Release of the 59 – 64 GHz band | Ofcom

Release of the 59 – 64 GHz band | Ofcom

Ofcom has published a statement regarding its intent to make the 60GHz band license exempt. This will actually cover spectrum from 57.1 - 63.9 GHz (which leaves a 100MHz guard band at either side i.e. the band is actually from 57 - 64 GHz).

This gices a 6.8GHz block of spectrum which is suitable for very hand bandwidth short range applications such as 100Mb/s Ethernet and even 1Gb/s Ethernet type services (as in Fixed Wireless Services or FWS), though it is also suitable for things like Intelligent Transport Services and new standards such as Wireless HD (for transporting HD television around the home).

60GHz has poor propagation and is rapidly attenuated in air and building materials are likely to block signals completely, so it is eminently suited to short range in-building use.

In order to make the band license exempt, Ofcom will need to change the Wireless Telegraphy Act with a standard instrument in line with Ofcom policy on the exempt regulations.

In spring 2010 Ofcom will issue a policy statement and consultation on draft license exmption regulation including the necessary changes to make the 60GHz band license exempt. In Summer 2010 Ofcom will publish the Final Regulatory Statement on license exemption and the regulations will come into force.

In order to utilise equipment in the 60GHz band there are various conditions: -

Equipment and Antennas must conform to essential requirements of the RTTE and the technical conditions as set out in this statement, the maximum EIRP is 55 dBm, the maximum transmitter Output Power is 10 dBm and the minimum Antenna Gain is 30 dBi.

There are also 3 areas in the UK where equipment must not be used within a 6Km radius and these are: -

* Site 1: 57 21' 3.6", -07 23' 36.6"
* Site 2: 51 37' 16.8", -04 58' 21"
* Site 3: 52 38' 1.8", -00 36' 22.8"

which are MoD Geolocation sites and need to be protected against harmful interference.

Equipment is starting to become available for this band both for the FWS market and for in-home wireless distribution systems.

Consultation on a new specimen performance bond for the purposes of Regulation 16 of the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 | Ofcom

Consultation on a new specimen performance bond for the purposes of Regulation 16 of the Electronic Communications Code (Conditions and Restrictions) Regulations 2003 | Ofcom

Ofcom can grant "code powers" to any Electronic Communication Network which gives them the right to dig roads, install masts etc.

A part of the conditions in having code powers is that if the company goes out of business they must have enough funds to complete the works and repair any roads that they have put trenches in etc.

Previously Ofcom have mandated that companies take out insurance have bonds in place to cover any uncompleted work. Ofcom have now updated the bind requirements for companies wishing to have code powers and are consulting on the new bind conditions, of which they have published a sample.

The consultation closes on 14/01/2010.

This wont effect many companies, it's only the telcos, mobile operators and other networks that use code powers so they can build their networks.

Blackberry adds themes to Blackberry World

RIM the company behind the Blackberry has added themes to Blackberry World (their app store). Themes can be free or paid for and must be suitable for all ages.

Any images or sounds in the theme must be owned by the theme submitter.

Blackberry World, though expanding, is still tiny compared to other mainstream app stores.

Apple goes La La

Apple has acquired music service LaLa but no details of the deal were specified. LaLa allows users to stream tracks or buy DRM free MP3. Any of their 8m tracks may be streamed for free once, but tracks can be licensed for 10c for unlimited play or downloaded for 89c.

It was expected that Lala would release an iPhone app that would allow users to stream tracks from a digital locker where tracks had been purchased.

Though Apple haven't given details, it's expected that they'll incorporate Lala's streaming service into iTunes where tracks cost between 69c and $1.29.

Windows Mobile now Rummbles too

Rummble have announced the availability of the Rummble application for Windows Mobile which is being launch at the Heroes of the Mobile Screen event in London.

