Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) proposed to acquire shares in wireless partner Clearwire Corp. it doesn’t already own in a deal that the third-largest U.S. carrier says would cost about $2.1 billion.
Sprint, which owns more than 50 percent of Clearwire, is seeking to acquire shares at $2.90 each, or 5.5 percent more than the stock’s closing price in New York yesterday, according to a regulatory filing today. Sprint proposed to provide interim financing of as much as $800 million.
Sprint is getting an influx of cash from Japan’s Softbank Corp. (9984), which agreed to buy 70 percent of Sprint for about $20 billion. Sprint agreed to buy Eagle River Holdings LLC’s 4.5 percent stake in Clearwire in October for $2.97 a share.
Clearwire shares jumped 2.6 percent to $2.75 yesterday in New York. The stock is up 42 percent this year.
Sprint originally formed the Clearwire joint venture in 2008, relying on $3.2 billion in investments from Google Inc. (GOOG), Intel Corp., and cable companies such as Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc. The idea was to build a national wireless network that could compete with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. (T)
Clearwire never lived up to those ambitions, and the project has yet to break even. Along the way, partners such as Google and Time Warner Cable have sold their stakes for a fraction of their original value.
Showing posts with label Wireless. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wireless. Show all posts
Friday, December 14, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Wireless Carries Getting Rid of Unlimited Data Plans
Story first appeared in USA Today.
Brace yourself, parents: You may have to share your monthly wireless data allotment with your Netflix-loving kid.
In a bid to sell and connect more devices to their wireless networks — and generate more money per subscriber — major carriers are preparing to introduce "data share" plans that will likely require more coordination among family members.
In such plans, customers will pay for a fixed bucket of monthly data and share it among family members. If you live alone, the data in the bucket can be shared among various devices capable of receiving over-the-air signals, such as tablets, smartphones, security monitors in the car and other connected devices. For example, a customer can choose a plan with 5 gigabytes for two devices, instead of 3 GB for one.
A typical current wireless family plan allows you to share voice minutes, but any data allotment has to be assigned to individual devices.
The changes come as the industry is trying to improve profit margins even as companies invest heavily to build out the next new generation of fast wireless networks, called 4G LTE. As consumers' appetite for data grows unabated, the carriers are tinkering with their data plans to maximize revenues and also to bring in new waves of users who still are using call- and text-only phones.
Verizon Communications, which owns a controlling stake in Verizon Wireless, confirmed to analysts Wednesday that the wireless carrier will introduce a data-share plan and phase out unlimited data plans for customers who renew their contracts or upgrade to new phones. Customers have told Verizon that they want to share data, similar to how they share minutes today. They are working on plans to provide customers with that option later this year.
AT&T has said in recent days that they will introduce a similar plan.
Sprint, which has been promoting unlimited data plans, declined to comment.
Verizon and AT&T didn't elaborate on pricing or details of their data-share plans. But analysts say they'll be structured in a way to make it easier for customers to add new devices and expose more people to surfing the web or streaming a movie while on the move and away from Wi-Fi.
Now, if you buy another (wireless) device, you buy another data plan. A vast majority people don't want that approach. People don't want to pay a full price for a small percentage of data used. But it makes sense if you add a tablet or a child to your plan.
Such plans exist in Asia and Canada. And the changes reflect the carriers' vision of where their future growth will come from.
Phone carriers similarly introduced family share plans for voice calls, and that broadened their base of cell phone-toting customers. With the explosion of demand for data, the carriers are looking to replicate the strategy.
If a carrier can keep a family satisfied with a data plan that makes adding new devices easy, it'll discourage customers from fleeing to a competitor, a constant source of concern for the industry. The motivation is to get everyone data-oriented. Once you get customers sticky to data, they have to keep it.
Brace yourself, parents: You may have to share your monthly wireless data allotment with your Netflix-loving kid.
In a bid to sell and connect more devices to their wireless networks — and generate more money per subscriber — major carriers are preparing to introduce "data share" plans that will likely require more coordination among family members.
In such plans, customers will pay for a fixed bucket of monthly data and share it among family members. If you live alone, the data in the bucket can be shared among various devices capable of receiving over-the-air signals, such as tablets, smartphones, security monitors in the car and other connected devices. For example, a customer can choose a plan with 5 gigabytes for two devices, instead of 3 GB for one.
A typical current wireless family plan allows you to share voice minutes, but any data allotment has to be assigned to individual devices.
The changes come as the industry is trying to improve profit margins even as companies invest heavily to build out the next new generation of fast wireless networks, called 4G LTE. As consumers' appetite for data grows unabated, the carriers are tinkering with their data plans to maximize revenues and also to bring in new waves of users who still are using call- and text-only phones.
