Editor’s Note: RCR Wireless News goes all in for “Throwback Thursdays,” tapping into our archives to resuscitate the top headlines from the past. Fire up the time machine, put on the sepia-tinted shades, set the date for #TBT and enjoy the memories!
IoT consortia jockey for position in standardization race
Within six years, the number of connected devices that are NOT smartphones, tablets or PCs will skyrocket to 26 billion, according to Gartner. The means that the Internet of Things will include more than three times as many devices as the traditional mobile ecosystem. But how will these devices communicate with one another? Companies that want to cash in on connectivity know they need to make sure their hardware and software can communicates with that of their partners, and even their competitors. In a race to create standards for communication between connected devices, some of the biggest names in technology are forming alliances to develop IoT interoperability standards. The latest launch comes from Intel, Samsung, Broadcom, Dell, Atmel and Wind River and is called the Open Interconnect Consortium. The consortium will support iOS, Android, Windows, Linux and Tizen applications. The OIC is not the only Internet of Things alliance for Intel. Earlier this year, the chip giant was one of five companies to announce the formation of the non-profit Industrial Internet Consortium. The group said at the time that it would focus on new industry use cases and test beds, best practices, reference architectures and standards requirements. Founding members of the IIC are Intel, Cisco, IBM, GE, and AT&T – the only wireless carrier so far to announce participation in an IoT standards group. One name noticeably absent from both lists of cooperating companies is that of Qualcomm, the current leader in cellular connectivity chipsets. Qualcomm is spearheading its own IoT consortium, called the AllSeen Alliance. … Read more
Inside Verizon’s Edgecast
Working for a Fortune 500 company has done nothing to dampen the entrepreneurial spirit of Edgecast founders James Segil and Alex Kazerani. The two partners, who jointly won Ernst & Young’s 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year award for the greater Los Angeles region, have been in a major expansion mode since Verizon Communications acquired their company seven months ago. Segil says Verizon has made significant investments in the Edgecast content delivery network, often leveraging the IT infrastructure, data centers and security expertise that came to Verizon via its 2011 Terremark acquisition. “They can drop a huge amount of infrastructure,” said Segil, and apparently that’s just what Verizon has done, adding 20 new points of presence worldwide and doubling the egress capacity of the Edgecast content delivery network. Edgecast handles content delivery for Twitter, Hulu, Pinterest, Sony Mobile and now for all the Verizon digital media properties as well. The eight-year-old company, now part of Verizon Digital Media, focuses on “fat pipes” that connect to all wireless providers and specializes in video optimization software. Verizon noted at the time of the acquisition that the two companies shared “a common architectural approach to video-optimized networks.” “Verizon’s acquisition of Edgecast was very much evidence that carriers are focusing on optimization of content delivery,” said Sue Rudd, director of service provider analysis at Strategy Analytics. That optimization requires state-of-the-art software and billions of dollars worth of infrastructure. … Read more
We feel the need, the need for … spectrum!
Wireless spectrum is obviously an important element to the commercial mobile communications market, as it is the medium in which consumers can walk-and-talk unimpeded by cables. As such, the need for wireless providers to continually gain access to more spectrum in order to feed an insatiable appetite for mobile communications is a requirement for the industry to continue to prosper. RCR Wireless News spoke with Kevin Thompson, director of Deloitte’s National Telecommunications Practice, about the growing need for more spectrum to be made available to domestic operators in order to maintain a high-level of service quality, as well as to maintain the country’s position as a world leader in wireless broadband communication services and innovation. Thompson noted that the federal government was falling behind in freeing up much-needed spectrum assets, noting the current shortfall in releasing the 500 megahertz of spectrum pledged as part of the National Broadband Plan. Thompson explained that not only was this spectrum necessary to bolster service levels of mobile broadband networks, but that the United States’ long-standing position as a leader in the space was in jeopardy. Some of that concern could be alleviated through upcoming spectrum auctions, including the AWS-3 auction set for later this year and the 600 MHz incentive auction set for mid-2015, but those efforts are expected to only meet current needs and not prepare the market for future demand. … Read more
Small Cell Forum tackles NFV
The virtualization movement continues to gain steam as the mobile space looks for ways to increase efficiency while reducing costs. The latest push comes from the Small Cell Forum, which announced plans to address network function virtualization as part of its on-going “release program.” The trade organization said the new initiative will “evaluate virtualization options to understand the optimal approach to apply to the small cell layer.” “Operators need to understand how small cells fit into the cloud-[radio access network]story,” explained Sue Monahan, CEO of the Small Cell Forum. “We believe there will be better [return on investment]if operators can plan virtualization across the entire [heterogeneous network], including small cells, rather than as a separate exercise. This work stream will consider the impact of such an approach on everything from network architecture to the business case. We are now inviting forum members and the wider industry to get behind this initiative and help shape the future of mobile networks through our release work.” As part of its initiative, the Small Cell Forum released a slideshow offering up its plans for NFV in regards to the small cell environment. The information provided was gleaned from a meeting of forum members at a recent event, and includes insight into the business case, front haul considerations and backhaul possibilities. A recent report from Maravedis-Rethink predicts nearly three-fourth of mobile operators will deploy some form of network functions virtualization by 2018 … Read more
The FCC’s $100 million rural broadband ‘experiment’
The Federal Communications Commission has announced plans for an “experiment” designed to expand broadband services into rural communities. The program is set to tie in with the FCC’s Connect America Fund, with up to $100 million being set aside to fund the experiment. That funding will be separated into three groups, with $75 million set aside to test construction of networks offering download speeds of 25 megabits per second and uplink speeds of 5 Mbps; $15 million used to “test interest in delivering service” in high-cost areas at speeds of 10 Mbps on the downlink and 1 Mbps on the uplink; and $10 million earmarked for those same network speeds “in areas that are extremely costly to serve.” Those looking to tap into the funding will compete nationwide in a competitive bidding process, with the money doled out to “projects that are most cost effective.” Eligible technologies will include fiber and wireless, with bidding open to “non-traditional providers, including electric utilities, wireless Internet service providers and others.” The FCC added that project sizes will be capped in order to provide enough funding for various projects and that entities serving Tribal lands would be eligible for a 25% bidding credit. The FCC earlier this year gained a court victory in support of its Universal Service Fund reform efforts, with a federal appeals court upholding the agency’s Connect America program that is designed to subsidize rural broadband services. … Read more
Dish sets its sights on spectrum auctions
Dish Network said it plans to participate in the upcoming AWS-3 and 600 MHz incentive auction, according to a filing with the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC plans to conduct the AWS-3 auction, which will include 65 megahertz of both licensed and unlicensed spectrum in the 1.7/2.1 GHz band, later this year. The more complex incentive auction is currently scheduled to begin in mid-2015. The company, which does not currently offer wireless communication services, recently bolstered its spectrum portfolio by acquiring all of the H-Block licenses up for bid in the government’s recent spectrum auction. Dish now controls spectrum around the 2 GHz band as well as a smaller slice of spectrum in the 700 MHz band. Dish has been rumored to be in talks with a number of wireless operators regarding network sharing arrangements that would allow Dish to utilize its spectrum holdings without having to spend the billions of dollars necessary to build out its own network. … Read more
Check out the RCR Wireless News Archives for more stories from the past.
