Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems for 5G Access Networks

By | October 14, 2014
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Guest post by Faris Alfarhan* Conventionally, millimeter wave (mmW) frequency bands have been either largely overlooked or treated solely as real estate for wireless backhaul and personal indoor networks. That is mainly due to higher atmospheric attenuation loss, penetration losses, and increased absorption and scattering in rainy conditions. However, recent measurements indicate good outdoor short… Read More: Millimeter Wave MIMO Systems for 5G Access Networks »

It’s All Too Good To Keep Talking About The Capacity Problem

By | October 11, 2014
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The capacity problem is at the heart of everything said about the wireless industry. Everybody loves to talk about this problem. To start, it is easy to give examples of exploding data consumption forecasts or quote numbers on mobile applications such as Facebook, Twitter , Instagram and many others. I suspect that the capacity problem… Read More: It’s All Too Good To Keep Talking About The Capacity… »

Should Licensed Spectrum be Allocated to IoT Applications?

By | September 22, 2014
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A mix of connectivity technologies combines to enable the Internet of Things. These technologies can be complementary or competitive in nature. Determining which fits and which does not starts with the application use case and the user requirement. For most IoT applications there is no need for broadband connectivity. Rather, what is required is a… Read More: Should Licensed Spectrum be Allocated to IoT Applications? »

The IoT Value Chain: Where’s the Value?

By | September 1, 2014
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$19 Trillion is a lot of money. That’s the value Cisco expect the Internet of Things (IoT) market will generate over the next 10 years. Compare with annual world GDP of 75 Trillion, IoT will make for about 2%. Not bad. In terms of devices, the talk is for 50 billion connected devices in 2020,… Read More: The IoT Value Chain: Where’s the Value? »

Defining the Innovation Band and Shared Spectrum Access

By | July 12, 2014
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Spectrum sharing rules for the 3.5 GHz band in the US are beginning to take shape. While there are still some important aspects to define, the broad lines have been drawn for the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS). The process of fine-tuning the rules will continue following the April Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM)… Read More: Defining the Innovation Band and Shared Spectrum Access »

Raising the Stakes in 3.5 GHz: LTE-Advanced Achieves 1 Gbps

By | June 22, 2014
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The 3 GHz frequency bands stands at the upper limit of what is considered today as viable spectrum for mobile communications. But bands 42 (3400 – 3600 MHz) and 43 (3600 – 3800 MHz) are not only the ‘last frontier’, but more importantly, they provide the widest spectrum of any other band (200 MHz). Additionally,… Read More: Raising the Stakes in 3.5 GHz: LTE-Advanced Achieves 1 Gbps »

Small Cells Progress Report – Challenges and Opportunities.

By | June 6, 2014
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I have just released a new research report on the progress of small cell deployments in collaboration with ExelixistNet:  “Small Cell Ecosystem: Challenges and Opportunities.” The report examines mobile operators’ plans and deployment strategies of small cells and backhaul solutions along with vendor and technology preferences. The research is based on experience gathered by operators… Read More: Small Cells Progress Report – Challenges and Opportunities. »

SON Progress Report: A Lot Still to Be Done!

By | May 19, 2014
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Since the first building blocks of SON were laid down around 2008 by 3GPP and NGMN, uptake in SON deployments has been very selective by a few leading carriers for some use cases. However, universal applicability remains elusive. To say the least, the SON market is struggling – but why, and how that can be… Read More: SON Progress Report: A Lot Still to Be Done! »

Further Enhanced ICIC (FeICIC)

By | May 7, 2014
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Guest post by Faris Alfarhan* In an earlier post, R10-LTE enhanced inter-cell interference coordination (eICIC) techniques for heterogeneous networks were discussed, along with the concept of small cell range expansion. The purpose of cell range expansion is to offload more traffic from macro cells to small cells and hence achieve larger cell splitting gains. By… Read More: Further Enhanced ICIC (FeICIC) »

Trends in Wireless Network Densification

By | April 28, 2014
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One of the main trends in radio access network (RAN) is the bifurcation of systems that enable network densification. Today, mobile network operators have more options than ever before for the means of providing service to their subscribers. Alongside the evolution of wireless standards to provide higher spectral efficiency, vendors have unleashed a wide variety… Read More: Trends in Wireless Network Densification »

Free Space Optics: An Overview of Market and Technology

By | April 14, 2014
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Free space optical (FSO) technology in commercial applications has been around for a couple of decades now. During this time, significant developments happened to improve the utility and reduce cost. Today’s systems pack more capacity in smaller volume and at lower price while measures to improve reliability are integrated into the solutions to increase the… Read More: Free Space Optics: An Overview of Market and Technology »

From LTE-U to LTE-DSA: Solving The Capacity Crunch

By | March 31, 2014
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The proposal by Qualcomm to enable LTE operation in unlicensed band (LTE-U) received a warm response from some (e.g. Ericsson, Verizon) and not so warm from others especially incumbents with strong legacy in Wi-Fi in both the vendor and operator communities. The contentious issue center on co-existence of LTE and Wi-Fi in the same band… Read More: From LTE-U to LTE-DSA: Solving The Capacity Crunch »

Data Sciences and Big Data in Telecom: A Big Deal?

By | March 17, 2014
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There is much hype in telecom. In just about every aspect of the network, new trends are shaping up: from the core to the radio access and through the transport network; in hardware, in software and in processes, buzz words and acronyms are aplenty. Worse, how often these acronyms are used out of context just… Read More: Data Sciences and Big Data in Telecom: A Big Deal? »

Observations on MWC 2014 – My Takeaways

By | February 28, 2014
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In a nutshell, the wireless industry keeps on getting broader and more bifurcated. This is the main trend that has been around for years and that will not stop. Communication is becoming truly pervasive. Opportunities and confusion are intermingled. To understand it all, one needs to cut across wider breadth and dive into greater depth… Read More: Observations on MWC 2014 – My Takeaways »

Is the Personal Cell Technology for Real?

By | February 23, 2014
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The media is abuzz with the news of the pCell wireless technology – after all, it’s not too often that someone comes out and claims to have a technology that will change the world! For now, too little has been revealed on this technology, which is understandable for a startup.  The aura of mystery is… Read More: Is the Personal Cell Technology for Real? »