What can we expect for the fast-moving telecommunications market this year?
There are many predictions. I started looking for information from Twelve 2012 Predictions For The Telecom Industry and Top 12 Hot Design Technologies for 2012 articles. Then I did some more research on what is happening on the field and decided to make my own list of what is expected this year. You can go to the original information sources by clicking the links to see where all this information comes from.
The global telecommunications services market will grow at a 4% rate in 2012 (was 7% in 2011).
Mobile growth does not stop. The number of global mobile subscriptions will pass the 6 billion mark in February. India will pass China to become the world’s largest mobile market in terms of subscriptions.
The mobile handset market will surpass the $200 billion mark. Smartphones are most heavily used by people under 45, and that age group increasingly sees the smartphone or tablet as a portal to Facebook and Twitter, among other social networks. The demand for the chips that generate and process that data in smartphones is increasing (sales of smartphone applications processors surged to $2.2 billion in the third quarter of 2011). Six Companies Want Supremacy On The Smartphones Chip Market! Qualcomm Look Out!
There is lots of competition on mobile OS marker, but I expect that thing continue pretty much as 2011 ended: Android continues to boom, RIM and Microsoft decline. Symbian’s future is uncertain although Symbian started and finished 2011 as the undisputed king of mobile OSs (33.59%). Windows Phone will try to get to market and Leaked Windows Phone Roadmap gives us a peek into the future. Java Micro Edition making a comeback according to the NetApplications report because large number of low-cost feature phones. The real mobile application battle lines of 2012 will be drawn across the landscape of HTML5.Tizen open source project tries to push to mobile Linux market (first version Q1 2012) with ideas from Meego, LiMo and WebOS. Cars and smartphones start to communicate using MirrorLink technology to allow new features.
Mobile campaigns to be hot in 2012 presidential race article tells that though mobile advertising not seen much on the campaign trail, mobile strategy is expected to be important for attracting younger voters. Social networks played an important role in the last U.S. presidential election, but the explosive growth in smartphone usage and the introduction of tablets could make or break the candidates for president in 2012. Expect to see specialized apps to help campaign groupies follow the candidates.
Text messaging has been very profitable business for mobile phone operators and making them lots of money. Text Messaging Is in Decline in Some Countries tell that all signs point to text messaging’s continuing its decline. There has been already decline in Finland, Hong Kong and Australia. The number of text messages sent by cellphone customers in USA is still growing, but that growth is gradually slowing, “SMS erosion” is expected to hit AT&T and Verizon in this year or next years. The fading allure of text messaging is most likely tied to the rise of alternative services, which allow customers to send messages free using a cellphone’s Internet connection.
EU politicians want to ban roaming charges according to Computer Sweden magazine article. If the proposal becomes law in the EU, it takes away slippery roaming charges for mobile data (could happen earliest at summer 2012, but I expect that it will take much more time). Roaming robbery to end – 2015 article tells that the goal is that the mobile roaming fees should be completely abolished the 2015th.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is becoming available in many mobile phones and new flexibility via organic materials can help in implementing NFC. NFC-enabled SIM cards are expected to become a worldwide standard. Electronic wallet in smartphones probably takes a step forward with this. Google, opened the game with Google Wallet service. According to research firm ABI Research estimates that in 2012 NFC phones is growing 24 million to 80 million units. There is still years to wait until mass market on NFC wallets starts. ABI Research estimates that there is 552 million NFC enabled devices at year 2016.
The 4G technology WiMax will see the beginning of its end in Asia. Like operators in other regions, Asian operators will opt for the rival 4G technology LTE instead.
The number of active (installed) PCs worldwide will pass the 2 billion mark. Broadband penetration continues to increase. Broadband penetration of the world’s population will pass the 10% mark globally. IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) penetration of the world’s population will pass the 1% mark. Broadband technologies are fundamentally transforming the way we live. UN wants two-thirds of the world online by 2015.
Today’s Cable Guy, Upgraded and Better-Dressed article tells that the cable guy is becoming sleeker and more sophisticated, just like the televisions and computers he installs. The nearly saturated marketplace means growth for cable companies must come from all the extras like high-speed Internet service, home security, digital recording devices and other high-tech upgrades.
Ethernet displaces proprietary field buses. As Ethernet displaces proprietary field buses to facilitate the operation of the digital factory. Ethernet switches are the ubiquitous building block of any intelligent network. Ethernet has also become the de facto networking technology in industrial automation even in mission-critical local networks. Modern Ethernet switches have added significant new functionality to Ethernet while decreasing port prices. Ethernet for Vehicles also becomes reality largely to serve the expected boom of camera-based applications in cars.
Operators’ growth will increasingly depend on their having a cloud computing strategy, an approach for the high-growth IT service market and a clear value proposition for the enterprise market. Data center technologies will be hot topic. 10GBase-T Technology will become technically and economically feasible interface option on data center servers. 10GBase-T Technology allows you to use RJ45 connectors and unshielded twisted pair cabling to provide 10Mbps, 100Mbps, 1Gbps, and 10Gbps data transmission, while being backward-compatible with prior generations.
40/100 Gbit/s Ethernet will be a hot topic. Carriers and datacenters have been clamoring for the technology to expand their core backbone networks. 2012–A Return to Normalcy and Pragmatic, Power Conscious 100G article mentions that in 2010 and 2011, the industry saw the first real roll-outs of 100G transport solutions based on Coherent Detection and FPGA-based Framers. In 2012 we’ll start to see 100G taking a bigger place in the build out of new and existing networks around the world. The initial deployments of 100G are clearly too costly and too power hungry to be widely deployed as the primary transport technology, so optical transport marketplace will move to much lower power and lower cost Direct Detection optical transport solutions. The average WDM link for 10G is dissipating about 3.5W per optical module, the average WDM link per 100G is dissipating about about 100W.
5 Major Changes Facing the Internet in 2012 article tells that 2012 is poised to go down in Internet history as one of the most significant 12-month periods from both a technical and policy perspective since the late 1990s. This year the Internet will face or can face several milestones: root servers may have a new operator, new company could operate the .com registry, up to 1000 new top-level domains will start being introduced, additional 10,000 Web sites will support IPv6 and Europe will run out of IPv4 addresses.
