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Telstra outlines LTE trial roadmap
Ry Crozier, Munir Kotadia|Mar 18, 2010 2:15 PM
Still gas left in HSPA tank.
Telstra will conduct a six-month test of Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology starting in May but was clear it would wring more out of HSPA+ before considering a commercial LTE rollout.
The tests, to take place in Victoria, will use LTE kit from Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens Networks and Huawei and run in ACMA-approved 2.6 GHz test spectrum and 1.8 GHz spectrum.
Telstra wireless executive director Mike Wright said Telstra would use the trials to gain "foundation knowledge" on LTE operation in metropolitan and rural areas.
"The intention is to understand this new technology," Wright said.
Wright said the telco would seek to understand things like the differences in spectral efficiency possible when using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing compared to wideband-CDMA used on 3G networks.
The LTE tests would also involve "some core network development and build testing", according to a slide in a presentation to media and analysts today.
The LTE test will involve core network development and build testing
"[In LTE] the [network architecture] smarts are pushed out to the base station. That's going to put pressure on base stations to signal to each other and manage traffic," Wright said.
While Telstra was keen for the knowledge the tests would provide, it was cautious about when LTE services would be commercially available.
"If you want to be a leader in technology sometimes you have to take bold moves but they are well-calculated," acting chief operations officer Michael Rocca said.
"Let me make it clear - we're not just going to jump onto LTE. That makes no business sense."
Wright was similarly inclined: "We're seeing LTE as a means of continuing the performance characteristics of the network we've already built [Next G]," he said.
"It's really about squeezing more out of our network investment in a way that also gives us greater capacity and lowers our unit cost."
Huawei said it would supply Telstra "with the necessary base station equipment, core network equipment and LTE terminals" in the trial.
"More than 20 Huawei staff will work with Telstra to complete the trial," a spokesman said.
Rival Optus said late last year it would trial LTE in the first half of this year as part of a coordinated regional test by its parent SingTel.
Its tests would take place "over a period of six to nine months" and would involve kit from Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia-Siemens Networks and ZTE.
Telstra is also testing ZTE albeit via its Hong Kong subsidiary company CSL where, it said, "ZTE equipment is being put through its paces."
"The collective information gathered through these trials will be used to guide planning and design of Telstra's future Next G network evolution," the carrier said in a statement.
Long-term evolution as the name suggests
Commercial deployments of LTE aren't expected until at least 2013 or 2014, according to analysts.
Telstra COO Michael Rocca shows off his Blackberry at the briefing
In particular, Ovum analyst Nathan Burley believed that there was no advantage to being first to deploy the technology.
"Like 3G, we see little advantage in being the first mover with LTE," he said.
"Although not its first 3G strategy Telstra Next G strategy demonstrates this. It deployed a mature 3G standard over 3 years after it was first offered by Hutchison in Australia.
"It is reasonable to expect LTE to mature slightly faster than 3G, however its deployment in Australia should correspond broadly to what we saw with 3G UMTS, except around seven years later.
"This means around 2014 is likely to correspond to the 3G experience of 2006/2007 when the technology started rapid adopted in the mass-market."
Burley believed that, at least initially, LTE will "largely be an overlay in high traffic areas to allow carriers to deliver more capacity to more users."
Rocca said Telstra's main challenge was to make the user experience of the transition between HSPA and LTE as seamless as possible.
HSPA focus
LTE would enable Telstra to extract more efficiency out of its mobile spectrum, Rocca said, but he - and Telstra - felt there was still "a lot of gas left in HSPA+" before LTE was necessary.
"We want to continue to exploit gas in the HSPA tank," Wright added.
"Next year we'll move to a combination of dual-carrier and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology."
That offered peak speeds of 84 Mbps. Tests would be conducted later this year to determine actual user speeds although Wright believed they would be around "a third of claimed peak speeds" as a rough estimate.
Telstra made a software upgrade to Next G late last year to enable dual-carrier technology, which enabled it to increase data rates on the network. Closed network tests showed downlink speeds of 36 Mbps bursting as high as 40 Mbps.
"Around the middle of this year we'll bring a dual-channel HSPA device to market," Wright said.
