Posts Tagged ‘spectrum’
Monday, January 28th, 2013
xG Technology announced in a press release today that it has received a $10 million purchase order for xMax cognitive radio network broadband equipment from TelAtlantic Wireless Services, LLC. TelAtlantic is an Alexandria, Virginia-based company whose management is affiliated with multiple rural local exchange carriers in the Appalachian Region and Mid-America.
This purchase order brings the total announced backlog of orders and reseller agreements for xMax equipment and services to over $29.6 million. This order continues to demonstrate the growing appeal of xMax into a wide range of vertical and geographic markets including public safety, gaming and casinos, government, education and rural telephone companies.
The xMax cognitive radio solution provides a key advantage to TelAtlantic Wireless Services and other service providers operating in the rural telecom market. These providers have traditionally had limited options for deploying wireless services due to a lack of appropriate or sufficient licensed spectrum assets. xMax has the ability to operate in unlicensed spectrum, which enables the delivery of reliable wireless voice and broadband services without the need for costly licensed frequencies.
"In the current uncertain regulatory environment, there is a need to evolve as a provider of telecommunications service. To achieve this, our goal is to introduce new regulated and non-regulated products and services in rural communities," said Jim Crabtree, Vice Chairman of TWS. "We are proud to play a key role in incorporating game-changing technologies such as xG's xMax mobile broadband solution that helps us offer state of the art services to rural America."
George Schmitt, xG Director and CEO of MB Technology Holdings, the parent company of xG, said, “We are very honored to receive this order from TWS. Rural broadband is a growing market for xG, and this order supports our mission of delivering high-performance, cost-effective xMax wireless networks to the thousands of rural and independent service providers seeking an effective broadband solution.”
The complete press release can be read at this link.
Tags: cognitive radio, rural broadband, spectrum, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Rural Telcos, Unlicensed Spectrum, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
xG Technology and cognitive radio were featured in the January 2013 issue of Popular Mechanics, as part of a list of the 10 Top Technology Trends to know about in 2013.
Cognitive radio, which placed at number 2 on the list, was described as a solution to the problem of crowded airwaves. The article noted that cognitive radio devices can automatically jump back and forth between frequencies in a fraction of a second to find open spectrum.
xG Technology was singled out for having already set up a demo network in Fort Lauderdale, FL using cognitive radio for mobile broadband and VoIP links. (Note: The article did not mention that xG's xMax has also been field-proven in deployments with the U.S. Army and with independent telcos. The latter resulted in orders from rural providers of $3.28 million and $4.11 million announced in 2012.)
The article also mentioned the FCC's pending rule change announced in September that will pave the way for spectrum-sharing technologies such as cognitive radio to use previously restricted frequencies.
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: cognitive radio, spectrum, spectrum sharing, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Spectrum, Spectrum Sharing, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Friday, December 14th, 2012
A newly proposed FCC policy change will mean that sections of spectrum can be “checked out” for different purposes at specific locations. These means that many more airwaves could eventually be shared with the help of cognitive radios like xG Technology’s xMax, which can sense available frequencies and shift between them.
As reported by David Talbot in MIT Technology Review, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is poised to recommend the biggest regulatory change in decades: one that allows a newly available chunk of wireless spectrum to be leased by different companies at different times and places, rather than being auctioned off to one high bidder.
With mobile data traffic expected to increase by a factor of 25 by 2016, according to Bell Labs, the future growth and economic viability of wireless communications depends on the smart management of limited wireless spectrum.
David Tennenhouse, Microsoft’s vice president of technology policy, called the policy shift a “critical milestone,” adding that it will not only release more spectrum but also enable “dynamic spectrum sharing that is particularly well suited for absorbing growing wireless data traffic.”
“It’s very different—this is going to allow for people to get low-cost access to the spectrum, to support new types of wireless devices,” said one wireless researcher familiar with the approach.
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: cognitive radio, spectrum, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Spectrum, Spectrum Sharing, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Friday, December 7th, 2012
During the House Communications Subcommittee hearing held last week on radio receivers, a key theme was ensuring that systems are more adept at tolerating interference. The relationship between receiver performance and spectrum efficiency was pointed out, as well as how the growing number of deployments of new technologies and services have the potential to adversely impact both new entrants and incumbent players.
