Alcatel-Lucent
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O2, Vodafone both working on 3G femtocell trials
Femtocells may be one of the closest things we have to a win / win in the wireless industry, lowering infrastructure costs for carriers and giving customers on-demand, self-installable coverage where they wouldn't have it otherwise, all without requiring WiFi-capable handsets that UMA services like T-Mobile's HotSpot @Home do. It makes sense that a number of carriers would be rushing to get femtocells into end users' hands, then, and both O2 and Vodafone are doing exactly that in separate European trials. O2's trial involves NEC equipment in the UK, while Vodafone is turning to Huawei and Alcatel-Lucent to supply hardware to Spanish testers. Both trials involve 3G cells (yay!) and at least O2 has gone on record saying that a successful test will lead to commercialization by early next year. Kinda strange that Sprint is so far ahead of the curve on this one, but hey, do you see us complaining?Read - NEC and O2 trial femtocells in the UKRead - Vodafone Group trials 3G femtocell technology
Alcatel Lucent, SFR tout successful DVB-SH trial
The first step to deploying fancy, shmancy Europe-wide mobile TV solution is a successful trial, of course, and Alcatel Lucent and SFR are happy to oblige on that end. The infrastructure firm tied up with the French carrier last year to demonstrate that DVB-SH was a viable solution -- despite the fact that SFR is really big on using 3G data for mobile TV, go figure -- by setting up a trial network in southwestern France. How do you fake a satellite-assisted network, you ask? Good question -- turns out it involves letting a helicopter chill way up there with a transmitter and pair it with a handful of repeaters strapped onto some of SFR's existing 3G towers. Basically, the companies found that DVB-SH worked like a champ with repeaters added to "only portions" of SFR's towers, making the setup a cost-effective alternative to DVB-H for wide-scale rollouts. It's still unclear whether SFR's actually interested in getting involved with a production network or whether it's sticking to its data-only guns, but regardless, other carriers are sure to benefit from the findings.[Via mocoNews]
DVB-SH mobile TV trials to crank up in Italy
Though it once appeared as if DVB-SH was headed for high times in Europe, DVB-H eventually won out as the nationwide standard, but that certainly doesn't mean other standards can't compete within the region. Reportedly, Alcatel-Lucent has agreed to launch the first trial of the technology in Italy with RAI and 3 Italia, and while DVB-SH would likely be more costly to implement due to its position in the spectrum, European telecoms are grasping for options to satisfy the growing desire for mobile TV. If all goes as planned, the trials will take place in Turin over the next few months, but it wasn't clear when Jane / John Doe would be called in to participate. Also of note, a cellphone provider has yet to be selected, but it sounds like Samsung and Sagem both made it onto the short list. [Via mocoNews]
SprintSecure Laptop Guardian provides nonstop laptop security
Sprint users (or corporations with Sprint-using employees) can now look forward to "24/7 laptop security through remote monitoring, location and locking if a machine is lost or stolen." Thanks to a partnership with Alcatel-Lucent, the carrier will soon be offering up the OmniAccess 3500 PCMCIA card, which features its own battery, a "small operating system, a CPU, memory and an SD slot." When inserted into a lappie, it "hijacks the TCP/IP stack, so the card can enforce policies regarding what users can download, no matter what method the user employs to connect to the internet." Furthermore, the card must be loaded in for the laptop to even become usable, and the built-in GPS enables it to be located (and subsequently wiped or locked) regardless if the machine it's in is powered on. Reportedly, the device itself will run you around $250 and can only be used with unlimited data plans, and the extra security features will tack on another $10 to $12 per month.[Via InfoWorld / Yahoo]
Judge throws out $1.52 billion Alcatel-Lucent suit against Microsoft
Last we heard, in February Alcatel-Lucent won a $1.52 billion suit against Microsoft for infringement of its MP3 patents despite the fact that Redmond paid up $16 million to MP3 co-developer the Fraunhofer Institute. Well, even given the 7-1 vote in favor of Alcatel-Lucent leading to the previous federal ruling, presiding US District Judge Rudi Brewster overturned the suit in a 43 page legal novella you absolutely must read, stating that one of the two patents wasn't infringed, and the other patent's infringement was in question anyway, due to the fact that Microsoft did, in fact, cough up those millions to Fraunhofer. Of course, Alcatel-Lucent intends to appeal the decision just the same way Microsoft's previously appealed the original decision -- and with $1.52 billion at stake, we all know damned well this is going to go back and forth for, well, as long as it takes. Who really wins? The layers, obviously.[Thanks, David and Mark]
$500 million underwater fiber network to link Asia, America
Unfortunately for most, traversing back and forth to Asia from America on a regular basis isn't exactly in the cards, but thanks to a $500 million project agreed upon by a 17-member telecommunications consortium, visiting via fiber will soon be a whole lot snappier. Telekom Malaysia, along with 16 other firms, have awarded a half billion dollar contract to Alcatel-Lucent and NEC to construct a 12,428-mile link between the west coast of America and Southeast Asia. The aptly-dubbed Asia-America Gateway will connect the western US with Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii, while also offering "seamless interconnection" with Europe, Africa, and Australia. Moreover, the project is being designed to provide a "more secure link for traffic" across the seas, as it avoids the hazardous Pacific Ring in hopes of dodging massive internet outages due to unexpected earthquakes. Best of all, the wait time for the undersea cabling to make an impact is fairly reasonable, as users should see "faster and more reliable service" when it becomes operational in December of next year.[Via Physorg]
Verizon rolling out G-PON technology to boost FiOS speeds
In Verizon's never-ending quest to continue bumping the bandwidth to the four or five lucky customers that actually have access to its FTTH network, the firm is planning to implement a new technology which will hopefully increase the speed of FiOS fiber-to-the-premises links "by four to eight times." Of course we jest about the amount of you oh-so-fortunate ones that can actually get ahold of such speedy luxuries, but Verizon is looking to Alcatel-Lucent to help with the forthcoming gigabit passive optical network (G-PON), which is slated to "increase the aggregate broadband speeds on Verizon's FTTP systems by four times downstream to the customer, and by eight times upstream back to the Internet." The outfit also stated that it would "continue deploying the broadband passive optical network (B-PON)" that it has been using since 2004, and took a moment to boast about "how simple" upgrading FiOS actually was. Still, the vast majority of you won't even be in the general vicinity necessary to acquire the newfangled G-PON niceties, but the soon-to-be-celebrating town of Lewisville, Texas can keep an eye on Q2 of this year, while folks in Kirklyn, Pennsylvania should have it sometime "over the summer."[Thanks, Jim V.]