Telstra's current Elite modem boasts downlink speeds between 550 Kbps and 8 Mbps.
http://www.itnews.com.au/News/169891,telstra-outlines-lte-trial-roadmap.aspx
InterDigital Announces Date for 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders
Press Release Source: InterDigital, Inc. On Monday March 15, 2010, 1:41 pm EDT
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC - News) announced today that its board of directors has set the date for the company’s 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The meeting will be held on Thursday, June 3, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time at the Dolce Valley Forge Hotel located at 301 West DeKalb Pike in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
Shareholders of record of InterDigital’s common stock at the close of business on April 6, 2010 are entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the meeting.
LG Snapdragon phone gains popularity
LG Electronics said yesterday that its MAXX feature phone, equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon application processor, is receiving strong initial response from consumers in Korea, with its daily sales exceeding 1,000 units.
Like smartphones, the Wi-Fi enabled handset LG-LU9400 allows users to enjoy high-speed internet, with the 1 gigahertz Snapdragon processor. It was launched on March 3 via the country's smallest mobile carrier LG Telecom
LG will provide a free rental service for the phone until May 9 at LG's Cyon Planet store at COEX, southern Seoul. The one-hour free trial service offers not only calling and text-messaging but e-mailing, Web surfing and other services. Downloads of paid content and overseas calls are not allowed under the service. (hjjin@heraldm.com)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/03/18/201003180027.asp
Ericsson to buy LG-Nortel JV stake-report
Sweden's Ericsson (ERICb.ST) will buy a controlling stake in a joint venture between South Korea's LG Electronics (066570.KS) and Nortel Networks Corp, the Seoul Economic Daily's Web service reported Thursday.
Technology
Ericsson will announce an agreement on Friday to buy a 50 percent stake plus one share in LG-Nortel from Nortel, the newspaper said, without specifying sources.
Ericsson representatives were not immediately available for comment. A LG spokesman declined to comment. (Reporting by Rhee So-eui and Miyoung Kim; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSEL00302420100318
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InterDigital, Inc. (NASDAQ: IDCC - News) today updated financial guidance for first quarter 2010. Previously, InterDigital® expected first quarter 2010 revenue to be in the range of approximately $78 million to $79 million, excluding the impact of any new agreements signed during first quarter 2010 or the potential impact of any additional royalties identified in audits regularly conducted by the company. InterDigital recently announced a new license agreement and an audit resolution. The company expects that the new agreement and audit resolution will add approximately $37.5 million to $38.5 million, substantially related to past sales, to total first quarter 2010 revenue.
“First quarter 2010 reflects our continued ability to add new licensees for our broad 3G portfolio and a solid recovery in handset sales,” commented Scott McQuilkin, InterDigital’s Chief Financial Officer. “We saw marked improvement in sales by our per-unit licensees with exposure to smartphone sales and an improvement in the Japanese market.”
Tatung extends WiMAX network with NEC
NEC Corporation has announced that Tatung InfoComm has extended its WiMAX coverage using equipment provided by the Japanese vendor. Tatung became the first broadband operator to introduce commercial WiMAX services in Taiwan in April 2009, when it launched a network comprising 21 base stations across the outlying Penghu islands. The company went on to launch WiMAX in Kaohsiung County the following July and now, through its collaboration with NEC, it has extended its reach to Pingdong County and Hualien County, covering around 80% of the population in these areas. Tadashi Ugajin, general manager of international sales at NEC, said: ‘NEC is honoured to have worked with Tatung towards the development of these commercial services. The launch of these services is an important first step in providing WiMAX technologies throughout Taiwan. Looking forward, NEC and Tatung aim to drive the continued growth of WiMAX services and to reinforce our cooperative business.’
http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=32492&email=html
Sprint ad uses iPhone to sell WiMAX router
updated 03:45 pm EDT, Wed March 17, 2010
Sprint claims Overdrive could speed up iPhone
Sprint in an unusual marketing tactic is marketing its Sierra Wireless Overdrive router as a companion to the iPhone. A new commercial (viewable below) suggests the iPhone is "limited by AT&T's 3G speeds" and that the 4G-to-Wi-Fi hotspot could be used to speed up the smartphone. In this case, the router could give enough added speed to quickly finish streaming a video.