No IPv6 Doomsday In 2012. Yes, IPv4 addresses are running out, but a Y2K-style disaster/frenzy won’t be coming in 2012. Of course there’s a chance that panic will ensue when Europe’s RIPE hands out its last IPv4 addresses this summer, but ‘most understand that they can live without having to make any major investments immediately. Despite running out of IPv4 addresses we will be able to continue to use IPv4 techniques (Asia depleted all of its IPv4 address space already April 2011). ISP’s and hosting companies will not run out of IPs. This only means that the price per IP will start to slowly grow. Forward thinking enterprises can spend the year preparing for the new IPv6 protocol (USA is expected run out of addresses next year). Comcast has said it will offer production-quality IPv6 services across its nationwide network in 2012.
Operators start to pay more attention to the business opportunity of “M2M” (machine-to-machine connections). Investment and innovation in M2M (think smart energy meters and fleet trackers for logistics) will follow.
Smart Grid technologies include smart power management and architecture system components are already hot. Smart meter deployment on the rise globally. The global power utilities are the next mega-market moving from analog, standalone systems to digital networked technology. The opportunities are huge in everything from wireless components in smart meters to giant power electronics. First cut of some very basic framework standards have been drafted and lots of works needs to be done (ensure safety!). Forward-looking utilities and such vendors have now put business units and plans in place. IPv6 is seen as a needed technology in implementing Smart Grid communications. IPV6 has become a buzz word for smart grid firms.
You Will See A Ton Of Hype Around “The Internet Of Things” article tells that “The Internet Of Things” is a catchy term revolving around the idea that most everyday objects around us will be equipped with internet-collected electronics, and this will open up new applications. You Will See A Ton Of Hype Around “The Internet Of Things”, and it is hard to say if The Internet Of Things will be a huge business or a passing fad. NXP Semiconductor’s vision of Internet of Things starts with lightbulbs. Wireless sensor networks will get attention. EE Times article Top ten Embedded Internet articles for 2011 gives you links to articles that help you to catch on those topics.
Security issues were talked about lot on 2011 and I expect the discussion will continue actively during year 2012. There are still many existing security issues to fix and new issues will come up all the time.
802 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small- and medium-sized panel shipments expected to double in 3Q12
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120814PD209.html
Small- and medium-sized panel shipments are expected to double in the third quarter over the second due to increasing demand for smartphones and tablets, according to industry sources.
The sources said panel makers are seeing increased smartphone panel orders from companies such as Motorola and Nokia and that China-based smartphone vendors are expecting exponential growth throughout the second half of 2012.
China is currently the world’s largest cell phone market. Sources estimate there are nearly one billion cell phone users, 70% of which have yet to switch to smartphones.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Service enhancements and improved network quality fuel Ethernet growth
August 14, 2012
http://www.lightwaveonline.com/articles/2012/08/service-enhancements-and-improved-network-quality-fuel-ethernet-growth.html
Vertical Systems Group released its U.S. Leaderboard for ranking Ethernet service providers through the first half of 2012 – saying that new value-added enhancements, coupled with improved network quality, gave the market a solid boost.
“Our research clearly indicates rising demand for Ethernet access focused on connectivity to private clouds for data center hosting,” says Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group.
Tomi Engdahl says:
$100 apps, bibles and big-budget RPGs: The strange nature of Nigerian mobile app market
http://www.bgr.com/2012/08/15/nigeria-mobile-app-market-analysis/
With 100 million mobile subscribers, Nigeria stands among leading mobile markets in the world. Its mobile content sector is quite fascinating — this is a market where $100 apps can debut at the No.3 position on Apple’s list of top iOS apps.
Bible and Quran apps are a major feature of the Nigerian mobile content market.
Popular Nigerian apps are expensive. Very expensive. The two best-selling bible apps among the top five apps on August 10th were each $10 — and some of the most popular in-app purchases cost as much as $35.
Why is the Nigerian mobile app market so inundated with $10-plus applications?
There are several explanations. First, the market may simply be immature. The American iPhone app sales charts were dominated by expensive apps in 2010. Over the past two years, app vendors realized that handing out free apps with compelling in-app purchase features is an effective strategy to maximize revenue generation. The Nigerian market may follow a similar evolution in the future.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dish Network Said to Plan Nationwide Satellite Broadband
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-15/dish-network-said-to-plan-nationwide-satellite-broadband-service.html
Dish Network Corp. is preparing to introduce a nationwide broadband-Internet service (in USA) using a satellite from sister company EchoStar Corp. (SATS), according to three people familiar with the situation.
EchoStar and Dish became separate companies in January 2008
The EchoStar 17 satellite, launched into orbit July 5, can support download speeds of 15 megabits per second, although introductory nationwide packages will probably offer rates of 5 megabits
The move is the result of technological advances for the U.S. satellite industry, which can now use higher-frequency bands to offer faster broadband to more people. The capacity for these kinds of services has climbed “by an order of magnitude,”
Dish already offers satellite broadband through a partnership with Carlsbad, California-based ViaSat Inc. (VSAT), though that only covers certain parts of the U.S
By packaging satellite broadband with its current video service, Dish can offer customers a bundled option. That means it will compete more directly with cable companies, as well as satellite rival DirecTV (DTV), AT&T Inc. (T)’s U-verse and Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ)’s FiOS.
Dish may need to add more satellites to expand the service beyond 2 million people while maintaining the same speeds. The company, which has a total of about 14 million customers, hasn’t disclosed how many users are served by the ViaSat agreement.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lose The Burners: Court Okays Prepaid Phone Tracking
http://www.informationweek.com/security/mobile/lose-the-burners-court-okays-prepaid-pho/240005614
Appeals court rules law enforcement agencies don’t need a warrant to “ping” and track prepaid cellphone locations.
Prepaid cellphone users may be tracked by law enforcement agencies at any time, without police first having to obtain a probable-cause warrant.
According to Rogers, “Skinner did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the data emanating from his cell phone that showed its location.” Furthermore, according to the court’s ruling, “if a tool used to transport contraband gives off a signal that can be tracked for location, certainly the police can track the signal.”
Cellphone data now plays a part in numerous investigations.
