LTE: Huawei launches the Ascend P1 LTE smartphone. Video promo.

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesùs.

LTE: Huawei launches the Ascend P1 LTE smartphone. Video Promo.

Huawei announced availability of its Ascend P1 LTE smartphone, describing it as “the device compatible with the highest number of frequency bands”. As previously announced, it will initially be available in the UK through Everything Everywhere, with other markets set to follow.

According to the Chinese company, Ascend P1 LTE is being tested on operator networks across Europe, Latin America, North America and Asia Pacific regions. It is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and runs Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

Earlier this year, Huawei revealed aggressive smartphone targets for 2012,looking to ship 60 million devices – compared with 20 million in 2011. Much of the growth will come from its home market, as customers transition from smartphones to feature phones.

The company is already offering a non-LTE version of the Ascend P1 worldwide, and has created a TD-SCDMA market for China Mobile.

Specifications: (Please click on the two images below to enlarge the view)

LTE: U.S./Canada No. 1 .

WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

U.S./Canada No. 1 in LTE Connections With 87% Global Market Share

Latin America Leads Globally With 85% Annual Growth in UMTS-HSPA Mobile Broadband.

4G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the 3GPP family of technologies, today announced that LTE connections in North America hit 3.3 million representing 87 percent of all 3.8 million LTE connections worldwide, according to 3Q 2011 data from Informa Telecoms & Media. This puts the U.S. and Canada in the number one position as global leaders in LTE subscriptions.

"The early deployment of LTE in the United States and Canada has put the region in a leadership position worldwide," stated Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. "It is also one of the key reasons why securing additional spectrum is a requirement for continued mobile broadband progress in serving both consumer and business customers while increasing our much-needed economic development in North America. Without additional spectrum in the region, the leadership position will inevitably fall. It is already expected that by 2013 the Asia Pacific region will surpass North America in LTE subscriptions."

In Latin America, where LTE will most likely be deployed during December 2011 or first quarter of 2012, UMTS-HSPA mobile broadband is significantly penetrating the market. In the year ending September 2011, UMTS-HSPA connections increased by 29.5 million for an 85 percent annual growth rate in the region with total 3GPP mobile broadband connections reaching 64.2 million.

Erasmo Rojas, 4G Americas' Director of Latin America and the Caribbean, commented on the continued success of 3GPP technologies in the region. "People are finding alternative ways to communicate using services other than voice. With the consequent reduction in voice revenues and the flood of new sophisticated devices such as smartphones and tablets in the hands of the consumer, operators see this trend as an excellent opportunity to increase their data revenues with new and attractive Value Added Services. Data services contributed an average of 22 percent to ARPU during 2Q 2011. That is the main reason that Latin America and the Caribbean are pressing hard on the HSPA+ accelerator with 28 commercial networks in 17 countries while preparing the way for upcoming LTE deployments."

Following are key statistics for the 3GPP family of technologies (GSM-HSPA-LTE) in 3Q 2011:

Western Hemisphere - All Americas Region

--  Total of 89.5 million new GSM-LTE subscriptions in the 12 month period
            ending September 2011, equalling 90 percent of all new mobile
            customers
        --  3GPP technologies represent 741.6 million customer connections
            comprising a 77 percent market share
        --  UMTS-HSPA mobile broadband subscriptions totalled nearly 160 million
            with the addition of 15.6 million subscribers in 3Q 2011
        --  UMTS-HSPA-LTE subscriptions reached 163 million with 17 million new
            subscriptions in 3Q 2011
        --  Annually, 3GPP mobile broadband subscriptions (UMTS-HSPA-LTE) added
            59.7 million (nearly 58 percent annual growth)
        
        

