July 20, 2007

EDITORIAL EDGE
It's Not Easy Being Green
By Rhonda Wickham

We can't and won't credit Al Gore for discovering the Internet. He also didn't "discover" global warming, but we can credit him for putting a more personalized face on it. And in doing so, I believe he has been responsible for the current popularity surrounding the movement to improve our treatment of the Earth. This treatment now has seeped over into corporate America and I feel as though efforts toward greening in technology and electronics companies is becoming as ubiquitous as running the American flag on corporate literature following 9/11 or ISO 9001 certification.

Now, I believe corporate responsibility whether driven by conscience, fashion or even keeping up with the Joneses, is a good thing. However, let's not kid ourselves.

For the technology and electronics sector, in particular, this is far harder to accomplish than simply releasing a letter from the Office of the President, saying, "Our company is going green."

First, the materials used in devices are used for a reason - cost and technology performance, availability and workability to name just a few factors. Companies seek the optimal material to achieve performance at a price point that makes sense for the customer base to shell out for the final product. To switch gears and determine that many of the materials and processes used to build equipment are not "green-acceptable," can create other problems, such as finding suitable and economic replacements. And once you have found those replacements, will they perform as well with future growth opportunities?

And that aside, it is unrealistic to believe that any electronics device will be completely Earth-huggable. Even though Dell reportedly has the most Earth-friendly laptop, it reportedly still contains mercury which can be hazardous to the nervous systems of the planet's residents. Plus, just because technology companies commit to being more green, it doesn't mean the customer will actually appreciate the effort enough to pay more for your product than for another similar product from a non-green company.

So for technology companies, it is anything but easy to be green. (See stories below.) But beginning to take corporate steps now to respect the Earth - either by internal energy-conscious efforts and/or externally with product development and delivery - it is the right thing to do.

What do you think? Write me at Rhonda.wickham@advantagemedia.com.

NEXT-GENERATION NETWORKS

DoCoMo Launches Super 3G
By Rhonda Wickham

Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo, which currently serves more than 52 million subscribers, is conducting pre-standards lab tests of what it calls Super 3G. You might recognize it better by the moniker of Long Term Evolution, or LTE. Attributes of Super 3G or LTE include low-latency data transmission and improved spectrum efficiency, both features that carriers want to hear about.

Connecting the dots, Super 3G actually is an advanced version of High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), which have been evolved from 3GPP-standardized W-CDMA. The 3GPP is currently working on standardization of Super 3G under the name Long Term Evolution (LTE).

The carrier plans to test the LTE network in an indoor experiment to test transmission speed using one transmitting and one receiving antenna. DoCoMo predicts downlink speeds of 300 Mbps. It also says its Super 3G network will allow for a smooth transition to 4G technologies. Once the first step in the experiment has been taken, the operator plans to expand the experiment to examine downlink transmission by using up to four multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas for both the base station (transmission side) and mobile station (receiving side). In theory, the company believes this will allow the downlink transmission speed of 300Mbps.

The operator's approach to Super 3G is nothing new. It has consistently sought the less-traveled technology roads. It continues to use its FOMA network and in 2001 it launched the first 3G mobile service based in W-CDMA. In terms of mobile multimedia services, the company has led with i-mode, mobile commerce and e-wallet functionality.

DoCoMo also will examine the functionality of applications for voice and image transmission, games and the like, all key capabilities impacting the Super 3G system's marketability.

A year ago, the operator began accepting proposals for Super 3G equipment makers and seems to be moving ahead without the benefit of LTE standards. The company plans to complete development of the technology by 2009.

Sprint Nextel, Clearwire Partner for WiMAX
By Teresa von Fuchs

Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have announced plans to jointly construct a nationwide WiMAX nework. Under the terms of the partnership, Sprint Nextel will focus on geographic areas covering about 185 million people, including 75% of the population located in the 50 largest markets, while Clearwire will focus on areas covering about 115 million people.