The speed boost is potentially accurate, as WiMAX on Sprint usually floats between 3Mbps and 6Mbps depending on quality; the figure is usually at least twice as fast as AT&T's typical HSPA-based 3G network, where peak speeds are about 1.7Mbps. However, the service would cost users a $60 monthly premium in addition to the cost of the Overdrive to get the added speeds.
Sprint's move is known not to be the only instance of rival carriers trying to ride on Apple devices despite a lack of support. An internal memo from Verizon has the company trying to sell MiFi routers to iPad buyers as a way of getting 3G for the iPad without needing the more expensive model.
http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/17/sprint.claims.overdrive.could.speed.up.iphone/
Gamco: Whoever wrote that sure covered himself with both positive and negative "what if's". LOL
What if Nokia Operating Margins Keep Declining?
March 17th, 2010 by Trefis Team
Nokia’s (NYSE:NOK) operating margins have declined in recent years as a result of competition with Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), Samsung and LG. The company’s mobile phone operating margins decreased from about 20% in 2007 to around 13% in 2009. Although we expect a rebound in Nokia’s operating margins, there could be a downside of about $7 to the $26 Trefis price estimate for Nokia’s stock if Nokia margins were to remain flat over our forecast period and even greater downside if margins continue to decline.
We believe Nokia’s operating margin declines are attributable to three factors:
1. Declining Nokia Mobile Phone Pricing
Pricing of Nokia mobile phones has declined at a fast rate for the last few years. Pricing in Emerging Markets (India, China, Brazil) fell from Euro 71 in 2007 to Euro 54 in 2009, while pricing in Developed Markets (US, Canada, UK, Germany) fell from Euro 121 to Euro 91 during the same period.
2. Declining Nokia Market Share
Concurrent with falling prices on Nokia mobile phones, the company’s market share has also declined. We estimate that Nokia’s market share in Emerging Markets declined from 44% in 2007 to 40% in 2009, while market share in Developed Markets fell from 30% to 27%.
3. Increasing R&D Expenses with Respect to Revenue
Nokia has been investing heavily in research and development (R&D) and has been working on improvements to its Symbian and Maemo Operating Systems. Nokia’s R&D as percentage of revenue increased from 7.6% in 2007 to 10.7% in 2009. We believe improvements to the Nokia mobile phone operating systems and the associated software are a key to competing effectively with mobile phones from Apple and RIM that have superior operating systems.
Emerging Markets Operating Margin is Most Important
We believe that Nokia’s operating margin in emerging markets is the most important. We estimate that Nokia’s emerging markets business constitutes 71% of the Trefis estimate for Nokia’s stock.
Operating Margin Improvements Expected
We expect improvements to both Nokia’s Emerging Markets Operating Margin and Developed Markets Operating Margin. We believe that introduction of higher priced smartphones in emerging markets will help improve Nokia’s average mobile phone pricing, slow declines in market share and lead to improvements in operating margins. As a result, combined margins are expected to improve from 13% in 2009 to 20% by the end of Trefis forecast period.
What if Operating Margin Decline Continued?
However, if mobile phones price were to increase at a slower rate due to increased competition from Apple and RIM, it may mean additional downside to our operating margin forecast.
If Nokia’s operating margins were to remain constant in Emerging Markets and Developed Markets, it could mean a loss of $7 to the $26 Trefis price estimate for Nokia’s stock.
You can modify our forecast for Nokia Emerging Markets Operating Margin above to see how Nokia’s stock could be impacted if margins remained flat or continued to decline. You can see the average Trefis community forecast for Nokia’s operating margin in emerging markets here (select the Compare button below the chart and plot Community Average).
For additional analysis and forecasts, here is our complete model for Nokia’s stock.
http://www.trefis.com/articles/13466/what-if-nokia-operating-margins-keep-declining/2010-03-17
Apple leads smartphone sales smash
iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia winners
By Lexton Snol, PC Advisor UK
March 16, 2010 10:22 AM ET
Smartphone sales surged in the last three months of 2009, with 25 percent more sold than in the preceding quarter. Apple's iPhone, the BlackBerry and even Nokia were the overall winners.
