Device Arena

Sprint is breaking new ground in using GPS to deliver helpful tools to its wireless customers and has again been recognized for that leadership by research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Sprint announced today that Frost & Sullivan has awarded the company the 2008 Award for Market Leadership in the Consumer LBS Market for its innovative open approach to developing GPS applications for mobile phones. The award is based on Sprint’s wide variety of consumer GPS applications and its recent announcement that it will offer developers open access to two location aggregation platforms, allowing them to easily create location-based services for Sprint customers. Frost & Sullivan projects that the U.S. market for wireless carriers’ consumer LBS applications will reach approximately $3.3 billion in annual revenues by 2013.

“Sprint recognizes that many of the creative, useful GPS tools our customers will value will come from third-party developers,” said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product and technology development for Sprint. “That’s why we have an open approach, including our open location platform introduced in late 2008, that makes it easier for developers to create and innovate. We’re pleased to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for our industry-leading portfolio of consumer GPS applications and for empowering more developers to create location-based applications for our customers.”

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Alcatel-Lucent announced that Compania Dominicana de Telefonos (Codetel), the leading telecommunications operator in the Dominican Republic, today launched a nationwide IPTV offering, providing subscribers across the country with high-quality TV programming, video on demand and other multimedia content services. Enhanced features include picture in picture, karaoke entertainment and digital video recording.

The new IPTV service – supported by Alcatel-Lucent’s end-to-end IPTV solution, including the Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV and multimedia software platform – offers Codetel’s customers an enhanced video experience. It positions Codetel as the first operator to provide advanced new features in the Dominican market, such as video on demand and pause-live TV. The service complements Codetel’s existing voice and broadband Internet access service, enabling the operator to offer one of the first complete “triple play” packages in the Caribbean.

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As part of its previously announced plans to increase cost-efficiency and adapt to the challenging market environment, Nokia today announced new voluntary measures aimed at reducing personnel-related costs and lessening the need for involuntary redundancies. The initiatives announced today include the global Voluntary Resignation Package and wider use of short-term unpaid leaves and sabbaticals. Nokia also encourages employees to take holiday as time off instead of taking cash compensation in 2009.

“The response from employees and employee representatives in proposing ideas to help reduce personnel-related costs has been encouraging. We have considered these and are now announcing voluntary initiatives that could contribute to our efforts to adjust our cost base to the current market environment. If successful, the voluntary initiatives will lessen the need for involuntary redundancies,” said Hallstein Moerk, Nokia’s Head of Human Resources.

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Motorola, today announced two innovative wireless LAN network management solutions designed to help IT departments simplify the maintenance and management of their wireless LAN networks. With Motorola’s Advanced Troubleshooting and Self-monitoring at Run Time Radio Frequency (SMART RF) solutions, IT managers can now remotely analyze and perform network testing from a central location as well as take advantage of next-generation self-healing features for hassle-free network management and optimal wireless LAN performance.

“Minimizing operating expense is always important to network operations teams and especially so as wireless becomes the primary access for so many in the enterprise,” said Craig J. Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. “It’s therefore critical that automation be applied to management tasks wherever possible. Motorola’s new Advanced Troubleshooting and SMART RF features address that requirement and keep even large networks operational and productive with minimal effort.”

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Motorola, today announced a commitment from Shaw Communications Inc. to deploy a DOCSIS® 3.0-qualified cable modem termination system (CMTS) containing Motorola BSR 64000 TX32 Decoupled Downstream Modules, and DOCSIS 3.0-certified SURFboard® cable modems. This will enable the delivery of ultra-broadband services to residential and commercial customers, resulting in greater bandwidth capacity and lower downstream costs. With the TX32, Shaw may support continued Internet traffic growth via already-deployed DOCSIS 1.x and 2.0 technology while offering higher bandwidth tiers to subscribers via DOCSIS 3.0 channel-bonding technology.

With commercial availability and DOCSIS 3.0 bronze qualification in CableLabs® Certification Wave 58 achieved last May, the TX32 is proving to be a welcome solution for cable operators globally to introduce new tiers of broadband service while leveraging existing hardware investments. The TX32 downstream module slides directly into one of the 16-slots of the Motorola BSR 64000 chassis, ultimately offering a five-fold increase in bandwidth capacity while dramatically reducing the cost per downstream channel. By using an integrated CMTS (I-CMTS), Shaw can enjoy incremental revenue benefits brought by premium high-speed subscribers.

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