BuddeBlog

Working with Vertical Wind AB and Uppsala University in Sweden, Ericsson researchers have developed a wind-powered tower for wireless base stations.

It harnesses wind power via a four-blade turbine with five-meter blades vertically attached to the tower. The vertical rotor blades work silently and minimize the load on the tower during operation.

The Ericsson Tower Tube construction houses base stations and antennas, fully enclosing them in an aesthetically pleasing concrete tower. It has a smaller footprint and lower environmental impact than traditional steel towers with CO2 emissions related to materials, such as production and transportation that are at least 30% lower.

The Tower Tube has no need for feeders and cooling systems. With up to 40% lower power consumption than traditional base station sites, it helps operators reduce their operating costs significantly. It employs cutting-edge design and can be built in many sizes and a variety of colours, making it a natural fit for any landscape.

Trials are planned to determine if the design can enable low-cost mobile communication, with reduced impacts on both the local and global environment.

See also:

Global – Smart Grids – Grid IT – where energy meet comms

Global – Smart Grids – Energy & Environmental Issues – 2008

Telcoinabox to NZ

Telcoinabox has signed an agreement with Telecom New Zealand’s wholesale business to supply Telcoinabox with fixed wire services.

The company plans to replicate the success of its full-service Australian wholesale-to-resale business model to business customers, including individuals, ISPs, utilities and other large organisations in New Zealand. The fixed-wire package includes PSTN, ISDN, and 0800 inbound.

See: New Zealand

Telcos developments in Germany and Austria

BuddeComm’s Germany and Austria Annual Publication, 2008 Europe – Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Germany and Austria, profiles two European telecom markets.

Germany has Europe’s largest telecom market, supported by an affluent and tech-savvy population of more than 82 million. The sector suffered a downturn in 2007, with overall telecom revenue falling almost 4% to about 64 billion. Competitive pressure on pricing together with the continuing financial and operational difficulties of Deutsche Telekom will place further pressure on the market’s recovery into 2009. Positive results are expected from the country’s broadband sector in coming years resulting from investments in network upgrades which have helped to step-up consumer take-up of IP-delivered triple play services.

Austria’s mid-sized telecom market has an advanced infrastructure, while its main telcos are well placed to take advantage of opportunities in the less mature and rapidly developing markets of Central and Eastern Europe.

This report presents an overview of the telecom markets in these two important countries, including an assessment of sector liberalisation and privatisation, together with the key regulatory measures which affect competition and investment. It also examines the product offerings for the mobile sector, including the fast growing mobile broadband sector; it assesses the latest developments in advanced services such as mobile TV and HSDPA, and provides valuable 3G and mobile ARPU forecasts. The important broadband market is assessed, together with forecasts for broadband growth to 2018 based on factors such as network investment, the regulatory environment and consumer demand. The report provides essential statistics covering the broadband, mobile and digital TV sectors, highlighting technological developments and the emergence of media convergence and triple play offerings.

Key highlights:

• Germany’s TV market is dominated by cable and satellite services, while analogue terrestrial TV has virtually ceased to exist. DTTV has grown quickly, while IPTV offers a nascent but growing presence. There were some 15.7 million digital homes in Germany in September 2008, compared with 1.84 million in 2001.
• Triple play remains a developing market in Germany, but consumer take-up accelerated strongly in 2007. With more than ten providers offering services on a single platform, growth in 2008 is expected to be particularly strong. In addition to increased investment in cable network upgrades, delivering the required bandwidth, the DSL network of Deutsche Telekom will provide 50Mb/s to most of the country by the end of the decade.
• Considerable investment in NGNs from QSC, Versatel and Deutsche Telekom has placed consumers in a strong position to exploit the opportunities of converging media in coming years. Deutsche Telekom’s VDSL network covers 40 cities. Including the reach of ADSL2+, around 1,000 cities, or 20 million households, will be covered by the end of 2009.
• The mobile markets in Germany and Austria remain fiercely competitive, with a growing number of active MVNOs and resellers. ARPU is forecasted to fall for 3-4 years before recovering as the greater number of 3G subscribers makes use of flat-rate mobile data services.
• Germany’s fragmented cable market has seen dramatic consolidation during the last two years. The main players, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel BW, Unitymedia and United Internet, substantially increased their subscriber base in 2008. Coupled with broadband service offerings at up to 100Mb/s they will offer a serious challenge to DSL operators in coming years.

Mobile subscribers and penetration rate – 2005 – 2008

(Source: BuddeComm)

For more info see:  2008 Europe – Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Germany and Austria

Datamonitor expects Apple’s decision to allow third party developers to create applications for the iPhone will result in the development of new healthcare related applications. In particular applications for electronic health records (EHRs) and Clinical Decision Support (CDS) may assist in increasing physicians use of technology.

For further information see separate report:

Global – Digital Media – E-health.

A new report ‘10G/40G/100G Market Size and Forecasts’ from Infonetics Research shows the 10 Gigabit (10G) market is big and growing fast, on target to hit nearly $9.5 billion worldwide in 2008.

The report, which tracks 10G, 40G, and 100G optical (OC192/STM64, etc.) and Ethernet ports and revenue on various types of service provider and enterprise gear, shows that, despite the economic downturn, the 10G market is thriving and will continue to thrive for many years to come, 40G is ramping rapidly, and 100G should begin soon and take off by 2013.

A majority of service providers are expecting to invest in 40G until the 100G market is up and running. Some providers are hoping to skip the 40G phase altogether, this is not seen as being a viable option, as growing traffic demands are outstripping current capacities and 100G won’t reach reasonable price points until about 2012 or 2013. When 100G Ethernet arrives, it’ll be the next big thing and the most important, because it will last to at least 2025, solving traffic problems for a very long time.

Report highlights:

• 40G revenue is forecast to increase at a fast clip, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 59% from 2007 to 2011
• In 2008 the average revenue per 10G Ethernet port on service provider equipment is more than 10 times that of enterprise equipment
• The number of 10G, 40G, and 100G ports shipping on enterprise and service provider equipment will jump from over 1 million in 2007 to 7.4 million in 2011, with 100G making its small debut in 2009

For further information please see: Technical reports