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Tag: CTIA

  • CTIA SMW Features Large Connected Car Presence

    CTIA’s Super Mobility Week featured machine-to-machine technology, connected vehicle vendors, and a few location-based services companies. While combining its spring and fall conferences, which drew a big crowd, CTIA also tried to be everything to everyone in wireless. Meeting planners also placed the conference with conflicting dates — as the Institute of Navigation, Berlin IFA and ITS World Congress were held in the same week. One of my goals as a reporter was to make sense of a big trade show — and to limit the times an interviewee said “Internet of Things.”

    LAS VEGAS — Outside of the announcement by GM and AT&T to expand OnStar to Europe, the CTIA Super Mobility Week here featured several connected car panels, but limited location news. The action seemed to be in company backroom meetings with existing clients — or trying to find additional niche opportunities for location products.

    One company, Annapolis, Maryland-based TeleCommunication Systems, said it is proving its navigation product for the Atlanta-based AT&T Drive Studio. The company is involved in most location markets, now ranked No. 2 in terms of units deployed (second to Ericsson, according to one source), said Jay Whitehurst, TCS president, commercial software group.

    TCS’ Location ToolKit, which will be used in the 5,000-square foot AT&T Drive Studio, offers navigation, with automatic map updates, traffic, real-time gas prices, weather, movies and showtimes.

    Whitehurst said a market that is growing is e-health and mobile payments, which are both big topics at CTIA SMW and at the Barcelona Mobile World Congress. “We are developing a new product in conjunction with physicians to allow first responders to be able to reach patients who are not responsive. We are working the system into clinical workflows to provide diagnosis,” he said.

    Standards, particularly for connected vehicles and handsets that control functions, will be important as new systems and vehicles offer this technology, said Alan Ewing, Car Connectivity Consortium president and executive director.

    “Having a proprietary service is okay until someone says, ‘Hey, we don’t want to do this anymore,’ then there is a button in a car that does nothing,” he said. “We want to ensure that button is meaningful. While a lot of cars have MirrorLink built in, what happens when it disappears and consumers don’t know where to buy a compatible phone? [Consumers] don’t want three different phones for their vehicles.”

    Ewing said that despite proponents’ arguments that autonomous vehicles are here to stay, he believes it is a generational issue. “I don’t want to give up control of a vehicle. But it is a surprise to hear younger people are not even getting driver’s licenses.”

    Ford, which is not a MirrorLink member, had its inaugural developer’s conference at CTIA SMW. The developer’s conference was a big hit, with more than 200 application developers, said Douglas VanDagens, Ford global director, connected services solutions organization.

     

    u-blox Rolls Out New Module, Outlines Marketing Strategy

    Several companies at CTIA SMW are attempting to find niche opportunities in the crowded machine-to-machine market — and Switzerland-based u-blox is no exception. The company is focusing on the mobile, industrial and consumer-location markets, said Thomas Seiler, u-blox CEO.

    While Seiler says there is no one dominant market for u-blox, the fleet market has been very good for the company. In addition, asset tracking has been a good market, he said.

    “We are also seeing consumer markets such as e-bikes, golf carts, commercial helicopters and drones growing,” Seiler said.

    While many location companies are fretting about government regulation, u-blox is taking the position that most agency requirements have actually helped build the market. “Regulatory requirements have been driving business for us. The [National Highway Traffic Safety Administration] proposes that vehicles report location, speed and direction,” said Nikolaos Papadopoulos, u-blox America president. “The collision avoidance regulations have helped to create an ecosystem that drives business.”

    The company recently rolled out its ODIN-W160 multi-radio module for automotive, industrial, medical and security applications.

    Nick Papadopoulos, president of u-blox America, tells CTIA Super Mobility Week show-goers what they should see at the u-blox booth.

    Numerex Exec Talks Omnilink Purchase

    The recent $37.5 million purchase of offender-monitoring company Omnilink allowed Numerex to boost its presence in the tracking of prisoners, Alzheimer’s patients and children, said Kelly Gay, Numerex president, security solutions.

    “Our strategic focus is on M2M solutions — the Omnilink purchase is a perfect fit. Both companies are based in Atlanta and we have a lot of products we are working on together,” she said. “It’s been a great four months [since the acquisition].”

    Gay said Numerex is focusing on four markets, or “battlefields” for growth: solutions as a service; asset identification and tracking; supply chain delivery; and remote monitoring, which includes oil and gas, tank monitoring, water systems and tracking weather.

    LBS Companies Few and Far at CTIA…

    While there were only a handful of LBS companies at CTIA SMW, one company, Mexia Interactive, mapped the exhibit hall in the Sands Convention Center. The Winnipeg, Canada-based company is offering indoor location beacons — and has installations in four airports, with six more under contract.

    “We set up 80 sensors in this area to capture data from mobile devices, every 10 seconds, to place the information on a heat map. With this heat map, retailers can see how many people are in a registration area, patterns of who is going to booths — and who is not,” said Glenn Tinley, Mexia president and CEO.

    While Tinley says his company, which was founded in 2010, can work with both Apple and Android systems, he believes Apple is pushing Android out of the indoor market.