The ruling now makes clear what privacy protections prepaid cellphone users can expect, or not.
“Criminals have long believed that the lack of a contract is some magical way of disallowing attribution of a device to a specific person, which is clearly not the case if the device is found upon his person at the time of arrest.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Meet Gram, HP’s New Name for the Company Formerly Known as Palm
http://allthingsd.com/20120815/meet-gram-hps-new-name-for-the-company-formerly-known-as-palm/
It has been about two years since IT giant Hewlett-Packard closed on its $1.2 billion acquisition of the smartphone company Palm. And it hasn’t exactly been a happy ride.
But now there’s a glimmer of hope. A new wholly owned subsidiary has been created within HP called Gram, and it’s essentially the remaining bits of the old Palm.
HP shut down the division producing hardware running Palm’s webOS operating system after sales of its TouchPad tablet failed to gain traction.
Then after Meg Whitman took over as CEO came the decision last December to turn the webOS software into an open source project.
In May, a group of former HP employees who had been working on Enyo, the HTML5-based development environment for the open source webOS, surfaced at Google. And earlier this month we learned that the new OS won’t support the old devices like the TouchPad tablet, and Pre or Veer phones.
Other than that there’s not much known about what Gram will be about.
Tomi says:
Using the Google Nexus 7 Tablet as a Phone, For Free (+ a Privacy Hint)
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000979.html
Obtain and install the GrooVe IP Lite (GIPL) app via Google Play. This version is free and has everything you need for this situation. You still might wish to purchase the full version for $5 to support the fine work of the developer.
GIPL will ask for your Google Voice (GV) login/password credentials.
After you sign in to GV via GIPL, if the connection is successful a green dot will appear in the status bar. GIPL will provide a dialing pad (even generating imitation DTMF tones if you wish), integrate in your contacts, and offer other typical functions.
Dial an outgoing domestic U.S. call via the GIPL interface, and with luck you should be in business. Voice quality is fine with a good Wi-Fi connection.
Your outgoing calls from the Nexus 7 via GIPL and GV should now function.
Click the Google Chat check box if you also want incoming calls to your Google Voice number to ring through to your Nexus 7 via GIPL (when you have GIPL running, of course).
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jolla’s MeeGo UI is ready to go – and it’s on the hunt for mobile talent
http://www.zdnet.com/jollas-meego-ui-is-ready-to-go-and-its-on-the-hunt-for-mobile-talent-7000002728/
Finnish smartphone startup Jolla is scouting out new talent in Finland and China, where Jolla’s CEO Jussi Hurmola reckons its MeeGo OS can tap into the nation’s hunger to make a mark on mobile innovation.
Jolla, the Finnish startup carrying the MeeGo torch, is busy recruiting new staff this week ahead of CEO Jussi Hurmola’s world tour to collect the fragments needed to quickly build up an ecosystem for the mobile OS.
Jolla, which currently employs 50 mostly Nokia castaways, was interviewing 38 potential new hires for Jolla in Finland on Wednesday. Those who make the cut will form part of its target of having 100 Finnish staff by the end of 2012, the soft deadline for the launch of its smartphone based on a MeeGo OS fork.
The user interface (UI) for its Jolla device is ready to roll, according to Hurmola: “Our UI is ready now, we haven’t released it yet, we will save it for the product launch and the platform is getting up now so the project looks pretty nice.”
The Jolla UI “will be a change from anything existing at the moment,” Hurmola added.
“MeeGo is independent, so what we do with the app store and cloud services is we invite people into contribute their own business models and technologies into MeeGo. We work together with operators and they can integrate what they have already into the MeeGo ecosystem platform, and we are also supporting them by configuring MeeGo to fit their existing models and technologies,” explained Hurmola.
While Jolla also intends to sell its devices directly to consumers, it also last month it signed a deal with large Chinese retailer D.Phone to sell its devices – a company Hurmola he describes as “major, major customer for us”.
Tomi Engdahl says:
HD resolutions seems to be already heading to smartphones:
Blackberry 10 handsets will come with HD 720p screens
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2199283/blackberry-10-handsets-will-come-with-hd-720p-screens
CANADIAN PHONE MAKER Research in Motion (RIM) has revealed that its next generation operating system Blackberry 10 will boast support for high definition (HD) screens.
“As everyone knows by now, the screen resolution on the Dev Alpha device is 1280×768. Let’s just go on record and confirm that this will be the screen resolution shipped with the first BlackBerry 10 full touch device,” the blog post reads.
Blackberry 10, which is expected to make its debut in the first quarter of 2013 after its release was pushed back, is widely to believed to be RIM’s final shot at success.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ACL™ – Application Compatibility Layer
http://openmobileww.com/products.php
OpenMobile’s Application Compatibility Layer (ACL)™ has the power to transform your platform of choice into a vibrant ecosystem with 450,000+ Apps. ACL performs flawlessly on any operating system (Tizen, MeeGo, Bada, Windows, Linux, etc) and on any device (Smartphones, Tablets, eReaders, Connected TVs, In-Vehicle and In-Flight Infotainmen
Tomi Engdahl says:
Malware targeting Google’s Android OS trebled last quarter
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2199327/malware-targeting-googles-android-os-trebled-last-quarter
SECURITY THREATS facing Android devices trebled in the second quarter, Kaspersky Lab reported today.
The report shows that the number of malicious programs targeting Google’s Android mobile operating system rose to over 14900 in the second quarter, up from 5400
When compared to the third quarter of 2011, malware found on Android devices in the second quarter rocketed up by more than 15 times over, demonstrating how virus writers are increasingly focusing on developing malicious programs for mobile devices.
Kaspersky said in the report that a quarter of the Android malware detected in the second quarter were SMS Trojans used to steal money from victims’ accounts via text messages sent to premium rate phone numbers without the owner’s knowledge.
Tomi Engdahl says:
10 Ways to Get the Most From Your Wi-Fi-Only Tablet
http://www.cio.com/article/713053/10_Ways_to_Get_the_Most_From_Your_Wi_Fi_Only_Tablet
Much to the chagrin (and much against the ill wishes) of wireless carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile, people are buying Wi-Fi-only tablets. In fact, some studies have shown that in 2011 up to 90 percent of all tablets sold in the United States relied on Wi-Fi, rather than on 3G or 4G LTE.