Verizon Communications, which owns a controlling stake in Verizon Wireless, confirmed to analysts Wednesday that the wireless carrier will introduce a data-share plan and phase out unlimited data plans for customers who renew their contracts or upgrade to new phones. Customers have told Verizon that they want to share data, similar to how they share minutes today. They are working on plans to provide customers with that option later this year.
AT&T has said in recent days that they will introduce a similar plan.
Sprint, which has been promoting unlimited data plans, declined to comment.
Verizon and AT&T didn't elaborate on pricing or details of their data-share plans. But analysts say they'll be structured in a way to make it easier for customers to add new devices and expose more people to surfing the web or streaming a movie while on the move and away from Wi-Fi.
Now, if you buy another (wireless) device, you buy another data plan. A vast majority people don't want that approach. People don't want to pay a full price for a small percentage of data used. But it makes sense if you add a tablet or a child to your plan.
Such plans exist in Asia and Canada. And the changes reflect the carriers' vision of where their future growth will come from.
Phone carriers similarly introduced family share plans for voice calls, and that broadened their base of cell phone-toting customers. With the explosion of demand for data, the carriers are looking to replicate the strategy.
If a carrier can keep a family satisfied with a data plan that makes adding new devices easy, it'll discourage customers from fleeing to a competitor, a constant source of concern for the industry. The motivation is to get everyone data-oriented. Once you get customers sticky to data, they have to keep it.
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Oakley Developing Tech Glasses Too
Story first appeared in the Bloomberg Business Week
Oakley Inc. is developing technology that can project information directly onto lenses, putting the sunglass maker into potential competition with Google Inc.
The technology would let Oakley, a division of Italy’s Luxottica Group, make hardware that’s comparable with Google’s Project Glass, an experimental effort to build smartphone features into eyewear.
Companies are stepping up efforts to build a wider range of electronics -- including articles of clothing -- that can connect wirelessly to the Internet. The market for so-called connected devices, a broad category that includes smartphones, tablets and PCs, may surge to 1.84 billion units in 2016, more than double the figure for last year, according to research firm IDC in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Oakley has been working on such technology since 1997. Ultimately, everything happens through your eyes, and the closer it can be brought to your eyes, the quicker the consumer is going to adopt the platform.
Oakley would initially target athletes with products based on the so-called heads-up technology. Oakley could develop a similar product for the U.S. military through Eye Safety Systems, a subsidiary that specializes in eyewear for military and government agencies.
Obviously, you can think of many applications in the competitive field of sports. That’s the halo point of where we would begin, but certainly you can transcend that into a variety of other applications.
‘Barrier to Success’
Early versions of the product would not be cheap. The product should be able to function on its own, while also working with a smartphone wirelessly using Bluetooth. The device might be controlled with voice commands, similar to Apple Inc.’s Siri software.
There’s a lot of interesting optical issues that come up when you’re trying to create a positive experience when interacting with these devices. So the technology barrier to success is significant.
Oakley released sunglasses in 2004 that featured an MP3 music player built in. While the Thump product line was not a big hit, it is profitable. The latest version, the Thump Pro, costs $129 for a half-gigabyte of storage. That means it holds one-fourth the songs as the smallest iPod, yet costs more than twice as much.
Oakley has been working on technology related to heads-up displays for about 15 years, and has 600 patents, many of which apply to optical specifications. The company would consider licensing the patents.
The CEO declined to comment on whether Oakley would release its own so-called smart glasses, but he said the market for such a device is ripe. He said Oakley would have an edge over more tech-savvy competitors because the company is able to create stylish accessories.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
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Oakley Inc. is developing technology that can project information directly onto lenses, putting the sunglass maker into potential competition with Google Inc.
The technology would let Oakley, a division of Italy’s Luxottica Group, make hardware that’s comparable with Google’s Project Glass, an experimental effort to build smartphone features into eyewear.
Companies are stepping up efforts to build a wider range of electronics -- including articles of clothing -- that can connect wirelessly to the Internet. The market for so-called connected devices, a broad category that includes smartphones, tablets and PCs, may surge to 1.84 billion units in 2016, more than double the figure for last year, according to research firm IDC in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Oakley has been working on such technology since 1997. Ultimately, everything happens through your eyes, and the closer it can be brought to your eyes, the quicker the consumer is going to adopt the platform.
Oakley would initially target athletes with products based on the so-called heads-up technology. Oakley could develop a similar product for the U.S. military through Eye Safety Systems, a subsidiary that specializes in eyewear for military and government agencies.
Obviously, you can think of many applications in the competitive field of sports. That’s the halo point of where we would begin, but certainly you can transcend that into a variety of other applications.
‘Barrier to Success’
Early versions of the product would not be cheap. The product should be able to function on its own, while also working with a smartphone wirelessly using Bluetooth. The device might be controlled with voice commands, similar to Apple Inc.’s Siri software.
