NTCA's The New Edge » LTE

ClearSky Launches Regional LTE

Steve Fravel — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:05:49 +0000

ClearSky Mobile Media, Inc., announced the launch of its hosted Long Term Evolution (LTE) Services Suite on February 7. Designed and implemented especially for regional mobile network operators, cable MSOs and wireless broadband providers, the new service makes state-of-the-art 4G LTE service available to their customers at a low cost.

ClearSky’s Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and the Radio Access Network (RAN) are bundled in a variety of ways to accelerate and simplify launch of LTE services. As the three largest U.S. carriers rapidly build LTE networks, regional carriers benefit by not having to bear the high costs of implementations on their own. Participating carriers are able to offer 4G data services, high-speed and low costs to rural subscribers keeping pace with the large carriers.

According to ClearSky, the LTE Services Suite includes: hosted EPC, RAN, integrated billing and provisioning, and installation and ongoing support. Customers are able to scale the EPC to support very small numbers of base stations or an unlimited number. The RAN is designed using the latest technology with an eye on reducing size and cost. The RAN provides a wide range of features including macro/micro/pico cell configurations that simultaneously support LTE, GSM/UMTS and CDMA.

On launch day, ClearSky’s CEO Bill Poellmitz said, “We are working diligently to address every aspect of the LTE network deployment and operations so that our carrier clients can deliver the best possible user experience to their subscribers. Not only will our clients have access to superior network technology and support services, but our commitment to an open LTE ecosystem of devices and roaming partners will ensure access to all the key services needed to build the converged 4G network of the future.”

Read the release.

NetAmerica Begins Testing Newly Installed SuperCenter

Steve Fravel — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:34:02 +0000

Last week NetAmerica Alliance announced that it would begin testing its recently completed SuperCenter and Network Operations Center (NOC) in Dallas, Texas.

The SuperCenter is home to the alliance’s IP Multimedia System (IMS) framework. A recent press release to announce completion of the SuperCenter describes the IMS as the key element in the delivery of a “full range of integrated Internet Protocol (IP) based multimedia services.” The IMS core allows the independent carriers who make up the alliance to offer high-quality features and applications and a 4G LTE service to their customers in each member’s license area.

Crucial to the alliance’s members is that the IMS core enables independent carriers to protect their wireline and/or cellular business while including 4G LTE in their service offering, making true convergence of the technologies a reality.

The NOC is staffed 24-hours per day, seven days per week by NetAmerica personnel. It provides the alliance’s members with network monitoring and support.

“Completion of the world class SuperCenter is a milestone for the Alliance,” said Scott Donlea, Executive Vice President and COO of NetAmerica. “It allows members to compete on a level not possible without the Alliance and provides the services they need, together with the 24/7 support, to offer advanced services to the citizens of rural America.”

For more information, read the release.

Sen. Grassley Continues, LightSquared and Others on Hold

Steve Fravel — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:48:07 +0000

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), has requested information from GPS companies in regard to communications between the investment group (Harbinger Capital Partners), the FCC and the White House prior to the granting of an ancillary terrestrial waiver to LightSquared. Sen. Grassely has given the GPS group, which includes Garmin and John Deere, a deadline of January 25. He has requested the same info from the FCC and Harbinger Capital Partners.

Sen. Grassley is holding up confirmation of two new FCC Commissioners. Senate approval of the the nominations cannot move forward until he drops his objection. The FCC has indicated that it is not required to provide the requested materials to Sen. Grassley, as he is not a member of the Senate committee that has oversight over the commission.

Sen. Grassely’s inquiry into the waiver has to do with a “short” comment period prior to the commission granting the ancillary terrestrial waiver. Sen. Grassely has indicated that he will continue to hold up confirmation of the new commissioners until he has been given the information he is requesting from all of those involved.

In a related story, LightSquared and Sprint Nextel reached the end of the preliminary agreement whereby Sprint would assist in the network management of the new network and provide the essential terrestrial presence once LightSquared had been cleared to launch service. The two companies had stipulated that LightSquared must gain approval to begin service prior to the contract becoming binding. At this point, the two have agreed to remain in contact and vigilant of the situation.

