LTE

Video: Service providers don’t have to be swept away by IP tsunami

While tongues were wagging at Supercomm 2009 about and upcoming decision from the FCC on net neutrality, I took some time to sit down and learn more about the long-term challenges telecom operators are facing over the next year.

Brian Wood, vice president of marketing for Continuous Computing, a San Diego-based component manufacturer for network equipment providers, laid out the road ahead from where he sees it.

Nortel loses another arm as Hitachi steps in for LTE bits

Continuing its bankruptcy-ignited fire sale, Nortel announced that it has struck a deal with Tokyo-based electronics heavyweight Hitachi to part with a piece of its Long-Term Evolution (LTE) business — specifically, “certain assets associated with the development of next generation packet core network components,” according to a press release — for $10 million. Not that it’s trying to be cryptic or anything.

Of course, Hitachi will face lots of LTE competition from other vendors. Despite that, the insolvent Toronto-based vendor said:

Under the agreement, the assets include software to support the transfer of data over existing wireless networks and the next generation of wireless communications technology, including relevant non-patent intellectual property, equipment and other related tangible assets, as well as a non-exclusive license of certain relevant patents and other intellectual property.

Nortel said the agreement excludes legacy packet core components for its global system for mobile communications (GSM) and universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) businesses. Its GSM and GSM-Railway businesses are slated for an open auction on Nov. 9.

While Monday’s announcement did drop some new information on the asset front, the song remained the same for Nortel’s embattled shareholders.

Huawei and mobile infrastructure: Taking on the heavies

Didn’t we discuss Huawei just last week in the optical arena? Yes we did. Now everybody’s talking Huawei in mobile infrastructure, and not just as the low-cost Chinese telecom equipment purveyor category. Huawei did its time as the low-priced spread, and now grudging respect, even fear among competitors is growing.

The most recent Infonetics Research report on mobile and LTE equipment asked service provider decision-makers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pac what criteria they use when choosing a mobile infrastructure vendor. The bottom line is that Huawei is on everyone’s radar for good technology and good value for the price, and ZTE is on the rise, too, according to Stephane Teral, Infonetics principal analyst for mobile and FMC.

Infonetics notes that Huawei is overtaking Alcatel-Lucent on many fronts and is nipping at Nokia Siemens Networks’ market position in the mobile infrastructure space. It’s true, however, that the service providers all named NSN in their top three mobile infrastructure vendor lists, and that Ericsson got the highest ratings for service and support (nice news for two vendors that had disastrous quarters).

Motorola’s LTE win: A reversal of fortune?

Motorola’s financial struggles have been much more public than its LTE wireless broadband capabilities of late, but its first public LTE win may help reverse the headlines if handled well.

KDDI Corp., Japan’s second-largest wireless operator, chose Motorola’s Home & Network Mobility unit to be a key development partner for its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The win gives Motorola’s LTE capabilities more credibility when going up against other LTE vendors, including Ericsson, which recently won the bid for Nortel’s LTE assets.

The Motorola contract may be larger than $1 billion, according to analyst reports, although KDDI previously announced it could spend about $5.3 billion for a nationwide LTE network. Questions are floating about whether Motorola’s win is tied to a low pricing strategy. Japan’s NEC also won a KDDI contract to supply LTE equipment. KDDI launched its CDMA network with Motorola as its primary vendor, so Motorola has traction with the provider.

Motorola’s role is to implement the basic LTE infrastructure and base stations. KDDI hopes to launch its LTE service by December 2012, which still puts it in a trailing second place to NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest wireless operator that plans to launch LTE service a full two years earlier, at the end of 2010.

Motorola is also conducting LTE trials with China Mobile Ltd.

Self-organizing networks: To LTE and beyond…

The “self-organizing network” sounds like the stuff of science fiction, or at least the futuristic utopia of The Jetsons. Just the sound of it makes me think of conveniences I would enjoy: self-organizing closets, self-organizing garages, self-organizing remote controls.

In their 2062 setting, George and Jane Jetson lived lives of incredible leisure because of their labor saving devices. Yet the concept of self-organizing networks is already being discussed as a key technology requirement for LTE networks.

The self-organized Jetsonian concept would vastly reduce network operations costs by automating process to handle high-volume, low-cost services efficiently, possibly separating OSS from BSS forever.

But why should self-organizing networks be limited to 4G? In this week’s featured article, CIMI Corp. President Tom Nolle - Jetsonesque in his futuristic visions - ponders extending the concept of self-organizing networks beyond LTE.

Read it. It will expand your mind.

RIM’s Nortel interest adds more drama to ‘final’ bid

Why on earth would RIM want Nortel? That was the question on everyone’s minds after the handset manufacturer announced it had not only tried to enter bidding for the distressed Nortel’s LTE and CDMA assets, but had been “prevented” from fairly competing for those assets due to bidding restrictions.

