Vodafone and O2 to merge mobile networks
And then there were two
Posted in Mobile, 7th June 2012 09:44 GMT
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O2 and Vodafone will pool their mobile phone masts and antennas to slash costs and reduce the number of physical networks in Blighty to two.
The pair will compete as separate networks, using different radio frequencies, but by 2015 those signals will be received by jointly-owned antennas and backhauled over shared cables. The management of their shared grid will be divided vertically through England, leaving O2 with Scotland and Vodafone with Wales.
The move follows Everything Everywhere (formed by Orange and T-Mobile) and Three's efforts to pool network tech in the UK.
Vodafone and Telefonica - which operates under the O2 brand - already share power supplies and air conditioning in many sites, which are run by the Cornerstone organisation, but they'll have to set up a new jointly-owned body to hold the combined network, which should total 18,500 sites.
That number was almost certainly selected to top EE & Three's 18,000 shared sites, but Vodafone and O2 are pooling both 2G and 3G infrastructure while the EE & Three deal only includes their 3G networks (Three having decided against running a 2G network at all).
EE and Three haven't said if their deal will extend into 4G technologies; holding that decision until after the 4G spectrum auction, but Vodafone and Telefonica have made it clear that they foresee the combined network extending well into the forth generation of mobile broadband.
Telefonica and Vodafone hold 2G spectrum at 900MHz, which has decent building penetration but is full of 2G customers. They also both have small holdings at 1800MHz and run their 3G networks at 2.1GHz like the rest of the world (though O2 has switched some of its 900MHz to 3G around London).
Operating in the same bands makes sharing infrastructure practical, it would be a good deal harder for either of them to share with EE, whose 2G network is all at 1800MHz.
How that maps onto the 4G networks we won’t know, but the commitment to deploy two 4G networks on the same infrastructure will impact the spectrum strategy of both companies: a combined network operator won't want to buy the chunk of 1800MHz that EE is required to get shot of, for example, so while the two networks will retain separate spectrum holdings the pooling of infrastructure will have an impact on the market.
In more immediate future there will be some disruption to customers as cell sites are switched off, even if the slack is swiftly taken up by other cells.
Customers hate change and while this will lead to a cheaper and better network in three years, for both O2 and Vodafone customers, there will be a period of transition very similar to that already experienced by customers of all the other UK networks. ®
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Electronics patent of the month: Vodafone's wireless modem USB mouse - ElectronicsWeekly.com
GB patent no: GB2450080, Vodafone Group plc (UK),
Granted: 18 April 2012
This patent describes a neat solution to carrying multiple peripherals together with a laptop, in particular carrying both a mouse and a wireless modem (3G 'dongle'). This is very simply achieved by incorporating the wireless modem within a USB mouse.
The mouse also includes a power supply and buffer so that if the laptop is shut down before wireless transmission is complete (e.g. whilst the user is not in a 3G network, e.g. in a tunnel or poor reception zone) then the mouse will continue to transmit to the 3G network after the laptop has been turned off.
This means that the power supply of the laptop can be preserved, whereas with existing wireless dongles, the laptop must remain on until transmission is complete.
When the laptop is on it powers the modem and charges the battery in the mouse. In order to prevent the mouse unduly draining the laptop's batteries (when the laptop is not connected to the mains supply) power management modes are deployed. In order for the computer to recognise both devices within the mouse, each of the devices (mouse and modem) is enabled in turn so as to avoid problems in the computer recognising each device.
The antennae used by the modem may be integrated in the USB lead of the mouse in order to improve wireless connectivity and reduce the size of the mouse, as well as eliminating the screening effect of a user's hand.
Michael Jaeger is a patent attorney at leading UK patent and trade mark attorneys, Withers & Rogers LLP.
Previous Electronics Patent of the Months:
Electronics patent of the month: Motion triggered power saving
Electronics patent of the month: Sensors to avoid driver blindness
York Acorn seek no slips on artificial surface (From York Press) - The Press in York
York Acorn seek no slips on Milford's artificial surface
9:47am Thursday 7th June 2012 in Sport 
YORK ACORN ARLC will step into the unknown when they walk out at Milford tomorrow in National Conference League division one.
The Marlins play on a 3G pitch at their Kirkstall base and it will be the first time the Blue and Golds have played a match on an artificial surface – with coach Scott Rhodes adding his men haven’t been able to train on one either.
“They’ve been brilliant at home this year and their 3G pitch will be new to us,” he said of the Milford challenge.
“We will go there and give it our best shot. It’s the first time we will have played on 3G. We tried to get on the York College pitch and train there but it was booked.
“I’ve talked to a couple of lads from Skirlaugh who went there and they said a couple of the lads came away with a lot of burns but what can you do?
“You have to get on with it. They are a big team. They will be well up for it. They know what’s at stake and we need to go there and play well. Milford will be a very tough test.”
Milford are four points behind high-flying Acorn in division one, having played a game more, and Rhodes knows a victory could give his side vital breathing space in the promotion race, which could be crucial at the business end of the campaign.