The application will work on Windows Mobile 6.1+ devices and has the following features: -

* Discover personalised recommendations nearby, quickly and easily
* Check-in to any venue and notify your group of friends instantly
* Show the buzz from specific venues in real-time from the twittersphere
* Find out where your friends are and what they are doing
* Connect Rummble to Twitter, Facebook, Bebo and Linked-In
* Fast and accurate location lookups with Skyhook Wireless.

It is available through Windows Marketplace, which comes pre-installed on new Windows phones or is available as a download from here.

Android now Rummbles

Rummble has just been released for Android phones. Rummble is an application that allows people to rate and locate venues etc. It also has 'check-in' functionality so that friends can be notified that you've arrived at a venue.

Rummble has been available on the iPhone for sometime, but version 1.5 with check-in and social sharing functions was released last week. Now the Android version has these features and the ability to view where friends are on a map and better twitter integration.

The press release included a QRcode which when decoded had a URL to the Rummble blog which also has a QRcode to the Android download. There are of course some sensible free QRcode decoders for Android already out there.

Rummble is a company to watch.

Google release Update Engine for MacOS X

Google have released an application and framework that developers can include in their code allowing MacOS X programs to auto-update.

The code is available to download from Update Engine under an Apache 2.0 license.

The system allows MacOS X programs to check back to a server (specified in a .plist file) that then checks versions and other relevant information and if an update is available goes and gets it. This then also generates a script which can be used to install the app.

This should make it very easy for Apple developers to include auto-update functionality to their applications.

Foursquare release Blackberry version

300 lucky (?) Blackberry users have been selected to beta test a Foursquare client that works on Blackberry devices. The beta is private, but users are allowed to show it working to friends etc, though not post public links to the download etc.

So results will be posted here, though as per the instructions, no screenshots or links to where to download it, sorry.

TomTom support not so supportive

Recently my TomTom GO910 computer voice stopped working even though upgrades etc had taken place using the supplied TomTom Home software. The pre-recordered voices worked fine, only the text-to-speech system from Loquendo seemed to have failed.

After logging a support incident with TomTom, they recommended removing the LogquendoTTS directory from the device and then a long protracted support dialogue took place. After backing-up several directories and performing various set-up steps an email came in asked to restore the LoquendoTTS directory that had been deleted (before any back-ups were requested).

Now the unit has to go back to TomTom at their expense, but even so it means not having a navigation device for a while. Not the most optimal use of my time and a bit of a support failure.

TRaC opens new testing facility - in Hull

TRaC who are Testing Regulatory and Compliance a body that performs interoperability testing etc have set-up shop in Hull. This will allow vendors and chipset manufacturers to ensure their system work with others.

TRaC will have a number of different DSL solutions from several vendors (25 DSLAMs and 2 interoperability labs) and can test ADSL, SHDSL, ADSL2+, and VDSL2 as well as ensuring regulatory compliance and EMI compliance.

The operations are being moved from the current Santa Clara base.

Ericsson buys Nortel's GSM assets

Ericsson has acquired the North American GSM assets of bankrupt Nortel for $70m, this follows their successful purchase of the North American CDMA and LTE assets (for $1.13bn).

The GSM equipment is used by AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA. Ericsson also get 350 ex Nortel employees. The GSM operation made about $400m for Nortel last year, so the buy seems quite a steal.

The European and Taiwan assets were bought by Austrian firm Kapsch CarrierCom for $33m.

Gizmo5 sells out to Google

The rumours have been flying and it was thought that Gizmo5 would be the sensible acquisition for the new Skype as a basis for replacing the P2P technology that was reliant on JoltID (and why JoltID was suing Ebay).

Events have now significantly changed the market, JoltID has come to an agreement with Skype/Ebay where-upon their P2P technology will be owned outright and Gizmo5 has been purchased by Google.

Gizmo5 was started by Michael Robertson and has around 6m users while using non proprietary SIP VoIP protocols. It is expected that Google will integrate Gizmo5 into their GoogleTalk product line (and maybe Google Voice).

JoltID settles with Skype

Rather than spend millions on court cases it seems JoltID have made an agreement with Skype whereby Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis will join the investment group that purchased Skype from Ebay and they'll get a 14% stake, Skype will gain control of the P2P technology that was previously licensed (or not as the case may have been).