Fourth quarter mobile handset sales almost always outpace the performance seen in the rest of a year. But according to the latest market data from ABI Research, the final quarter of 2009 was remarkable for the strength of smartphone shipment growth compared to the rather lacklustre preceding nine months.
The good performance was driven in part by falling smartphone prices and the introduction of entry-level smartphones generating greater appeal for new buyers.
Individual vendors had plenty to be pleased about. Apple had its best smartphone quarter on record. Nokia did extremely well, shipping 21 million smartphones compared to its usual 15-16 million. BlackBerry had a strong showing as well.Nokia effectively used its best weapon, economies of scale.
The iPhone maintained its "cool factor" leverage, and, says analyst Michael Morgan, there were some under-reported over-achievers such as the BlackBerry Curve, which has actually out-sold the iPhone in some markets.
Both companies benefited from expansion beyond their traditional North American market, increasingly gaining traction in Western Europe and East Asia: Asia-Pacific iPhone sales increased about 500 percent year-over-year in 2009.While all regions performed well, North America - helped by mobile operators' subsidies - led the pack in smartphone market growth at 30 percent, with Western Europe and APAC following considerably behind.
Africa, the Middle East and Latin America all showed growth in the mid-high 20 percents, although of course they were starting from very low baselines.
"4Q 2009 saw 25 percent more smartphones shipped than 3Q," said Morgan.
"Granted, the fourth quarter is usually better than the third, but 3Q saw only a 3.6 percent growth over the second quarter. The robust strength of this market's recovery is very encouraging indeed.""The United States is now the leading market for smartphone 'mindshare'," notes Morgan. "Vendors view success there as a springboard to success in the rest of the world.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/031610-apple-leads-smartphone-sales.html?hpg1=bn
South Korea Guns for Smart Grid Finish Line
South Korea has a clear, ambitious and driven plan for a fully integrated smart grid by 2030.
Brightly colored and clear as day, a recently released road map for South Korea’s smart grid sends an unmistakable message: We’re ready -- are you?
The country’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy’s two-page report hits all the high points (and garners plenty of style points) in its plan for smart grid deployment through 2030, with hard targets for everything from advanced metering infrastructure to PHEV quick-charging stations and microgrid communications.
“This presentation is on par or better than anything I’ve seen from a progressive utility in the U.S.,” said David J. Leeds, a smart-grid analyst with GTM Research. “They clearly intend to be one of the first nations to have a fully integrated smart grid in place.”
South Korea sees energy and energy efficiency as one of its next big export markets. Samsung has laid plans to become the world’s largest solar provider by 2015 from a base in 2009 of effectively zero. The company recently agreed to build $1.6 billion worth of factories and other facilities in Ontario, Canada. Both LG and Samsung have also unfurled initiatives to reduce power consumption in their upscale household appliances.
Despite its strong foray into solar on the business side, South Korea set a relatively modest goal for renewable energy as a country -- 11 percent in 2030 -- yet it expects nearly one-third of households to be energy self-sufficient by the same date.
Other targets are far more ambitious. The road map calls for a 100 percent AMI penetration by 2020 and to hit 5.6 percent penetration in 2010. But the rollout doesn’t stop at smart meters.
South Korea also expects to expand from 500,000 PHEVs in 2012 to nearly 2.5 million by 2030, with the capacity for vehicle-to-grid transmission. Who is going to pay for all that? According to the road map, approximately $6.2 billion ($7 trillion won) will get spent on technology development and $18 billion will go into building infrastructure.
The SK Group, which included SK Energy, SK Telecom and SK Networks, is expected to be a major player in developing the grid, according to The Korea Times. SK Telecom is already partnered with Samsung on a pilot project on the island of Jeju to test multiple technologies.
South Korea is at an advantage in that the country of 48 million depends on just one energy utility, KEPCO. Another major leg up is the country’s broadband. After the Asian financial crisis of 1998, South Korea embarked on an ambitious plan to become a worldwide leader in broadband. It worked. The country became an epicenter for online gaming development, social networking and other broadband services, and its communications backbone is one of the most robust in the world.