There’s a lot of interesting optical issues that come up when you’re trying to create a positive experience when interacting with these devices. So the technology barrier to success is significant.
Oakley released sunglasses in 2004 that featured an MP3 music player built in. While the Thump product line was not a big hit, it is profitable. The latest version, the Thump Pro, costs $129 for a half-gigabyte of storage. That means it holds one-fourth the songs as the smallest iPod, yet costs more than twice as much.
Oakley has been working on technology related to heads-up displays for about 15 years, and has 600 patents, many of which apply to optical specifications. The company would consider licensing the patents.
The CEO declined to comment on whether Oakley would release its own so-called smart glasses, but he said the market for such a device is ripe. He said Oakley would have an edge over more tech-savvy competitors because the company is able to create stylish accessories.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Wireless Market Headed for a Wall
Story first appeared on Bloomberg Business Week
The U.S. wireless market, long the fastest-growing sector in the telecommunications industry, looks like it’s headed for a wall.
Sales of wireless contracts, the most lucrative segment of the business because it locks in monthly payments over long periods, may have shrunk for the first time ever in the first quarter. One big reason for the sharp reversal: Soaring iPhone sales in late 2011 may have satiated consumers’ appetites for wireless plans.
A decline would mark a turning point for the previously rapid-growth business, leaving carriers such as AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. fighting over a shrinking pool of customers. A slowdown also forces device manufacturers such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. to battle more intensely for customers.
The huge fourth quarter fueled by the iPhone took all the air out of the first quarter. It’s now a saturated market.
U.S. wireless carriers shed a combined 20,000 contract customers in the first quarter.
The decline forces carriers to seek revenue gains at the expense of weaker players. That may mean increasing promotional activity by carriers who already are selling smartphones at a loss to lure users into two-year contracts, a practice that has reduced profit margins.
To offer the iPhone, for instance, carriers already pay Apple about $600 per phone and then collect $199 from retail customers, subsidizing the difference with revenue from monthly service charges.
These subsidies have narrowed wireless operating income margins at AT&T to 15.2 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 30 percent in the first quarter of 2010.
‘Milestone’
What you’ll see in a saturated market are the forces of consolidation and price pressure. Margins in the U.S. have already been shrinking at a faster rate than any other time in the wireless industry. The possibility that the contract-user number dropped in the first quarter could also be factored in.
The industry is maturing. Given that the pie isn’t growing rapidly any longer, it’s now a game of share-shifting.
IPhone Surge
Within the industry, AT&T and Verizon Wireless probably kept winning users from smaller rivals T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel Corp. T-Mobile probably lost 600,000 contract customers and Sprint 125,000 last quarter. Verizon Wireless added 500,000 contract users and AT&T gained 225,000 such customers.
The potential first-quarter drop follows exceptionally strong gains in the previous period, when holiday sales of Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 4S boosted subscriber numbers. The first quarter also is traditionally the slowest sales period for the industry, and contract-subscriber growth may resume after that.
Some analysts say the market may have avoided a contraction in the first quarter. The big four carriers -- Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA -- added 380,000 contract customers collectively.
Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kansas, rose 4 percent to $2.61 yesterday, and AT&T added 0.9 percent to $30.89. Verizon Communications Inc., which owns Verizon Wireless with Vodafone Group Plc, advanced 0.8 percent to $37.74. T-Mobile is a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG.
Market Penetration
Gains in the prepaid market -- a smaller, faster-growing part of the mobile-phone business -- means the wireless industry as a whole kept adding users in the first quarter. Still, in that market, which includes carriers MetroPCS Communications Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc., the growth also is slowing.
The number of new prepaid customers added by the industry in the first quarter was an estimated 2.5 million, an 18 percent decline from the year-earlier growth rate.
If you take out every kid under 10 and every adult over 80, you have a market with 125 percent penetration. It’s no surprise the industry is maturing.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
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The U.S. wireless market, long the fastest-growing sector in the telecommunications industry, looks like it’s headed for a wall.
Sales of wireless contracts, the most lucrative segment of the business because it locks in monthly payments over long periods, may have shrunk for the first time ever in the first quarter. One big reason for the sharp reversal: Soaring iPhone sales in late 2011 may have satiated consumers’ appetites for wireless plans.
A decline would mark a turning point for the previously rapid-growth business, leaving carriers such as AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. fighting over a shrinking pool of customers. A slowdown also forces device manufacturers such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. to battle more intensely for customers.
The huge fourth quarter fueled by the iPhone took all the air out of the first quarter. It’s now a saturated market.
U.S. wireless carriers shed a combined 20,000 contract customers in the first quarter.
The decline forces carriers to seek revenue gains at the expense of weaker players. That may mean increasing promotional activity by carriers who already are selling smartphones at a loss to lure users into two-year contracts, a practice that has reduced profit margins.