    At airports, both security and airlines can see how long lines are with the technology to open up new lines and distribute personnel to meet the need, Tinley said. “We can instantly send a text alert to have a new check-in line established. Retailers can do the same thing at check out,” he said. “At retailers, [long lines] represent potentially billions in losses each year.”

    Iridium Expanding M2M Market Demand

    Iridium recently reduced the price of its short-burst data receivers by 50 percent to allow its OEMs and value-added resellers to offer a product that works worldwide in areas with no cellular coverage.

    “The machine-to-machine market is one of our fastest growing [segments]. We see a combination of new services being developed,” said David Wigglesworth, Iridium vice president and general manager. “By the end of the year, we should have a push-to-talk service like the old Nextel phone.”

    Big changes are coming to Iridium and its satellite constellation. The Iridium NEXT satellite network will consist of 66 in-orbit satellites and several in-orbit spares. The constellation is expected to begin launching in 2015 and will offer greater bandwidth and data speeds when fully operational in 2017.

    “We are replacing the whole Iridium system. Space X is our launch partner — and they have been great,” Wigglesworth said. “The new constellation will allow new services. We see aviation as being a big market. The satellite industry has many niche markets.”

    In other CTIA SMW news:

    • One of a handful of antenna companies exhibiting at SMW was Ireland-based Taoglas, which says there is growth in distributed antenna systems, said Dermot O’Shea, Taoglas president. “We are seeing a huge movement to LTE,” he said. One of Taoglas’ customers is Omnilink, which uses a custom GPS antenna in its offender-monitoring product.
    • Stockholm-based Birdstep is getting into the connected car market, based on its defense experience, with future data plans that turn off when a car is stationary. “Why should consumers pay for a data plan when a car is parked 90 percent of the time?” asked Lonnie Schilling, Birdstep CEO.
    • Spirent Communications launched its Elevate Test Framework for M2M devices and services. Because of the surge in smartphone and M2M devices, the new testing device allows evaluation and performance tests to enable faster development cycles, the company said.
    • Fleet Freedom rolled out a new mobile resource-management product that works with Android, iOS and Magellan’s RoadMate fleet units at SMW. “This unit is the fourth generation. It features dispatch integrated, while most of our competitors view this as a separate product,” said Andrew Singer, Fleet Freedom general manager.
  • What Mattered at CTIA

    What Mattered at CTIA

    The morning sunlight steams into the Sands Expo Center.
    The morning sunlight steams into the Sands Expo Center.

    To those attending CTIA’s Super Mobility Week in Las Vegas September 9-11, it was clear that we’ve entered a period of divergence. Sensors, multiple platforms, all sorts of devices, computing in clouds, processing in clouds, car companies, connected houses, smart watches and indoor location positioning are being touted as part of the “Internet of Things” that will work together seamlessly. Some day. The connected car was a highlight of the show and Ford held (purportedly) the automotive industry’s first developers’ conference. The exhibit floor was jammed with machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, some positioned for the Internet of Things, most for traditional telematics. In the past, wearable devices were in the show’s fringe, but new smart watches have mainstreamed wearables.

    Telematics solutions were plentiful at CTIA, but these companies are all looking for new markets. The second-largest telematics market in the world is China, but it has been a bit of a mystery. C.J. Driscoll and Associates’ report on the Chinese commercial telematics market was just released. “There are five million fleet vehicles in China that use a tracking system,” says Clem Driscoll. “Regulations are part of the impetus for telematics, but the cost of transporting goods in China is very high, so economics play a role in the adoption.” Almost all telematics devices sold in the U.S. market are being manufactured in China.

    Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, comparing "hardware people" and "software people," says Tesla's Model S interior forgoes extra buttons for useful, adaptable software.
    Jeff Lawson, CEO of Twilio, comparing “hardware people” and “software people,” says Tesla’s Model S interior forgoes extra buttons for useful, adaptable software.

    Ford, a newbie at CTIA, entered the conference with a bang, hosting what it claimed to be the first developers’ conference for the automobile. Developers from 17 countries participated and received access to simulated vehicle data, including speed, fuel economy and GPS, based on data from Los Angeles. As the night wore on, I expect the floor was littered with spent energy drinks, coffee and pizza in the all-night coding session. Currently, there are 60 apps developed for Ford; the company forbids apps with games, videos and complicated demands on the driver. Ford had been at the forefront of the connected vehicle and already has connected collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control, smartphone integration, and parallel parking assistance.

    GM is furthest ahead in bringing cars to market with embedded connectivity and, unlike Ford, has plans for an app store. Embedding connectivity into the car greatly deepens the functionality of car apps and also allows for over-the-air updates of firmware and software (FOTA and SOTA). Maintenance issues can be caught quickly. “Software and firmware updates save OEMs the $400-$500 that it costs each time a vehicle is serviced at the dealer for a recall,” said Egil Juliussen of market research firm IHS. “Currently, 70 percent of recalls come into the dealers, but with over-the air-updates, I expect about 95 percent of car owners will obtain updates.” Juliussen expects to see self-driving vehicles on highway lanes in 2017, followed by automated lane switching and local road driving in 2025. His assessment is consistent with other automotive experts.

