An interesting quote from Vodafone pointing out that spectrum auctions intended to enable 4G (and presumably whitespace) broadband actually inhibit rural deployment.
Vodafone issues spectrum auction warning
From Dow Jones Newswires
Monday 25 July 2011
Mobile operator concerned high spectrum prices in Europe could hit investment in rural networks.
Mobile giant Vodafone Group PLC, has warned European governments that trying to raise the cost of buying spectrum for 4G mobile signals could result in lower investments in rural networks, The Times in London reported Saturday, citing the chief executive.
Spectrum is due to be auctioned in countries such as Spain, Ireland, Portugal and Britain over the next two years, but CEO Vittorio Colao said the repeat of the 2000 sale of 3G licenses, which raked in GBP22.5 billion in Britain alone wouldn’t be repeated, it added.
The U.K. sale of 4G spectrum is expected to raise GBP4 billion next year, although mobile companies have argued that the potential structure of the sale could limit potential takings.
Newspaper website: http://www.thetimes.co.uk.
In the latest sign that money is stupid: someone invested big money in a company that wraps mobile phones in a partial Faraday cage.
Spoiler alert – the company’s product and patented technology faces stiff competition from a tin foil wrapper or collander hat.
Middleburg-Based Pong Research Raises $5 Million from Single Investor
Middleburg, Va. — Pong Research, a Middleburg-based developer of cell phone cases designed to protect users from exposure to radiation, has raised $5 million from a single investor in a new round of equity funding, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The identity of the investor was not disclosed. Pong makes cases for various iPhone, BlackBerry, Motorola Droid and HTC Evo models. The company claims the cases block up to 95% of cell phone radiation while protecting signal strength.
http://pongresearch.com/
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1525538/000152553811000001/xslFormDX01
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Last week NAB and MSTV formally notified the FCC about an interference event at the 2011 CTIA show. Noteworthy is the interferer: an FCC designated spectrum administrator, and the interferee: licensed microphones operating within the TV bands.
This scenario is exactly what spectrum administrators are supposed to prevent. Such reckless behavior by a party who should know better undermines confidence in geographic spectrum sharing strategies and implementations.
After some introspection I hope they realize that spectrum administration is a serious business and tread more carefully.
[Company] may have been improperly operating on a frequency without Commission authorization. Even if [they] had a license to operate on TV channel 45, however, under the white space rules it may have been operating at a power level that was not permitted on that channel and may not have been operating with the proper authorized bandwidth. We submit that some investigation may be appropriate.
References:
February 16th, 2011
jesse
Key Bridge recently filed opinions and observations about the value of unlicensed spectrum allocations and its positive impact on innovation and investment. Key Bridge showed that innovation doesn’t necessarily follow directly spectrum auctions or licensed use. Vodafone seems to agree.
Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao accused regulatory bodies of being years behind the times … adding that some governments are using mobile spectrum as a way to make more money, for example by re-taxing frequencies that were awarded some time ago.
“This is not investor-friendly,” Colao warned. … “The spectrum policies have to be harmonised” and industry needs “light-touch regulation”.
References:
February 16th, 2011
jesse
Traffic offload may really reach it’s stride with UHF overlay networks using white space spectrum. Still a few years out, but very interesting.
Mobile operators for the most part agree that they need to remove data traffic from their networks, but their approaches to addressing the situation differ. Using WiFi offload is one option, but many have expressed concerns over the impact on the user experience. However, one U.S. mobile operator has adopted a novel way of both offloading data and improving in-building coverage, while at the same time making it easy for the end user.
Full Story