To offer the iPhone, for instance, carriers already pay Apple about $600 per phone and then collect $199 from retail customers, subsidizing the difference with revenue from monthly service charges.
These subsidies have narrowed wireless operating income margins at AT&T to 15.2 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 30 percent in the first quarter of 2010.
‘Milestone’
What you’ll see in a saturated market are the forces of consolidation and price pressure. Margins in the U.S. have already been shrinking at a faster rate than any other time in the wireless industry. The possibility that the contract-user number dropped in the first quarter could also be factored in.
The industry is maturing. Given that the pie isn’t growing rapidly any longer, it’s now a game of share-shifting.
IPhone Surge
Within the industry, AT&T and Verizon Wireless probably kept winning users from smaller rivals T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel Corp. T-Mobile probably lost 600,000 contract customers and Sprint 125,000 last quarter. Verizon Wireless added 500,000 contract users and AT&T gained 225,000 such customers.
The potential first-quarter drop follows exceptionally strong gains in the previous period, when holiday sales of Apple Inc.’s new iPhone 4S boosted subscriber numbers. The first quarter also is traditionally the slowest sales period for the industry, and contract-subscriber growth may resume after that.
Some analysts say the market may have avoided a contraction in the first quarter. The big four carriers -- Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile USA -- added 380,000 contract customers collectively.
Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kansas, rose 4 percent to $2.61 yesterday, and AT&T added 0.9 percent to $30.89. Verizon Communications Inc., which owns Verizon Wireless with Vodafone Group Plc, advanced 0.8 percent to $37.74. T-Mobile is a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG.
Market Penetration
Gains in the prepaid market -- a smaller, faster-growing part of the mobile-phone business -- means the wireless industry as a whole kept adding users in the first quarter. Still, in that market, which includes carriers MetroPCS Communications Inc. and Leap Wireless International Inc., the growth also is slowing.
The number of new prepaid customers added by the industry in the first quarter was an estimated 2.5 million, an 18 percent decline from the year-earlier growth rate.
If you take out every kid under 10 and every adult over 80, you have a market with 125 percent penetration. It’s no surprise the industry is maturing.
For more technology and electronics related news, visit the Electronics America blog.
For national and worldwide related business news, visit the Peak News Room blog.
For local and Michigan business related news, visit the Michigan Business News blog.
For healthcare and medical related news, visit the Healthcare and Medical blog.
For law related news, visit the Nation of Law blog.
For real estate and home related news, visit the Commercial and Residential Real Estate blog.
For organic SEO and web optimization related news, visit the SEO Done Right blog.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Asus Adopts Amimon's WHDI Chip for Wireless PC to TV Streaming
PC Mag
Asus will use Amimon's Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) chip in its WiCast EW2000 PC to TV wireless connection kit, Amimon announced Tuesday.
WHDI is an emerging technology that allows a user to wirelessly display PC content on an HDTV. According to Amimon, Asus's WiCast can display a wide array of media, including Internet video, Flash media, digital photos, and PC games.
Amimon promised latency of less than one millisecond, so users can use all PC applications on their TV, including gaming. Specifically, the Asus WiCast will feature Amimon's second generation chipset, known as AMN2120/2220, which will enable wireless 1080p 60Hz in the 5-GHz unlicensed band, Amimon said.
The product will be available in September for $199.
Amimon's product is part of a kit that will include an HD video transmitter and receiver for connection to devices with an HDMI port, like set-top-boxes and gaming consoles. The adapters are powered by the PC's USB ports, Amimon said.
"Asus is the first to offer consumers wireless PC to TV products based on Amimon's WHDI technology. Several other PC to TV connectivity products will be launched later this year, including notebooks and tablet PCs with embedded WHDI modules," David Shefler, vice president of sales and business development for Amimon, said in a statement. "WHDI, with its high quality, low latency and low power consumption, is the only solution that will enable all portable computing, gaming and HD source devices to wirelessly connect to TVs."
Asus also joined the WHDI consortium.
"Amimon's WHDI is an ideal technology for wireless PC to TV connectivity; it offers a high-quality, robust link enabling wireless HD video and graphics with practically zero latency giving PC users seamless interaction," said James Lai, director of product marketing at Asus. "Joining the WHDI consortium will enable us to develop WHDI standard based products like PCs embedded with WHDI that interface directly to WHDI TVs."
WHDI is an emerging technology that allows a user to wirelessly display PC content on an HDTV. According to Amimon, Asus's WiCast can display a wide array of media, including Internet video, Flash media, digital photos, and PC games.
Amimon promised latency of less than one millisecond, so users can use all PC applications on their TV, including gaming. Specifically, the Asus WiCast will feature Amimon's second generation chipset, known as AMN2120/2220, which will enable wireless 1080p 60Hz in the 5-GHz unlicensed band, Amimon said.
The product will be available in September for $199.