    CTIA President Meredith Atwell Baker laughs as The Daily Show's Larry Wilmore provides news updates between opening keynotes.
    CTIA President Meredith Atwell Baker laughs as The Daily Show’s Larry Wilmore provides news updates between opening keynotes.

    Besides pleading to the FCC for more spectrum, most keynote speakers talked about technologies or products that require LTE (often called 4G) for fast connectivity. GM, in partnership with AT&T, leads U.S. car makers in LTE deployment. The 2015 Chevrolet Malibu is the first 4G LTE-equipped GM vehicle, to be followed by more than 30 more GM models by the end of the year. In 2016, GM plans to roll out “Super Cruise” for hands-free highway driving, at both highway and stop-and-go speeds, as well as lane following, speed control and braking that will be available in an undisclosed Cadillac model in 2017.

    To spur usage, a three-month free data trial is being offered by GM, and 90 percent of owners with cars equipped with LTE are participating. Billing for in-car connectivity is complicated. Few OEMs have a mechanism for collecting ongoing fees, such as for data services. With the GM offering, current customers of AT&T can add a car (similar to adding another phone) onto a phone plan for $10 per month. Otherwise, data can be purchased in increments, the same way some pre-paid phone plans work.

    CTIA fielded a panel of experts moderated by CNBC's Julia Boorstin to respond to Apple's Live Event.
    CTIA fielded a panel of experts moderated by CNBC’s Julia Boorstin to respond to Apple’s Live Event.

    Google and Apple each want to get a proprietary connected platform into vehicles as a way to control the integration of apps with vehicles, as well as to “own” the ecosystem. The traditional automotive players, including the OEMs, have banded together to create MirrorLink, a collaborative, standards-based non-proprietary platform, an effort facilitated by the Car Connectivity Consortium. MirrorLink is being created by collaborators from 105 countries who grapple with standardization issues. “The biggest concern we have right now, is how to get the platform distributed throughout the world,” remarked Alan Ewing of Car Connectivity Consortium. “In three years we will be talking about the ecosystem of apps, and you will see 100 more times than what we see today.” Who prevails with this platform — MirrorLink, Apple or Google — will have a huge advantage.

    The location services that deliver content to vehicles and devices have been in the foreground, but there is a quieter category of location services. Companies like LocationSmart and Locate are automatically identifying the location of customers (with permission) for enterprises that include asset management, mobile gaming, financial security services, and customer management services. Initially, the services were based on identifying the location of callers to customer service centers, who could then route callers accordingly. A broader set of use cases is now seen. “We’ve moved far beyond traditional location determination,” says Mario Proietti of LocationSmart. “For instance, LocationSmart is providing financial service companies with the location of a customer’s phone, which is matched with the location of financial transactions.” If a credit card is being used at a store in Chicago while the customer’s cell phone is in Miami, fraud may be involved.

    An engaging heat map of all attendees in the exhibit hall demonstrated the power of indoor positioning. On the hall’s ceiling, Mexia Interactive installed Wi-Fi/Bluetooth sensors to receive attendees’ cellular signals. The sensors were spaced at about every 10,000 square feet. Mexia has the distinction of being the only exhibitor mentioning a bathroom use case. A customer is using the sensors to keep 90 bathrooms clean. After the sensor receives signals from a set number of phones, the cleaning staff receives an alert to service the bathroom.

    The show floor heat map, by Mexia, uses sensors throughout Sands Expo to show where people are connecting to Wi-Fi.
    The show floor heat map, by Mexia, uses sensors throughout Sands Expo to show where people are connecting to Wi-Fi.

    Things people said:

    • “Wearable smart watches are not quite enough to get everyone to buy one.”  — Steve Mollenkopf, CEO, Qualcomm
    • “Wearables are highly unregulated. Experiential apps will always have a privacy component.  The most privacy-sensitive areas are fitness, health and children.” — Rudy Zefo, Vice President, Intel.
    • “Of consumers looking to buy a car within the next two years, 50 percent are willing to switch brands to get connected services.” — Ralph de la Vega, President and CEO, AT&T Mobile and Business Solutions.

    What will we be talking about at CTIA 2015? I’m betting that we will still be focused on the connected car and the Internet of Things.  I expect to see more automotive and indoor location companies, and of course, smart watches. And yes, there will be more pleas for added spectrum.

  • Septentrio Collaboration Part of Altus Growth Plans, CEO Says

    Neil Vancans (Photo Courtesy Altus Positioning Systems)
    Neil Vancans (Photo Courtesy Altus Positioning Systems)

    With the announcement this week that Altus Positioning Systems, part of the Septentrio group, has assumed responsibility for Septentrio Satellite Navigation NV products in North and South America, Altus President and CEO Neil Vancans is once again making waves in the industry.

    The release, which comes as Altus and Septentrio are exhibiting at ION GNSS+ and as Vancans is making the rounds at CTIA Super Mobility Week, is part of a larger growth strategy “across a wide range of market sectors.”

    The announcement is notable in that it expands the relationship formed in June 2011 between Septentrio and Altus, with Septentrio more closely integrating the Altus subsidiary. Additionally, Septentrio is now manufacturing Altus GNSS RTK receivers at its factory in Belgium while Septentrio is closing its separate sales office in the U.S., merging that functionality into Altus, according a spokesman.

