Unleashing the Power of HetNets: Interference Management Techniques for LTE-Advanced Networks

By | March 18, 2013
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In my earlier blog post, The Hype & Reality of Small Cells Performance, I provided a qualitative review of small cell performance and discussed interference scenarios that limit performance. Perhaps the most defining problem of small cell deployments is the large transmit power imbalance between the macrocell and the small cell (~20-30 dB) which increases… Read More: Unleashing the Power of HetNets: Interference Management Techniques for LTE-Advanced… »

Word Clouding MWC: Observations and Takeaways.

By | March 7, 2013
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MWC is over. In reflecting on the show, I came up with an idea and tried it out, just for fun. What if I take all the news coverage from the show and generate a ‘word cloud,’ would I be able to zoom in on the few key trends? What would ‘word clouding’ tell me?… Read More: Word Clouding MWC: Observations and Takeaways. »

UK 4G Spectrum Auction Concludes – A Brief Analysis

By | February 20, 2013
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The long-awaited 800 MHz and 2600 MHz UK auction concluded today with a total of £2.34 billion, or $3.63 billion (Ofcom set reserve price at £1.3 billion). The winners of 60 MHz of digital dividend spectrum in 800 MHz band include EE, 3G, O2 and Vodafone. In the 2.6 GHz band, Vodafone, EE and BT… Read More: UK 4G Spectrum Auction Concludes – A Brief Analysis »

The Hype and Reality of Small Cells Performance

By | February 12, 2013
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Heterogeneous networks (HetNets) consist of large (macro) cells with high transmit power (typically 5 W – 40 W) and small cells with low transmit power (typically 100 mW – 2 W). The small cells are distributed beneath the large cells and can run on the same frequency as the large cell (co-channel), or on a… Read More: The Hype and Reality of Small Cells Performance »

More and More Small Cells, But Where’s the Gain?

By | February 11, 2013
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Small cells are meant as a solution to address the explosive growth in mobile data services, right? Well, the answer is: it depends! They can be a solution under certain conditions, but not always. Yes, there could be situations where small cells add little if any gain. In fact, more than one operator mentioned to… Read More: More and More Small Cells, But Where’s the Gain? »

Branding And The Wireless Value Chain

By | January 22, 2013
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A close look at Interbrand’s best brands report reveals interesting results and insights on the wireless industry. Focusing on brands related to the telecommunication industry, which includes hardware, software, and content providers we find the following top brands for 2012:

How Small Cells Are Reshaping The Wireless Landscape

By | January 11, 2013
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There’s much talk about small cells these days – on industry news sites, at conferences, in corporate announcements. This is not surprising given that mobile traffic doubles every year and, according to Cisco, will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 78 percent from 2011 to 2016. Wireless network architecture has relied greatly… Read More: How Small Cells Are Reshaping The Wireless Landscape »

My Top 10 Most Read Posts of 2012.

By | January 4, 2013
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Below is a list of my top-10 most read posts of 2012. Older posts would get more views than recent ones and I have no way of knowing the numbers of RSS subscriptions, etc. Also, I am hoping that viewed posts equals read posts, but there are no guarantees! Nevertheless, this is still of interest and… Read More: My Top 10 Most Read Posts of 2012. »

Review of the Multi-Frequency Irish and Dutch Spectrum Auctions

By | December 23, 2012
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The Irish multi-frequency spectrum auction concluded on November 15th raising a respectable 854€ million ($1.1 billion) from four bidders on licenses for 280 MHz in the 800, 900, and 1800 MHz bands. Earlier this month, on December 14th, the Dutch multi-frequency auction of about 360 MHz netted the regulator over 3.8€ billion ($4.97 billion). Both… Read More: Review of the Multi-Frequency Irish and Dutch Spectrum Auctions »

Small Cells and the Predictability Challenge

By | December 14, 2012
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Anyone closely involved with small cells base station could not have failed to notice the contentious debate on backhaul capacity requirements. On the one hand, vendors of millimeter wave equipment advocate the need to support peak capacity figures, while on the other hand, vendors of other types of backhaul solution including point-to-multipoint systems point that… Read More: Small Cells and the Predictability Challenge »

What’s the Deal with MSS Spectrum?

By | November 29, 2012
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Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) spectrum is bustling with activity. With so many failed satellite service companies, it is no surprise that spectrum earmarked for such services be converted, or allowed to co-exist with profitable mobile services. Here, I like to summarize some of the developments surrounding MSS spectrum.

In Focus: US Spectrum Service Allocation

By | November 19, 2012
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Ever wondered how spectrum is allocated to different services? I recently came across the pie chart below showing allocation of spectrum between 108 and 6000 MHz for a “typical” European country. I decided to do a similar exercise for US spectrum allocation. But first I like to give a brief overview of how spectrum is… Read More: In Focus: US Spectrum Service Allocation »

Summary of Select Spectrum Auction Results

By | November 6, 2012
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Below is a summary of spectrum auctions completed this year that I did not report on.  Some of these auctions are particularly interesting. For example, the 2.3 GHz band auction in Hong Kong follows a failed attempt to auction this band in early 2009. At that time, the hype around WiMAX was subsiding as interest in LTE… Read More: Summary of Select Spectrum Auction Results »