This past week, LightSquared Vice President Jeffrey Carlisle, Consultant Ashley Durmer and President of Harbinger Capital Partners Philip Falcone met with the FCC to discuss a “path forward” as LightSquared is running dangerously low on cash, after significant investments were made according to the FCC guidelines for companies working to increase the availability of broadband in the United States.

LightSquared discussed operating at reduced power levels and using alternative technical solutions in order to get the business started. The waiver limits LightSquared to controlled testing only until it is proven that LightSquared does not interfere with GPS or other navigational signaling. LightSquared reiterated the current interference issue as beyond its responsibility as the GPS industry designs lead to the interference. The GPS industry counters that the spectrum used by LightSquared was intended for satellite traffic and not terrestrial communications.

NTIA had indicated that it would resume interference testing in the LightSquared controlled “S Band” spectrum. However, late on January 13, information released by LightSquared ran contrary, indicating that the Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT), and National Executive Committee had determined that they would not perform additional testing of the LightSquared spectrum.

Earlier analysis of the government-led follow-up testing performed on LightSquared’s proposed network has shown wide patterns of interference that disrupt both GPS signaling and aircraft positioning signaling. However, LightSquared maintains that the government’s testing reflects bias against LightSquared.

AT&T and Sprint Add LTE Buildouts

Steve Fravel — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 17:59:50 +0000

AT&T and Sprint Nextel, in separate announcements last week, indicated that both would be picking up speed in the deployment of new 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks.

AT&T announced the launch of LTE service in 11 new markets last Thursday, adding San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles. AT&T indicated that it had completed construction projects in 2011 ahead of schedule, and it is well positioned to reach 74 million potential subscribers. AT&T is set to complete the 4G upgrade near the end of 2013.

Sprint Nextel said it will launch new LTE services in 10 new markets during the first half of 2012. Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and San Antonio join a growing list of cities soon to be served by the operator.

In a related story, Sprint Nextel announced on Friday that it has restructured its corporate management group, relieving four executives of their positions. Bob H. Johnson, in charge of customer services; John Carney, responsible for consumer marketing; Danny Bowman, president of integrated solutions; and Chris Rogers, a senior executive in corporate development and spectrum, are all leaving the company. These positions will be absorbed in an effort to streamline and simplify the company, making it more flexible.

AT&T Acquires Qualcomm’s 700 MHZ Spectrum

Steve Fravel — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 18:20:16 +0000

Although not the same magnitude as the T-Mobile merger, yesterday the FCC approved the sale of Qualcomm’s 700 MHz spectrum to AT&T. The commission attached a few conditions to the sale. The highly technical and specific conditions concerning interoperability and interference are described by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski as potentially helpful to smaller operators.

The 700 MHz spectrum was originally purchased and used by Qualcomm to support its Media FLO TV product, a mobile video service which it shuttered in 2010. As such, the ironic aspect to this purchase is the increasing demand for additional bandwidth by consumers for watching video on AT&T’s mobile phones.

Tilting at GPS? What About the Airplanes?

Steve Fravel — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:52:36 +0000

“The one inescapable conclusion from two rounds of independent testing is that the incompatibility is not caused by LightSquared’s network,” said Jeff Carlisle, executive vice president – regulatory affairs at LightSquared following the filing of a petition for a declaratory ruling at the FCC earlier this week. The filing asks the commission to rule that Global Positioning System (GPS) devices do not have a right to interference protection from the LightSquared network. In addition, it asks that the FCC make clear that the cost of ensuring that GPS devices operate without interference is the sole responsibility of the device owner and not LightSquared.

There are several points of consideration to explore in regard to LightSquared taking this action at the FCC at this time.

It’s important to note that the official government testing of LightSquared’s proposed 4G network, and its potential interference with GPS devices, has not been completed. The additional testing of precision GPS equipment has not been scheduled. After the request of the NTIA, it would appear mandatory that these tests are completed and the findings forwarded to the FCC prior to any ruling.

In addition, it is not clear from the LightSquared complaint if aircraft navigation and positioning interference (which has been confirmed by government testing results) fit into the LightSquared petition. If they fall into the request to declare “commercial GPS receivers” on their own in terms of dealing with interference, is this with the use of the filtering equipment LightSquared says solves the interference problem, or is damage to aircraft navigation still of concern?