U.S. and Canada

--  Total of 157.7 million GSM-LTE subscriptions -- nearly 45 percent of
            mobile market share
        --  30 million UMTS-LTE mobile broadband subscriptions added between
            September 2010 and September 2011
        --  No. 1 in LTE subscriptions worldwide: 1.5 million new LTE subscribers
            were added in the third quarter of 2011, bringing the total to 3.3
            million LTE connections
        --  5 commercial LTE networks, including Bell Wireless Affiliates and
            Rogers Wireless in Canada and AT&T, MetroPCS and Verizon in the
            U.S.
        --  Forecast nearly 150 million LTE connections at end of 2016 (Informa)
        
        

Latin America and Caribbean

--  Total of 584 million GSM-HSPA subscriptions as of September 2011, 75
            million connections added year-over-year
        --  3GPP technologies hold a 95 percent market share with the addition of
            20 million new subscriptions in 3Q 2011
        --  UMTS-HSPA contributed significantly to this number with 9 million new
            subscriptions for the quarter; 29.5 million added in 12 months for a
            total of 65 million connections
        --  As of September 2011, UMTS-HSPA accounted for 10.4 percent of all
            subscribers in the region
        --  Currently 28 commercial HSPA+ networks offer service in 17 countries
            of the region
        --  38 operators in 15 countries of Latin America have committed to LTE
            deployment pending the acquisition of spectrum resources. UNE
            (Colombia), Telcel (Mexico), Claro (Puerto Rico) and ANTEL (Uruguay)
            are expected to launch LTE in early 2012
        
        

Global

--  5.8 billion total wireless subscribers
        --  5.2 billion 3GPP subscriptions (90 percent market share)
        --  826 million UMTS-HSPA-LTE mobile broadband subscriptions as of
            September 2011
        --  413 commercial UMTS-HSPA networks
        --  173 HSPA+ networks
        --  3.8 million LTE subscriptions; 38 commercial LTE networks in 24
            countries
        
        

Statistical Charts For more information and to view a variety of statistical charts on the 3GPP family of technologies, visit www.4gamericas.org .

        Contact:

Vicki Livingston
        4G Americas
        +1 262 242 3458
        Email Contact
        
        
        

SOURCE: 4G Americas

LTE: Latin America to get its first LTE network this year

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Region's operators seek to persuade regulatory bodies of need for more spectrum as they battle to boost data revenues, according to 4G Americas.

Mobile data ARPUs are on the up in Latin America but operators are struggling to serve their customers because they don't have access to the spectrum they need, according to industry body 4G Americas. 

However, there are encouraging signs: the continent is on the verge of welcoming its first commercial LTE network.

“We might see the first LTE network in the region by the end of this year,” Erasmo Rojas, director of Latin America and the Caribbean for 4G Americas told Total Telecom on Thursday. Colombia auctioned off spectrum in the 2.6-GHz band in mid-2010 and rollout requirements state the winners have to launch services using the spectrum within a year, he explained.

There have been LTE trials in other markets, including Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Mexico, Rojas added, but noted that in many cases the operators were forced to run the trials in their existing spectrum bands, because “the governments have not released new spectrum”.

The availability of spectrum is a problem for operators throughout the region. Demand for mobile data is growing and operators need to capitalise on that revenue stream in order to offset falling voice ARPUs, but regulatory bodies still have a very voice-centric mindset and allocate spectrum based on the requirements of voice services, rather than data, Rojas said.

“The voice time is gone,” he said. New devices like the iPhone and iPad, plus a young population keen to access social networking and download music and video content, are driving data growth.

“Operators are telling regulators: 'we can't cope with that demand',” without new spectrum, he said.

Argentina is Latin America's most advanced data market, with data (including SMS) contributing 36% of revenues as of Q3 2010, Rojas said. Venezuela follows with a 33% data contribution, Ecuador and Mexico both 24%, Colombia and Chile at 17%, and Brazil and Peru at 15%. And even the size of the contribution from SMS is changing. One or two years ago SMS accounted for 80% of data ARPUs. “Today it's only about 60%,” falling to 50% in some markets, Rojas said.

“This is an argument the incumbents are showing to the governments,” Rojas said.