Participants noted that the concept of spectrum sharing, as outlined in the PCAST report, becomes much more feasible when there are “clearer fences”, in other words, when there is sufficient protection against harmful interference between systems. Such interference mitigation is a key attribute of the xMax cognitive radio solution. xMax employs a “layered” cognitive approach that allows it to remain on channels with moderate to high levels of interference that would prevent other radio systems from functioning. This increases xMax’s network capacity several-fold over current radio technologies in today’s crowded radio bands.
More information about xG’s interference mitigation technology can be viewed at this link.
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: cognitive radio, PCAST, spectrum, spectrum sharing, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Spectrum, Spectrum Sharing, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Monday, December 3rd, 2012
xG Technology was one of the companies mentioned in a report published recently by Heavy Reading titled Cognitive Radio for LTE & Beyond. xG was also quoted in an article covering the report.
The report identifies and analyzes key issues affecting the market for cognitive radio. It explores a variety of potential applications, including cellular offload, small cell backhaul, fixed broadband and self-organizing/self-optimizing LTE networks. The author, Tim Kridel, points out the part of the growing appeal of cognitive radio is its ability to find temporary, often fleeting vacancies around other users. This would enable regulators worldwide to shoehorn more services into existing spectrum, such as bands that are today the exclusive domain of government agencies.
One of the key findings of the report is that regulators are increasingly seeing advanced technology like cognitive radio as a viable option for freeing up spectrum faster and more cost-effectively than traditional methods such as auctions. A case in point was the report by the U.S. President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which stated that "The norm for spectrum use should be sharing, not exclusivity."
xG Technology was mentioned as one of the companies attracting attention in the cognitive radio ecosystem. xG’s VP of Marketing, Rick Rotondo, was interviewed for the report. Asked who the main initial adopters of the technology would be, he replied that he expected to see firms in a variety of fields, including the military, utility companies (particularly for smart grid applications), security/alarm companies, and content providers.
"They seem to be much more of the mindset of using shared spectrum and cognitive radio," he said. “Carriers will not necessarily be the early adopters of cognitive radio and shared spectrum."
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: cognitive radio, PCAST, spectrum, unlicensed, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Military Communications, Spectrum, Spectrum Sharing, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Friday, November 30th, 2012
Tags: cognitive radio, dynamic spectrum access, interference mitigation, public safety, rural broadband, spectrum, unlicensed, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Military Communications, Public Safety, Rural Telcos, Spectrum, Spectrum Sharing, Unlicensed Spectrum, White Spaces, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
The House Communications Subcommittee plans to hold a hearing Nov. 29 on "The Role of Receivers in a Spectrum Scarce World." According to an article in Broadcasting & Cable, they will be seeking industry input on how to allow spectrum users, like broadcasters, wireless companies and the government, to occupy increasingly close quarters without "stepping on each other's toes."
"Spectrum is essential to jobs, technology, and the economy," said Subcommittee chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.). "The demand for spectrum, however, is quickly outpacing the usable supply. As part of the subcommittee's ongoing conversation on making smarter use of spectrum, we will discuss the role of receivers and examine how we can stay flexible while preparing for the next generation of innovation and advancement."
This issue is of growing importance, given the number of FCC initiatives to boost spectrum efficiency and use (including the PCAST report), steps to allow unlicensed devices to share the so-called "white spaces" in the broadcast band, moving broadcasters to make room for wireless companies, the unsuccessful attempt to allow LightSquared to operate alongside GPS spectrum, and the FCC's recent move to loosen rules on terrestrial use of satellite spectrum.
The underlying question is the ability of systems to coexist in the face of increased levels of interference caused by growing ranks of users and equipment competing for the same airwaves. Cognitive, or “smart radio” technologies like xG Technology’s xMax, combined with flexible Software Defined Radios (SDR) and Multiple input Multiple Output (MIMO) architectures offer the potential to combat interference. By incorporating its cognitive capabilities in receivers, xMax could allow them to dynamically locate other areas of spectrum with less interference, move the communications to the new, clearer portion of the spectrum, and monitor interference levels in these new frequencies.