    The Torrance, California-based Altus, started by Vancans in 2007, has long focused on the surveying sector. Vancans himself is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in the U.K.

    “Ten years ago 90% of the high-precision GPS market was survey or survey-related. But survey is not a high-growth market. Today survey is probably 20% of the market and that’s doing things like putting a $10,000 receiver on a $4,000 lawn mower,” Vancans explains. “The growth market outside that (in consumer wireless) is huge, and it offers many new opportunities and will continue to grow.”

    The survey market will continue to be in the Altus and Septentrio strategy, particularly leveraging Altus products with Septentrio’s advanced receiver technology experience in the OEM market.

    Vancans has watched for two decades as use in emerging Asian economies has increased demand for surveying equipment and speculates what’s happening in the U.S. and other Western markets with OEM growth will eventually be mirrored there. He estimates the Chinese receiver market alone has grown ten-fold since he worked as president of Leica GPS nearly 20 years ago.

    “What’s interesting and exciting is that it will be a big growth market for OEM or non-survey applications based on domestic Asian manufacturers using Western and increasingly Asian OEM,” Vancans says.

    “If you can master the distribution capabilities in the OEM market in North America in the next couple of years, that will form the foundation of what happens in Asia in the future.”

    Altus’ announcement also came with news the company hired Mo Kapila as OEM sales manager for Septentrio products. Kapila’s background is in embedded wireless, according to Vancans.

    Vancans, who spent two days on the CTIA show floor, says the consumer wireless industry is on Altus’ radar, although he is still “very wary” of that side of the business. As general manager of Thales Navigation (which later re-merged as Magellan) in the early-2000s the company worked on a GPS attachment for Palm and integration into other consumer devices.

    “The professional high-precision market is stable and products have a long shelf life,” he says. “On the other hand, the good thing with the consumer market is the constant changes in devices, the churning. As consumer markets take up high-precision GNSS products , they will be embedded in products which are rapidly outdated.”

    Altus is taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to professional-grade receivers for the consumer market.

    “If the price lowers, the longevity will too,” he says. “The high end will likely go down to meet the low end – the cheap and easy, changeable model.”

    Vancans says Septentrio will continue to differentiate itself from competitors based on its low power consumption relative to the functionality and size of the device, and robust positioning, whether it’s for professionals or consumers.

    “If you look to the future and think of how much satellites will proliferate and signal availability will open,” he says, “it’s a good position for us to be in with the continuous consumerization of high-precision GPS and GNSS.”

  • Parsec Introduces PTA1.5M-9 Active GPS/GNSS Antenna

    Parsec Technologies, Inc., global provider of wireless positioning antennas and amplifier integrated circuits for the consumer, automotive and defense markets, introduced its GPS/GNSS L1 high-radiated efficiency active antenna at CTIA Super Mobility Week September 10.

    The PTA1.5M-9, sized 9 x 9.175 x 1.3 mm, integrates easily with GNSS/GPS 3D-SIPs and system-on-chip (SoC) receivers with only a single direct connection typically required, and is compatible with any GNSS receiver operating from 1560 to 1610 MHz.

    The Parsec PTA 1.5M-9 is a wideband antenna ideal for embedded LBS receivers requiring good user experience to operate within 5 to 7 mm of the human body, indoors in the presence of multi-path, and in applications with obstructed views of orbiting satellites.

    Key benefits include:

    • Micro miniature size: 9mm x 9.175mm x 1.3mm (L x W x H)
    • 50 MHz bandwidth: covers GNSS systems from 1560 – 1610 MHz
    • Highest rated efficiency in class: 50% at 1575.42 MHz
    • Antenna gain: Ga=0.8 dBi @ Fc = 1575.42 MHz, linear polarization
    • Ideal for M2M GPS/GNSS requirements

    Plano, Texas-based Parsec is displaying their products for M2M devices, showcasing their GPS and GNSS product line of active and passive antennas as well as introducing their new ultra-thin dual band cellular antenna at CTIA 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada – Booth #6221 in the M2M Zone.

  • CTIA Connected Car Panel Highlights Safety, Innovation

    When comedian Larry Wilmore started out Day 2 at CTIA Super Mobility Week by reporting from a connected car on the show floor, he was only half joking when he said, “It’s almost like you’re driving in a smart phone, and with smart phones getting bigger it’s not too far off. I think I saw an HTC this size.”

    The experts in the keynote Connected Car panel agreed: The car is the new smart phone.

    Just ask Ralph de la Vega, CEO of the just-formed AT&T Mobile and Business Solutions Group, who called the Chevy Corvette “the best smart phone I’ve ever gotten to test.” The Corvette was conveniently displayed next to the stage, along with a connected Tesla Model S.

    As CTIA CEO Meredith Atwell Baker pointed out, what was once relegated to the CTIA show floor is now in dealerships all across the U.S. The statistics thrown out by de la Vega supported this observation. Thirty-two percent of new cars sold globally (and 60% of new cars sold in the U.S.) by 2017 will be embedded with cellular technology. Seventy-two percent of people would delay a new car purchase one year to buy a connected car by their preferred automaker.