And while Ericsson eventually emerged victorious in bidding, industry watchers were left scratching their heads, and legislators seem to at least be considering the merits of RIM’s complaint. What if the Waterloo-based BlackBerry maker was successful in a re-auction and it won?

The company has given little indication of why they are so intent on the Nortel wireless assets, beyond the stated desire to keep Nortel Canadian, but RIM does have experience in building out some infrastructure in order to power its central NOC. Perhaps the company has seen infrastructure as a critical competitive asset, and one that will further separate it from the pack just as its e-mail advantage has in the past. Another theory is that RIM is trying to jump on the LTE bandwagon early, and it sees the Nortel opportunity as the perfect way to jump past its competitors in this area.

Whatever the motivation, with Canadian national pride and billions of dollars in local jobs at stake, the supposedly final Ericsson purchase might not be so final after all.

Breaking: Ericsson bids $730mm for Nortel’s CDMA, LTE assets

Ericsson has finally entered the Nortel fray, announcing their starting bid at $730 million for bankrupt vendor’s LTE and CDMA asset a day before the official auction is held. It will now be (at least) a three-horse race between Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), private equity firm MatlinPatterson and Ericsson. While MatlinPatterson will likely bow out early, both equipment vendors have a lot to gain, particularly as they try to position themselves to win Verizon’s lucrative LTE business.

“There’s synergies, there’s scale, and both of them are part of the Verizon network to move to LTE,” said Akshay Sharma, research director at Gartner. He said both companies would benefit from being able to offer Verizon a smoother upgrade path to LTE, which could win some business from Alcatel-Lucent which already has as a strong advantage when it comes to LTE deployments.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Ericsson could be quite serious about capturing that advantage. “We are pursuing the deal because it seems to be an interesting opportunity and we are always looking for ways to create value for Ericsson,” the paper quoted a Ericsson statement, adding “we will pursue this opportunity to the point it makes sense.”

Further Reading:

• Nortel wireless fire sale delivers North American footprint to NSN
More LTE vendors join the 4G party (but no cake for Nortel!)
• Will Verizon’s LTE rollout stumble over a little DoJ review?

Will Verizon’s LTE rollout stumble over a little DoJ review?

Tom Nolle certainly thinks LTE could face delays as a result of the Department of Justice review, but he also decries the media for “sensationalizing” the story of the investigation. To allow a little more nuance (and maybe just to be fair to Tom), he did state his concerns were regarding a serious inquiry, and this latest kerfluffle seems anything but, as antitrust lawyer Matthew S. Wild explained:

Despite the increased regulatory scrutiny, this is just the earliest stage of the DOJ’s investigation, and Wild said it will probably come to nothing. In many ways, investigations into text pricing or device exclusivity are par for the course for big business.

“These deals only begin to pose a problem if they foreclose a substantial amount of competition,” he said. “Unless there is a deal between AT&T and Verizon, for example, or Nokia and Apple — horizontal competitors — it’s not much of a concern.”

The investigation is in such early stages that AT&T reportedly didn’t even know it was being investigated. Wild said for public companies, such an investigation would count as a “material fact” about corporate well-being, and AT&T (and any other telecoms involved) would have to disclose the information.

So what’s your take? Tempest in a teapot or a sign of big government gunning for big telcom players?

Nortel wireless fire sale delivers North American footprint to NSN

Nortel’s wireless carrier network infrastructure division may bring in a paltry $650 million if the Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) deal goes through. By all accounts, NSN — the joint venture of Nokia Corp and Siemens AG — will be getting a really good deal out of Nortel’s bankruptcy. The deal sets a low bar, according to The Wall Street Journal, which is pretty clear, considering Nortel was once valued at $250 billion.

NSN stands to gain Nortel’s CDMA and LTE assets. Nortel’s CDMA unit earned $700 million a year – and that was while it was in decline, according to WSJ. The big 4G LTE migration is supposed to start next year, and NSN is gathering firepower for that.

Continued »

More LTE vendors join the 4G party (but no cake for Nortel!)

Lately, 4G is starting to seem like (relatively) easy money for everyone … or rather, everyone but poor, beleaguered Nortel, which is starting to remind me of Milton from Office Space, never getting a piece of the cake even as they watch it distributed all around them:

Nina: Now Milton, don’t be greedy, let’s pass it along and make sure everyone gets a piece.
Milton Waddams: Yeah, but last time I didn’t receive a piece. And I was told…
Nina: Just pass.
[while the cake passes Milton mutters - eventually everybody but Milton gets a piece]
Milton Waddams: [muttering] I could set the building on fire.

Today, Verizon announced that Giesecke & Devrient will be the supplier of the telco’s LTE smart cards, one step closer in bringing its planned 4G juggernaut to the masses. It will be a long, long time until we see LTE phones, of course, but already G&D and other suppliers are starting to see the 4G stimulus roll in.

Verizon also announced today Gemalto would offer the company’s OTA platform for LTE.

Meanwhile, FierceWireless notes a UBS report that claims AT&T has shortlisted Continued »