Today’s Wi-Fi-focused tablets include the Wi-Fi only version of the Apple iPad, the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity, the Google Nexus 7, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, to mention a few.
I hate to say it, AT&T, but this makes sense: Wi-Fi only tablets are cheaper, and people are discovering that they just don’t need an extra data plan. Don’t believe me? Check out these 10 tips for getting the most out of your Wi-Fi-only tablet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why You Shouldn’t Get a Smartphone Right Now
http://www.cio.com/article/711764/Why_You_Shouldn_t_Get_a_Smartphone_Right_Now
Are you in the market for a new smartphone? Have patience. If you get a smartphone now, you may very well regret it in a few months.
Why? Well, the smartphone landscape will most likely be quite different by October or November as Apple and Microsoft are expected to launch their next generation smartphones.
There is nothing official from Apple yet
But, Apple follows fairly predictable cycles, so a new iPhone should be unveiled by October
Microsoft has already pulled back the curtain to show us some of what Windows Phone 8 has in store.
Google has already released its latest version–Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The update has been pushed out to the Galaxy Nexus smartphones
Its the nature of technology that it evolves rapidly and your new device is sure to be obsolete before you know it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland Hosts Mobile Phone Throwing Championships
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/12/08/20/0216225/finland-hosts-mobile-phone-throwing-championships
“In this year’s annual mobile-phone throwing contest held in Finland Ere Karjalainen has smashed the world record by throwing his phone 101.46 meters. The event, being held every year since 2000 in the town of Savonlinna”
“Contest organizers are of the opinion that users can vent their anger on their phones and that this offers a unique opportunity to ‘pay back all the frustrations and disappointments caused by this modern equipment.’”
Tomi Engdahl says:
ZTE gives LTE a lift with multi-mode data card
Biz travellers to China will be happy
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/19/zte_multi_mode_modem_lte/
Chinese telecoms kit peddler ZTE has unveiled what it claims are the world’s first USB modem and portable hotspot devices to support both versions of LTE, FDD and TDD
TDD, or TD-LTE, is the China-backed version which the country has poured significant sums into developing and is looking to promote throughout Asia, while FDD is likely to be most popular in the US, Europe and Australia.
The snappily titled MF82052 USB modem supports FDD (frequency division duplexing) and TDD (time division duplexing) versions of LTE as well as China’s home-grown 3G standard TD-SCDMA and EDGE.
“However, these devices lack a ‘global’ appeal as support for WCDMA is absent,” he added.
“Rather than supporting EDGE, it would have made a lot more sense to support WCDMA.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New group to set goals for next-gen Ethernet
http://www.eetimes.com/electronics-news/4394297/New-group-to-set-goals-for-next-gen-Ethernet
A new group will tackle an issue that’s been a hot debate in communications for at least two years—should the next big leap for Ethernet be to 400 Gbits/second or a Terabit/s. The IEEE 802.3 Industry Connections Higher Speed Ethernet Consensus group aims within a year to pick a target and kick off a formal standards effort.
The news comes as the IEEE 802.3 group overseeing Ethernet officially publishes its Ethernet Bandwidth Assessment report. The report, developed over the course of the last year, validated the group’s conclusions from an earlier study that demand for bandwidth is doubling about every 24 months. At that rate, networks will need to support capacity requirements of a terabit per second in 2015 and 10 terabit per second by 2020, it said.
“Everyone is worried about the coming tsunami of data,” said John D’Ambrosia, a veteran Ethernet standards organizer and chair of the new consensus group. “There’s a lot of nervousness out there about how people will do it in a cost effective manner,” he said.
The news comes as the IEEE 802.3 group overseeing Ethernet officially publishes its Ethernet Bandwidth Assessment report. The report, developed over the course of the last year, validated the group’s conclusions from an earlier study that demand for bandwidth is doubling about every 24 months. At that rate, networks will need to support capacity requirements of a terabit per second in 2015 and 10 terabit per second by 2020, it said.
“Everyone is worried about the coming tsunami of data,” said John D’Ambrosia, a veteran Ethernet standards organizer and chair of the new consensus group. “There’s a lot of nervousness out there about how people will do it in a cost effective manner,” he said.
Engineers are currently hammering out specifications for 25 Gbit/s serial lanes and starting work on 50 Gbit/s channels at the Optical Internetworking Forum. It would take 20 to 40 of those fastest channels working in parallel to deliver TBit/s Ethernet rates.
The consensus group could decide to set both 400G and a Tbit as parallel goals. The last big Ethernet effort simultaneously delivered standards for 40 and 100G to serve different markets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NBN could cut $AU600m+ from telco maintenance bills
BIS Shrapnel tags the cost of caring for copper
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/19/cost_of_caring_for_copper/
the cost of maintaining Australia’s copper network.
the annual cost of telecommunications network maintenance in the country at $AU2 billion
“The NBN will be a game-changer for maintenance in the telecoms sector,” says the company’s Senior Manager Adrian Hart. “While it will allow for much higher levels of voice and data traffic, the technological superiority of optic fibre over Australia’s ageing fixed line copper network is estimated to reduce industry maintenance costs by between $600 million to $700 million per annum once fully deployed.”
the maintenance costs of copper are likely to continue rising over time.
Tomi Engdahl says:
StatCounter data shows Windows Phone overtaking Blackberry in US by November 2012
http://wmpoweruser.com/statcounter-data-shows-windows-phone-overtaking-blackberry-in-us-by-november-2012/
More by virtue of Blackberry’s plummeting market share than amazing Windows Phone growth, it seems the installed base of Windows Phone is set to overtake that of Blackberry in US by the end of November 2012 (around week 47).
The projection is based on extrapolating StatCounter web usage data from the beginning of the year, and would mean there would be more Windows Phones in the wild in USA than Blackberries.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New standards make using carrier Wi-Fi super easy
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-57373453-266/new-standards-make-using-carrier-wi-fi-super-easy/
A set of new standards being developed will soon make it seamless for subscribers to roam in and out of carrier Wi-Fi hot spots.
