As part of a just-announced partnership between Ericsson and Samsung, the latter has released the first USB modem fully compatible with the new Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G standard. The Samsung GT-B3710 modem will be sold commercially through provider TeliaSonera in 2010 in Norway and Sweden. It promises to bring peak speeds of 150Mbps downstream as well as 50Mbps uploads.
Telefonica, which owns the UK-based wireless provider O2, announced that it will begin trial testing of its Long Term Evolution mobile broadband technology in six European countries. The 4G technology will allow for faster wireless data speeds, and the trials will involve hardware from six manufacturers including Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia Siemens Network, and ZTE.
Rogers today counted itself as one of the first North American carriers to offer an officially-sanctioned 3G wired and wireless router on its network. Rebadged as the Rocket Hub, the Ericsson-designed router can take cellular data, up to 7.2Mbps 3G over HSPA, and share it both over Wi-Fi as well as for those on an Ethernet link. The Hub is deemed particularly important for users who can't get Internet access for multiple devices but expect to remain in one place.
As part of its ongoing attempt to expand the wireless spectrum for its national broadband plan, the FCC has now opened comments to the public asking whether the so-called "prime bands" below 3.7GHz, considered ideal for wireless data and video, are sufficient for the near- and long-term demands of wireless broadband. The FCC seeks to get information from industry players by October 23rd regarding the ability of the current spectrum to support future build-outs and which bands are best suited for mobile or fixed wireless broadband.
Wireless provider MetroPCS on Tuesday announced some details on its upcoming high-speed 4G LTE mobile broadband network. Due for a release in the second half of 2010, MetroPCS will partner with Ericsson and Samsung to power the provider's 4G LTE service. Along with the service, which will be released thanks to Ericsson infrastructure, MetroPCS plans on launching a dual-mode LTE/CDMA smartphone built by Samsung in the major cities that MetroPCS offers its service late in 2010.
Sony Ericsson this morning set in motion a significant change in its strategy with news that its existing CEO Hideki Komiyama is being replaced. The executive will retire at the end of the year and is being replaced by Ericsson's Bert Nordberg on October 15th. The Swedish official specializes in "business realignment" and was responsible for growing that telecom company's business earlier this decade.
Sony Ericcson has debuted its latest clamshell handset, the Jalou, along with a Dolce&Gabbana special edition. The handsets are designed for the style-conscious, with a small form-factor measuring 73mm long. The two-inch display doubles as a mirror after pressing a dedicated key.
Sprint has signed a deal to hand over daily network operations to Swedish firm Ericsson, according to an announcement. Set to last at least seven years, the agreement will see Ericsson manage services, provisioning and maintenance for CDMA, iDEN and wired connections. Although Sprint is expected to maintain full ownership and control of its network, and operate all aspects seen by customers, some 6,000 Sprint workers will find themselves under Ericsson's aegis in the third quarter of 2009.
Finland-based Elektrobit has recently demonstrated a cellular-voice-enabled mobile Internet device (MID) known as the Reference Device and based on Intel's next-generation Atom processor, codenamed Moorestown. The device will also sport a special build of the Linux-based Moblin v2 operating system optimized for use in MIDs and with cellular phone support. The EB design was co-developed along with Intel and Ericsson, and will be offered to companies in custom specs.
TeliaSonera has become the first carrier to set up a commercial-ready 4G site based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. Located in Stockholm, Sweden, the tower is part of a larger network that will be ready in 2010 and promises much faster Internet than 3G. Ericsson, which helped build the site, says 4G can reach a theoretical peak of 160Mbps; real-world speeds are likely to be much slower but still above the 7.2Mbps peak of existing 3G.
Sony today said that its cellphone joint-partnership Sony Ericsson is likely to ask for 100 million Euros ($136.5 million) before the end of its current fiscal year in March 2010. The injection, which could come from either Sony or Ericsson themselves, would be prompted both by Sony Ericsson's own struggling health as well as Sony's own dropping sales, which resulted in its first loss in 14 years and has reduced the Japanese firm's ability to support its phone offshoot. How Sony Ericsson will raise the funds will be decided by the two parent companies.
Sony Ericsson chief Hideki Komiyama today said that his company had made several key mistakes that have contributed to the company's rapid decline in market share. Speaking to FT, the executive now says that the XPERIA X1, once intended as a flagship that would rival the iPhone, is one of these. The full touchscreen Windows Mobile phone was "a kind of experiment" and is no longer expected to carry Sony Ericsson's high-end phone business.
