In this month's roundup of industry news, issues and updates, we feature articles about LTE-Advanced, public access to small cells, satellite opportunities in Africa and mobile network investments. Enjoy!
Light Reading: The Case for LTE-Advanced — February
In this video, Heavy Reading Analyst Gabriel Brown explains to Ray Le Maistre that LTE-Advanced will drive carrier aggregation and joint transmissions, as well as make HetNets more common. At the moment, the technology is still in its early stages, but in a few years, LTE-Advanced is predicted to become a necessity for telecommunications.
Light Reading: Public Access Small Cells: Off to a Slow Start— February 12th
Small cells have been a buzzing trend for the past two years, but their applications in the public access market are still minimal. In this video, Heavy Reading analyst Patrick Donegan discusses the future of small cells, and why this technology relies on carriers' ability to share access rights for small cells sites. Patrick also warns that small cell uptake may take time to gain momentum.
Via Satellite: Assessing the Cellular Backhaul Opportunity in Africa — February 24th
Many mobile operators believe that wireless connectivity will be a better solution for cellular access in Africa than will terrestrial infrastructure. Terrestrial infrastructure is a smart option for urban cities that use fiber connections to support their networks, but wireless networks can provide better coverage in rural areas. Satellite is preferred to support the growing bandwidth needed to sustain these wireless networks, as it provides sufficient capacity to support critical voice and internet usage. Given these applications, satellite backhaul is predicted to continue growing in Africa, and may also become a staple in the global technology landscape.
Financial Times: Data Demands Call for $1.7tn Mobile Network Investment — February 24th
Keynoting at Mobile World Congress this week, Jon Fredrik Baksaas, CEO of Telenor and Chairman of GSMA, said he believes a $1.7 trillion investment is necessary for mobile operators to keep up with the data demands of their subscribers. To support this large investment, operators should focus on creating additional revenue streams. Building on this argument, Sock Koong Chua, CEO of SingTel, said later that unlimited data plans for 4G networks are unsustainable, and recommends that mobile operators reevaluate their service offerings to better support developing technology.
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