    De la Vega co-moderated the panel with Glenn Lurie, his successor as CEO of AT&T Mobility. Panelists representing General Motors/OnStar, Ericsson, VoiceBox and Tesla overwhelmingly agreed that the emphasis on the connected car going forward has to be safety.

    “[Drivers are] trying to fill the time and be productive. People naturally want to do that. They’re going to bring the phone in, reach over, grab it and try to do things. And the more capabilities, the more they’ll do it,” said Mike Kennewick, co-founder & CEO of VoiceBox, maker of natural language technology. “It’s imperative as we bring the Internet into the car, there’s a component that allows you to do it safely.”

    What that would mean, exactly, though, was a matter of opinion. Each panelist had a chance to discuss their company’s recent and coming advancements.

    • De la Vega says AT&T’s studies show people prefer a shared family data plan that would allos them to share data across people and across devices, and a belief by the wireless provider that customers should be able to add their cars to their rate plans.
    • GM has successfully integrated 4G/LTE into 33 different models in the U.S. and Canada and next plans expansion in Europe, Mary Chan, President of Global Connected Consumer at GM shared.
    • VoiceBox’s Kennewick calls the voice recognition in cars today “just like the movies” but says VoiceBox strives to simplify the apps in cars and make voice activation less about reiterative command-and-control.
    • Telsa, a leader in over-the-air auto updates, will be launching a mass market car “in a few years” and is now exploring how best to keep the customer experience focused in the car. Tesla CIO Jay Vijayan also said the company is considering opening up its infotainment stystem to other partners.

  • MobileFocus Event Showcases Technology Demos

    MobileFocus, a technology demonstration event held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas Sept. 9, showcased dozens of companies previewing new smartphones, tablets, GPS devices and wireless receivers. This year’s Western-themed barbeque dinner event gave exhibitors of all sizes a chance to meet one-on-one with end users and demonstrate their innovations.

     

  • TEOCO’s AIRCOM Lab Strengthens Carrier Aggregation, LBS Testing

    TEOCO, a provider of assurance, analytics and optimization solutions to communications service providers, has expanded the testing capabilities of its AIRCOM Device Test Lab in Columbia, Maryland, with additional test systems from Rohde & Schwarz. Combined with Rohde & Schwarz’s conformance and carrier test case support, the R&S TS-LBS Location Based Services (LBS) and the R&S CMW-PQA Performance Test Systems enable TEOCO to support new industry and carrier testing requirements for next-generation wireless technologies including carrier aggregation, IMS, VoLTE, RCS, E911 over IMS, LTE A-GNSS, LTE OTDOA and LTE eCID.

    Release 10 and beyond, also referred to as LTE-Advanced, allows for a substantial uplift in the capacity and throughput of LTE, in addition to mobile device performance improvements. In LTE-Advanced, carrier aggregation (CA) is a key feature that allows the combination of multiple carriers to increase bandwidth and ultimately data rates in the network. To meet this need, the R&S CMW-PQA test system performs automated testing of a devices downlink, uplink and bidirectional data performance with or without carrier aggregation under simulated network conditions.

    LBS is already a key technology enabling a myriad of new applications that people depend on every day. LTE and additional satellite constellations are being leveraged to improve availability and performance of location technologies indoors and outdoors. Higher customer expectations are driving the need for more advanced testing methodologies, and the R&S TS-LBS test system supports field-to-lab testing where real-world conditions are captured with high performance 16-bit resolution, and replayed in the lab for more accurate simulation.

    “We are excited to expand our testing capability and capacity for LTE-Advanced and LBS-enabled devices,” said Hemant Minocha, Executive Vice President at TEOCO. “And given the increase in test complexity and costs, we are pleased to be working with a partner such as Rohde & Schwarz whose expertise in conformance and carrier acceptance testing and breadth of test cases helps future-proof our investment while delivering the quality and results our customers have come to expect.”

  • Live from CTIA Super Mobility Week 2014

    Live from CTIA Super Mobility Week 2014

    GPS World reports live from CTIA Super Mobility Week in Las Vegas Sept. 9-12. The first ever Super Mobility Week now combines the former CTIA annual conference and MobileCON, and is expected to draw 1,100 exhibitors from around the world and features major product launches and trade news.

    GPS World Digital Editor Bethany Chambers, Wireless Editor Janice Partyka and LBS Editor Kevin Dennehy will be reporting all week here on GPSWorld.com, on Facebook and on Twitter @GPSWorld. The convention has some unique twists, including a house band led by Thomas Dolby (producer of 1982 hit “She Blinded Me With Science”) and the largest-ever tradeshow heat map, showing event popularity by tracking Wi-Fi connections throughout the conference.

