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 »
In almost every enterprise private wireless network (PWN) engagement, I come across the question of what technology to select: 4G/LTE or 5G1? Deciding between LTE and 5G is often complex and needs careful analysis. Here, I outline the top 5 factors to help in the decision making process. 1. Performance & Features The PWN has… Read More »
Auction 110 [see here] for 100 MHz in 3.45 – 3.55 GHz scored $22.5 Billion in gross proceeds for an average of $0.736/MHz-PoP. AT&T, Dish and T-Mobile won 83% of the MHz-PoP. For details, download the full summary here:
The row between the wireless and aviation industries on potential interference between 5G and aircraft radio altimeters is sounding like a storm in a tea cup! The genesis of this dispute is a report in October 2020 by the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) citing potential interference to altimeters operating in the 4.2 –… Read More »
The direct satellite-to-device (DS2D) market is expected to reach $35 billion by 2030, and counting 400 million average monthly subscriptions driven by 5G technology (according to NSR). This is about $7/month. This highlights a very sensitive business case: constellations cost billions to deploy and operate; they need a refresh every 5-10 years. With much of… Read More »
The feasibility of frequency spectrum sharing arrangements is becoming increasingly of interest to ICT regulators for many reasons. Among these reasons, two standout. First, the frequency spectrum requirements to deliver broadband services is getting larger. This requires opening new frequency bands where existing users have legitimate needs. Second, the utilization of spectrum varies widely in… Read More »
Key Takeaways Quantum computing decimates RSA cryptography which underpins most of our digital platforms: you can’t have a happy quantum computing world without first protecting all of the critical infrastructures against quantum-enabled attacks. The quantum threat development is not gradual and can come suddenly to break everything. This can come fast to threaten our networks… Read More »
The decision by AT&T to host its network cloud, including the core network, on Microsoft Azure Cloud is the single most important milestone in the telecom industry over the past few years. It’s an experiment and a leap of faith that is set to have major ripples on the market. The core network is the… Read More »
FCC Auction 110 for 100 MHz in the 3.45 GHz band is set to start tomorrow (October 5): the third auction for 3 GHz band spectrum in less than two years for a combined 450 MHz. This is a huge amount of spectrum considering previous auctions and holdings. Here, I wanted to share an outline… Read More »