World's first mid-call transfer between Voice over LTE and 3G completed by Qualcomm and Ericsson

Engineers at Qualcomm and Ericsson have managed to achieve the world's first mid-call switch between Voice over LTE (VoLTE) and a WCDMA 3G network. The ability to switch between networks seamlessly during a call is a requirement of standards regulator 3GPP, making this an important milestone on the way to making VoLTE available to consumers. The use of VoLTE could significantly lighten the load on 3G networks, and enable carriers to begin using the system even where their LTE coverage isn't widespread — something we heard that Verizon may already be trialing.

The in-call switching relies on two advances, single radio voice call continuity (SRVCC) and circuit-switched fallback technology (CSFB). CSFB is currently already in use in handsets, and is responsible for switching to the 3G modem when a user needs to make a call. The combination of SRVCC and CSFB mean that one radio is capable of handling both 3G and LTE connections, which could also be a major step in overcoming the battery life issues that currently plague many LTE handsets.

Qualcomm will demo the technology — based on its Snapdragon S4 MSM8960 chipset — at Mobile World Congress later this month.

If You Need to Stay Updated, Find the Best Apps for You

If you need to receive alerts about certain aspects related to your work or your personal life, then finding the best apps that accomplish this for you is one of the most convenient benefits of having a Smartphone. This way, you're not tied to your computer. Since there can be a multitude of apps available, it's good to make your own top top 10 app list to choose from. This you can do by looking at other such lists that experts have published. Cross-referencing a few of them is a good way to narrow down what apps seem to stand out. Still, since these apps need to suit your purposes, if you don't see something that seems best for you, keep looking. I know I actually wasn't completely convinced about a very popular app, and when I looked a little further, I was so pleased to find something just right for me. Nonetheless, I find that it's always good to start with published lists to get an idea of what's out there, what's the latest, and what stands the test of time. It may take a bit of doing, but in the end, the convenience of having just the right apps on your Smartphone will be worth the research.

PTA Sets Base Prices for 3G, 4G, Cellular Licenses

Source
By M Yasir
http://propakistani.pk

Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued information memorandum for the auction of three 3G and one cellular license for 1900/2100 MHz (3G/4G/LTE) band and 800 MHz Band.

Base price for 3G license would be $ 210 million for duration of 15 years, while the auction will be held in multiple rounds through open outcry method.

Base price for Mobile Cellular (defunct) License is set at $155 million for duration of around 8 years.

The authority has set at $ 23.25 million as bid earnest money for auction of Cellular Phone defunct License for frequency spectrum of 800MHz whereas it set $31.5 million bid earnest money for auction of new Cellular Phone for spectrum of 1900/2100 MHz.

New License(s) for 3G/4G/LTE

Spectrum for Mobile Cellular (3G/4G/LTE etc.) licenses has been made available in blocks of 9.8 MHz given below. The winner of auction will have choice to select any block of 9.8+9.8 MHz from the available spectrum in 1900/2100 MHz:

Block Frequency

• Block A: 1920-1929.8/2110-2119.8 MHz (9.8+9.8MHz)
• Block B: 1929.8-1939.6/2119.8-2129.6 MHz (9.8+9.8 MHz)
• Block C: 1939.6-1949.4/2129.6-2139.4 MHz (9.8+9.8 MHZ)

Base Price for a block of 9.8+9.8 MHz is US $ 210 Million

Operator(s) can start their services by 2013 after completing all mandatory legal and financial requirements.

Defunct License For Technology Neutral services

PTA will award one technology-neutral nationwide license to Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs) and including existing and new players, which was earlier held by Instaphone before termination of its services and operation.

The license awarded will be inclusive of radio frequency spectrum between 824.265 – 831.645 MHz (7.38) MHz and 869.265 – 876.645 MHz (7.38) MHz. The winning operator may launch any technology including 2.5G, 3G or 4G technology for rendering services.

The operator may start its services in 2012 after meeting all financial, network rolls out and operational requirements.

Bidding Process:

PTA in its Memorandum of Information (IM) 2012 stated that the Bidding Committee will be announced prior to start of the auction and shall continue the auction until there are no further bids. The time duration between two bids shall be five minutes. Each bidder shall be granted a timeout of fifteen minutes each, on request, only twice during the entire auction process.

Each successive bid(s) shall have to be more than the already quoted bid. Therefore, the subsequent bid increment shall be in multiple of $2 million with a minimum bid limit of 2 million and maximum bid limit of $10 million.

The successful bidder shall deposit 50 percent of the auction winning price, that is, Initial License/Spectrum fee after adjustment of the bid earnest money within thirty (30) working days in PTA designated bank account.

The remaining 50 percent of the auction winning price shall be deposited in 5 equal annual installments payable in US$ or equivalent in rupees. If the successful bidder fails to make the payment of first 50 percent of auction winning price (Initial License/Spectrum fee) within the stipulated time, the next highest bidder(s) in order of their bid(s) will be offered the license on the same auction winning price.

If no bidder is found ready to match the auction winning price, the Bidding session will be closed without awarding any license, PTA stated.

PTA shall forfeit the bid earnest money and all other amounts received from the defaulting bidders.

The defunct license shall only be issued after payment of first 50 percent of the initial spectrum fee within thirty (30) working days from the auction date. Whereas the new license shall only be awarded after payment of 100 percent of the auction winning price within sixty (60) working days from the date it is offered to the bidder.

PTA reserves the right, on the recommendation of the Bidding Committee, to disqualify any bidder and forfeit its money for different reasons such as failure of payment, misrepresentation and inaccuracy of facts in applications and corrupt practice, meaning the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence a public official in relation to auction process.

You can download Information Memorandum for licenses from following links

• Information Memorandum Mobile cellular (defunct) license (3.74 MB – PDF)
• Information Memorandum 3G/4G/LTW license (3.71 MB – PDF)