Direct-to-handset satellite services proposed by the likes of Lynk Global, AST SpaceMobile and SpaceX are bold commercial endeavours that lack the appropriate regulatory framework for sharing spectrum between mobile network operators and satellite service providers. The FCC is proposing a framework to govern the use of mobile spectrum by satellite operators, which it calls Supplementary… Read More »
Mobile World Congress 2023 is back to its old glory as the top telecom/Internet event, with attendees rushing to physically meet post the Covid era. It launched under the “Velocity” theme to highlight the speed at which technology was accelerating. This contrasted against a backdrop of market and financial challenges plaguing the mobile industry ecosystem… Read More »
It did not go unnoticed the downturn in activities revolving around edge computing. Several analysts and industry sites have reported on it more than a year ago, like Lightreading. In the latest Xona Partners Insight Note, we provide our insights on this market segment(download below). The Edge computing is one of these foggy concepts that… Read More »
Proponents of millimeter wave (mmWave) access technology loud its success by citing the number of completed auctions. Looking at the quality of these auctions reveals a contrasting conclusion: mmWave is struggling to gain the interest of mobile network operators. Except the United States and Australia, the demand for mmWave licenses is low; and operators are… Read More »
Direct-to-handset (DTH) satellite service is better off using millimeter wave spectrum than mobile spectrum. The three models prevailing today – spectrum infill, spectrum slice, and over-the-top – have inherent challenges that limit market access (see my previous post). In this post, I share a perspective on how to improve the commercial viability of DTH constellations… Read More »
Update – May 23, 2023: We have published a report detailing the technical performance of AST Space Mobile direct-to-handset LEO constellation. Click here for additional information. Different approaches are possible to enable Direct-to-Handset (DTH) satellite connectivity. For instance, there’s the approach by T-Mobile and SpaceX (see here) and by Apple and Globalstar (see here). AST… Read More »
In telecom circles 5G is a panacea for all problems: there is a ready 5G application for any connectivity need. This makes 5G dominate private wireless network projections, while Wi-Fi is either ignored or dismissed as unreliable or unable to provide millisecond-grade latency. This ignores the fact that Wi-Fi is progressing along a roadmap that… Read More »
I wrote this Insight Note for two reasons: 1. The rise in cost of energy threatens to stress the financial performance of service providers; and 2. I want to provide context for potential investments in power saving technologies to help investors decide which would be worthwhile. Energy consumption in telecom networks has become a confounding… Read More »
Apple launched the iPhone 14 with Emergency SOS via satellite service allowing a user to send and receive text messages over Globalstar satellites (here). The direct satellite-to-handset service operates over Globalstar Gen2 satellites which will start to expire by 2025. Apple will incur costs in excess of $400 million to fund Globalstar launch 17 new… Read More »
This will start as a technical post, but I will relate it to practical and commercial conclusions at the end. T-Mobile and Space-X announced a partnership to provide direct satellite-to-handset service using T-Mobile PCS frequency band. While this is new to Space-X, there are other players in the industry working on the same objective, primarily… Read More »
There are many misconceptions about power consumption in mobile networks. Some of the root cause of these misconceptions come from lobbying groups working on behalf of the wireless industry. Several publications by such organizations have purposely confounded the topic. Mobile network operators for their part have been largely silent. As an energy crisis grips the… Read More »
Countries are in process of allocating spectrum for private wireless network, but are they assigning the right spectrum? Most of the allocated spectrum falls in the mid-bands, primarily 3.x GHz, or the millimeter-wave bands (24, 26, 27, 28 and 38 GHz). A close look shows the fragmentation in allocated spectrum which could not be good… Read More »
Update – April 2023. We published a report on the expected valuation of the Canadian 3800 MHz auction. For additional information see here. Canada will auction its 3800 MHz C-band spectrum beginning on October 24, 2023 [see here]. This is very late! The auction includes 250 MHz between 3650 and 3900 MHz. Together with the… Read More »
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) brings a number of features that elevate the performance of Wi-Fi significantly from that of older generations. These features solve many of the challenges that limit the performance of current Wi-Fi networks, and raise the performance to a level close to that of cellular networks based on 4G and 5G technologies. Since… Read More »
There was a noticeable increase in interest over the past several months in “Green 5G”. Energy consumption was top-of-mind for CTOs at MWC22. Different industry lobbyists released white-papers praising the energy efficiency of 5G [a few of which are misleading and even utterly wrong]. The jump in energy prices, especially in Europe, became a concern… Read More »