“[With this road map] South Korea is saying look, this is what smart grid is and we’ve got the existing knowledge base to be tech leaders here," says Leeds. He further points out, or rather, cautions, that "South Korea imports essentially all of its energy, so there is a necessity there that may drive Korea to develop next-generation smart grid technologies ahead of the pack."
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/south-korea-guns-for-smart-grid-finish-line/
For those that use PACER public access is enhanced
http://www.uscourts.gov/Press_Releases/2010/JudicialConferenceMar2010.cfm
paheka,
are these continuation patents i.e. related to our patents now being challenged?
Yes. The last ones issued were in May, 2009. None have been issued since then. I posted on mickey's board those continuation patents that have not been issued.
I look every week if any were issued.
mo
revlis..are these continuation patents i.e. related to our patents now being challenged?
I was so busy today that I did not notice you did not post the new patents.
I did not see any of those continuation patents for the ITC patents.
mo
Thanks.
I just wanted to know if there was some way that IDCC could shut down the ITC investigation and restart the Deaware lawsuit and take the CAFC decisions to the Delaware courts.
I should use CAFC instead of CCA.
Also thanks for the EDIS info.
mo
United States Patent 7,680,071
Bultan , et al. March 16, 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Method and apparatus for managing power during a discontinuous reception mode
Abstract
A method and apparatus for managing power during discontinuous reception (DRX) mode are disclosed. A DRX mode is defined for a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) for reducing power consumption of the WTRU. During the DRX mode, the WTRU enters into a sleep state and periodically wakes up for processing paging blocks for detecting a paging indication for the WTRU and a corresponding paging message. If the WTRU is paged the WTRU terminates the DRX mode. If the WTRU is not paged, the WTRU reenters the sleep state. For power management during the DRX mode, a synchronization update period is defined. The synchronization update period is a period for performing automatic frequency correction and/or frame time correction.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Bultan; Aykut (Bayside, NY), Haim; John W. (Baldwin, NY), Kearney; Kenneth P. (Smithtown, NY), DiFazio; Robert A. (Greenlawn, NY), Grieco; Donald M. (Manhassett, NY)
Assignee: InterDigital Technology Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
Appl. No.: 11/322,705
Filed: December 30, 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related U.S. Patent Documents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application Number Filing Date Patent Number Issue Date
60717997 Sep., 2005
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current U.S. Class: 370/311 ; 370/278; 370/466; 455/572; 455/574
Current International Class: G08C 17/00 (20060101)
Field of Search: 370/311 455/572,574
United States Patent 7,680,080
Zeira , et al. March 16, 2010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Method of using a mobile unit to determine whether to commence handover
Abstract
A method of using a mobile unit in a multi-cell communication system to determine whether to commence handover of the mobile unit from a serving base station located in a first cell of the communication system to a target base station located in a second cell of the communication system. The mobile unit determines the serving base station received signal code power (RSCP.sub.ser), the first cell interference signal code power (ISCP.sub.ser), the target base station received signal code power (RSCP.sub.tar) and the second cell interference signal code power (ISCP.sub.tar). If the ratio RSCP.sub.ser/ISCP.sub.ser is less than the ratio RSCP.sub.tar/ISCP.sub.tar, the mobile unit commences handover to the target base station. The multi-cell communication system may be a time division duplex (TDD) system. The mobile unit may send a message to a radio network controller (RNC) in communication with the serving and target base stations to initiate the handover.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Zeira; Eldad (Huntington, NY), Zeira; Ariela (Huntington, NY), Terry; Stephen E. (Northport, NY)
Assignee: InterDigital Technology Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
Appl. No.: 10/966,449
Filed: October 15, 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related U.S. Patent Documents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application Number Filing Date Patent Number Issue Date
10216120 Aug., 2002 7068626
60312821 Aug., 2001
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current U.S. Class: 370/332
Current International Class: H04W 4/00 (20090101)
Field of Search: 370/280,294,331,332,345,277 455/436,437,439,560
United States Patent 7,680,518
Iacono , et al. March 16, 2010
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Deviation based antenna control algorithm for an access point
Abstract
An access point operating in a wireless communication network includes a smart antenna for generating directional antenna beams. A method for operating the access point includes communicating with a client station using a selected directional antenna beam, with the client station initially being in a stationary position. Signal to noise ratios of signals received from the client station within a time interval are measured. At least one variation metric of a mean of the measured signal to noise ratios within the time interval is determined. This at least one determined variation metric is compared to a threshold for determining if the client station is moving.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Iacono; Ana Lucia (West Chester, PA), Liu; Kai (Melville, NY), Steinbach; Daniel (Commack, NY)
Assignee: InterDigital Technology Corporation (Wilmington, DE)
Appl. No.: 11/691,062
Filed: March 26, 2007
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Related U.S. Patent Documents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Application Number Filing Date Patent Number Issue Date
60744068 Mar., 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current U.S. Class: 455/562.1 ; 370/259; 370/328; 370/468; 370/469; 379/219; 379/220.01
Current International Class: H04M 1/00 (20060101)
Field of Search: 455/452.2,277.2,513,25,115.1,41.2,532.1,562.1 370/334,278,352,353,310,459,468,338,252,280,335,259,328,401,395.5,469,329 379/219,220.01
revlis: If the CAFC remands the case back to the ITC it will automatically be reopened to follow whatever guidance the CAFC gave.