The Coalition to Save Our GPS has taken issue with the petition. “This latest filing simply recycles the litany of inaccurate and self-serving claims that LightSquared has made in its ongoing effort to deny its obligation to avoid harmful interference to millions of government and private GPS users,” said Jim Kirkland, vice president and general counsel of Trimble Navigation LTD.

The coalition goes on to point out several caveats that the commission tied to the January 2011 waiver granted to LightSquared allowing it to begin testing its proposed terrestrial wireless network. In the order, the FCC states that LightSquared would not be permitted to commence commercial operations until it had demonstrated positively that its operations would not interfere with GPS. The initial round of testing by the government confirmed that the LightSquared network does interfere with GPS. However, according to LightSquared, third-party testing by Alcatel-Lucent demonstrates that the interference can be managed.

The question remains, if there is interference and a successful work-around, does the service as altered to avoid dangerous interference with aircraft navigation and positioning provide sufficient resources for consumers in the “easiest” and hardest to reach service areas of the United States?

LightSquared Testing Results – Conflicting Findings?

Steve Fravel — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:56:21 +0000

Last week we covered a new deal between LightSquared and FreedomPop, in addition to a list of concerns and adverse findings which could be damaging to the launch of service by LightSquared.

We noted that LightSquared appeared to be buoyed by testing resulted provided by Alcatel-Lucent. We also noted that an early draft of testing performed by the U.S. government contained information contrary to the Alcatel test. The National Executive Committee for Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT), which represents eight government agencies with GPS interest, performed the testing.

At this point, the government testing appears to agree with the LightSquared results in regard to cellular interference: using the spectrum further from GPS traffic, at lower power, LightSquared does not interfere with GPS service obtained via cellular devices.

However, in a statement released last Wednesday, federal officials indicated that LightSquared’s proposed mobile satellite network would interfere with the “majority” of other tested general purposed GPS receivers, and pose dangerous disruption to airline safety systems. LightSquared is on record disagreeing with the new test result findings.

LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja has indicated that the company will work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to resolve interference issues with aircraft navigational and positioning equipment.

“We profoundly disagree with the conclusions drawn with respect to general navigational devices,” Ahuja said in a statement. “We have taken extraordinary measures, and at extraordinary expense to solve a problem that is not of our making.” His statement goes on to say that the blame for GPS interference rests with GPS devices, not the proposed LightSquared Network. LightSquared has indicated in the past that the problem is not caused by the network, but by the GPS devices which have been allowed to receive signals outside their working spectrum.

LightSquared maintains that the testing results made available last week do not reflect the latest corrections and adjustments made by the company. Additional testing is set to be performed by the federal government after the first of the year. Within the next several weeks, the final test report will be sent to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and then on to the FCC.

First ‘LTE in Rural America’ Participant Completes Network Test

Jesse Ward — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:20:51 +0000

Pioneer Cellular, one of 13 participants in the Verizon Wireless LTE in Rural America program, announced December 16 that it has successfully completed end-to-end data testing over its new 4G LTE network in preparation for a commercial launch next spring for customers in central and western Oklahoma.

Pioneer announced its participation in the LTE in Rural America program last December. During the past year, the operator has constructed cell towers, laid fiber optic cable, and installed network hardware and software, working closely with Verizon Wireless engineers. Pioneer is now testing its new network and trial devices for speed, reliability and ease of use. Pioneer’s 4G LTE network covers more than 260,000 people in 21 counties across nearly 17,000 miles of central and western Oklahoma. Pioneer appears to be the furthest along of Verizon’s rural LTE program participants.

“Pioneer Cellular’s participation in the Verizon Wireless LTE in Rural America program will benefit our wireless customers as well as Verizon Wireless’ customers by accelerating the benefits of high-speed mobile broadband to rural areas where 4G LTE mobility is not available,” said Richard Ruhl, general manager of Pioneer. “Partnering with Verizon Wireless will help to ensure we are able to address the future needs of the rural communities we serve who have historically not been the first to benefit from technologies like 4G LTE.”

Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless, sent a congratulatory email to Ruhl on December 15, which was delivered over Pioneer’s new 4G LTE network.