    Blogs

     

    What Mattered Most at CTIA (9/18/14)

    CTIA SMW Features Large Connected Car Presence  (9/18/14)

    Septentrio Collaboration Part of Altus Growth Plans, CEO Says (9/12/14)

    CTIA Connected Car Panel Highlights Safety, Innovation (9/10/14)

    MobileFocus Event Showcases Technology Demos (SLIDESHOW) (9/9/14)

    FCC Chairman to CTIA: Competition, Net Neutrality, Spectrum Top Priorities (9/9/14)

     

    News

     

    Parsec Introduces PTA1.5M-9 Active GPS/GNSS Antenna (9/10/14)

    New Broadcom Chip Provides Always-On Location and Sensing for Mobile Applications (9/10/14)

    TEOCO’s AIRCOM Device Test Lab Strengthens Carrier Aggregation, LBS Testing with Rohde & Schwarz Equipment (9/9/14)

    Want to Track Your Luggage? Open Garden Offers Network for IoT Devices (9/8/14)

    Holux Launches Touchscreen Bike Computer with u-blox GPS (9/8/14)

    Hertz Joins with Navigation Solutions on NeverLost GPS System (9/8/14)

    AT&T to Host Hackathon, Demonstrate Connected Platforms at CTIA (9/2/14)

    Security, Spectrum in the Connected Vehicle (8/1/14)

    Photos

     

    Videos

     

    Current Highlights from u-blox —And What They’ll Release Next (9/18/14)

    Thomas Seiler, CEO of u-blox AG, and Nick Papadopoulos, president of u-blox America, speak exclusively to GPS World about what makes u-blox the industry leader in embedded wireless technology and about the innovations on display at CTIA. They also give a preview of new products that will be coming out soon.

    Telit’s Plan for Becoming No. 1 (9/18/14)

    GNSS modules are a relatively new area of business for the London-based Telit, already the leader in cellular modules. Taneli Tuurnala, CEO of Telit GNSS Solutions, admits that Telit is currently the No. 2 player in the GNSS market. But that won’t last, he says. And here’s why.

    Rohde & Schwarz DST200 Demonstration: Live with the Engineer (9/18/14)

    Thorsten Hertel, PhD, OTA Specialist for Rohde & Schwarz, gives GPS World a demonstration of the DST200 RF Diagnostic Chamber, which provides accurate radiated testing of wireless devices. He also highlights some recent updates.

    Get to Know Maxtena (9/11/14) – On the CTIA show floor, Vanja Maric, Director of Sales & Marketing for Maxtena, explains more about Rockville, Md.-based Maxtena, “the antenna innovations company.”

    What Parsec Technologies Is Bringing to the Market at CTIA Super Mobility Week (9/10/14) – CEO Michael A. Neenan introduces Parsec’s micro antennas in this first clip about the Plano, Texas-based company.

    What To See at the u-blox Booth at CTIA  (9/10/14) – In this first clip of our interviews with u-blox executives, Nick Papadopoulos, president of u-blox America, Inc., tells CTIA Super Mobility Week show-goers what they should see at the u-blox booth, #5229 on the show floor.

    Taneli Tuurnala: What’s New from Telit (9/9/14) – See the first clip of our interview with Telit GNSS Solutions CEO Tuurnala, on what to expect in the next six months from the company.

     

  • FCC Chairman to CTIA: Competition, Net Neutrality, Spectrum Top Priorities

    Crowds streamed into the Sands Expo and Convention Center, Las Vegas, to the sounds of ’80s music icon Thomas Dolby and a string quartet covering the ’90s hit “Bittersweet Symphony,” but the buzz wasn’t about the morning keynote speech that would kick off CTIA Super Mobility Week. Instead, the impending Apple Live Event had taken over as a countdown clock ticked on the big screen.

    The Apple circus — though alluded to in introductory remarks by CTIA Chairman Dan Mead, CEO of Verizon Wireless, and CTIA President Meredith Atwell Baker — would have to wait. First on the agenda: Several topics affecting the industry, with an emphasis on spectrum allocation.

    Atwell Baker set up the three-day show, the first combining the CTIA conference with MobileCON. She cited dozens of figures about the incredible growth of the industry before focusing in on the need for a successful spectrum incentive auction with projected 886% mobile data usage growth by 2019.

    “The U.S. had the third-lowest amount of spectrum dedicated to LTE,” she said. “How do we close the gap? The AWS-3 and 600MHz auction are a great start. We hear the wireless carriers may sit out of these auctions. Really? Given our track record, I’m incredulous wireless carriers wouldn’t bring billions of dollars to these auctions.”

    The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has been pushing for the spectrum incentive auctions to reallocate spectrum from television broadcasters to wireless providers for ever-increasing mobile usage.

    In introducing Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, Atwell Baker lauded his determination to bring the auctions to fruition.

    Wheeler jumped right into his list of the Top 3 issues facing the business for the standing-room only crowd: the incentive auction, net neutrality and competition in the wireless industry.

    Wheeler balanced his concerns with equal doses of praise, lauding CTIA for a “very thoughtful” paper arguing that mobile broadband should not be subject to the same rules as fixed broadband while alternately questioning why some consumers have been led to believe they have unlimited data usage or why others are targets for throttled usage.

    “I’m hard-pressed to understand how either practice, much less the two together, could be a reasonable way to manage a network,” he said.

    RELATED: CTIA’s “Net Neutrality & Technical Challenges of Mobile Broadband Networks”   |   Chairman Wheeler’s Prepared Remarks to CTIA

    He also touched on the need to keep competition alive in the business and avoid the “walled gardens” of the past that created barriers to entry in the market.