In regard to registering at the ITC. I also ran across that new requirement and have yet to register. At least it is free access vs. having to pay at PACER. What I noted was that when you start the registration process, there is a site that you are referred to on Who Should Register. According to that site you don't have to register to view publicly available documents. I guess they are a little late in changing their guidance.
EDIS - Who Should Register?
You must register to obtain a userid for EDIS. Registration for EDIS includes identifying yourself by name, address, firm, and email address. You will be asked to enter a userid and password for access to EDIS. Security questions and answers will also be collected to identify you when passwords are forgotten or other assistance is needed from the EDIS Help Desk.
You must login to EDIS to file documents. A person who represents a party to an investigation before the Commission must become a registered user before filing a document. Your user information will be used to pre-populate certain fields when filing documents. The registered user’s name (Filed By) and Firm must match the legal signature and Firm on the document being filed.
If you are an on staff at the USITC you must login using your userid which has been granted permissions to view non-public documents.
Registration is not required to use EDIS for researching publicly-available legal documentation. Public documents and Public, Confidential and Limited document data (document cover sheet attributes) may be viewed without login.
The USITC encourages any person who is not yet but anticipates becoming a party representative to become a registered user.
I believe whizzer has posted that only the CAFC decision regarding claim construction has a res judicata effect.
That is what the CCA is deciding now.
I believe the ITC has terminated the investigation. Does IDCC have to request to reopen it after a decision by the CCA? I no longer can get access to the EDIS. I really do not want to register.
Here is what was posted.
Specifically, the
Commission has determined to review portions of the ALJ’s claim construction and invalidity analysis, but to affirm the ALJ’s determination of no violation, and has terminated the investigation.
mo
revlis: I'm pretty sure the Delaware court stays will remain in effect until final resolution of the case. So even if there is a favorable decision at the CAFC, but the case is returned to the ITC for action IAW the decision, the stay will remain. As to a favorable decision being binding on the Delaware Court, I believe whizzer has posted that only the CAFC decision regarding claim construction has a res judicata effect.
loophole,
A dangerous thing just happened. Another crazy idea entered my brain.
If IDCC receives a favorite ruling from the CCA, could IDCC bypass the ITC and restart Delaware? I would assume that the favorite ruling would be binding on Delaware.
mo
Ericsson expected to work with Wistron
Telecom giant Ericsson opens a support office for consumer electronics in Taiwan.
Ericsson plans to source products for use in integration projects, where Ericsson is supplying converged IP networks and systems for carriers.