Verizon Wireless announced the LTE in Rural America initiative back in June 2010 to bring the benefits of high-speed mobile broadband to rural areas of the United States where Verizon Wireless currently does not have a network. Under the program, Verizon Wireless shares access to its 700 MHz spectrum with rural operators who use their tower and backhaul assets to build a 4G LTE network. In addition, partners gain access to reciprocal roaming agreements with Verizon and its partners.

To date, Verizon maintains that 13 rural carriers have leased spectrum covering, in total, 2.6 million people in rural communities and 85,000 square miles in 10 states. Partners include: Appalachian Wireless, Bluegrass Cellular, Carolina West Wireless, Cellcom, Chariton Valley, Convergence Technologies, Cross Wireless, Custer Telephone, Pioneer Cellular, S and R Communications, Strata Networks and Thumb Cellular.

Cellular Network Partnership d/b/a Pioneer Cellular is a Partnership Group comprised of Pioneer Telephone Cooperative Inc., KanOkla Telephone Association, South Central Communications of Kansas and Hinton Cellular Company in Hinton, Oklahoma.

For more, see this release.

‘Free’ Wireless Broadband

Steve Fravel — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:19:04 +0000

Skype and Joost co-founder Niklas Zennstrom has signed his new start-up venture FreedomPop to a deal with LightSquared. In a joint press release issued November 8, the two companies describe the 2012 launch of FreedomPop with the “ultimate objective to ensure that every American has access to fast, free and convenient communications services.”

FreedomPop is funded by Zennstrom’s venture capital firm Atomico. FreedomPop has been described as using the “Dropbox” business model. Dropbox is an online storage service which offers up to 2 Gigabytes for free, and sells access to additional storage for a monthly fee in different tiers. FreedomPop will initially target underserved markets via the LightSquared 4G LTE network with a functional allotment of bandwidth. Should the user require more, it can be added for an additional fee.

LightSquared continues to face regulatory scrutiny due to L-band interference with GPS receivers. LightSquared noted earlier this week that independent testing by Alcatel-Lucent has proven that LightSquared is “well on its way” to resolving the interference issue.

However, late last Friday the media gained access to a leaked, draft government report which reportedly shows the results of interference testing between LightSquared’s proposed network and GPS devices. According to the draft report, LightSquared’s signals “caused harmful interference to a majority of GPS receivers tested. No additional testing is required to confirm harmful interference exists.”

Testing, which was carried out between October 31 and November 4, showed that 75% GPS receivers “experienced harmful interference” when within 100 meters of a LightSquared base station. The devices tested include those used for automobile and boat navigation. The leaked data appears to strengthen the case of the GPS makers and others who are critical of LightSquared’s proposed 4G network.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking minority member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, continues to apply pressure to the FCC in regard to information regarding the short comment period allowed by the commission prior to granting the waiver to LightSquared in January 2011. Grassley noted last Friday that in addition to the waiver information he has asked the FCC to provide, he has also directed questions regarding a Security Exchange Commission (SEC) inquiry into LightSquared funding source Harbinger Capital Partners. The SEC handed down Wells Notices on Harbinger Capital and has indicated that actions will be taken concerning alleged violations by Harbinger and key employees.

For more on the leaked government report, see this Bloomberg News article and this release by LightSquared.
For more on the FreedomPop partnership, see this press release.

More LightSquared Testing

Steve Fravel — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 20:04:55 +0000

Testing results were provided to federal officials yesterday in the ongoing LightSquared quest to provide hybrid-terrestrial LTE services. Testing in the L-band spectrum on both cellular and GPS general navigation receivers has been completed at the request of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

Though no specific time to completion has been announced, NTIA has indicated that it will “continue to work in consultation with the FCC, government agencies and the industry to address harmful interference concerns.” The agency has stated that it plans to provide a set of recommendations based on a careful analysis of the testing data.

Additional testing focused on GPS receivers used for precision and timing applications has not been completed. NTIA indicated that the next round of tests on the precision receivers would involve receivers outfitted with the modified new filters developed by LightSquared and its partners.

An executive summary of the testing results submitted yesterday will be made available after the information has been presented to federal agencies and at the December 14 meeting of the Executive Steering Group of the National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation and Timing Systems Engineering Forum.