Searching Weekly Analysis
Searching Weekly Analysis
Two significant industry events took place last week, with a heavy focus on 5G. Both at 5G World in London and MWC Shanghai, it was clear that, while plenty of hype and uncertainty remains around 5G, the debate is becoming more grown-up. With only a few years to go to pre-standard, and even standards-based, deployments, the issues now concern practical deployment of dense networks; coexistence and integration with 4G and SDN; and among all the potential use cases, which can be quickly commercialized. Arun Bansan, head of Ericsson’s Radio business unit, entitled his keynote address at 5G World ‘5G moves out of the labs and into the neighborhood’. This reflected the key theme of the show – the time for…
Here is trying to write the rulebook for vehicle-to-cloud (V2C) communications, having submitted its SENSORIS spec to ERTICO’s Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) working group. With the move, Here wants to ensure that all connected vehicles on the roads speak the same language – one that it has written. In terms of a global vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications standard, collectively a V2X spec, such a standard is necessary in order to ensure that vehicles and the associated devices that need to speak to them are able to understand each other. This common tongue approach could be enacted in the cloud, in a similar manner to how APIs function as bridges between ecosystems, but relying on the cloud means that…
It’s safe to say Cisco has spent somewhere in the region of $4 billion in the space of just three years solely on buying up security companies – and it will soon be adding $293 million to that sum as it plans to acquire cloud-based security start up CloudLock. CloudLock’s technology uses APIs to monitor the operations of data and content stored on cloud applications such as Office365, Google Drive, Dropbox, AWS, Slack and Salesforce, or alternatively, an on-premises server – it calls this cloud access security broker (CASB) technology. Employees using their own devices to access company documents, data or content in various settings on unsecured networks brings with it a wave of security and privacy issues. So CloudLock…
The deal between Arris this week and Canada’s Espial, is really end of life support for a network DVR, which is surplus to requirements at Arris. It is terminated in a device called the Whole Home Solution, a device sold mostly to smaller US cable operators such as Wide Open West and incumbent telcos like Comporium, using CableCard for authentication. We know from discussions around the Open Set Top initiative of the FCC than only 600,000 devices with CableCard authentication were ever sold, so we imagine this agreement takes in about half that number (on the basis that Motorola had around a 50% market share when it was introduced). What Espial is getting is the streaming side of the equation…
Now TV from Sky in the UK, is now offering a full triple play, sold without a contract, including 95 paid and free to air TV channels, a broadband line and voice over IP fixed line telephony. Sky in the UK, and increasingly across Europe, has often innovated in pay TV, and has been leading in OTT delivery for the past 11 years, offering a TV Everywhere solution before the term had been invented, since 2005. After that had migrated into Sky Go, the company realized something we said all along, that a paid OTT service was also required – ostensibly to drag more people into its satellite TV offering by giving them a glimpse of the content quality –…
News out this week that Orange is planning an investment in fledgling connectivity marketplace BandwidthX, signals that perhaps its services are now on their way to Europe. The company came to life on the prospect of WiFi offload, and said when we first met its executives in 2013, almost precisely 3 years ago, that it was talking to ALL of the US tier 1 operators and that none had so far kicked out the idea of trading bandwidth in real time. Such a marketplace is essential when two sides have very little trust in one another, because they are best of enemies. For instance, the BandwidthX marketplace would allow Comcast in the US, which has beaten AT&T to almost all…
Open source operating system Mynewt is nearing its v1.0 release, offering an alternative to the proprietary kernels and scheduler packages offered by the companies that manufacture the microcontrollers (MCUs) that will comprise the bulk of IoT devices. The goal of the project is to produce a open source stack for Bluetooth devices, aiming to comprise an operating system rather than just a Linux kernel that has to be extensively adapted and augmented for use. The first chip the Mynewt stack has been ported to is the Nordic Semiconductor NRF52 – and Mynewt completely replaces Nordic’s SoftDevice stack on the microcontroller. Mynewt, a play on minute, as in diminutive, is currently being finalized – with v1.0 expected in October, and betas…
Smart Homes and Buildings Australian telco Telstra has unveiled its Smart Home Hub and ten smart home devices, available as a service (ShaaS), with a Watch and Monitor package and an Automation and Energy package. Ingersoll Rand’s Nexia division has added support for the Amazon Echo to its smart home offerings, allowing Nexia’s devices to be controlled by the Alexa AI. Roost has unveiled a water leak detector, expanding from its connected 9V battery that was launched for use in smoke alarms. Netatmo has added window and door sensors to its smart home platform, which includes cameras and weather stations. Connected Vehicles ZDNet takes a look at BlackBerry’s Radar platform, a tool for tracking truck trailer assets, asking whether…
Hardware Ruuvi, the maker of an open source Bluetooth sensor beacon has released a video that shows an impressive 500m range on its as-yet untuned antenna. Fujitsu and CRATUS Technology have released a new reference design platform for edge computing sensor platforms, aimed at industrial applications. Lime Micro has announced that its LimeSDR is entering mass production, following a crowdfunding campaign, providing a SDR aimed at IoT developers. Vesper has unveiled an always-on audio detector that uses sound energy-harvesting to power its detection, before waking the batteries to send an alert. Software Mizuho Financial Group has announced a test implementation of the Hyperledger Project’s blockchain technology, and also a partnership with IBM’s Bluemix Garage in Tokyo, for blockchain services and…
UK RF specialist Lime Microsystems has raised almost $624,000 in a crowdfunding campaign to bring its LimeSDR software defined radio to market, and will now begin production of the radios, which enable open source, programmable ‘network in a box’ devices for low cost coverage, especially in rural or temporary networks. LimeSDR is a low cost SDR base station, which can be configured to support different connectivity options, including LTE and WiFi, and can support a full Ubuntu apps platform. It came to prominence in April when it was adopted by the UK’s largest MNO, BT-owned EE, as the basis of a rural coverage program, initially in remote areas of Scotland. Lime had targeted a sum of $500,000 from the Crowd…
