tracking pedestrians revisited.(WIRELESS HORIZON)
July 1, 2008... Last issue, Wireless Asia reported on efforts by researchers to build an in--vehicle pedestrian detection system using GPS. Last month at a Tokyo wireless trade show, Old Electric Industry demonstrated its own version of a pedestrian warning...

Rearview messaging.(WIRELESS HORIZON)
July 1, 2008... Hands--free car kits have been using wireless technology for a while now to create in--vehicle speakerphone systems that eliminate the need to use headsets (or at least headsets with cables). A new twist from Blue Sky Tech integrates the car's...

DIY remote vehicle security.(WIRELESS HORIZON)
July 1, 2008... Innovation can come from anywhere, and doesn't always have to be Bell Labs or a major university with a big grant budget. Take Morris Mbetsa, an 18--year--old self--taught inventor from Mombassa, Kenya. With no formal electronics training, he...