Though the P2P technology is now owned by Skype itself, there may still be major changes brewing with the technology (see previous article.

HTC Touch HD2 is MiFi device

HTC's Touch HD2 will include a native WiFi router. This means the Windows Mobile 6.5 device can act as a MiFi system (i.e. personal WiFi hotspot) using 3G as the transport.

It is expected the HD2 will be released in 2010 and will support HSPA (7.2Mb/s).

Though there are many MiFi units already on sale (the Novatel unit seems to be common) this will mean the HD2 phone can be used without having to purchase a separate MiFi unit which will please people who don't want to carry to much around with them.

Amazon drops Kindle (CDMA)

Amazon has stopped selling the US only CDMA Sprint/Nextel Kindle, though it will continue to support exiting units. Amazon is only going to sell the 3G version that works on AT&T's network in the US, though it's the same model that is sold internationally.

Amazon could have used a chip manufactured by Qualcomm known as the Gobi which support 2G/3G and US protocols but Amazon said the chip was more suited to netbooks, they may consider using Gobi in a future device.

Sprint/Nextel must be disappointed as it's assumed most of their 394,000 wholesale customers are Kindles. On the other hand it's a good move by Amazon to recognise that the 3G world is bigger than the US market.

Skype re-engineering the world

Please note this is completely based on my own thoughts and I have not liaised with anybody else on the content.

Skype is currently having a few legal issues with JoltID who own the P2P technology (known as Global Index) that Skype runs on. Oddly when Ebay purchased Skype from JoltID for $4.1bn they only licensed the P2P technology. Now that Ebay has sold off 65% of Skype to a private investment company, JoltID have said that their licensing has been infringed and there's a UK court case planned for June 2010.

Ebay must be slightly worried (well Skype now) as if the court case is successful Skype may not be allowed to continue to use the underlying P2P technology, which means no more Skype, or at least no more functioning Skype network.

Skype must be doing something about this? Maybe they are as they've taken on-board Theo Zourzouvillys who's job description seems to be "Internet Hippy at Skype Labs". Theo is one of the most knowledgeable people in the world when it comes to VoIP, especially SIP and he has written many SIP stacks and built hugely scalable SIP networks and is the author of many an IETF drafts on said protocols.

Though Skype are making huge efforts in supporting SIP for business users (they already utilise SIP for connectivity to telcos for interconnect i.e. for Skype In and Skype Out), could Skype be re-engineering their network from the ground up, utilising non proprietary protocols? If that was the case and the underlying technology changed significantly from the Global Index P2P system, then the JoltID problem goes away.

In this case only time will tell.

3 is 94% data

UK Mobile Network Operator 3's CEO Kevin Russell says 94% of all traffic across 3's network is data. This is a dramatic increase as 3 has pushed data services to attract users such as offering Skype phones and INQ phones which are application centric.

He stated that Skype use has increased from 90,000 minutes in 2006 to 600 million minutes last year.

3 has been unusual in that it has promoted VoIP and other internet services, when most mobile networks tried to block them.

However it must be remembered that services like Skype are actually using an iSkoot client that then connects to a 3 hosted server which then uses Skype's protocols out to the rest of the world (though the user is unaware of this).

Windows 7 becomes a WiFI Hotspot

Nomadio has discovered some features in Windows 7 that allows it to be converted to a wireless hotspot.

It seems Microsoft were developing features to allow virtualising interfaces and the code was left inside the release version and though not accessible from the user interface they are available programmatically.

Nomadio then developed some software Connectify which is available form their here which exploits these features and will share any interface over WiFi (i.e. you 3G or wired connection).

Nokia N-Gage RIP

Nokia has officially killed the N-Gage platform with the user community etc closing down by the end of the year. Software for N-Gage will be available until Sept 2010. No new devices will have N-Gage pre-installed, but instead will have the Ovi store software and users can download N-Gage and titles through that.

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