Sprint says it expects to begin construction by the end of this year, with the expectation that commercial services will launch in the first half of 2008.

Sprint had previously announced plans to invest between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in WiMAX during 2008, but did not say whether this agreement with Clearwire would change its spending plans.

R&D

Tech Companies Tap Green Issues
By Rhonda Wickham

Greenpeace's Green Ranking (Scale of 1 to 10)
Company	Score	Company	Score
Nokia	8.0	Toshiba	6.0
Dell	7.3	Fujitsu-Siemens	6.0
Lenovo	7.3	Acer	5.7
Sony Ericsson	6.7	Apple	5.3
Samsung	6.7	HP	5.3
Motorola	6.7	Panasonic	5.0
LG Electronics	4.3	Sony	4.0

You just about can't open a newspaper, magazine or other media report without seeing some feature on a company or industry going green by reducing hazardous materials, recycling and conserving energy in their products and in their offices. Editors at your "Emerging Technologies Flash" think the discussion is worthwhile especially as companies try to promote their new high-tech electronics.

In August 2006, Greenpeace released its first "Guide to Greener Electronics." The guide ranks the 14 top manufacturers of PCs and mobile phones according to their policies on toxic chemicals and recycling. In the fourth issue of the guide, which was released in June, Nokia led the list, with Dell and Lenovo tying for second place, followed by Sony-Ericsson and Samsung. Apple made the biggest jump from last to 10th place while Sony reportedly was the biggest loser in the race, languishing at the bottom of the ranking along with LG, both penalized for "double standards" on their waste policies.

In a recent USA Today story, the newspaper reported that Dell's D630 is "perhaps the most environmentally friendly mainstream laptop on the planet." The computer maker has cut out the lead, brominated flame retardants, polyvinyl chloride and other commonly used chemicals and eliminated glued together parts that can't be recycled. But for all of its strides, the laptop still contains mercury, which as we know can play havoc with the human nervous system.

Network Planning Helps Reduce CO2 Emissions
By Rhonda Wickham

According to research done by Actix, network operators have an opportunity to reduce emissions and energy demands but are a little slow to pull the trigger. According to Alex Hawker, Actix CEO, energy represents the third most significant operating expense for the average mobile operator. He says operators could improve business performance and customer experience by embracing environmental concerns, especially with the upcoming rollout of mobile broadband networks set to increase power demands. Hawker says few operators are considering how this unnecessary carbon expenditure could be reduced through a more efficient planning of their mobile network.

Mobile network energy consumption currently stands at 61 billion kWH worldwide, with each of the base stations producing almost 10 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Conservative estimates project that this consumption will double by 2011, totaling 449 billion kWH over the 5-year period, at a cost in excess of £22 billion. The largest mobile network operators produce more carbon per year than some of the largest car rental companies, with the top 20 carriers worldwide accounting for almost 40% of total emissions by wireless networks.

By reducing network base station usage by 15%, mobile operators could save £3.8 billion - the equivalent of 28 billion kg of CO2 or of a jumbo jet flying from London to New York and back every day for the next 165 years. Reducing global mobile network energy consumption by 20% in 2007 alone would equate to a 1% cut in annual global emissions from airlines.

Actix offers advanced automated management software systems to reduce the total cost of ownership of a wireless network.

MOBILE TV

EU Goes for DVB-H
By Rhonda Wickham

In a move that should come as no surprise, the European Commission (EU) announced that it was backing a single mobile TV standard. As early as 2G cellular, the EU has sought a single standard approach to technology developments - in that case, GSM -- to promote interoperability among the European nations. As for Mobile TV, the EU posted on its Website: "DVB-H appears to be the strongest contender for future mobile TV deployment in Europe…The commission therefore considers that DVB-H will form the basis for successful introduction and take-up of terrestrial mobile TV services in the EU." Nokia and a number of other vendors developed the DVB-H standard. For the time being, the EU announcement means that European countries must favor this technology but are allowed to use other standards as well.

