Television Broadcast reports on the status of 3DTV standards development around the world.
Recently
3DTV standards development in SMTPE, ITU, and the U.K.’s Digital TV Group
January 27th, 2010Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC
January 26th, 2010This summarizes a selection of applications for Experimental Radio license, and for Special Temporary Authority, received by the FCC during January 21-25: radar, spacecraft telemetry, cognitive radio, modulation/demodulation techniques.
Raytheon Missile Systems files an application and supporting exhibit requesting Special Temporary Authority to use Freewave radios on an aircraft in support of a test to verify the accuracy and effectiveness of aircraft radar. The plan is to transmit the position information from the tracked aircraft to the tracking aircraft, and verify that the position information determined by the radar is in sync with the actual position of the tracked aircraft. (1.35-1.39 GHz)
Read the rest of this entry »
Siemens announces wireless data transfer at 500 Mbps using visible light
January 26th, 2010Siemens issued a press release announcing the wireless transmission of data at 500 Mbps at a range of 5 meters using a white LED, breaking the previous record of 200 Mbps. The variation of light intensity used to modulate the data is imperceptible to the human eye. Siemens sees practical applications where such a system could be used to transmit data via ceiling lights when WLAN radio frequencies are congested.
Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC
January 26th, 2010This summarizes a selection of applications for Experimental Radio license, and for Special Temporary Authority, received by the FCC during January 14-20: VSAT for Haiti, helicopter surveillance in Chicago, WiMAX, wideband at high frequencies, avionics, cell phone jamming, and radar.
Read the rest of this entry »
Satellite companies see usage surge in Haiti
January 25th, 2010Urgent Communications reports on increased satellite traffic from Haiti. Iridium usage is up 18,000%, in part because of it having palettes of satellite products ready to be shipped for its response-agency customers.
FCC Upholds Waiver of its Rules to Permit Airport Body Scanners on 24.25-30 GHz
January 25th, 2010Mitchell Lazarus looks at a recent FCC decision that permits continued use of body scanners over the objections of a communications company.
The Challenge of Developing 3D TV Standards
January 22nd, 2010What works in the theater doesn’t necessarily work on TV. Issues include bandwidth, captions, subtitles, and metadata. Television Broadcast looks at some of the challenges faced by the SMPTE 3D Standards Working Group.
Experimental Radio Applications at the FCC
January 17th, 2010This is a summary of experimental radio applications received by the FCC during January 11-13, 2010: unmanned aircraft, nuclear reactor communications, aerial surveillance, WiMAX, landslide monitoring, antenna testing, and more.
Read the rest of this entry »
IEEE to hold first international workshop on femtocell networks
January 14th, 2010In recognition of the rising status of femtocells as a tool to increase wireless network capacity and performance, IEEE is planning its first international workshop on femtocell networks.
Recent Experimental Radio Filings at the FCC
January 10th, 2010Companies request permission from the FCC to test cell phone jamming, antenna-induced interference, millimeter-wave transmission, RFID, radar, and remote-controlled streetlights.
Read the rest of this entry »
Court Challenges FCC in Early Network Neutrality Test
January 9th, 2010Paul Feldman summarizes highlights from yesterday’s oral argument in the U.S. Court of Appeals.
“How would you prefer to lose?”
NTT DOCOMO develops 8-band power amplifier for mobile phones
January 8th, 2010NTT DOCOMO announces development of a prototype multi-band power amplifier that accommodates eight frequency bands between 700 MHz and 2.5 GHz. Such technology will make multi-band multi-standard phones more practical.
DOCOMO will present the new amplifier on January 11 at the 2010 IEEE Radio and Wireless Symposium in New Orleans.
AT&T announces upgrades to 3G air-interface and backhaul connections
January 6th, 2010AT&T issued a press release announcing an upgrade of its wireless network air-interface to High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) 7.2 Mbps technology.
Of equal note is the company’s comments on its backhaul connections. Not only can older backhaul networks constrain data throughput, they can fail to meet latency requirements for good-quality VoIP. AT&T says most of its mobile backhaul data will be carried on fiber-based, HSPA 7.2-capable backhaul networks by the end 2010, with deployment continuing into 2011.
The Broadcast and Wireless Industries: Latest Spectrum Arguments at the FCC
January 5th, 2010The FCC is working under a Congressional deadline of February 17, 2010 to develop a National Broadband Plan. That work includes looking for additional spectrum for wireless broadband services.
On December 2, 2009, the FCC issued a Public Notice asking for more comment on spectrum licensed to broadcast TV stations, and on market-based mechanisms that would encourage broadcasters to make spectrum available for wireless.
TV broadcasters generally like their spectrum as it is. They argue that over-the-air TV is a public service. It is the only source of video programming for some. A large investment was made in the recent DTV transition. They are working on advanced technologies including Mobile DTV and other content delivery platforms. Multicasting provides greater choice in programming without the need to subscribe to a cable or satellite service.
Read the rest of this entry »
Adapting EV-DO to Limited Link Budgets
December 30th, 2009EV-DO (Evolution – Data Optimized) is a popular name of 3GPP2’s 3G air interface for high-speed data. The specification calls it High Rate Packet Data, or HRPD. At the December 3GPP2 meeting, a new framework was proposed that would modify HRPD to allow it to perform better in limited link-budget environments, such as in satellite and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. The new system is called EXtended Cell High Rate Packet Data, or xHRPD. Contributing companies include TerreStar, DBSD North America (ICO), Skyterra, and Qualcomm.
Read the rest of this entry »