Amimon's product is part of a kit that will include an HD video transmitter and receiver for connection to devices with an HDMI port, like set-top-boxes and gaming consoles. The adapters are powered by the PC's USB ports, Amimon said.
"Asus is the first to offer consumers wireless PC to TV products based on Amimon's WHDI technology. Several other PC to TV connectivity products will be launched later this year, including notebooks and tablet PCs with embedded WHDI modules," David Shefler, vice president of sales and business development for Amimon, said in a statement. "WHDI, with its high quality, low latency and low power consumption, is the only solution that will enable all portable computing, gaming and HD source devices to wirelessly connect to TVs."
Asus also joined the WHDI consortium.
"Amimon's WHDI is an ideal technology for wireless PC to TV connectivity; it offers a high-quality, robust link enabling wireless HD video and graphics with practically zero latency giving PC users seamless interaction," said James Lai, director of product marketing at Asus. "Joining the WHDI consortium will enable us to develop WHDI standard based products like PCs embedded with WHDI that interface directly to WHDI TVs."
Friday, June 4, 2010
Bluetooth 3.0, WirelessHD Show up in Laptops
PC World
Laptops packed with Bluetooth 3.0 and WirelessHD are being shown at the Computex trade show in Taiwan and will be on the market this year, offering faster wireless data transfer speeds between PCs and TVs or mobile phones, for instance.
Laptops shown by Acer and Asus with the latest technologies could help wirelessly transfer larger files and high-definition images at faster speeds. The technologies have been under development, but are now slowly making their way into PCs.
Asus announced the G73JW and the G53 gaming laptops with WirelessHD, which allows the transmission of high-definition video from laptops to larger TV screens. That could let users turn their PCs into game consoles or Blu-ray players.
The laptops integrate Sibeam's WirelessHD technology and use the 60GHz frequency band to transfer data. The data transfers will not interfere with wireless communication through Wi-Fi or cordless phones, which use separate frequency bands, SiBeam said in a statement.
The discount laptops will be available with 3D screens, Asus said. The G53 will come with a 15.6-inch screen and the G73JW laptop with a 17.3-inch screen. Laptop prices were not announced, and they will become available later this year.
Acer at the show said it would bring Bluetooth 3.0 technology to its laptops, though it didn't announce specific models. However, an Acer Aspire 533 on display included a Bluetooth 3.0 port, according to enthusiast Web site Netbooked, which did a hands-on review of the device.
Acer has also indicated it would implement Bluetooth 3.0 in its Timeline laptops on a BIOS support page.
Bluetooth is commonly used in mobile phones with wireless headsets for hands-free talking. Bluetooth is also used in laptops to transfer multimedia files or sync data without using wires.
The new Bluetooth 3.0 standard boosts wireless data transfers between devices to 25M bps (bits per second) from 3M bps, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a group developing the standard. The Bluetooth 3.0 specification, which is based on Wi-Fi, is an update from the Bluetooth 2.1 protocol, which was adopted in 2007.
Bluetooth 3.0 piggybacks Wi-Fi connections to transfer short bursts of data at fast speeds from devices like mobile phones to PCs. Bluetooth 3.0 will transfer images or movies at faster data transfers while using less power, said Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.
The Wi-Fi backbone helps shut down the Bluetooth radio a lot quicker as data transfers are completed faster, Foley said. The new standard also increases the range and stabilizes connections between devices. In earlier standards, connections easily broke when devices went out of range, Foley said.
Foley hopes the adoption of Bluetooth 3.0 in PCs will spur other device makers to adopt the standard. The technology has already appeared in smartphones, but Foley said it will ultimately make its way to cameras, camcorders, projectors and TVs.
Asus also included a Bluetooth 3.0 port in its EeeTop PC ET 24, all-in-one 3D desktop designed to replace home theater systems. The refurbished desktop was announced at Computex.
Semiconductor companies are also developing chips that include Bluetooth 3.0 radios. Ralink Communications showed the RT3592BC8 chip that combined Wi-Fi/802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0 technologies. The Taiwanese company said the chip could be used in laptops, and could enable applications like peer-to-peer gaming.
Broadcom announced that its InConcert communications module, which combines 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0, had been selected by PC makers like Asus and Samsung for implementation in laptops and netbooks.
Laptops shown by Acer and Asus with the latest technologies could help wirelessly transfer larger files and high-definition images at faster speeds. The technologies have been under development, but are now slowly making their way into PCs.
Asus announced the G73JW and the G53 gaming laptops with WirelessHD, which allows the transmission of high-definition video from laptops to larger TV screens. That could let users turn their PCs into game consoles or Blu-ray players.
The laptops integrate Sibeam's WirelessHD technology and use the 60GHz frequency band to transfer data. The data transfers will not interfere with wireless communication through Wi-Fi or cordless phones, which use separate frequency bands, SiBeam said in a statement.