Joining a carrier Wi-Fi hot spot on your smartphone or tablet will soon be as simple as turning on your device. That means no more scrolling through lists of available Wi-Fi networks, and no more typing passwords to join networks.
Wireless carriers all over the world have been turning to Wi-Fi to alleviate network congestion, but the onus of actually getting on those networks has been on individual subscribers. A set of new standards being developed will soon change that.
The IEEE technical standards body is developing 802.11u and the Wi-Fi Alliance has developed its Hotspot 2.0 initiative to further define and implement the use of the new standard. The new standards will essentially define how hot spots are discovered by devices and also provide a uniform mechanism for allowing subscribers to sign on to the networks, without the user selecting a particular network or entering a password. It also provides WPA 2 security to ensure that subscribers have the same level of security they expect when they’re on a carrier’s cellular network.
“This will make using Wi-Fi as easy as when you arrive in another country and turn on your phone, and your phone automatically discovers a new network for you to use,”
“Subscribers don’t really need to know nor do they care what network they’re on. They just want it to work.”
Wi-Fi, which uses unlicensed spectrum and offers much faster download speeds than cellular networks, is an ideal solution to offload traffic from their cellular networks onto a lower-cost network, especially in dense urban areas and in places where lots of people gather, such as stadiums.
In addition to the IEEE’s 802.11u and the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Hotspot 2.0 initiative, another industry group called the Wireless Broadband Association and the GSM Association are working on standards that build on these standards to define protocols that will allow carriers around the globe to roam onto each other’s Wi-Fi hot spots.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Video conferencing gets boost from Olympics home working tests
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/feature/2199668/video-conferencing-gets-boost-from-olympics-home-working-tests
WHEN MICROSOFT paid $8.5bn for Skype it was proof that voice and video over internet protocol (VoIP) technologies had arrived. They were no longer merely regarded as a fun consumer tool for talking with aunties on the other side of the world, but were becoming a key part of the business IT landscape.
Apple must also take some credit for this rise, with its Facetime services on its Iphone devices helping millions more realise the benefits, and fun, of face-to-face calls
“VoIP use is definitely being embedded in a lot of organisations now. Use of SIP has made things a lot easier, and the use of Quality of Service and better codecs has made quality much better,”
“Lots of the issues around concerns relating to security, reliability and redundancy have now been answered, but the biggest challenge remains changing the culture within organisations,”
Cisco’s own use of video conferencing underlines the impact it can have on an organisation. The firm estimates its own savings at $1.18bn on travel costs and $443m in productivity gains from time saved, as well as 638,000 tonnes in carbon emissions.
“For remote and mobile workers a lower bandwidth ADSL line can still cause problems, such as if a large email comes in or the person using the phone decides to do a Google search while talking on the line,”
“Also, mobile users get dinged heavily if they use VoIP over 3G, as it is seen as a data transaction.”
“The ability to interoperate across different systems has improved significantly over the past few years and while there will always be some exceptions it’s much stronger than it was in the past,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
“Knitted” Wi-Fi Routers Create Failover Network For First Responders
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/08/21/1542221/knitted-wi-fi-routers-create-failover-network-for-first-responders
“Wireless Internet routers used in homes and offices could be knitted together to provide a communications system for emergency responders if the mobile phone network fails, German scientists reported on Monday.”
Home Wifi Could be Used for Emergency Responders
http://www.securityweek.com/home-wifi-could-be-used-emergency-responders
Wireless routers for homes and offices could be knitted together to provide a communications system for emergency responders if the mobile phone network fails, German scientists reported on Monday.
In many countries, routers are so commonplace even in medium-sized towns that they could be used by fire services, ambulance and police if cellphone towers and networks are down or overwhelmed by people caught up in an emergency, they say.
“With a communication range of 30 metres (yards), a mesh network could be easily constructed in urban areas like our hometown,” say the team, whose mathematical model is published in the International Journal of Mobile Network Design and Innovation.
The team suggest that routers incorporate an emergency “switch” that responders can activate to set up a backup network, thus giving them a voice and data link through the Internet.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Should Medical Apps Be Regulated?
http://science.slashdot.org/story/12/08/21/1826211/should-medical-apps-be-regulated
“There’s a tidal wave of medical-related apps coming to smartphones and tablets that will be used by doctors and patients alike. But how should the medical establishment deal with them?”
Tomi Engdahl says:
FCC ruled that Verizon cannot charge extra for users for 4G Wi-Fi tethering.
So Verizon cannot charge for tethering on 4G service, this raises the question of whether they can continue to charge for tethering on 3G or 1x?
Source: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/07/31/2139246/fcc-rules-that-verizon-cannot-charge-for-4g-tethering
Tomi says:
Bonding IP connections together is nothing new, Be will happily glue together multiple ADSL lines for the home user who wants a little more poke, while SharedBand does the same thing across multiple ISPs for those who want reliability as well as speed. But those offerings require special routers and cloud-based aggregators, while Connectify’s solution runs on a single PC.
Connectify Dispatch, as the company is calling its software bonding product, is currently selling for $40, bundled with Hotspot – despite being little more than a prototype at the moment. The company is hoping that pre-orders, and a Kickstarter page, will raise the money it needs to turn Dispatch into a real product, though a more compelling use case may also be needed to turn it mainstream.
Source: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/22/connectify_dispatch/
Tomi Engdahl says:
47% of US consumers feel they don’t need 4G LTE
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/12/08/22/47_of_us_consumers_feel_they_dont_need_4g_lte.html
Though Apple’s next iPhone is widely expected to have high-speed 4G long-term evolution connectivity, a new survey has found that nearly half of American consumers feel they don’t need 4G LTE.
The details come from a survey of 3,000 individuals polled by investment firm Piper Jaffray.
The survey found that 47 percent of consumers feel they don’t need 4G LTE, and another 26 percent indicated they feel all 4G network technologies are the same. Just 15 percent of those polled said that 4G LTE is the best network technology.
Among consumers who do have an opinion on 4G LTE networks, Verizon was the clear winner. But Larsen said the general lack of opinion among consumers is good news for AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Top testing challenges for the connected home: IPv6 and TR-069
http://www.edn.com/design/test-and-measurement/4391911/Top-testing-challenges-for-the-connected-home–IPv6-and-TR-069
The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) recently launched the Home Networking Consortium, which provides the broadband industry with a one-stop shop for both Broadband Forum TR-069 testing and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Ready carrier premises equipment (CPE) Logo testing.
