• Juniper Networks has joined the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance, a global initiative made up of mobile operators to accelerate the delivery of the next generation of mobile broadband networks. The alliance was created to provide a vision for technology evolution beyond 3G for the competitive delivery of broadband wireless services, by establishing clear performance targets, recommendations and deployment scenarios for a future wide area mobile broadband network, as well as to ensure that the cost-effectiveness of this network is competitive with alternative technologies.
• Millennial Media, a cross-platform mobile advertising company, has announced that MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, has become the latest top-tier content publisher to join its mobile advertising network platform. Through this agreement, marketers can reach, activate and engage baseball enthusiasts who visit MLB.com's mobile Website for complete coverage, including up-to-the-minute news, live scores, complete game schedules, player and team stats.
• InnoPath Software plans to introduce three major mobile device management (MDM) initiatives at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Initiatives include InnoPath's new customer care portal, a Web-based MDM interface for subscribers and front-line customer care personnel that allows subscribers to manage their own devices and the Open Mobile Alliance-Device Management (OMA-DM) Software Component Management Object (SCoMO) standard for application management.
• The dotMobi Advisory Group (MAG) has announced the results of recent elections for seats to the MAG Steering Committee. The new MAG Steering Committee consists of key industry executives nominated and elected from the following 13 global MAG member companies: Akmin Technologies, Boomcast Entertainment Corporation, Carlson Marketing Worldwide, GoDaddy, iLoop mobile, Millennial Media, Mobility.mobi, Nokia, QuickPlay Media, SinglePoint, Smaato, Sony and The Weather Channel.
• Broadcom has announced the BCM2940, which it bills as the first 65 nm digital TV single-chip receiver that supports the DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcast- Terrestrial) and DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) standards.
• During this week's MPLS and Ethernet World Congress in Paris, 15 vendors are participating in the first multivendor mobile backhaul interoperability showcase. The event was organized by the European Advanced Networking Test Center (EANTC) and supported by the IP/MPLS Forum and the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) to demonstrate the viability of mobile backhaul over Carrier Ethernet and Provider Backbone Bridge-Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE) technologies. Among the companies participating in the showcase are Ceragon, Cisco, Harris Stratex, Nortel and RAD Data Communications. The applications demonstrated the simultaneous aggregation of 2G TDM and 3G ATM cellular backhaul traffic over Metro Ethernet and MPLS networks, as well as Ethernet Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM), which enables operators to monitor and control their service end-to-end over multivendor, multiaccess technology backhaul networks.
• Tektronix Communications has added the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol to its existing series of communications testing systems. Adding the LTE option to the current G35 system allows for function and load testing. Adding it to the current network /service analyzer systems allows for monitoring and optimization, officials in Richardson, Texas, said. Both versions are applicable to worldwide use in 3G, mobile WiMAX and HSDPA networks. The LTE option is available now. The option starts at $100,000 for testing between base stations and core networks, using Gigabit Ethernet, and starts at $350,000 for testing using radio frequency with an air interface probe.
• Qualcomm and Huawei Technologies have signed a technology transfer agreement for advanced Node B (base station) receiver design. The agreement covers new technology that can boost the data throughput performance of High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) networks by up to 60%. Technology transferred by Qualcomm under this agreement will enable Huawei to deploy highly advanced 3G networks in markets using any UMTS-based technologies.
• Wireless backhaul company Exalt Communications has launched the split-mount EX-s series of licensed wireless backhaul solutions. The EX-s series is designed to optimize the performance of legacy TDM and advanced IP-based access and campus networks with continuously variable native IP bandwidth, in a single software configurable system.
• Eastman Kodak has combined its Color Filter Pattern technology with a new CMOS pixel to create the KAC-05020 Image Sensor, a 1.4-micron, 5-megapixel device. Designed for mass-consumer camera applications such as mobile phones, the sensor provides a new level of resolution in small optical formats, using significantly smaller pixels. But unlike other small-pixel sensors which can produce poor images, especially under low light conditions, the 1.4-micron pixel reportedly provides image quality that can equal or surpass what is available from current devices using larger, 1.75-micron pixel CMOS designs.
• Continuous Computing has upgraded its Trillium 3G/4G Wireless Protocol Software for comprehensive support of UMTS High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) functionality in alignment with 3GPP Release 7 standards. These performance improvements increase the data rates and bandwidth over the air interface in 3G networks, allowing for faster video and data services and improved overall quality of service. The software is optimized to meet the rigorous performance requirements of HSPA services, thereby enabling TEMs to build out femtocell, 3G and HSPA networks.
• Ortiva Wireless has named Marc J. Zionts as its CEO. Zionts will be responsible for directing Ortiva's growth initiatives as the company expands its market share in the United States and abroad. Prior to joining Ortiva, Zionts was CEO of FastMobile, where he was responsible for the company's sale to Research in Motion (RIM).
• picoChip is collaborating with mimoOn to deliver a complete LTE (Long Term Evolution) base station reference design. The new PC86xx family of LTE reference designs cover the full range of eNode Bs from femtocells to multisector macrocells and is supported on the same common hardware platforms as picoChip's WiMAX products. LTE has significant commonality with WiMAX, both being based on OFDMA in the downlink, all-IP architecture together with MIMO and adaptive antenna systems (AAS). The PC86xx LTE design runs on the same picoChip and Wintegra hardware platforms as the companies' industry-standard WiMAX base station reference designs. As in WiMAX, the family includes PHY and MAC and scales from single-chip femtocell access points (Home eNode B) to sophisticated multisector carrier macrocells from 1.25MHz to 20MHz. Both TDD and FDD modes are supported.
• Laura Altschul has joined ExteNet Systems, in the newly created position of vice president of strategic marketing and communications. Formerly the director of national external affairs/engineering for T-Mobile USA, Altschul is one of the industry¹s leading experts in wireless site development and policy. At ExteNet, Altschul will be responsible for its government and industry relations in addition to marketing and corporate communications. In addition to her 10 years with T-Mobile, Altschul also created and led the Wireless Access Coalition and Coverage Communications Campaign, and has served on several industry committees including the GSM Association's RAG Health Policies Work Group (North American Representative), PCIA¹s State and Local Zoning Committee, CTIA Tower Siting Committee, the DAS Forum and Wireless Women's Leadership Forum.
• Opera Software has released Opera Mobile 9.5, the latest version of its Web browser for sophisticated feature phones and smartphones. Built on Opera's core architecture, 9.5's desktop-like browsing experience has been enhanced with zooming and panning and faster page loads. Opera Mobile is currently shipped on more than 100 million phones of OEMs such as HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.
• Accedian Networks, provider of packet performance assurance solutions, has appointed Scott Sumner to vice president of marketing. Prior to joining Accedian Networks, Sumner held senior marketing, product management and business development positions in a number of telecom-focused companies, including Minacom (acquired by Tektronix in 2006), Aethera Networks and PerkinElmer Optoelectronics.