UMTS phones (and data cards) are highly portable—they have been designed to roam easily onto other UMTS networks (if the providers have roaming agreements in place). In addition, almost all UMTS phones are UMTS/GSM dual-mode devices, so if a UMTS phone travels outside of UMTS coverage during a call the call may be transparently  [read more →]]]> Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular technology for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project).

UMTS phones (and data cards) are highly portable—they have been designed to roam easily onto other UMTS networks (if the providers have roaming agreements in place). In addition, almost all UMTS phones are UMTS/GSM dual-mode devices, so if a UMTS phone travels outside of UMTS coverage during a call the call may be transparently handed off to available GSM coverage. Roaming charges are usually significantly higher than regular usage charges.

Most UMTS licensees consider ubiquitous, transparent global roaming an important issue. To enable a high degree of interoperability, UMTS phones usually support several different frequencies in addition to their GSM fallback. Different countries support different UMTS frequency bands – Europe initially used 2100 MHz while the most carriers in the USA use 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. T-mobile has launched a network in the US operating at 1700 MHz (uplink) /2100 MHz (downlink), and these bands are also being adopted elsewhere in the Americas. A UMTS phone and network must support a common frequency to work together. Because of the frequencies used, early models of UMTS phones designated for the United States will likely not be operable elsewhere and vice versa. There are now 11 different frequency combinations used around the world—including frequencies formerly used solely for 2G services.

UMTS phones can use a Universal Subscriber Identity Module, USIM (based on GSM’s SIM) and also work (including UMTS services) with GSM SIM cards. This is a global standard of identification, and enables a network to identify and authenticate the (U)SIM in the phone. Roaming agreements between networks allow for calls to a customer to be redirected to them while roaming and determine the services (and prices) available to the user. In addition to user subscriber information and authentication information, the (U)SIM provides storage space for phone book contact. Handsets can store their data on their own memory or on the (U)SIM card (which is usually more limited in its phone book contact information). A (U)SIM can be moved to another UMTS or GSM phone, and the phone will take on the user details of the (U)SIM, meaning it is the (U)SIM (not the phone) which determines the phone number of the phone and the billing for calls made from the phone.

Japan was the first country to adopt 3G technologies, and since they had not used GSM previously they had no need to build GSM compatibility into their handsets and their 3G handsets were smaller than those available elsewhere. In 2002, NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA 3G network was the first commercial UMTS network—using a pre-release specification,[8] it was initially incompatible with the UMTS standard at the radio level but used standard USIM cards, meaning USIM card based roaming was possible (transferring the USIM card into a UMTS or GSM phone when travelling). Both NTT DoCoMo and SoftBank Mobile (which launched 3G in December 2002) now use standard UMTS.

Etisalat has been focusing on mHealth and mCommerce solutions that have a huge impact in emerging markets, where access to health care and banking services are limited, Eisa Al Haddad, chief commercial officer at Etisalat Group, said in a statement released by the company.

“Etisalat is committed to harnessing the power of mobile connectivity through innovation to develop products that change people’s lives for  [read more →]]]> Abu Dhabi: Etisalat won three international awards at the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona, Spain, last week.

Etisalat has been focusing on mHealth and mCommerce solutions that have a huge impact in emerging markets, where access to health care and banking services are limited, Eisa Al Haddad, chief commercial officer at Etisalat Group, said in a statement released by the company.

“Etisalat is committed to harnessing the power of mobile connectivity through innovation to develop products that change people’s lives for the better and help to accelerate social and economic development,” Al Haddad said.

Etisalat’s presence across developing countries in Africa provides an opportunity to transform people’s way of life with the introduction of communication services, Hasan Sandilla, telecom analyst for IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa, said.

“For example, in Tanzania where etisalat first launched its Mobile Baby service, there has been a significant decline in baseline maternal mortality rates,” he said.

“Going forward, etisalat plans to roll out the Mobile Baby programme in various developing countries such as Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Benin, Niger and Gabon.