Ericsson is expected to work with vendors like Zyxel and Wistron NeWeb in this area, and to get its modules into electronics devices from Wistron, Micro-Star International and Clevo, according to a report by Retink Wireless that quoted DigiTimes.
evertiq note: The report referred to Ericsson Mobile Platforms, a unit within Ericsson that merged with STMicroelectronics in 2008. The new name for Ericsson Mobile Platforms is ST-Ericsson.
http://www.evertiq.com/news/16438
XDX and Kent
I believe the confusion is over the defense asserted by Nok claiming that the ITC proceedings should apply French Law rather than US Law to its investigations. The French Expert testified that each essential patent claim must have a separate license which is assumed to be under license upon declaration of the patent thereby allowing legal useage until the terms are agreed to be fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory. He attempted to justify the matter by citing a clause in ETSI that stated the laws of France would govern. However, my memory is not what it used to be, but the section stating governing law was the challenging of a declared patent to ETSI before final standards language or if the declarer stated that they would not license the technology. Provisions were set out for the amendment of the proposed standard to exclude the patent claims in these instances. Further, ETSI made a subsequent statement that it never intended and does not desire to interfere with the customary business of licensing between parties.
There are many holes in the French Expert's opinion and the ITC did not buy into it or they would have ceased the investigation.
The real problem involves MEN who have been attacking IDCC for damn near 20 years. Motorola was it early, then Ericy and now Nok. If you look back, Nok licensed 2 and 3g with IDCC, but two significant matters were contained in the licenses that stand out like a sore thumb. The first is that no royalty liability would begin unless Mot or Ericy licensed with IDCC. The second was that Nok could challenge the IDCC portfolio at any time which was directly contrary to the US law at that time. Clearly the three parties were working together in 1998 when the Nok/IDCC deal was being negotiated. The Nok lawyer in his argument before Judge Lynn when attempting to intervene in the dismissed ERicy/IDCC case stated "this was not supposed to happen" referring to the settlement. Now, unless this gentleman was the son of Carnac, he had obviously been informed that MEN stood all for one and one for all in its effort to close IDCC. Now return to present day and guess who the 3 holdouts are in not agreeing to license 3g? Yep, MEN is still at it.
IDCC has had several chances to litigate the behavior of these three companies and has opted to pass. I do not believe the DOJ has any blame and I also believe they are powerless to do anything about the situation. These guys were not planning on antitrust areas, they wanted to force IDCC to shut their doors before they were financially able to really fight. Their own scheme blew up in their face when the USPTO reviewed and blessed off on a few remaining patent claims forcing Ericy to settle in Dallas right after they had just lost a jury trial in Judge Lynn's Court to another patent holder.
While we as shareholders feel outrage, an independent third party is not going to lose sleep over a company with no debt and a half billion dollars in the bank.
MO
loop
UPDATE 1-US FCC broadband plan includes more auction power
2:29 pm ET 03/15/2010- Reuters
* FCC seeking power to auction broadcasters' spectrum
* Unwilling broadcasters may be forced to give up spectrum
WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Monday released a set of goals to modernize high-speed Internet access for Americans, including plans to free up more airwaves for mobile services.
The plan aims to have have 100 million American households get Internet speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps) by 2020, compared with the current average speed of less than 4 Mbps.
In the report called "Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan," the agency says it is seeking expanded authority to hold auctions that would provide incentives for broadcasters to give up some of their airwaves for purchase by wireless companies.
The FCC said it would leave open the possibility of taking action if broadcasters do not voluntarily give up spectrum.
The broadband plan of over 350 pages was released ahead of a meeting by the FCC on Tuesday, where the five commissioners are due to vote on issuing a summary of the plan.
Congress, which asked the FCC to make recommendations on the status of broadband in the United States, will be formally presented with the plan on Tuesday, the FCC said. (Reporting by John Poirier; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)
_________________
FCC unveiling sweeping national broadband plan
Challenges await Federal Communications Commission's national broadband plan
Joelle Tessler, AP Technology Writer, On Monday March 15, 2010, 12:19 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Communications regulators are unveiling a
sweeping proposal to overhaul U.S. broadband policy. Their aim: to bring affordable, high-speed Internet connections to all Americans and make access much faster for people who already have broadband.
Yet it's not certain the Federal Communications Commission can find the funding, corporate support and legal clearance to carry out the entire vision of the plan.
Already, broadcasters oppose one key element of the proposal, which calls for reclaiming some airwaves now in the hands of TV stations and instead selling those frequencies to companies that deliver wireless Internet access. And the FCC hopes to modernize the federal program that subsidizes telephone service in poor and rural areas -- something that Congress and federal regulators have been trying to do for years.