The discount laptops will be available with 3D screens, Asus said. The G53 will come with a 15.6-inch screen and the G73JW laptop with a 17.3-inch screen. Laptop prices were not announced, and they will become available later this year.
Acer at the show said it would bring Bluetooth 3.0 technology to its laptops, though it didn't announce specific models. However, an Acer Aspire 533 on display included a Bluetooth 3.0 port, according to enthusiast Web site Netbooked, which did a hands-on review of the device.
Acer has also indicated it would implement Bluetooth 3.0 in its Timeline laptops on a BIOS support page.
Bluetooth is commonly used in mobile phones with wireless headsets for hands-free talking. Bluetooth is also used in laptops to transfer multimedia files or sync data without using wires.
The new Bluetooth 3.0 standard boosts wireless data transfers between devices to 25M bps (bits per second) from 3M bps, according to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group, a group developing the standard. The Bluetooth 3.0 specification, which is based on Wi-Fi, is an update from the Bluetooth 2.1 protocol, which was adopted in 2007.
Bluetooth 3.0 piggybacks Wi-Fi connections to transfer short bursts of data at fast speeds from devices like mobile phones to PCs. Bluetooth 3.0 will transfer images or movies at faster data transfers while using less power, said Michael Foley, executive director of the Bluetooth SIG.
The Wi-Fi backbone helps shut down the Bluetooth radio a lot quicker as data transfers are completed faster, Foley said. The new standard also increases the range and stabilizes connections between devices. In earlier standards, connections easily broke when devices went out of range, Foley said.
Foley hopes the adoption of Bluetooth 3.0 in PCs will spur other device makers to adopt the standard. The technology has already appeared in smartphones, but Foley said it will ultimately make its way to cameras, camcorders, projectors and TVs.
Asus also included a Bluetooth 3.0 port in its EeeTop PC ET 24, all-in-one 3D desktop designed to replace home theater systems. The refurbished desktop was announced at Computex.
Semiconductor companies are also developing chips that include Bluetooth 3.0 radios. Ralink Communications showed the RT3592BC8 chip that combined Wi-Fi/802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0 technologies. The Taiwanese company said the chip could be used in laptops, and could enable applications like peer-to-peer gaming.
Broadcom announced that its InConcert communications module, which combines 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0, had been selected by PC makers like Asus and Samsung for implementation in laptops and netbooks.
Monday, December 28, 2009
An Inconvenient Truth: Broadcast Spectrum Is A Finite Resource
Associated Press
Wireless devices such as Apple's iPhone are transforming the way we go online, making it possible to look up driving directions, find the nearest coffee shop and update Facebook on the go. All this has a price - in airwaves.
As mobile phones become more sophisticated, they transmit and receive more data over the airwaves. But the spectrum of wireless frequencies is finite - and devices like the iPhone are allowed to use only so much of it. TV and radio broadcasts, Wi-Fi networks and other communications services also use the airwaves. Each transmits on certain frequencies to avoid interference with others.
Now wireless phone companies fear they're in danger of running out of room, leaving congested networks that frustrate users and slow innovation. So the wireless companies want the government to give them bigger slices of airwaves - even if other users have to give up rights to theirs.
As mobile phones become more sophisticated, they transmit and receive more data over the airwaves. But the spectrum of wireless frequencies is finite - and devices like the iPhone are allowed to use only so much of it. TV and radio broadcasts, Wi-Fi networks and other communications services also use the airwaves. Each transmits on certain frequencies to avoid interference with others.
Now wireless phone companies fear they're in danger of running out of room, leaving congested networks that frustrate users and slow innovation. So the wireless companies want the government to give them bigger slices of airwaves - even if other users have to give up rights to theirs.
Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, says finding more room for the wireless industry will be an important part of his agency's broadband plan.
"Spectrum is the equivalent of our highways," says Christopher Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association, an industry trade group. "That's how we move our traffic. And the volume of that traffic is increasing so dramatically that we need more lanes. We need more highways."
That won't happen without a fight. Wireless companies are eyeing some frequencies used by TV broadcasters, satellite-communications companies and federal agencies such as the Pentagon. Already, some of those groups are pushing back.
That means tough choices are ahead. But one way or another, Washington will keep up with the exploding growth of the wireless market, insists Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. He is sponsoring a bill that would mandate a government inventory of the airwaves to identify unused or underused bands that could be reallocated.
"It's not a question of whether we can find more spectrum," says Boucher, chairman of the House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. "We have to find more spectrum."
CTIA, the industry group, is asking the government to make an additional 800 megahertz of the airwaves available for wireless companies to license over the next six years. That would be a huge expansion from the industry's current slice of roughly 500 megahertz. The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to make more frequencies available for commercial use, but has just 50 megahertz in the pipeline.
Two trends are driving the demand.