Ericsson announced on Tuesday that it will demonstrate HSPA data speeds as fast as 56Mbps at the CTIA Wireless convention, which kicks off on Wednesday. The speeds should double those of 28Mbps-capable networks launching in North America, Germany and Italy. At Mobile World Congress in February, Ericsson successfully demonstrated speeds in a similar network operating at a peak of 42Mbps. The next step in the evolution of the HSPA technology, dubbed HSPA+, involves the use of a combination of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) and multi-carrier HSPA technology.
A pair of HSPA mobile broadband routers from Ericsson have just passed through the FCC, indicating the Swedish electronics maker will soon release them. The routers consist of the W30 Data Router (left) and the W35 Data and Voice Router (right). Either is capable of allowing access to HSPA, UMTS or GSM network data over a Wi-Fi or Ethernet home networks or share a USB-connected printer, with the W35 adding the capability of sending voice and fax information over the wireless data network.
The latest in the on-again off-again rumors of a split between Sony and Ericsson in their joint cell phone venture has the Dow Jones reporting that Sweden's Ericsson has no plans to get out of the venture, according to a Monday MocoNews story. Ericsson spokesperson Minako Nakatsuma Olofzon has dismissed the rumors and maintained that its relationship as part of Sony Ericsson is stable. "We are committed to the joint venture... we haven’t changed our view on that," he said.
German magazine Manager claimed on Wednesday that Ericsson plans to back out of phone maker Sony Ericsson. The Swedish half of the partnership has reportedly brought up a split with Sony, which has "expressed interest" in talking to banks for help buying out Ericsson's 50 percent stake and leaving Sony in full control of the company.
Ericsson on Wednesday announced it will partner with wireless provider Telecom Italia to bring wireless data speeds as fast as 28Mbps when downloading and 5.8Mbps when uploading thanks to HSPA+ technology. Milan will be the first Italian city to offer the fast speeds in June, with a nationwide rollout due for the second half of the year. At the same time, Telefónica O2 Germany has said it will launch its HSPA+ network for cellphones and computers in the second half of the year in Munich.
LG and Intel on Monday announced they will be the first to launch a Mobile Internet Device (MID) based on Intel's next-generation hardware platform dubbed Moorestown and the Linux-based Moblin v2.0 software platform. The Moorestown platform is made up of a System on Chip, named Lincroft, that includes a 45nm Intel Atom CPU along with a graphics, video and memory controller. The platform also has an I/O hub codenamed Langwell that supports wireless connection devices and hosts a range of I/O blocks.
Ericsson on Wednesday announced it will perform the first demonstration of the second implementation of its HSPA+ multi-carrier technology that allows for maximum download rates of 42Mbps at the Mobile World Congress next week in Barcelona, Spain. The multi-carrier technology lets users receive data on two frequency channels at the same time, thereby doubling the user data rate in HSPA network coverage areas. Australia's Telstra, Ericsson's partner, uses an early HSPA+ network that allows for up to 21Mbps downloads.
Swedish network hardware maker Ericsson on Wednesday announced it will cut 5,000 worldwide jobs as its profits in the fourth quarter dropped by 31 percent, or about $202 million. The decline is said to be caused by restructuring charges and weaker handset sales, as its Sony Ericsson partnership last week announced its own fourth-quarter losses, shipping 6.2 percent less phones than in previous years. Ericsson said the joint venture had a fourth-quarter loss of $243 million.
TeliaSonera announced on Thursday it expects to become the first wireless provider in the world to offer the next-generation 4G mobile broadband network to its customers. The company is on course to launch the service in Stockholm and Oslo in 2010, partnering with hardware maker Ericsson for the initial 4G city network in Stockholm and Huawei in Oslo. Talks with suppliers for 4G-ready devices in other Nordic and Baltic countries are currently in progress, TeliaSonera's Senior Vice President and CTO, Lars Klasson, adds.
Sweden's telecommunications giant Ericsson announced on Thursday it is working with Intel to equip mobile broadband module-equipped notebooks with secure anti-theft solutions. The solution is meant to make stealing notebooks less attractive to thieves and protect data with encryption software. The concept, identical to the recent Lenovo solution recently unveiled, involves users sending an SMS message to the notebook's mobile broadband module that will trigger Intel's Anti-Theft function built into the processor platform and locks down the system. When the notebook is recovered, another message can restore the system to its operational state.