Sandilla said that in terms of technology, the UAE is on par with some of the developed countries.

“On the wireless network side, LTE [long term evolution] has already been deployed with mobile broadband trial speeds reaching up to 100 mbps,” he said.

Today’s mobile user is presented with more choices and has higher service expectations than ever before. In response, many of the world’s top operators have turned to Syniverse’s RTI portfolio for solutions that ensure a high-quality user experience, drive  [read more →]]]> TAMPA, Fla. – Feb. 23, 2012 – Syniverse today announced it will feature a unique approach to help operators redefine the mobile end-user experience via real-time intelligence (RTI) at Mobile World Congress 2012 in Barcelona, Spain, February 27 to March 1, 2012.

Today’s mobile user is presented with more choices and has higher service expectations than ever before. In response, many of the world’s top operators have turned to Syniverse’s RTI portfolio for solutions that ensure a high-quality user experience, drive usage, mitigate churn and protect their brands. Syniverse will showcase real-world RTI use cases at its pavilion this year.

In addition, Syniverse President and CEO Jeff Gordon will participate in the “Delivering Quality of Experience, Despite Capacity Constraints” panel on Wednesday, February 29, 2012. He will be joined by senior executives from diverse companies in the mobile ecosystem to discuss how operators can monitor and deliver top-level end-user experiences while balancing network investment.

For more information about RTI solutions or to learn about how Syniverse makes mobile work for 900+ operators, cable and Internet providers, enterprises and application service providers, please schedule a meeting in the company’s pavilion located on The Avenue at Mobile World Congress 2012 at #105.

The deadline had already been extended to the end of this month and would have allowed customers of du and Etisalat to have switched operators without having to change their phone number.

Now, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) had previously stated number portability would have been available by mid-2008, but it remains to be manifested in a country known for its technological  [read more →]]]> The United Arab Emirates again delayed mobile number portability on Tuesday, the chief executive of telecom operator du told reporters.

The deadline had already been extended to the end of this month and would have allowed customers of du and Etisalat to have switched operators without having to change their phone number.

Now, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) had previously stated number portability would have been available by mid-2008, but it remains to be manifested in a country known for its technological prowess.

Number portability is seen as a major boost to competition.

When asked if number portability had been delayed again, Osman Sultan, du’s chief executive, told reporters “that is correct.”

“We were testing. In the testing phase certain technical issues can appear. We are just evaluating how long it will take,” he said.

It is still unclear when mobile number portability will be available in the country.

Source: Bikyamasr

“AT&T AdWorks is committed to delivering valuable intelligence on aggregated and anonymous audience segments at scale on behalf of its advertiser clients,” said Greg McCastle, senior vice president of AT&T and head of  [read more →]]]> Leading digital research firm comScore has ranked AT&T AdWorks among the top five online ad networks, according to comScore’s latest Media Metrix report. With its network of owned and operated web sites and partner inventory, AT&T AdWorks online audience network now ranks among the largest in the industry.

“AT&T AdWorks is committed to delivering valuable intelligence on aggregated and anonymous audience segments at scale on behalf of its advertiser clients,” said Greg McCastle, senior vice president of AT&T and head of AT&T AdWorks.

“We draw insights from over 100 million subscriber relationships to inform and bring value to advertising,” McCastle said. “Given our strong commitment to protecting the privacy of AT&T customers, we aggregate and anonymize this information to enable marketers to reach their desired audience across nearly 10 billion1 monthly mobile ad impressions and over 47 billion monthly display ad impressions.”

“AT&T AdWorks’ ability to deliver across a variety of platforms — display, mobile, tablets and television — combined with a higher level of intelligence across these platforms — distinguishes us in the current fragmented industry landscape,” said McCastle.

AT&T AdWorks is committed to protecting the privacy of AT&T customers and its offerings focus on reaching audience segments based on non-personally identifiable and aggregate information.