    “Where competition exists the commission must protect it. This industry has always told policymakers, ‘We’re different, we’re competitive, but in the last couple of years the FCC and Department of Justice had to be poised to protect that dynamic.”

    Wheeler pointed out the wireless industry’s $260 billion 10-year infrastructure investment as “living proof that profit and progress can go hand in hand” before concluding on the topic of a shared front: spectrum allocation.

    “Our greatest public asset is that which we cannot see: Spectrum. Your government has heard your cry for more spectrum. The Congress responded with a creative and courageous solution,” he said, “an incredibly complex, never-before attempted undertaking.”

  • Want to Track Your Luggage? Open Garden Offers Network for IoT Devices

    Open Garden, a finalist at CTIA’s Super Mobility Week Startup Showcase, has announced a new generation Mobile Network for IoT devices, and a tracking device is the first to leverage the new technology.

    With the increasing number of connected devices and the need for ubiquitous data transmission, device manufacturers are faced with very few options that fit their constraints in terms of cost, device size, battery life, and reliable connectivity, Open Garden said.

    The TrackR easily attaches to valuable items that can then be located via an app using TrackR’s Distance Indicator or via Crowd GPS. Photo: Open Garden
    The TrackR easily attaches to valuable items that can then be located via an app using TrackR’s Distance Indicator or via Crowd GPS. Photo: Open Garden

    The Open Garden Network makes it easy for devices to seamlessly access other devices and the Internet via secure peer-to-peer connections. Devices automatically detect nearby enabled smartphones or tablets via Bluetooth LE (Low Energy) and can pass data through them securely until the proper destination or recipient are reached. No pairing or configuration are required on the device owner’s part. To enable access to the network, device manufacturers use a simple digital access key, available from Open Garden and its partners.

    TrackR, the first device to leverage the new technology, is a small, coin-sized device that attaches to valuable items such as keys, wallet, luggage, or bike. Using the TrackR app for iPhone and Android, a user can locate lost items in seconds. When an item goes missing, the device broadcasts a wireless signal.  When another TrackR app user comes within 100 feet of the lost item, their phone sends a message to TrackR’s server with the updated GPS location of the item, and then the owner receives a GPS update on where the item is located.

    With the Open Garden Network, TrackR users will also receive GPS updates when users of Open Garden’s apps or partners’ apps or devices come within the range. The system is completely secure and anonymous, the “finder” never knows they found anything.

    “Open Garden provides an elegant solution to scale the TrackR community,” said Christian Johan Smith, TrackR’s President and co-founder. “We are excited to partner with Open Garden to expand our Crowd GPS network to deliver the best tracking experience.”

    “With the 250,000 devices in the market, TrackR is one of the most successful IoT devices to date. IoT devices require connectivity and simplicity. Because the Open Garden Network  is 100-percent software based, it scales infinitely and the costs are extremely low,” said Micha Benoliel, Open Garden’s CEO and co-founder. “Open Garden’s technology also enables operators to generate additional revenues while embracing the IoT revolution.”

    Devices can access the Open Garden Network via an API that is available to devices manufacturers and operators.

  • Telit Introduces Cloud-Ready Modules

    Telit Wireless Solutions, a global provider of machine-to-machine (M2M) modules and services, has debuted its first m2mAIR Cloud-ready wireless modules, designed to simplify the development and deployment of comprehensive M2M and Internet of Things (IoT) applications using the m2mAIR Cloud service. Telit said this is an important step toward realizing the company’s vision of the Internet of Things made Plug & Play.

    Telit Cloud-ready modules let developers connect and integrate things-to-cloud with just a few simple clicks in little time. Cloud-ready modules feature embedded APIs that are compatible with the well-known Telit on-board AppZone and Python environments and reduce hundreds of lines of code to 16 simple AT commands to move data automatically between remote devices in the field and relevant applications.  All the necessary developer resources and support are included and an Evaluation Kit is available for rapid prototyping of custom m2m and IoT device solutions.

    The m2mAIR Cloud Platform-as-a-Service, powered by deviceWISE, offers a simple “pay-as-you-grow” usage-based subscription plan — reducing risk, time-to-market, complexity and cost versus building your own point-solution. deviceWISE is an open, developer-friendly, carrier-grade platform, compatible with the TIA TR-50 standard. m2mAIR Cloud features comprehensive management and configuration capabilities to connect, collect, and control anything with bi-directional data transfers between remote devices and the Cloud — from basic entry-level solutions to full-scale enterprise-grade deployments across the globe.

    Interested developers can register for a free trial of the m2mAIR Cloud service. According to Telit, the easy-to-use portal has all the necessary visualization tools and dashboards needed for most remote tracking, monitoring and control applications across all industries and markets, out of the box. m2mAIR Cloud also meets the stringent requirements of global organizations that rely on mission-critical reliability, security, scalability and enterprise-grade performance with built-in business system integration. Furthermore, it includesAPIs that lets developers create their own web-based and mobile applications and dashboards, from simple functions to big data analytics.

