Verizon Wireless connects Georgia cities to nationwide 4G LTE data network

Verizon Wireless customers who reside in Valdosta, Georgia (the state, that is, not the Eastern European country) and its surrounding areas may rejoice. They're about to reap the benefits of a connection to the biggest 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in the U.S.

On August 16, Verizon will be introducing its 4G LTE wireless services to Valdosta and 34 other markets. That brings the total of Verizon's U.S. markets to 371, which translates to coverage of more than 75% of the American population. Verizon will also be expanding its existing networks in 38 other markets.

Verizon subscribers in Valdosta, Cordele, Dublin, Thomasville, and Waycross will be able to access the fastest 4G network in the U.S. through a large selection of 4G LTE devices such as smartphones, mobile hotspots, and tablets.

Additionally, Valdostan residents will be able to draw upon the Verizon Wireless 4G LTE network for high-speed, in-home wireless Internet access through the HomeFusion broadband provider. HomeFusion will allow users to connect to the Internet even in areas in areas where connectivity is weak or unavailable.

Verizon Wireless will also offer a variety of smart accessories such as the MotoACTV Bluetooth Smart Health Tracker & Music Player and the FitBit Ultra Wireless Activity Tracker. These accessories will provide various additional services for Verizon's 4G LTE subscribers.

According to Jonathan LeCompte, President of Verizon Wireless' Georgia/Alabama regional division, "Our growing 4G LTE network enables customers in Valdosta to use their 4G LTE devices to stay in touch like never before, uploading, downloading and connecting on line, all with speeds up to 10 times faster than before, he promised. "We will continue expanding and enhancing our 4G LTE network in Georgia and across the country to provide our customers with the best wireless experience possible."

NewSat, BAE Systems sign 2-Year Contract for Wheatstone Project

NewSat, BAE Systems sign 2-Year Contract for Wheatstone Project

Freescale DSP enhances Huawei TD-SCDMA base station performance

Thanks to Freescale Semiconductor and its MSC8156 digital signal processor (DSP) solution, Huawei was able to take the performance of its TD-SCDMA wireless networks to new heights, allowing for the delivery of scalable, low-cost, energy-efficient base stations.

Freescake's MSC8156 DSP combines six fully-programmable enhanced 1 GHz SC3850 DSP cores to provide a high level of performance and integration. Its MAPLE-B accelerator is integrated on-chip and supports hardware acceleration for Turbo and Viterbi channel decoding as well as the DFT/iDFT and FFT/iFFT algorithms. It supports multiple networking protocols through its internal RISC-based QUICC engine subsystem, ensuring data is reliably transported through packet networks and significantly offloading processing from the DSP cores.

In addition to having a large embedded internal memory, the MSC8156 supports a variety of advanced high-speed interface types. It has two RapidIO interfaces, two gigabit Ethernet interfaces for network communications, a PCI Express controller, two DDR controllers for high-speed, industry standard memory interface, and four multi-channel TDM interfaces. Its pin compatibility with all MSC825x and MSC815x DSP devices grant the MSC8156 a high degree of scalability.

“Huawei is committed to offering customer-centric solutions and products,” said Chen Xi, chief technology officer of Huawei’s Wireless Network Business Unit, ” which leverage the performance and programmability of Freescale’s MSC8156 DSP.”

According to Mr. Xi, Freescale's highly efficient DSP cores and accelerators significantly enhanced overall base station efficiency. Huawei gained the ability to boost system flexibility and provide the industry’s highest number of TD-SCDMA carrier waves in a base station.”

Gilat debuts compact Ku-band satellite communications terminal for UAVs

Gilat Satellite Networks will soon debut its new compact Ku-band airborne satellite communications solution for the growing fleets of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) employed by the world's various militaries.

According to the Israeli satellite manufacturer, its UAV satcom solution tips the scale at 22 lbs. It can transmit 1Mbps of IP-based data. The compact terminal includes a rugged spread spectrum satellite modem, a two-way, flat panel tracking antenna, and a compact 40W Ku-band block up-converter (BUC) and power amplifier.

In a statement dated August 7, Gilat describes its "tightly integrated" Ku-band satellite communications terminal to be lightweight, compact, and low-power. These qualities made it ideal for airborne applications such as beyond-line-of-sight operations for some of the smaller UAV platforms in service.

In addition, Gilat's UAV  satellite communications solution can also be customized to suit its end-user's variable specifications and requirements, allowing a single platform to perform different missions as needed.

Ruckus Wireless supplying Telefonica UK (O2) with SmartCell small cell units

Ruckus Wireless announced on July 31, 2012 that it will supply Telefonica UK with high-capacity small cell units as part of O2’s plan to deploy high-speed wireless services throughout London.

The Ruckus SmartCell 8800 provides free, fast, and reliable Wi-Fi that anyone can access with a mobile device. Its low-profile design hides the fact that it is the first carrier-grade, modular multi-radio system that integrates patented adaptive antenna array technology that supports a number of licensed and unlicensed radio technologies. SmartCell units can support high-speed dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, small cell 3G/4G radios, and 5GHz mobile backhaul.