As the world’s only official laboratory for all Broadband Forum TR-069 testing and the only approved laboratory for IPv6 Ready CPE Logo testing in North America, the UNH-IOL has unique insight into how testing these two technologies in CPE can help operators connect devices in the home to networks of the future and manage the devices for superior customer service.
TR-069 and IPv6 are positioned to be the primary technologies for home networks of the future. Engineers cannot properly design and implement devices and systems without comprehensive, reliable evaluation, however. Testing for these two protocols presents a number of challenges
Tomi Engdahl says:
TR-069 (Technical Report 069) is a DSL Forum (which was later renamed as Broadband Forum) technical specification entitled CPE WAN Management Protocol (CWMP). It defines an application layer protocol for remote management of end-user devices. As a bidirectional SOAP/HTTP-based protocol, it provides the communication between customer-premises equipment (CPE) and Auto Configuration Servers (ACS). It includes both a safe auto configuration and the control of other CPE management functions within an integrated framework.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TR-069
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sony Mobile Communications Announces New Operational Structure and Reduction in Workforce
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases-test/sony-mobile-communications-announces-new-operational-structure-and-reduction-in-workforce-167151275.html
In October 2012, Sony Mobile will move its corporate headquarters and certain other functions from Lund, Sweden, to Tokyo, Japan.
In relation to the operational structure changes, Sony Mobile plans to reduce its global headcount by approximately 15 percent (approximately 1000 personnel, including consultants) throughout the financial years of 2012 and 2013 (i.e. by the end of March 2014) as the company seeks to increase operational efficiency, reduce costs and drive profitable growth.
Sony Mobile is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, following Sony Corporation’s acquisition of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson’s 50% stake in Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, completed on February 15, 2012.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nokia, Samsung and pals team up to map malls, stations
Alliance aims to develop standard for mobile floor plans
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/23/in_location_alliance_launched/
Nokia and Samsung have teamed up to try to standardise the technology used to for indoor location services.
The firms, together with Sony, British chip designer CSR and 18 other companies, have launched the In-Location Alliance to launch standards-based services, starting with Bluetooth 4.0 low-energy technology and Wi-Fi standards.
“Indoor positioning is the next frontier of mobile services, offering great opportunities to enhance consumer experiences,” the Alliance said.
“For the benefit of enterprises, the Alliance will drive a world-wide indoor positioning system for use in major venues.”
Last month, Google started running its indoor maps on UK mobiles, starting with 40 venues
companies are no doubt thinking that a mobile floor-plan service could be an excellent way to target advertising
Tomi Engdahl says:
19 million Americans cannot get high-speed Internet broadband access
http://blog.bodhost.com/19-million-americans-cannot-get-high-speed-internet-broadband-access/
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced during its eighth annual broadband progress report on the state of broadband/Internet access in America, announced that 19 million Americans (6% of Americans) still do not have access to high-speed broadband above the 3Mbps threshold.
However, the report also detailed the advances the progress that is being made, including “LTE deployment by mobile networks.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
No more bada and TIZEN in 2012
http://www.sammobile.com/2012/08/22/no-more-bada-and-tizen-in-2012/
Samsung will not bring any kind of new Bada phones in the second half of 2012.
Another sad thing is Samsung moved their first TIZEN OS devices to 2013.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Subscriptions in the world is six billion. Ten years ago, it was less than one billion.
Mobile penetration in India has already reached more than 930 million, and at the current rate of one billion will break before Christmas.
In China more than a billion subscriptions was reached in the spring.
The hottest growth years are behind us in China and India because mobile penetration in those countries is now high.
Third biggest mobile market is United States, more than 300 million.
Source: http://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/ict/intian+kannykkaliittymien+maara+hipoo+miljardia/a830919
Kerry Snellen says:
Pretty cool Blog – I’ll be passing it on
Tomi Engdahl says:
Digitimes Research has estimated that the Windows Phone platform enabled phones will increase this year in its most intense pace. Digitimes believes Windows phones deliveries this year to reach 21 million units, which would mean 107.8 percent increase from last year.
Android’s growth is expected to slow down to 89.8 per cent last year’s 236.5 percent dizzy. Platform market share Digitimes estimated to exceed the end of the year 70 per cent.
Apple’s iOS’s growth is expected to regress to 34.9 percent last year, 95.9 per cent. Deliveries are expected to reach 125 million this year.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/digitimes+windows+phone+kasvaa+ylivoimaisesti+nopeinta+tahtia/a831683?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-27082012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
OpenLogic Code Scan Reveals Increasing Open Source License Compliance Among Mobile Apps
http://www.openlogic.com/news/bid/210112/OpenLogic-Code-Scan-Reveals-Increasing-Open-Source-License-Compliance-Among-Mobile-Apps
OpenLogic, provider of open source scanners, open source governance solutions and community-backed open source support for the data center and the cloud, today announced the results of a source code scan and license compliance assessment of 66 leading mobile applications containing open source software. The results show that the majority (58.3%) of mobile apps scanned are not in violation of open source licenses.
The obligations that OpenLogic analyzed were as follows:
The GPL and LGPL license requirements to:
Provide source code or an offer to get the source code
Provide a copy of the license
The Apache license requirements to:
Provide a copy of the license
Provide notices/attributions
In some cases, applications that violate open source license requirements may be subject to legal action and removal from app stores.
OpenLogic’s Scan Results
58.3% of the 66 applications scanned are not in violation of open source licensing requirements (up from 29% in 2011).
5% of those mobile apps achieved compliance by adding an offer for source code or a copy of the license.
However, most of the apps (53.3%) solved the issue by removing the non-compliant open source components altogether.
38.3% of the mobile apps are still in violation of open source licenses (vs. 71% in 2011).
The remaining 3.3% of the apps are obsolete and no longer available in the Apple or Android app stores.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FCC eyes tax on Internet service
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/245479-fcc-eyes-tax-on-internet-service
The Federal Communications Commission is eyeing a proposal to tax broadband Internet service.