The recent bloodbath in the cellular device modem space has highlighted the pressures on the smartphone market and has created new competitive landscape. But even more profound changes are seen on the infrastructure chip side, as networks morph into IT platforms and software-defined 5G looms. On the device side, old names like Texas Instruments and Freescale have left for greener pastures, to be replaced by rising Chinese stars like MediaTek, Spreadtrum and HiSililcon. Qualcomm is the standard fixture of course – though certainly challenged by the new players, it is well placed to lead the 5G modem market (see separate item) as it did 4G. Its bigger challenges lie in extending its technology beyond the tightening handset sector, and adapting…
One of the most important trends in the current reinvention of the mobile network is the introduction of open source to infrastructure hardware. Open source processes have been creeping into this formerly tightly closed world in software (from Android to carrier Linux) and in devices, but the network equipment itself remained the preserve of proprietary vendors and formal standards bodies. Now that is changing. From small innovators like Lime Microsystems (see separate item), to entrenched guardians of the old ways, like Nokia, suppliers are finding new ways to work with open source. This could finally spark the revolution in the cost of mobile data delivery, which has been so often discussed and so little delivered. New architectures, standardized interfaces, the…
Under the chairmanship of Tom Wheeler, the FCC is becoming an uncharacteristically dynamic and creative force for progress in the mobile industry. Wheeler has shown genuine leadership in driving the opening of new spectrum for 5G, especially in the millimeter wave bands, and his passion for the cause was clear as he announced, in a speech to the Washington DC press last week, that the Commission would vote on new rules for high frequency spectrum on July 14. Wheeler billed his address as ‘The Future of Wireless: A Vision for US. Leadership in a 5G World’ and enlarged on that theme, saying that if the FCC “approves my proposal next month, the United States will be the first country in…
Comcast is acquiring the company behind the software in its Xfinity Home offering, Icontrol Networks – which supports home security sensors as well as cameras and other connected home use cases such as smart meters. Icontrol’s superfluous assets will be acquired with security firm Alarm.com, as Comcast evidently didn’t want the whole package. Icontrol’s Converge software platform is the prize Comcast has targeted, which is the backbone of the touch-screens and servers in the Xfinity Home service. Converge supports WiFi and ZigBee enabled security devices, and says it can also reuse wired or wireless sensors, keypads and peripherals from existing security systems, enabling security system “takeovers”. The white-label Converge product is popular among North American cable operators, and can be…
Lime Microsystems has announced that its crowdfunding campaign for its LimeSDR software defined radio (SDR) has raised 124% of its goal, and will now begin production of the radios. Lime Micro has also announced that it is entering the Ubuntu Snappy platform for supporting applications written for the SDR. The initial target of $500,000 saw Lime Micro take to the Crowd Supply platform, with a campaign declaring that “you no longer have to be a large corporation to be an innovator in wireless communications.” For IoT developers, and even hobbyist tinkerers, getting access to reprogrammable radio silicon at lower prices is beneficial for the developer community as a whole. The rewards saw $289 net contributors the LimeSDR board – roughly…
The formation of the fourth largest cable operator in the US has finally reached completion this week, with Altice finalizing its $17.7 billion acquisition of Cablevision. Cablevision will be merged with Suddenlink to form Altice USA, serving more than 4.6 million Optimum and Suddenlink customers across 20 states. Patrick Drahi, founder of Altice, said, “The completion of the Cablevision acquisition marks a critical step in the development of the Altice Group. Altice USA is a key pillar of our business and a powerful and dynamic growth platform. We are very excited about our US business and the opportunities we see in this market. We will accelerate network investments and bring innovative products and services to US customers.” Finnish operator Anvia…
Germany’s largest VoD library maxdome has struck a deal with Deutsche Bahn to provide content to passengers of the high-speed ICE (Intercity-Express) trains – opening the door to some 80 million annual travelers. That’s a lot of eyeballs maxdome has the potential to convert into paying customers, but given the notoriously poor WiFi connectivity on trains, this is not something that the venture can afford to cut corners on. Technology partners building the system are unknown, but currently WiFi on trains simply cannot cope with demand, and some don’t even allow users to stream video or audio. To solve this issue requires investment in high-speed transceivers and high-speed capacity, which is not something rail companies are willing to spend on…
The Weightless SIG is planning to use ETSI as a vehicle to drive its ambitions of certifying a single-chip solution for long-range, low-power, LPWAN communications in the IoT. The SIG is moving its Weightless-N LPWAN protocol inside ETSI’s Working Group 28, the Low Throughput Networking (LTN) project of which Sigfox and Telensa are also members. The SIG intends to move Weightless-P into the LTN group too, with CEO William Webb putting a six to nine month timeline on that plan. The goal is to become something like the WiFi Alliance or the Bluetooth SIG – the brand and customer-facing element of the IEEE standards that are being used in the products, and the industry body that carries out the certification.…
Opening with the proclamation “the Internet of Things isn’t coming, it’s here,” the ForeScout-sponsored report from Webtorials warns that “we are rapidly evolving to a network where we have vast numbers of computing devices that are inherently unsecured.” The survey questioned Webtorial Community members, as well as students from the SIP School (the SSCA), and collated the answers of those who self-identified as “a professional involved in some aspect of installing, operating, planning or designing and enterprise communications network.” Of course, these are the ideal candidates to purchase ForeScout’s networking security products and services, which specialize in agentless applications. When asked what percentage of device types or families (not volume) were currently on their networks were non-traditional and/or IoT devices,…