SmartCell units are already deployed throughout iconic central London areas like Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square. They will give Telefonica UK the flexibility to quickly deploy and offer high-speed Wi-Fi and cellular services whenever and wherever they’re needed.

"For O2,” explained Derek McManus, chief operating officer for Telefonica UK, “it's all about us providing customers with fast and reliable connectivity where they need it. Our vision is for Wi-Fi to be simply another access layer to our mobile core.

"Customers don't really care about the underlying technology,” Mr. McManus pointed out. “They care about getting connected, fast and reliably. The introduction of small cells helps us to support these requirements and completely complements our mobile strategy,” he continued, “by letting us push capacity closer to users in locations where it makes the most sense."

Selina Lo, president and CEO of Ruckus Wireless, noted that "there is now a mad race to the lamppost” for telecommunications companies, “and the first one there wins.” According to her, securing the physical locations that have the requisite power and backhaul to support small cells is the biggest obstacle to deployment.

“Once physical assets [have been] secured,” President Lo said, “it becomes important for operators to exploit them with as much technology as they can. This means multi-function, carrier-grade products that are simple deploy, unobtrusive and massively scalable. SmartCell is one of those products,” she said, “and O2 is one of those operators taking a lead in this race."

Telefonica UK performed extensive evaluations of wireless suppliers before selecting Ruckus and its SmartCell system. "It all really boiled down to who had the best Wi-Fi for carriers and the most forward-thinking strategy to integrate Wi-Fi within existing and future cellular infrastructure," said COO McManus.

Raisecom, Symmetricom synchronize mobile backhaul networks

A partnership between mobile backhaul solutions company Raisecom Technology and precise timekeeping equipment manufacturer Symmetricom successfully tested the interoperability of LTE wireless backhaul networks through the use of synchronization.

As part of their SyncWorld Ecosystem Program, Raisecom and Symmetricom executed a comprehensive interoperability test. Their aim was to use ITU.T G.8261 and the IEEE 1588-2008 synchronization protocol to validate LTE mobile backhaul deployment scenarios over packet networks.

For the test, Raisecom provided its iTN201 Carrier Ethernet Edge device, which was powered by a Symmetricom TimeProvider 5000 IEEE 1588-2008 Grandmaster clock.

The Symmetricom clock is a carrier-grade timing source that boasts of high client capacity, hardware-based packet processing, and redundant hardware. It matches up the synchronization needs of next-generation networks like as Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE), IEEE 1588 (PTP), and Network Time Protocol (NTP) timing protocols that operate using the iTN201 Carrier Ethernet Edge.

The successful test with Symmetricom means that Raisecom has achieved the status of a SyncWorld network equipment partner. Network equipment partners are technology vendors that have performed extensive and successful interoperability testing with Symmetricom timekeeping products. Raisecom and its fellow partners will work together in various ways to ensure effective operation of the joint solution in specific scenarios.

By testing its systems' interoperability with mobile backhaul networks, Raisecom will help wireless network carriers and service providers to find cost-effective and future-proof ways to establish new networks or upgrade existing wireless networks.

O2 small cell WiFi network gets mobile backhaul support from Cambridge Broadband VectaStar

Mobile backhaul technology expert Cambridge Broadband Networks will be deploying its Vectastar multipoint microwave backhaul technology on behalf of telecom provider O2's new public small cell Wi-Fi network.

O2 is deploying its first public small cell Wi-Fi network in London. It is composed of more than 100 Wi-Fi access points installed on street furniture across the London Boroughs of Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea. The Wi-Fi network's traffic will be aggregated across the mesh and sent to a number of VectaStar point-to-multipoint nodes. These PTM points will then backhaul the traffic they received to a central hub in London.

O2's small cell network intends to provide O2's London customers with excellent outdoor Wi-Fi connectivity. "Small Cells offer an enormous opportunity for operators to deliver high-speed and high-capacity data access to their subscribers," said Kevin Oemering, Account Director at Cambridge Broadband Networks. 

Director Oemering added, however, that "The significant uplift in the number of radios needed for a small cell network, compared to today's macrocellular networks, requires a new approach to backhaul." According to him, O2 needed a mobile backhaul solution that could be easily and quickly deployed, support the high capacity demands of a small cell network, and possess the flexibility to expand its network across London.

"VectaStar's multipoint microwave architecture is suitably positioned to deal with the increase in the number of cell sites," Director Oemering explained, "as operators exploit innovative network infrastructure to serve mobile consumers."

Cambridge Broadband's VectaStar multipoint wireless backhaul technology uses a network configuration similar to the interface between cell tower and mobile handset found in the radio access network. This fundamentally different and cost-efficient backhauling network architecture uses the available 28 GHz spectrum band to provide excellent benefits for mobiles, including the next generation units. VectaStar mobile backhaul services will give O2 the ability to send traffic from its London network's numerous small cell networks to a single aggregation point.