The FCC plan, mandated by last year's stimulus bill and being delivered to Congress on Tuesday, lays out an ambitious vision for wiring the entire country with broadband. It reflects the Obama administration's position that high-speed Internet access is no longer just a luxury but is critical for economic development, education and health care.
"To me, broadband is an infrastructure challenge that's very akin to what we've faced in the past with telephones and electricity," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in an interview with The Associated Press. Genachowski has made the national broadband plan his top priority, and his legacy at the commission will be linked closely to the plan's success or failure.
The proposal sets a goal of connecting 100 million U.S. households to broadband connections of 100 megabits per second -- at least 20 times faster than most home connections now -- by 2020.
The plan also calls for every American community to have at least one anchor institution, such as a school, library or hospital, that has ultra-high-speed Internet access -- at least a gigabit per second, or 10 times faster than the 100 megabits per second envisioned for home connections.
In addition, the plan is designed to encourage more people to subscribe to broadband. About two-thirds of U.S. households have high-speed Internet access now. Many people in the other one-third could get broadband but choose not to buy it, either because they think it's too expensive or because they don't see a need for it. The FCC plan calls for increasing adoption rates to more than 90 percent of the population.Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/FCC-unveiling-sweeping-apf-2920471157.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=5&asset=&ccode=
Nokia cuts own market share forecast to 34%
New estimates include grey market
Forecasts and market share estimates in the handset industry are increasingly skewed by the rising importance of counterfeit and grey market devices. Such products find their main markets in emerging economies, which are accounting for an increasing proportion of total shipments.
Now Nokia has broken the conspiracy of silence among OEMs and revised its own forecasts to include shipments of fake or unlicensed handsets. This increases the global total by 120 million units, but depresses Nokia's own share of that figure from 38 per cent to 34 per cent.
In a filing with the US SEC, Nokia forecast shipments of 1.26 billion cellphones this year, up from its previous estimate of 1.14 billion. It said its adjustment had been prompted by improvements in its measurement processes, which have given it better market visibility. Since its massive market lead makes Nokia's forecasts the most listened-to in the industry, its revisions will change the outlook for all its rivals too.
"Beginning in 2010, Nokia is revising its definition of the industry mobile device market that it uses to estimate industry volumes," said the filing with the US financial watchdog. In particular, it will recognize devices shipped by certain "new entrants", including "vendors of legitimate, as well as unlicensed and counterfeit, products with manufacturing facilities primarily centered around certain locations in Asia and other emerging markets".
Its view of the unlicensed market is still somewhat more optimistic than that of some analysts - while Nokia thinks it will account for almost 10 per cent of the total this year, iSuppli thinks the figure was already 13 per cent in 2009, with two-thirds of the models finding their way outside China, eating into legitimate market share all round the world. According to iSuppli, grey shipments rose almost 44 per cent year-on-year last year, at a time when shipments of legitimate phones fell by about 6 per cent.
Obviously, this new outlook affects Nokia's key metric, market share - or at least, how this is perceived by the outside world. Its share figures in the economies where counterfeit handsets are most important will be impacted more dramatically - China and India in particular, but also many south east Asian and Latin American bases. Other exposed suppliers will include Samsung, Motorola and the 'legitimate' Chinese manufacturers, notably ZTE.
The biggest source of the unofficial phones is China, and the country is also the largest market for these devices, but it is also increasingly an export industry, threatening Nokia's overwhelming share of low-end products in territories like India. Grey market phones are made in China but not recognized or licensed by the government and so do not pay value added taxes. They use fake international mobile equipment identity numbers.
The Indian government, however, has recently initiated a crackdown on illegal handsets, ordering operators to disable devices without valid International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers. This is likely to affect 25 million phones, about 5 per cent of the national total.
Nokia reiterated that it expects the handset industry to grow by 10 per cent in 2010 compared with 2009, and that it expects its own market share to be flat in real terms compared with last year.
In a separate report, iSuppli found that Nokia had an operating margin of 12.3 per cent in 2009, well above the average of 0.7 per cent for the world's top five phonemakers.
Copyright © 2010, Wireless Watch
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/15/nokia_market_estimates/