Apigee, the API management company that was most recently spotted powering that new “print to Walgreens” feature in half a dozen or so mobile applications, is now acquiring the technology assets of WAC, aka the Wholesale Applications Community. WAC, an alliance of global telecom companies, like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Deutsche Telecom, China Mobile, Orange, and others (and pegged by TechCrunch writer Jason Kincaid back in 2010 as “a disaster in the making“) was intent on building a platform that would allow mobile developers to build an application once, then run it on any carrier, OS or device. The group also developed network API technology, which is another key piece to today’s acquisition.
WAC itself is now being folded into the GSMA, while its assets and the personnel behind the program (14 or 15 folks) are being acquired by Apigee. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Apigee CEO Chet Kapoor confirms that there are no new investors as a result.
WAC was started at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2010, and was backed by 60 operators and others involved in the mobile industry, including Samsung, Intel, Nokia, Ericsson, Qualcomm, Fujitisu, NEC, HP, HTC, LG, RIM and more. Notably absent? Apple and Google, of course – the makers of the app store successes which WAC aimed to topple with its web runtime technology.
WAC’s web platform used standard technologies like HTML, JavaScript and CSS and built upon the work of JIL (the Joint Innovation Lab, another joint venture between operators). In short, it was a bet on web standards besting native applications – which, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. But the HTML-based WAC applications were limited – they couldn’t access the phone’s hardware, like the accelerometer or gyroscope, for example. And they didn’t appeal to developers, already too busy building apps for iPhone and Android, and maybe BlackBerry or Windows Phone. Not surprisingly, no WAC apps have yet to launch.
Kapoor agrees that the web runtime was not well thought out. “It’s a noble cause, but it needs to be clear what purpose it serves,” he says. “There are a certain set of operators that are very interested in the web runtime. We’re going to work on converting it to HTML5 and making it more relevant to what developers are doing today,” he adds.
But there was another big component to WAC’s technology, and it’s an important piece to today’s deal. “[WAC] created what they called network APIs, and the first they implemented was the payment API across operators, and that was in beta,” explains Kapoor. “That project was based on Apigee…and that program will continue,” he says. This API allows customers to pay for digital goods on their operator bill, aka “carrier billing.” The API is in development now with AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, KT, LGU+, SK Telecom, Smart Communications, Telefónica O2 and Telenor, and an additional 12 operators.
Of course, many operators are already offering their own APIs, and the M-API, as this payments API was called, will not replace those, says Kapoor. “Every operator will still do their own API program – what we’re talking about is providing API interoperability,” he says. The program will also be expanded to include other carrier APIs in the near future, he notes.
Meanwhile, founding WAC member GSMA is also now officially partnering with Apigee to provide its services to the GSMA’s 800 mobile operator members. WAC itself – or whatever’s left of it outside of its technology and its people (that’s um…?) – is being merged with the GSMA.
Will we ever get 3G on the London Underground? - Know Your Mobile
Know Your Mobile’s Richard Goodwin speaks with Axell Wireless CEO Ian Brown about the technology that makes 3G a reality on over 200 underground systems around the world and why we don’t yet have it implemented in London’s Underground Network.
There was a plan in place involving Huawei, TFL, O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile to get 3G on London’s Underground in time for the London 2012 Olympics, although it was abandoned in April 2011, following funding issues and the complexity of the installing the system.
Many of London’s tube stations now feature Wi-Fi access points, making access to data more of a possibility while waiting for a tube, but this still doesn’t solve the problem of connecting to the web whilst traveling on trains between stations. This is where Axell Wireless comes in.
‘Having Wi-Fi access on tube station platforms is not the same as having a 3G network that spans the entire tube network,’ said Brown. ‘It’s effectively just a hub – much like the one you have in your home.’
To rollout 3G in places where masts are not possible a technology known as BST Hotels must be implemented. Comprising three key aspects – a Hotel Room (not actually a hotel room, but a hub for the technology), a fibre cable network, and the coverage area – BST Hotels allow mobile data to be disseminated underground, making 3G-connectivity a reality on tube systems.