For more information on the Media Metrix Core Reports

That changed Monday when Cisco unveiled a special Juniper-ragging website at www.overpromisesunderdelivers.net.

Cisco’s claim is that Juniper has yet to deliver on some of its most highly anticipated products, such as QFabric, and hasn’t technically come through on certain promises, such as the claim of a single operating system for all products.

This is new. For years, Cisco avoided discussing its competitors directly, at least  [read more →]]]> For years, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) generally avoided mentioning Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) by name.

That changed Monday when Cisco unveiled a special Juniper-ragging website at www.overpromisesunderdelivers.net.

Cisco’s claim is that Juniper has yet to deliver on some of its most highly anticipated products, such as QFabric, and hasn’t technically come through on certain promises, such as the claim of a single operating system for all products.

This is new. For years, Cisco avoided discussing its competitors directly, at least in keynotes and media briefings, and in many cases wouldn’t even mention Juniper by name.

Cisco executives haven’t precisely spelled out why they’re changing tactics, but it sounds like the company has been frustrated with — even jealous of — the market’s love affair with Juniper during the past year or so.

“Some vendors have repeatedly over-promised and under delivered, and still somehow receive credit for their vision!” writes Rob Lloyd, Cisco’s executive vice president of worldwide operations, in a blog entry published Monday.

Cisco’s stagnant stock price has made it a Wall Street punching bag lately, forcing moves such as the closure of Flip camera unit. Some are questioning the company’s entire future and wondering why CEO John Chambers hasn’t been ousted.

Juniper, by contrast, went back to being a bright up-and-comer, thanks to products such as QFabric and MobileNext (Juniper’s mobile packet core, previously named Falcon). Its stock price had been climbing, although the economy put a stop to that. (See Juniper Darkens 2011 Outlook.)

A major part of Cisco’s needling centers on the amount of time it’s taken to bring these products to market, but Juniper is refuting those points, according to a Monday Wall Street Journal story (registration required). Falcon, for instance, has been shipping for a while, Executive Vice President Stefan Dyckerhoff is quoted as saying.

Might Juniper retaliate? Actually, considering that Cisco competitors rarely have a problem calling out Cisco by name, that question feels a little obvious.

The more serious question might be whether the campaign could backfire. Cisco had some sound PR reasons for not acknowledging Juniper by name. Juniper executives could pretty easily claim that Cisco’s new tactics are a reaction to Juniper’s power in the market.

UPDATE: Juniper has issued this statement from David Shane, vice president of global corporate communications: “We’re not going to comment on a competitor’s publicity stunt. Customers tell us they want an alternative to the legacy approach, and we’re focused on delivering innovation for them. It appears as if Cisco has once again lost focus.”

Source: lightreading

At a meeting held by the Prime Minister`s Principal Secretary T K A Nair here to review performance of the Department of Space, it was decided that a feasibility study would be conducted for a new site, sources said.

The decision to find a new site was taken after the meeting was told that ISRO  [read more →]]]> Amid requests from various countries for launch of their satellites, India has decided to set up one more launch site to expand its capacity in this aspect.

At a meeting held by the Prime Minister`s Principal Secretary T K A Nair here to review performance of the Department of Space, it was decided that a feasibility study would be conducted for a new site, sources said.

The decision to find a new site was taken after the meeting was told that ISRO has only two satellite launch pads, both of which are affected during the cyclone season, the sources said.

The two launch pads are located at Sriharikota High Altitude Range (SHAR).

During recent years, there have been requests from a number of countries for launching their satellites in India.

The meeting was also informed that despite successful launch of GSAT-8 and GSAT-12 satellites, there is shortage of transponders primarily due to DTH and communication requirements.

It was decided that steps should be taken to meet the gap within two years, the sources said.

At present, Department of Space is leasing transponders and using foreign launch vehicles to meet the needs.

The sources said thrust is being given by the PMO on these spheres as part of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s desire to see boost in scientific innovation in the current decade.