Wireless Internet
Wireless Internet

Wireless Internet

Nortel and Qualcomm Trial HSUPA

Option’s announced that they have successfully completed the industry’s first demonstration of live HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) data card calls reaching a wireless uplink transmission rate of 1.3 Mbps and a wireless downlink of 2.7 Mbps at application level. A laptop fitted with an Option HSUPA data card (category 3 in uplink, cat 6 in downlink) based on QUALCOMM Mobile Station Modem MSM7200 chipset and commercial HSDPA/HSUPA network equipment from Nortel were used to achieve the new record data speeds. Commercial availability of “HSUPA-Ready” and full HSUPA products from Option are planned for the first half of 2007.

Strix Wins Big Japanese Mesh Deal

WiFi mesh startup Strix Systems Inc. has scored one of the largest multi-city 802.11 municipal deals yet announced, working with an NTT Group subsidiary to unwire a hundred cities in Japan over the next couple of years. The firm is working with NTT West and Network Value Components to deploy the network, which will use Strix’s Access/One OWS and IWS modular mesh products to provide voice, video, and data services in both indoor and outdoor settings. Nan Chen, Strix’s VP of marketing, says that the network could cover “about 50 million people” by the time it is completed, although he’s not sure which cities NTT plans to include in the deployment.

Solectek Chooses Fujitsu WiMAX

Solectek Corporation has selected the MB87M3550 Fixed WiMAX SoC from Fujitsu Microelectronics as the standard silicon for integration into its new WiMAX-compliant series of SkyWay-MAX base stations and subscriber units. The SkyWay-MAX system will be available in limited quantities at the end of 2006, and will be generally available during the first quarter of 2007.

Panasonic Making Re-Connexion

Panasonic has announced a plan to take up where Connexion by Boeing left off. Panasonic has set about securing agreements covering a minimum of 500 aircraft in the next 60 days. That schedule is being driven by the need to be ready to serve ex-Connexion airlines within a tolerable time after the discontinuation of that service by the end of the year.

J-COM to Trial FMC Services

Japanese multiple system operator (MSO) Jupiter Telecommunications (J-COM) says it will launch a trial of fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services next month, offering customers a single number for their landline and mobile phone. The service allows a mobile phone with Wi-Fi support to transmit a landline telephone signal as an extension of the traditional home phone. J-COM’s four- to six-week FMC trial, the first of its kind in Japan, will test technological and operational aspects of the service ahead of a planned commercial launch, in the near future.

Japan Mobile Marketing Survey Results

Recent survey from InfoPlant: 58.4% of respondents say they use mobile coupons and discounts more than once per month, with the main methods of access via leaflets and direct mail (63.3%), free papers (55%), and the mobile Internet (47.3%). The majority of respondents reported using mobile coupons or discounts 2-3 times per month (26.9%), followed by approximately 1 time per month (25.4%) and 1 time every 2-3 months (20.5%). In addition, 58.4% reported using them an average of about once per month, including some who used them more than once per week. Looked at by gender, females were more likely than males to use mobile coupons more than once per month.