With the BTS Hotel system, as you can see in the diagram below, an Operator's Network, say O2 or Vodafone, is fed down to a series of Hotel Rooms located at strategic points located around the city. From here cables carrying the mobile data are passed down from street level to optical hubs that relay it to station-specific ports, which are linked up to a network of radiating cables that pass the data along the tunnels.
Why aren’t we doing this in the London?
The UK’s mobile networks, according to Brown, are very keen to get 3G onto tubes in London and usually split the cost of rollout between them. Axell Wireless is currently in talks with some of the UK’s biggest networks about this and how best to make underground data a reality in London. Brown could not name any specific partners, however.
So if it’s not about the money then what exactly is holding everything up?
Many things: TFL, the nature of London’s Underground system, the actual installation process and more than a little red tape all contribute equally to making the rollout of 3G difficult inside London’s tubes.
‘London’s Underground system is very old and exceptionally bendy, weaving around all over the place. This makes deploying traditional systems in London’s Underground, like the ones used in China’s relatively organised (straight) Metro system, slightly more tricky.’
BLiNQ Networks Nominated for Telecom Council 2012 SPIFFY Award - msnbc.com
PLANO, TX — BLiNQ Networks, Inc., the pioneer in small cell wireless backhaul solutions, today announced that it has been nominated by the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley for the Zephyr Award for Best Mobile Opportunity. The SPIFFY Awards recognize the most outstanding telecommunications start-ups as judged by the members of the Service Providers Forum (SPiF) of the Telecom Council of Silicon Valley. Winners will be announced at a ceremony on September 12 during TC3: Telecom Council Carrier Connections.
"BLiNQ Networks was nominated from a pool of over 200 promising start-ups which our carriers reviewed last year," said Liz Kerton, President of the Telecom Council. "We work with over 25 global carriers who clearly see value in BLiNQ's technology -- The Zephyr Award, the award category BLiNQ has been nominated for, recognizes the best investment opportunity within the mobile telecom sector."
BLiNQ Networks is an innovator in small cell backhaul networks that enable Mobile Operators to cost effectively deliver high bandwidth video and other data driven services. BLiNQ's patent pending solution provides carriers an easy-to-deploy, highly scalable backhaul service wherever they need to add capacity to meet the insatiable bandwidth demands of the mobile consumer. The solution is self-organizing and implements interference management technology to maximize capacity and reliability of wireless backhaul in true non-line-of-sight conditions.
BLiNQ is rapidly gaining industry-wide recognition for its innovative small cell backhaul solution. The company was also recently named to the annual FierceWireless, "Fierce 15" list, designating it as one of the top privately-held wireless companies of the year.
"It's a tremendous honor to be nominated by the Telecom Council," said Mickey Miller, CEO and President of BLiNQ Networks. "Backhaul cost, scalability and performance are essential to mobile operators. We would like to thank our customers for working with us to create an innovative solution to solve one of the most challenging elements in a small cell deployment: backhaul."
The Telecom Council of Silicon Valley is Where Telecom Meets Innovation. The council connects companies that are building communication networks, with the people and ideas that are creating it -- by putting those companies, research, ideas, capital, and human expertise from across the globe together in the same room. More than 500 telecom companies are active members of the Telecom Council including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Orange, Telus, and Telefonica. By joining, speaking, sponsoring, or simply participating in a meeting, there are many ways telecom companies of any size can use the Telecom Council network. For more information, visit www.telecomcouncil.com.
About BLiNQ Networks
BLiNQ Networks was founded in June 2010 after the acquisition of intellectual property and wireless assets from Nortel Networks. BLiNQ is a pioneer of wireless backhaul solutions that fundamentally changes the way mobile operators deliver mobile broadband services in urban areas. BLiNQ uses cost-effective sub-6 GHz TDD spectrum and unique and patent-pending Managed Adaptive Resource Allocation (MARA) technology to provide network-level intelligence, self-organizing network capabilities, and eliminates interference challenges to maximize spectral efficiency. BLiNQ is headquartered in Plano, TX with research and development facilities in Ottawa, Canada. For more information, please visit www.blinqnetworks.com.
© Marketwire 2012
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