The EU's support of digital video broadcast - handheld (DVB-H) was driven by the opinion that the lack of a single standard has held back the adoption of mobile TV.

Most operators hope mobile TV could encourage users to spend an additional $7 to $13 a month.
However, the EU's backing of DVB-H is a blow for other companies such as Qualcomm, which has been promoting it MediaFLO technology, and other predominantly South Korean vendors, which back DMB technology. Although other parts of the world, the United States included, feature multiple technology approaches, analysts theorize that the EU's standard decision could be a first step toward setting a global standard, something thatcould come as early as 2008.

But not everyone is jumping on the global standard bandwagon. The European Broadcasting Union (EUB) countered, saying it supported companies being allowed to develop devices using whatever standard proves most popular with consumers. The FLO Forum, a group of more than 80 companies supporting Qualcomm's MediaFLO, also objected to the EU's push for a single standard. In a statement, the forum said, "The FLO Forum applauds the commission's efforts to advance the high potential mobile TV opportunity in Europe… [it] believes that the … intention of favoring any one particular mobile TV technology for Europe could stall the advancement of a healthy European mobile TV eco-system." The forum says it promotes "technology neutrality," in that different standards will have different applications.

M2M

Telespree Receives Patent for Activation
By Wireless Week Staff

In the emerging technology space, a patent can make the difference between success or failure. Telespree today announced that it has received a key patent for its core technology - a solution that fully automates customer activation including device programming and service enrollment, ongoing account maintenance, rate plan changes and promotions for wireless networks.

Telespree's patent covers an automated system for obtaining secure and immediate wireless access to a telecommunications network. The patent protects the key technology behind Telespree's platform - a solution that fully automates customer activation including device programming and service enrollment, ongoing account maintenance, rate plan changes and promotions for wireless networks. The technology outlined in the patent also makes a new class of "on-demand" wireless services viable, such as infrequent, For Emergency Only and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) use.

Patent application #7,197,301 B2 and titled, "Method and Apparatus for Secure Immediate Wireless Access in a Telecommunications Network." The patent covers an automated solution that uses existing wireless network messaging infrastructure and protocols to activate and provision a wireless device on existing wireless networks. The invention provides wireless devices with immediate limited or unlimited access to the wireless network. The solution eliminates the need for retail agents, call center agents and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems to provide basic device provisioning and activation services. Telespree's technology also supports applications where network resources are used only on demand.

Emerging Tech News Briefs - July 20, 2007

• HiWire, along with Partner SES Americom, has announced a 24-channel lineup for its upcoming mobile TV broadcast trial in Las Vegas. The content will include seven channels from Discovery Communications; six channels from MTV Networks, including CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike TV and VH1; two channels from Turner Broadcasting, CNN Mobile Live and Cartoon Networks/Adult Swim Mobile; Anime Network; E!; Fox News Channel; Travel Channel; The Weather Channel; MavTV; and AccuWeather.com. HiWire also hinted at plans for an even broader lineup for its consumer launch scheduled to begin later this month. HiWire uses digital video broadcast-handheld technology for its system.

• Nokia announced that it plans to equip all of its future devices that have built-in GPS with A-GPS service. The Nokia 6110 Navigators will be the first devices to take advantage of this new service. A-GPS has the ability to reduce the time a mobile device needs to find its current position, known as time to first fix (TTFF) for most geographical locations worldwide. The reduced fix times can increase and improve the usability for all Nokia location-based experiences.

• Teledata Networks, provider of Multiservice Access solutions for next-generation networks, introduced BroadAccess-100, a Mini IP DSLAM that allows telcos to deliver high bandwidth services in FTTN (Fiber to the Node) configurations and seamlessly upgrade to Triple Play services. It is a compact, environmentally hardened broadband access system that can be used to upgrade narrowband remote access systems as well as deliver broadband from remote outdoor cabinets or multitenant units.