    “When we acquired ILS Technology this time last year, we added the final element needed to become a true one stop shop for companies building IoT applications,” said Oozi Cats, CEO of Telit Wireless Solutions. “Today, we are pleased to have completed not only personnel and operational integration, but also the technology integration to realize our ONE STOP. ONE SHOP vision. Connecting your “things” to the cloud has never been easier. We fully intend to populate the Internet of Things with hundreds of millions of m2mAIR Cloud-ready modules in the coming years to drive innovation that makes businesses and industries operate more profitably, and will change the way people live, work and play.”

    The click-to-Cloud simplicity of Cloud-ready Telit modules and the m2mAIR Cloud service will be on display this week in the M2M Zone at CTIA, booth #5628.

  • CTIA: Automakers Developing Their Own Infotainment Apps

    OnStar_logo-TBy Janice Partyka

    It’s a trifecta. The most interesting news at CES, Mobile World Congress, and now CTIA was the connected vehicle. Last week at CTIA, the biggest mobile conference in the U.S., GM and OnStar demonstrated ideas of what we can expect in vehicles once AT&T’s LTE network makes its way into vehicles. We heard about many of their concepts in February at Mobile World, but with the infotainment possibilities being shown at CTIA, it is clear the endeavor is evolving quickly. Providers of navigation, mapping, traffic, middleware, search, points of interest and mobile advertising have key roles. We’ll check in ahead with some of these companies.

    GM and OnStar envision an in-vehicle curated app ecosystem with downloadable apps and remote vehicle management. Developers will have access to APIs that can access the vehicle’s speed, performance, GPS, fuel economy and other information, but are kept out of areas that could cause safety issues. GM, as well as other OEMs, is not ready to let the app marketplace take money out of its pocket. The automaker is pushing to get apps built specially for its vehicles. Mary Chan of GM said that the business model hasn’t been decided, but the apps may be free, bundled into a service that GM charges for, or paid out to the developers. Another possibility is an app subscription paid for on a smartphone could be applied to a separate app in the car. We have to wait until model year 2015 to see it come off the assembly line.

    Snippets heard at CTIA:

    “The biggest challenge of indoor location is having a good enough return on investment by the venue.” Derek Peterson, Boingo

    “We hear many pitches from companies that want to supply us with indoor location technology, but so many of them are just unscalable.” David Hildebrandt, ATT

    “Relevant, connected car data trumps free.” Mary Chan, General Motors

    “The future killer mobile apps are banking, retail, medical (records, diagnosis) and government (voting, administrative).” Michael Saylor, MircoStrategy

    “The ownership of data in connected cars will be a huge issue. And what happens to data in a vehicle when you transfer ownership?” Mary Chan, General Motors

    Traffic Information Is Getting Better. Traffic information is getting more granular, hence more useful. INRIX and others are collecting traffic data in road segments about 250 meters long, a significant improvement from the past. Not too long ago, traffic data was provided solely by sensors, cameras and helicopters, which covered only highways and some arterial roads. The use of crowd-sourced traffic data now provides a leap in the amount of traffic data collected, enabling more current traffic conditions, as well more roads, to be monitored. “We can collect traffic data for these small road segments from all sources, crunch it and turn it around in under a minute,” says Bill Schwebel of INRIX.

    How Fast? In a few years, Schwebel says we will see an expansion of navigation that goes beyond driving from point A to point B. This would include accurate estimates of the entire length of your trip, for instance, driving from your home to arriving at your airport gate. “We will be getting more feeds from parking lots with electronic counters, but we can also see the dwell time in a parking lot, or cars that exit without parking, all from crowdsourcing,” adds Schwebel. Waits at TSA lines or rental car counters can be devised using historical and near real-time data. When schedules of events in the area and school calendars are added, the predictions get better.

    Navigation Changes Ahead. Turn-by-turn navigation will take a step forward to becoming more interactive when it becomes a two-way broadcast. Niall Berkery of Telenav, predicts that two-way connected navigation will appear in 2014-2016. “We are now focused on reducing the complexity of navigation and making it more personalized,” says Berkery. The entire industry, hindered by the perspective that navigation is free, is focusing on adding value. Telenav acquired ThinkNear to add hyperlocal marketing to its offering.

    Embedded Navigation and the Delivery Man. Berkery estimates that 30% of navigation systems are embedded in the vehicle, which can makes updating or servicing the devices challenging. Some years ago an interesting solution was developed in China. When an embedded navigation system needed servicing, it was handled by a package delivery service, similar to FedEx. The delivery person manually removed the navigation hard drive from a consumer’s vehicle and sent it off to be fixed or replaced. When the drive came back from the factory, the package delivery person reinstalled it. That’s pretty special service.

    If you missed last week’s CTIA show, held May 21-23 in Las Vegas, you will have to wait a year and a half for its next appearance. With CES and the Mobile World Congress positioned on the calendar prior to CTIA, the other shows drew the lion’s share of product announcements and crowds. CTIA will reposition itself in front of these competing shows. CTIA’s new “Super Mobility Week” will be more international and take the place of the current fall and spring CTIA shows. Super Mobility Week will be held Sept 9-11, 2014 in Las Vegas and will include MobileCON and other major partnerships to create a bigger show experience.