Telstra today said it has switched on the world's first HSPA+ network. Also known as HSPA Evolution, the early 3.5G network promises to be about three times faster in downloads than the best regular HSPA networks, which top out at 7.2Mbps in peak conditions. The Australian carrier's service should theoretically allow downloads as quick as 21Mbps and should also help with uploads; the speed is enough to rival many landline Internet connections, the company and its launch partner Ericsson boast.
Ericsson late yesterday outlined its plans for future cellphones that will make HD video a crucial part of the future. The Swedish company says its current projections will result in cellphones by 2012 with cameras as sharp as 12 to 20 megapixels that will also have the processing power behind them to record full HD video, or 1080p. This target phone should also have a roughly 1024x768 display resolution and could thus play its own footage much closer to its native resolution than would be possible today.
Carrier AT&T and PC builder Lenovo say they have collaborated on a project meant to drive down the cost of 3G broadband on notebooks. Buyers of Lenovo notebooks in the ThinkPad T, X and SL series will get a free 30 days of AT&T's DataConnect service, if they sign up for a two-year contract; more critically, models with the necessary Ericsson module will not cost any more than a regular version, which the companies claim will save as much as $150 per computer. The arrangement is being targeted mainly at small- to medium-sized businesses.
Intel today at the start of its fall Developer Forum showed off a working example of a Moorestown-based device, putting the chipset on track for its 2009-2010 launch window. The chipmaker has yet to describe the device but reiterates that the technology should be much more effective for mobile Internet devices (MIDs) and ultra-mobile PCs. Through a 45 nanometer process as well as a redesign of the processor itself, the idle power alone will represent just a tenth that of an Atom system today, Intel claims.
Ericsson and STMicroelectronics on Wednesday announced they are entering into a joint venture to make wireless chips and software, effectively becoming a supplier to four of the major five cell phone makers with its products. The recent acquisition of Dutch chipmaker NXP by ST resulted in the company becoming the world's third-largest chipmaker, while Ericsson is the largest global mobile telecommunications equipment maker.
Ericsson and the Italian division of cell carrier 3 today said they have successfully tested the world's first 3G network based on enhanced High Speed Packet Access (HSPA). The trial of the new service gives uploads to the network at up to 5.8 megabits per second in peak conditions and is faster even than downloads on most existing services, which in ideal conditions would offer 3.6 megabits. The new technology also cuts back dramatically on the lag that hurts video calls, multiplayer games, and other time-sensitive features.
Swedish telecom company Ericsson is collaborating with Dell, in a bid to put HSPA modems into the latter's notebooks, the companies have announced. HSPA is one of the most widely-used forms of 3G cellular broadband, and typically supports download speeds of up to 3.6 or 7.2Mbps; in the United States, AT&T runs a national 3.6Mbps network, and T-Mobile is expected to offer a rival service of some sort later this year. In buying a notebook with HSPA built in, users can connect to the Internet without using Wi-Fi or an add-on external modem.
Swedish electronics giant Ericsson today revealed that it will already be set with technology that will support new 700MHz Internet access when it becomes an option in the US and elsewhere by 2009. The company says it is already developing chipsets that will natively use the upcoming Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard for extremely quick 4G Internet access; the new technology should allow download speeds up to 326Mbps on the carrier's end (20Mbps for each user) while still providing the advantages that come with the 700MHz airwaves, such as longer range and better signals when indoors.
The end for Wi-Fi hotspots may already be in sight, claims the chief marketing officer of telecom multinational Ericsson. Speaking today at the European Computer Audit, Control and Security Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, Johan Bergendahl commented that at least in Europe, cellular broadband is growing so rapidly that it is surpassing any rate ever achieved by either mobile or fixed voice networks. "In Austria," says Bergendahl, "they are saying that mobile broadband will pass fixed broadband this year."
Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson is contemplating buying a spun-off Motorola mobile business if it becomes available, company chief Carl-Henric Svanberg said today at an investment analyst conference. The official, whose company forms half of cellphone giant Sony-Ericsson, explained that it would be "cautious" about buying any mobile division that would split from Motorola but that the company would nonetheless watch any services that might be made available. Ericsson has historically avoided buying out other companies because it often believes it would be "better off" improving on its own, claims Svanberg.