With nine wins in ten matches, Acorn have made a flying start but, while delighted with their results, Rhodes is looking for more consistency.
“All we have to do is keeping winning,” he said.
“We have been up and down in our team selection. With it being a summer season, a lot of the lads have been going away. It has been pretty tough and is the reason for some of the inconsistent displays we are having.
“But it is good we are continuing to win games and we have had players in the reserve team who can step in. I think we have got good belief.
“We are a young team. We have only a couple of players who are over 25 – the age of the team is pretty low. I think that’s pretty good.
“It brings a new lease of life to the club and training has been of a high standard.
“We are not the biggest of sides but playing in the summer has helped us. We have got good pace and it helps to be on firmer pitches. There have been some pleasing performances.”
Acorn continue to be without Matthew Withers, who has ruptured knee ligaments and is expected to miss the rest of the season, while the game will also come too soon for Michael Embleton, who has nearly recovered from a torn hamstring.
But Adam Endersby is expected to return to the squad.
New Heworth coach Stuart Brown is settling in well to the role, said club spokesman Ken Sykes as the Villagers visit Shaw Cross Sharks in division two.
Heworth were beaten 76-6 at Elland last week and sit bottom of the table having not picked up a point from their opening ten games. Brown, previously a key player, and assistant-coach during previous boss Steve Pryce’s tenure, leads a reshuffled coaching team, and Sykes has been encouraged by the early signs – even if results have yet to turn.
“He’s doing really well,” he said. “Training sessions are going well and we are getting some good numbers. We are still having to make changes on match-days but there are quite a few teams fielding short numbers.
“It is tough. We will keep going and see it through. Shaw Cross aren’t far away from the top of the league and we will deal with it the best way we can. There won’t be any significant changes to the team from last week’s game.”
T-Mobile Prepares for 2012 Hurricane Season - TMCnet
T-Mobile Prepares for 2012 Hurricane Season
Jun 07, 2012 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- T-Mobile USA, Inc., said it is preparing for the 2012 hurricane season, which officially started June 1.In a release, the company said that it has implemented frequent engineering drills coupled with network fortification and crisis management coordination focused on the locations where hurricanes have the greatest propensity of making landfall, including the entire Eastern Seaboard and Gulf Coast areas of the United States.
"T-Mobile has a long history of moving swiftly in emergency situations to ensure our customers can stay connected when they need it most," said Bentley Alexander, VP, South Region Engineering, T-Mobile USA. "We have made significant investments in supplemental cell site backup generators, microwave technology equipment and cell-on-wheels (COWs), along with other tools and equipment to enhance the stability and, when necessary, the recovery of our network operations. At the same time, our engineers and our cross-functional crisis management teams - our people - play the most critical role for network and service continuity and recovery. We continue to focus on emergency response procedures and drills that will ensure we are ready for the 2012 Hurricane season." The company noted its National Engineering Response and Crisis Management teams constantly monitor weather patterns and potential storms. In advance of any major hurricane forecasted to make U.S. landfall, T-Mobile establishes an engineering Command Center near the area where the storm's impact is expected, creating a home base for engineers and rapid response teams, and a staging area for equipment and supplies that may be needed during the aftermath of the storm. As soon as it is safe, T-Mobile technicians and engineers are mobilized to support and assist any network restoration.
T-Mobile Network Operation Centers (NOCs) manage network traffic during any event, and the company has redundant support in place for each NOC, the company added.
T-Mobile said it takes the following additional steps to prepare the company's network for major weather-related events: -In the event of widespread power outages, T-Mobile has access to additional fuel to supply generators and company repair and transport vehicles, and for other emergency circumstances.
-Backup generators and fuel tanks for regional network switch operations are put in place and tested, and fuel is topped off for all generators in the potential path of a storm. T-Mobile recently purchased 1,000 additional small mobile generators to assist with backup power when needed. These units are now being delivered to local markets and regional depots.
-To further supplement fixed and portable backup generators, T-Mobile is prepared to place dozens more portable generators, ready to be transported to impacted areas.
-Microwave radio equipment is readied to be trucked into affected areas to facilitate back-haul or data communication from the cell sites to T-Mobile's network switches, as backup, in the event that fixed-line service fails.
-T-Mobile pre-stages COWs in neighboring markets to move in and provide additional wireless communications capacity in the hardest-hit areas.
-T-Mobile monitors evacuation efforts and routes, and takes steps to increase wireless capacity in those areas as customers move inland.
-The company also coordinates closely with the recovery efforts of local, state and federal agencies.
-T-Mobile has crisis plans in place for employees who may also be in the path of a storm, and responds quickly to help safeguard our employees and our facilities.
T-Mobile's Persistent Communications solution combines the company's Wi-Fi Calling for Business or Wi-Fi Calling for Government solutions with access to satellite services for back-haul connectivity.
T-Mobile USA is a U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG.
More information:
www.T-Mobile.com
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