The move would funnel money to the Connect America Fund, a subsidy the agency created last year to expand Internet access.
The FCC issued a request for comments on the proposal in April. Dozens of companies and trade associations have weighed in, but the issue has largely flown under the public’s radar.
The new fund aims to subsidize the construction of high-speed Internet networks to the estimated 19 million Americans who currently lack access.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Comcast Protests “Shake Down” of Alleged BitTorrent Pirates
http://torrentfreak.com/comcast-protests-shake-down-of-alleged-bittorrent-pirates-120612/
Comcast has run out of patience with the avalanche of BitTorrent lawsuits in the United States. The ISP is now refusing to comply with court-ordered subpoenas, arguing that they are intended to “shake down” subscribers by coercing them to pay settlements. Copyright holders have responded furiously to Comcast’s new stance, claiming that the ISP is denying copyright holders the opportunity to protect their works.
In recent years more than a quarter million alleged BitTorrent users have been sued in federal courts. Most of the lawsuits are initiated by adult entertainment companies, but mainstream movie studios and book publisher John Wiley and Sons have also joined in.
Initially Comcast complied with these subpoenas, but an ongoing battle in the Illinois District Court shows that the company changed its tune recently.
Instead of handing over subscriber info, Comcast asked the court to quash the subpoenas.
The real kicker, however, comes with the third argument. Here, Comcast accuses the copyright holders of a copyright shakedown, exploiting the court to coerce defendants into paying settlements.
“Plaintiffs should not be allowed to profit from unfair litigation tactics whereby they use the offices of the Court as an inexpensive means to gain Doe defendants’ personal information and coerce ‘settlements’ from them,” Comcast’s lawyers write.
“Even after courts regularly order Comcast to comply with the subpoenas, Comcast fights tooth and nail to resist complying.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
China’s telephone billing is less than 12 euros per month
China Unicom in the April-June operating profit fell by two per cent last year, 2.42 billion yuan, or 303 million euros.
China Unicom’s ARPU was by far the best three competitors: Its customer-specific billing month rose 92 yuan, or 11.5 per month per user.
Unicom had a mid-year total of 219 million subscribers, of which 57 million were 3G subscriptions. The country’s largest operator, China Mobile had a total of € 683 million, of 3G subscriptions for 67 million.
China Telecom in April-June operating profit fell by 10 per cent of 4.55 billion yuan. Its ARPU in January-June was 52 yuan.
Source: http://www.digitoday.fi/mobiili/2012/08/24/kiinalainen-puhelinlaskutus-on-alle-12-euroa-kuussa/201236325/66?rss=6
Tomi Engdahl says:
China Mobile to roll-out 16GB MEGA-cloud platform
Store your data in China. We dare you
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/27/china_mobile_cloud_icloud/
The world’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, China Mobile, is finally jumping on the cloud computing bandwagon with its own iCloud rival, which will also be available to internet users outside the People’s Republic.
The ‘Mcloud’ service is currently being tested and will be ready before the end of the year, offering users a whopping 16GB – more than three times the amount of free storage offered by Apple, according to China Daily.
“In the past, people deposited valuables in banks. Now, as we enter a digital life era, we have new demands to keep our information safe, such as messages, files and photos,”
State-run China Mobile is easily the largest operator in the world, with over 650 million subscribers and as such anything it does has a major impact on the future of the mobile industry in China and beyond
Tomi Engdahl says:
Network neutrality: AT&T admittedly has guts, but once again squanders its scant remaining customer loyalty
http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/brians-brain/4394771/Network-neutrality–AT-T-admittedly-has-guts–but-once-again-squanders-its-scant-remaining-customer-loyalty-?cid=Newsletter+-+EDN+Today
If AT&T hoped to squelch the smoldering embers of network neutrality grumbles, it failed. In fact, the effect was if anything more akin to pouring fuel on the flames. Add me to the abundant list of folks who feel that AT&T’s claims are ridiculous. As I’ve already mentioned, although AT&T doesn’t offer a branded video chat application, FaceTime more generally is a threat to the company’s cellular voice revenues. That’s one reason why AT&T claims that “Mobile Share” is required; while these plans include unlimited voice minutes and text messages, they also compel you to purchase voice and text services
Why is AT&T picking on FaceTime in particular? In part, as the blog post alludes, it’s because that particular app is pre-installed, thereby minimizing the barrier to (abundant) usage versus alternatives such as Skype
AT&T’s move is all about training consumers to pay handsomely for the data they use; as I mentioned in late July, the fiscal benefits of the new shared-data plans are dubious at best, and are particularly poor for single-device users.
If there were some fundamental technical reason for restricting FaceTime to “Mobile Share”, I’d strive to understand AT&T’s stance. But there’s not. So I’m not. Nor will be, I and others hope, the FCC.
Tomi Engdahl says:
RadioShack No Contract Wireless rate plans leak, $60 will get you everything
http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/27/radioshack-no-contract-wireless-rate-plans/
We’re just about a week out from the rumored launch of RadioShack’s Cricket-based No Contract Wireless plans, and more details are beginning to trickle out about the prepaid service.
Tomi Engdahl says:
LG first to flaunt quad-core Qualcomm smartie
http://www.reghardware.com/2012/08/28/lg_optimus_g_first_to_flaunt_quad_core_snapdragon/
LG today officially unveiled the Optimus G, the first 4G smartphone to utilise a Qualcomm quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
iOS and Android Adoption Explodes Internationally
http://blog.flurry.com/bid/88867/iOS-and-Android-Adoption-Explodes-Internationally
The rate of iOS and Android device adoption has surpassed that of any consumer technology in history. Compared to recent technologies, smart device adoption is being adopted 10X faster than that of the 80s PC revolution, 2X faster than that of 90s Internet Boom and 3X faster than that of recent social network adoption.
Five years into the smart device growth curve, expansion of this new technology is rapidly expanding beyond early adopter markets such as such as North America and Western Europe, creating a true worldwide addressable market. Overall, Flurry estimates that there were over 640 million iOS and Android devices in use during the month of July 2012.
Tomi says:
Nokia, Moto, Sony phone wing of Foxconn is soaked in red
Half-year loss sparks hunt for better customers
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/28/foxconn_shares_fall_on_loss/
Shares in Foxconn International Holdings slumped nearly 8 per cent today after the kitmaker reported a whopping loss for the first half of the year.
