Feb 16

U.S Cellular to launch 4G LTE service

U.S Cellular is rolling out 4G LTE service in second half of 2012 with coverage for up to 3,600 cities and town. In conjunction with the network launch, the carrier is also launching Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot, Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Samsung Galaxy S Aviator smartphone. It also said that by the end of 2012, 54% of U.S Cellular’s customers will have LTE coverage.

 

Feb 16

Sprint partners with health monitoring companies

Sprint has announced agreements companies that are delivering innovative healthcare solutions

Relections Solutions : Remote heath monitoring services that will operate on Sprint’s 3G and 4G networks

DayaMed: This company develops MedPod telehealth hub, a customized medication dispenser. Dayamed is working on embedding 3G or 4G embedded module for its MedPod device, which will operate on Sprints wireless network.

HealthSpot : They are working to develop embedded wireless connectivity for HealthSpot Care4 Station, a virtual doctor’s office.

Feb 15

Renesas launches new LTE chipset

Renesas Mobile has launched MP5232 solution, that can support both 3G and LTE.The chipset supports multi-mode FDD and TDD-LTE Category 4 capabilities. MP5232 platform includes 1.5 GHz dual-core computing power and other capabilites that re required for building LTE-enabled devices. MP5232 could also be a considered for 4G LTE module products. Here is the link to Renesas Mobile’s press release on MP5232.

Feb 15

Calamp to provide LTE router for smartgrid applications

Calamp has won a contract to supply its Fusion-LTE router to Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) and Green Mountain Power (GMP) for smart grid applications. Fusion LTE router supports public safety band 14 for private infrastructure and Band 13, 17 and 4 for public use. The router also supports secure IPSec VPN and GPS capabilities. It is likely to use a 4G LTE module in a PCIe form factor.

Feb 14

Spirent’s VR5 enable LTE antenna testing

Spirent Communications has announced that several companies has are now using its VR5 HD Spatial Channel emulator for advanced MIMO beamforming testing. VR5 emulates radio conditions of real-world networks and helps identify issues with antenna design before deployment. Here is the link for Spirent’s VR5. Radio test equipments such as VR5 play key role in LTE product development projects such as 4G LTE modules, where simulated networks are needed for both module and host level testing.

Feb 13

4G LTE tablet from Samsung approved by GCF

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 8.9 has received GCF approval for its 4G LTE version. The marketing name for this product is GT-P7320, it supports LTE over 800 MHz and 2600 MHz. Many european carriers are planning for their 4G LTE rollouts. We need to wait for a tear down report to see if this tablet has a 4G LTE module or a integrated 4G LTE chipset solution.

Feb 13

Samsung introduces 3G enabled tablet

Samsung introduced 7-inch Galaxy Tab 2 which will launch in the UK. Tab 2 will run Android 4.0 and will support HSPA+ 21 Mbps on teh 3G-enabled version. Samsung’s earlier tablets historically had on-board-chip solutions for WWAN instead of the discrete 3G module. We would have to wait for Galaxy Tab 2 teardown report fo find out if it has separate HSPA+ 3G module or integrated design.