Read in telecoms.com

IP and core network equipment vendor Cisco has pulled the plug on its WiMAX base station operation, further highlighting the ill health of the sector.

Cisco has been stepping up its game in the telecoms sector ahead of the shift to all IP next generation networks, since it missed the boat during the rollout of 3G. The US company has a presence in both the WiMAX and LTE sectors but more as a provider of packet core networking equipment as well as edge technologies like wifi and femtocells.

Well, make that only as a provider of core and edge infrastructure. “After careful review of our mobility strategy and investments, we have decided to discontinue designing and building new WiMAX base stations,” a company spokesman said this week.

Read the complete article.

There is a "significant" addressable market for coaxial cable-based home networking in Europe, according to a new study commissioned by the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA).

The study, which was conducted by IMS Research, examined the existing coaxial infrastructure in the UK, France, the Netherlands and Poland.  Results from the UK and France are described as being very similar, with 56% and 55% respectively stating that they have two or more coaxial outlets, and over a quarter of respondents in both countries reporting three or more. 

In Poland, 71% of respondents stated that they have two or more coaxial outlets and 36% reported having three or more.  The Netherlands recorded the lowest number of coaxial outlets per household, with 45% having two or more and 15% having three or more.

The four countries were chosen because of their competitive pay-TV environments, increasing penetration of HDTVs and DVRs, number of TVs per household, and the high daily TV viewing hours, according to MoCA.

 “We commissioned this survey at the request of many pay-TV operators,” said Charles Cerino, President of MoCA.  “The high percentage of homes having two or more coaxial outlets in these countries means that there is a significant addressable market opportunity for service providers wanting to gain a competitive edge via coax-based home networking.”

It was also noted that there was a "significant correlation" between the number of TVs, STBs and DVRs in a home and the number of coaxial outlets, with the report concluding that coaxial outlets are typically added as the number of TVs being watched in the homes increases. MoCA adds that it is possible that providing consumers with a strong proposition for adding TVs in more rooms would motivate them to add more coaxial outlets.

Plantronics simplified its growing Unified Communications (UC) portfolio and introduced new audio solutions that help IT departments deploy UC quickly and keep costs down . The new solutions, including a USB desk phone, premium corded headsets and wireless DECT (TM) headsets, deliver brilliant audio, unmatched quality and ease of use across all work environments.

The Plantronics Unified Communications product portfolio is now organized into the following product families:
Blackwire (TM), Calisto (R), Savi (TM) and Plantronics Voyager (R) UC. The simplified product families are designed for easy IT decision making. Many products provide full call control functions for UC applications from partners including Alcatel-Lucent, Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and Skype.

Simplifying UC Deployments
The new Plantronics Unified Communications product families give IT departments a single trusted vendor for a wide variety of audio solutions. From executives in the corner office to mobile sales teams to knowledge workers around campus or in the office, Plantronics’ breadth of product options enable clear, reliable conversations across an array of environments. Equally important, the audio solutions are easy to use and install, so IT departments aren’t burdened with support requests.

Plantronics Blackwire: Corded USB Wideband Headsets
Designed for in-office and mobile PC-based conversations, the Blackwire family includes the new Blackwire 420, a foldable headset designed for a mobile worker which can lay flat next to a laptop for portability. It has in-line controls for volume, answer/end and mute. Installation is easy via USB plug-and-play connectivity. The Blackwire line includes five headsets with wideband audio, call control and noise canceling microphones in both mono and stereo.

Plantronics Calisto: Wideband USB Phones
The Calisto family includes the new Plantronics Calisto 540, an Optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator deskphone. The Calisto 540 is ideal for stationary workers who primarily use the PC for voice conversations and want the familiarity of a desk phone. The Calisto family of products also includes a USB speakerphone and a handset.

Plantronics Savi: Wireless DECT USB Wideband Headsets
The Savi family includes new binaural and monaural headband versions of the award-winning Savi Office product. The Savi family of products is designed for knowledge workers who use both a deskphone and the PC for making calls and want the freedom of mobility with the clear audio quality. Savi Office enables inoffice professionals to listen to any PC-based audio such as music players, streaming audio and video, webinars and podcasts, and make calls via the desk phone or PC with a simple press of a button. With Savi Office portfolio, IT departments looking to standardize with one headset system can now offer users a choice in wearing styles.