Verizon Wireless to spend $6 billion on network upgrade
Alcatel-Lucent has just landed a $6 billion deal with Verizon Wireless to upgrade the carrier's U.S. wireless network. Verizon Wireless is planning to expand its wireless data network with the equipment deal, scheduled to run a solid three years. So is this all going to come in the form of EV-DO Rev. A upgrades for the carrier? Nah -- Big Red will be investing in VoIP and video telephony services as the carrier transitions over time to an all-IP network and away from a circuit-based network. Alcatel-Lucent products such as digital microwave radios, optical cross-connects and bandwidth management devices are part of the $6 billion deal, and will include network support services from Alcatel-Lucent, too. How funny would it be to see a Verizon network engineer waiting on hold for an Alcatel-Lucent customer service rep?
Alcatel-Lucent blows past data transmission record: 25.6Tbps
Data transmission records were just made to be shattered, as we've seen the benchmark go from 2.56- to 14- and now to 25.6-terabits per second within a year (and five days, but who's counting?). The momentary record holder this time around is Alcatel-Lucent, which "successfully transmitted a world record 25.6Tbps of optical data over a single fiber strand' using 160 WDM channels. In case you were wondering, that's enough speed to send about 600 DVDs worth of information to your buddy in one single second, after which you'd likely destroy any and all functionality his / her computer previously had before the bombardment. Now, what's it cost to run one or two of these pipes to Sealand?
Alcatel-Lucent deploys UMTS 900; world's handset makers cry uncle
We're still bellyaching over T-Mobile's unfortunate (but necessary) addition of 1700MHz to the world's WCDMA spectrum, but it seems four bands of UMTS -- 850, 1700, 1900, and 2100MHz -- wasn't enough to satisfy everyone's needs. Or the Isle of Man's, at least. The British territory is the first landmass in the world to get a trial UMTS / WCDMA deployment on the 900MHz band, thanks to Alcatel-Lucent and O2's Manx Telecom. Though there's already a 2100MHz 3G network alive and well in those parts, the companies are touting 900's advantages -- chiefly its increased building penetration and enhanced range, letting carriers get 3G to more places with fewer cells. Though the trial has run for a full six months, there appear to be no plans to make it live and accessible to customers at the moment; that's probably just as well, seeing how there's no retail equipment to take advantage.
Microsoft slapped with $1.52 billion payout in MP3 suit
Those federal juries in San Diego do seem to frown on MP3 patent infringement. They just ordered Microsoft to fork over $1.52 billion (yes, with a "b") to Alcatel-Lucent for infringing on two MP3 audio patents with its Windows Media Player, the largest patent ruling in history. Naturally, Alcatel-Lucent seems to like this turn of events. "We have made strong arguments supporting our view, and we are pleased with the court's decision," said Alcatel-Lucent spokeswoman Joan Campion. Microsoft is singing another tune, and is going to "seek relief from the trial court, and if necessary appeal," according to Tom Burt, corporate VP and deputy general counsel. The irony in all this -- if you can call anything in a $1.52 billion case "ironic" -- is that Microsoft payed the Fraunhofer Institute $16 million to license the tech in the first place, but since Fraunhofer co-developed the MP3 with Bell Labs, and Lucent owns those patents, Alcatel-Lucent decided to go for the gold, and seem to have done a pretty good job of it. This probably won't be the last we hear of this case, and it's only one in a long list of lawsuits between the two companies, but boy is that a hefty sum.
Lucent and Alcatel merge to form... wait for it... Alcatel Lucent
In a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lucent Technologies has disclosed the new name of their mega telco-tech merger with Alcatel they announced in April. The newly formed $25 billion company will be formally known as Alcatel Lucent, ending intense rounds of speculation by nobody at all. Everything should be sealed up by the end of year, and Lucent investors will own around 40 percent of combined company, with Alcatel types holding the rest.[Via The Wireless Report]