“During the first six months of 2012, we saw major changes in the handset ecosystem triggered by the end market volatility due to the European and global economic slow-down, the emergence of new service/applications-centric business models and resulting in our customers’ continuous struggle in their market share protection battle,” FIH said.
Unsurprisingly, the company said it was looking for new customers to help demand meet its capacity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphone sales is accelerating: traditional mobile phones will remain a minority
Smartphones go global sell better than earlier projections, research firm IHS iSuppli estimates.
Previously, iSuppli estimates that the earliest in 2015, the total industry volume for more than half of them are smart phones. Now iSuppli estimates that next year 54 per cent of cellphones will be smartphones.
This year, the proportion of smart phones sold in the mobile phones of 46 percent, the research firm estimates.
The reason for earlier estimates of more rapid proliferation of smart phones is the price decrease of the equipment. Cheap smartphones are selling well, especially in Asia.
Source: http://www.tietoviikko.fi/kaikki_uutiset/alypuhelimien+myynti+kiihtyy+perinteiset+kannykat+jaavat+vahemmistoon/a832882?s=r&wtm=tietoviikko/-29082012&
Tomi Engdahl says:
IBM Envisions Watson as Supercharged Siri for Businesses
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-28/ibm-creating-pocket-sized-watson-in-16-billion-sales-push-tech.html
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) researchers spent four years developing Watson, the computer smart enough to beat the champions of the quiz show “Jeopardy!” Now they’re trying to figure out how to get those capabilities into the phone in your pocket.
Finding additional uses for Watson is part of IBM’s plan to tap new markets and boost revenue from business analytics to $16 billion by 2015.
The next version, dubbed “Watson 2.0,” would be energy- efficient enough to work on smartphones and tablets.
The challenge for IBM is overcoming the technical obstacles to making Watson a handheld product, and figuring out how to price and deliver it.
Another hurdle: It takes a while for Watson to do the “machine learning” necessary to become a reliable assistant in an area.
Researchers also need to add voice and image recognition to the service so that it can respond to real-world input, said Katharine Frase, vice president of industry research at Armonk, New York-based IBM.
Apple made Siri the focus of its marketing of the iPhone 4S, which debuted last year. The software is touted as a personal assistant that can answer a wide range of spoken questions — “Do I need an umbrella tomorrow?” — and put appointments in a calendar.
Siri has become a defining characteristic of the iPhone, though it’s also drawn complaints.
With Watson, IBM aims to tackle more complex questions. The program will be able to understand oncology well enough to advise doctors on diagnosis and prescriptions, said Martin Kohn, IBM’s chief medical scientist. One iPad application for Watson — a health-care program developed with a Columbia University professor — is being used to demonstrate its medical capabilities for prospective IBM customers.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Smartphone app keeps children from getting lost
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528786.200-smartphone-app-keeps-children-from-getting-lost.html
SCHOOL field trips might be fun for kids, but try being a teacher having to keep track of dozens of little charges, each with a penchant for wandering off. Now an app that alerts teachers when a child is straying from the flock could help prevent anyone getting lost.
RubberBand uses a sensor attached to each child’s backpack that broadcasts a radio signal to all the other children’s sensors once every second. The signals are collected by a smartphone running software that measures the signal strength between every pair of children in the group to determine their locations relative to each other.
If a child toddles off, or a splinter group forms, the system plays a sound to alert the teacher and displays photos of the kids involved.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Big Brother on a budget: How Internet surveillance got so cheap
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/08/big-brother-meets-big-data-the-next-wave-in-net-surveillance-tech/
Deep packet inspection, petabyte-scale analytics create a “CCTV for networks.”
The tech is already helping organizations fight the ever-rising threat of hacker attacks and malware. The organizers of the London Olympic games, in an effort to prevent hackers and terrorists from using the games’ information technology for their own ends, undertook one of the most sweeping cyber-surveillance efforts ever conducted privately. In addition to the thousands of surveillance cameras that cover London, there was a massive computer security effort in the Games’ Security Operation Centers, with systems monitoring everything from network infrastructure down to point-of-sale systems and electronic door locks.
The logs from those systems generated petabytes of data before the torch was extinguished. They were processed in real-time by a security information and event management (SIEM) system using “big data” analytics to look for patterns that might indicate a threat—and triggering alarms swiftly when such a threat was found.
The combination of the sophisticated analytics and massive data storage in big data systems with DPI network security technology has created what Dr. Elan Amir, CEO of Bivio Networks, calls “a security camera for your network.”
“There’s no question that within the next three to five years, not having a copy of your network data will be as strange as not having a firewall,” Amir told me.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Every mobile phone a unique 15-digit IMEI number has played an important role in the criminal investigation.
Counterfeit mobile codes have started to make a mess of a criminal investigation. Criminals have come to forge imei codes in Finland, told MTV3 on Wednesday.
At least in part of Nokia’s and Samsung’s old basic phones imei code has been able to change the PC application. Instructions for this are published on the internet.
MTV3′s knowledge, exchanged imei codes would have already led to the fact that the full bystanders had to suspects in criminal investigations.
DNA’s production director Antti Jokinen says that Asia has made pirated phones with the same IMEI codes. Jokinen estimated that in some countries it may be thousands of phones with the same codes.
Operators assert, however, that the problem is in Finland, “marginal”.
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/vaarennetyt_kannykkakoodit_sotkevat_rikostutkintaa
Tomi Engdahl says:
Measurement need does not disappear
The ongoing LTE, the 4G network building can also help to increase the measurement needs in a way that did not previously been predicted. Sweden has also reached messages, according to which the strong LTE transmitters are causing interference, for example cable television broadcasts. Such analysis of the problems is always subject to measurement devices.
On the other hand, is also shown that operators often Outsourced network construction is sometimes a little vaguely. Network Builder can test that the link works physically, but its performance testing is often the end users. These should always be returned back to the operators, who then have to invest in equipment coverage, coverage and improve the quality of the connection.
Source: http://www.3t.fi/artikkeli/uutiset/teknologia/mittauksen_tarve_ei_katoa