Plantronics Voyager UC: Bluetooth (R) USB Wideband Headset
For mobile professionals, Voyager PRO UC, introduced in November 2009, combines Plantronics’ awardwinning Voyager PRO Bluetooth headset with a plug-and-play Bluetooth USB adapter to deliver richer wideband audio on softphones along with Voyager PRO’s superior noise and wind cancellation on both mobile phones and softphones. The Plantronics Voyager PRO UC headset supports multipoint technology that allows users to switch between their mobile phone calls and PC calls with the touch of a button. Pricing and Availability

Market research firm In-Stat estimates the total number of mobile VoIP users will be reach 288 million by the end of 2013. Of these, well over half will be associated with online mobile VoIP providers, under one-third will utilize mobile VoIP with 3G MVNOs or mobile operators, and 11% with WiMAX/LTE operators. On a geographic basis, mobile VoIP will be heavily biased towards the Asia Pacific region, particularly among the online mobile VoIP services.


Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• In-Stat projects that by 2013 mobile VoIP applications will generate annual revenues of $35.2 billion.
• While the EMEA region has more mobile VoIP related revenue currently, Asia Pacific will be the largest regional market in revenue terms by 2013. 
• Dual-mode handsets (Wi-Fi + Cellular) will be well over 400 million units shipped in 2013.

The research, “Mobile VoIP—Transforming the Future of Wireless Voice” (#IN0904428MCM), covers the worldwide market for mobile VoIP. It includes:

• Analysis of VoIP’s impact on the mobile market.
• Forecasts for mobile VoIP associated revenue by region through 2013. 
• Forecasts for mobile VoIP users and annual usage by region through 2013. 
• Profiles of mobile VoIP start ups: Fring, JAJAH, Nimbuzz, Vopium, Yego, and Defi Mobile. 
• Profiles of VoIP providers: Skype, Google, Vyke, and Freshtel Holdings; and MVNO/MVNES: Zer01 Communications, Truphone. 
• Profiles of WiMAX providers: Scartel, Clearwire, and KT Networks, and of mobile carriers: T-Mobile, Cincinnati Bell, Rogers Wireless, and Orange.

read in connectedplanetonline.com by John McDonald

As CAT-iq offers ultra low power solutions for smart grid we found this article relevant for you.

Creating a smarter grid is the “checkered flag” our industry has been eyeing for years — long before the term “smart grid” was coined. We’ve developed the technology and assembled the pieces, but deployment has been confined to local exits from the slow lane.

Now, with stimulus funding and increasing consumer awareness, it’s time to move smart grid into the express lane. We have a phenomenal opportunity to accelerate smart grid deployment, and we’ll need a strategic road map in place to optimize the integration of smart technologies into our infrastructure. We also need to shift gears from traditional “siloed” processes to a strategic, holistic drive toward energy delivery.

Driving holistic strategies
The strategic road map to a smarter grid starts with open, collaborative strategies from key drivers of smart grid solutions.

Read the complete article.

John D. McDonald, P.E., is an IEEE Fellow and past president of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES). He is also a member of IEC Technical Committee (TC) 57 and Working Groups (WGs) 3 and 10, the VP of Technical Activities for the U.S. National Committee (USNC) of CIGRE, and the past chair of the IEEE PES Substations Committee. Additionally, Mr. McDonald is the General Manager of Marketing for GE Energy T&D.

WCDMA handset semiconductor revenue will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 10% between 2009 and 2014, exceeding $30 billion by 2014. Overall handset semiconductor revenue will see a more moderate five-year CAGR of 2.1%, as semiconductor revenue for CDMA and GSM handsets declines throughout the forecast period, according to market research firm In-Stat.

The new In-Stat research found the following:

LTE Applications/Multimedia processor revenue will exceed $400 million by 2014.
TD-SCDMA handset semiconductor revenue is accelerating in 2010, increasing more than five-fold compared with nascent 2009 levels.
On a regional basis, the Latin America region will see among the most significant growth in WCDMA handset semiconductors, exceeding the Middle East & Africa (MEA) by 2011, and the North American and Eastern European regions by 2012.

The research, “Worldwide Cellular Phone Components 5-Year Forecast” , covers the worldwide market handsets and handset semiconductors. It includes:

5-year forecasts (2009–2014) for handsets, handset revenues, and handset semiconductor revenue by region and technology type (TD-SCDMA, LTE, WCDMA, CDMA, and GSM).
5-year attach rate forecasts (2009–2014) for phones with:
Wi-Fi dual-mode
Analog TV tuners
Bluetooth
Cameras
GPS
Accelerometers
Pico projectors
Touchscreens

Handset semiconductor revenue forecasts by function by technology type:
Digital Baseband Processor
Analog Baseband
Apps/Multimedia Processor
Memory
Radio, Power Amplifier
Other ICs & Discretes