First, advanced new wireless applications - such as mobile video and online games - devour far more bandwidth than voice calls or basic text messages, says Neville Ray, senior vice president for engineering operations for T-Mobile USA Inc.
Second, consumers are flocking to wireless Internet connections, in some cases dropping landline accounts altogether. ABI Research projects U.S. mobile broadband subscriptions will climb to 150 million by 2014, up from 48 million this year and 5 million in 2007.
The predicament, says Jamie Hedlund, vice president of regulatory affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association, is that many users "assume the wireless experience should be the same as the wired experience, but the capacity is just not there for that."
The industry's concerns are finding a sympathetic ear in Washington.
Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, says finding more room for the wireless industry will be an important part of his agency's broadband plan. That plan, mandated by the 2009 stimulus bill, is due in February and will propose using wireless systems to bring high-speed Internet connections to corners of the country that are too remote for landline networks.
"If we are going to have a world-leading broadband infrastructure for the nation, wireless is an indispensable ingredient," says Genachowski aide Colin Crowell.
Lawrence Strickling, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the arm of the Commerce Department that manages the federal government's use of the airwaves, says the agency is also hunting for more frequencies the wireless industry can use.
Some of the crunch can be addressed with technologies that make more efficient use of airwaves and new equipment that lets users share bands. The FCC also wants to promote greater use of frequencies that aren't licensed to anyone, such as the "white spaces" between the bands used by TV channels.
But such solutions alone won't solve the crisis, the wireless industry warns.
The FCC's attention for now is on TV broadcasters, which hold nearly 300 megahertz of airwaves that are mainly used to serve just 10 percent of American homes - those that still rely solely on over-the-air TV signals.
The FCC is exploring multiple options, most of which would leave broadcasters with enough capacity to deliver a high-definition signal over the air. One possibility, which might require congressional approval, is a voluntary program that would let broadcasters sell excess bandwidth through an auction, to either the government or directly to wireless companies. Although the FCC awarded spectrum licenses to broadcasters for free many years ago, those licenses are worth millions today.
"Fewer people are getting over-the-air TV and at the same time, more and more people are using mobile broadband," says Blair Levin, the official overseeing the FCC broadband plan. "So it only makes sense ... to get that asset into the hands of whomever can realize its greatest value."
The idea faces opposition from the powerful broadcast lobby. Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters, says the proposal would stunt the industry's plans to make innovative use of the airwaves that became free when it turned off analog broadcasts and went entirely digital in June. Broadcasters have already returned more than 100 megahertz of those airwaves to the government and plan to use the rest to transmit high-definition signals, "multicast" multiple channels and deliver mobile TV to phones, laptops and cars.
"The FCC proposal would kill many of our future business plans in the cradle," Wharton says.
Wireless carriers are also setting their sights on frequencies held by companies that deliver voice and data services through satellites.
Hedlund, of the Consumer Electronics Association, notes that some of these companies have a lot of bandwidth but not a lot of customers. TerreStar Corp., for one, launched its satellite in July and is just building a subscriber base. And ICO Global Communications, which is running tests on a satellite launched last year, has not announced when it will begin commercial service.
But TerreStar General Counsel Doug Brandon believes the company has a strong argument for keeping its airwaves: Satellites can provide a critical lifeline in emergencies when other communications links go down and in rural areas where other carriers don't offer service.
If anything, added ICO Vice President Christopher Doherty, satellite phone companies are ideal partners for cell phone companies that want to expand coverage. TerreStar, for one, has a deal for AT&T Inc. to resell the satellite service.
More potential sources of frequencies are federal agencies that handle everything from emergency communications to surveillance operations. The Defense Department, for instance, needs the airwaves for such critical equipment as radars, precision-guided weapons and drone planes.
The Pentagon has vacated some frequencies and is developing technology that can make more efficient use of airwaves. It also says it is committed to finding compromises that work for the government and commercial sector, so long as those don't jeopardize military capabilities.
Karl Nebbia, head of the NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management, points out that federal agencies may be open to moving to different bands because the government is "a huge user of commercial broadband services." But one challenge will be to ensure federal users get the resources to relocate - including new equipment, potentially paid for with spectrum auction proceeds.
For now, one thing everyone agrees is that there are no easy pickings in the airwaves.
"There is no open space anywhere," says Kathleen Ham, vice president of regulatory affairs for T-Mobile.
That won't happen without a fight. Wireless companies are eyeing some frequencies used by TV broadcasters, satellite-communications companies and federal agencies such as the Pentagon. Already, some of those groups are pushing back.
That means tough choices are ahead. But one way or another, Washington will keep up with the exploding growth of the wireless market, insists Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. He is sponsoring a bill that would mandate a government inventory of the airwaves to identify unused or underused bands that could be reallocated.
"It's not a question of whether we can find more spectrum," says Boucher, chairman of the House Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. "We have to find more spectrum."
CTIA, the industry group, is asking the government to make an additional 800 megahertz of the airwaves available for wireless companies to license over the next six years. That would be a huge expansion from the industry's current slice of roughly 500 megahertz. The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to make more frequencies available for commercial use, but has just 50 megahertz in the pipeline.
Two trends are driving the demand.
First, advanced new wireless applications - such as mobile video and online games - devour far more bandwidth than voice calls or basic text messages, says Neville Ray, senior vice president for engineering operations for T-Mobile USA Inc.
Second, consumers are flocking to wireless Internet connections, in some cases dropping landline accounts altogether. ABI Research projects U.S. mobile broadband subscriptions will climb to 150 million by 2014, up from 48 million this year and 5 million in 2007.
The predicament, says Jamie Hedlund, vice president of regulatory affairs for the Consumer Electronics Association, is that many users "assume the wireless experience should be the same as the wired experience, but the capacity is just not there for that."
The industry's concerns are finding a sympathetic ear in Washington.
Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC, says finding more room for the wireless industry will be an important part of his agency's broadband plan. That plan, mandated by the 2009 stimulus bill, is due in February and will propose using wireless systems to bring high-speed Internet connections to corners of the country that are too remote for landline networks.
"If we are going to have a world-leading broadband infrastructure for the nation, wireless is an indispensable ingredient," says Genachowski aide Colin Crowell.
Lawrence Strickling, head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the arm of the Commerce Department that manages the federal government's use of the airwaves, says the agency is also hunting for more frequencies the wireless industry can use.
Some of the crunch can be addressed with technologies that make more efficient use of airwaves and new equipment that lets users share bands. The FCC also wants to promote greater use of frequencies that aren't licensed to anyone, such as the "white spaces" between the bands used by TV channels.
But such solutions alone won't solve the crisis, the wireless industry warns.
The FCC's attention for now is on TV broadcasters, which hold nearly 300 megahertz of airwaves that are mainly used to serve just 10 percent of American homes - those that still rely solely on over-the-air TV signals.
The FCC is exploring multiple options, most of which would leave broadcasters with enough capacity to deliver a high-definition signal over the air. One possibility, which might require congressional approval, is a voluntary program that would let broadcasters sell excess bandwidth through an auction, to either the government or directly to wireless companies. Although the FCC awarded spectrum licenses to broadcasters for free many years ago, those licenses are worth millions today.
"Fewer people are getting over-the-air TV and at the same time, more and more people are using mobile broadband," says Blair Levin, the official overseeing the FCC broadband plan. "So it only makes sense ... to get that asset into the hands of whomever can realize its greatest value."
The idea faces opposition from the powerful broadcast lobby. Dennis Wharton, executive vice president of the National Association of Broadcasters, says the proposal would stunt the industry's plans to make innovative use of the airwaves that became free when it turned off analog broadcasts and went entirely digital in June. Broadcasters have already returned more than 100 megahertz of those airwaves to the government and plan to use the rest to transmit high-definition signals, "multicast" multiple channels and deliver mobile TV to phones, laptops and cars.
"The FCC proposal would kill many of our future business plans in the cradle," Wharton says.
Wireless carriers are also setting their sights on frequencies held by companies that deliver voice and data services through satellites.
Hedlund, of the Consumer Electronics Association, notes that some of these companies have a lot of bandwidth but not a lot of customers. TerreStar Corp., for one, launched its satellite in July and is just building a subscriber base. And ICO Global Communications, which is running tests on a satellite launched last year, has not announced when it will begin commercial service.
But TerreStar General Counsel Doug Brandon believes the company has a strong argument for keeping its airwaves: Satellites can provide a critical lifeline in emergencies when other communications links go down and in rural areas where other carriers don't offer service.
If anything, added ICO Vice President Christopher Doherty, satellite phone companies are ideal partners for cell phone companies that want to expand coverage. TerreStar, for one, has a deal for AT&T Inc. to resell the satellite service.
More potential sources of frequencies are federal agencies that handle everything from emergency communications to surveillance operations. The Defense Department, for instance, needs the airwaves for such critical equipment as radars, precision-guided weapons and drone planes.
The Pentagon has vacated some frequencies and is developing technology that can make more efficient use of airwaves. It also says it is committed to finding compromises that work for the government and commercial sector, so long as those don't jeopardize military capabilities.
Karl Nebbia, head of the NTIA's Office of Spectrum Management, points out that federal agencies may be open to moving to different bands because the government is "a huge user of commercial broadband services." But one challenge will be to ensure federal users get the resources to relocate - including new equipment, potentially paid for with spectrum auction proceeds.
For now, one thing everyone agrees is that there are no easy pickings in the airwaves.
"There is no open space anywhere," says Kathleen Ham, vice president of regulatory affairs for T-Mobile.
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