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: cognitive radio, interference mitigation, MIMO antennas, spectrum, unlicensed, white spaces, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Spectrum Sharing, Unlicensed Spectrum, Wireless Spectrum | 1 Comment »
Friday, November 16th, 2012
As reported by Alan Weissberger in the Viodi View blog, Alan Norman, Principal of Google’s Access Strategy group, presented the company’s plans for wireless broadband using white spaces at a recent Wireless Symposium sponsored by Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
Google’s view of how to achieve robust, affordable and open wireless access advocates the use of a balanced allocation of licensed and unlicensed spectrum, with unlicensed spectrum sharing implemented through a dynamic spectrum management scheme. This is a main feature of xG’s xMax. Leveraging its core dynamic spectrum management capabilities, the frequency-agnostic xMax cognitive radio solution supports the smartphones, tablets and notebooks users are working with today to provide a seamless broadband connection through unlicensed spectrum.
Mr. Norman underscored the importance of unlicensed spectrum, noting that it enables the following: greater economies of scale in the number of wireless network endpoints and types of devices; consumer identification, which results in increased investment in infrastructure; lower barriers for new network operators (and new services); and active competition and innovation across the value chain. These have long been key aspects of the xMax value proposition, particularly how its ability to operate in unlicensed spectrum allows service providers (especially those in rural areas) as well as content providers to take control of their wireless future.
His talk illustrated that the idea of white space-based wireless broadband is gaining traction worldwide. As it moves forward, a key concern will be to make sure that these new systems minimize interference to other users of the frequency bands, including digital television (DTV) signals. xG’s work on advanced interference mitigation gives it the opportunity to play an important role here. Being a truly cognitive system, xMax can locate another portion of spectrum with less interference, move the communications to the new, clearer portion of the spectrum, and monitor interference levels in these new frequencies. This can have substantial benefits for both incumbents and new entrants using fallow spectrum for deployments.
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: cognitive radio, dynamic spectrum access, interference mitigation, rural broadband, spectrum, spectrum sharing, unlicensed, white spaces, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Rural Telcos, Spectrum, Spectrum Sharing, Unlicensed Spectrum, White Spaces, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
In response to requests for a concise overview of what cognitive radio networks are and how they work, xG has released "Cognitive Radio Networks: A Primer." This document discusses how cognitive radios function, how they differ from conventional radios, how they can make radio spectrum work more efficiently, and how xG Technology's patented interference mitigation technology can take cognitive radios even further.
The document can be viewed at this link.
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: cognitive radio, interference mitigation, spectrum, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Spectrum, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
Monday, November 12th, 2012
xG Technology has issued a press release today announcing that it has been granted two new patents on Self-Organizing Networks (SON). The inventions contained in these patents dramatically simplify and significantly reduce the cost related to the deployment and operation of wireless networks used in a variety of applications, including commercial cellular and rural broadband systems.
The patents also cover the use of real-time cognitive sensing technology to enhance the performance of wireless networks that must rely on spectrum databases, such as those currently used with TV white spaces. Further, these inventions enable network infrastructure (base stations) to be fully mobile, which is ideal for those situations encountered by public safety, homeland security, and military entities during disaster response and recovery operations like those faced in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
These patents continue xG’s record of developing intelligent technology that increases the efficiency and performance of wireless networks. The explosion in mobile broadband data requires networks that can deliver network capacity, coverage and quality—while minimizing costs. Self-Organizing Networks can enhance the total performance of networks by lowering installation and management costs, while eliminating the need for manual configuration of frequency planning via built-in automatic configuration and optimization algorithms.
These newly granted patents underscore the Company’s increasingly valuable Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio as well as its growing leadership in the rapidly expanding cognitive radio field. A recent New York Times article featured xG as a company “developing technology that could change the whole spectrum game by using radio frequencies more efficiently”.
As of the date of this release, xG’s United States patent portfolio includes 40 patents granted, with an additional 24 applications patent pending. The Company’s foreign patent portfolio totals 145 patent matters (issued and pending).
The press release can be read at this link.
Daniel Carpini
Marketing Director
xG Technology, Inc.
Tags: broadband, cognitive radio, homeland security, intellectual property, public safety, rural broadband, spectrum, wireless spectrum
Posted in Cognitive Radio, Intellectual Property, Public Safety, Rural Telcos, Spectrum, Tactical Wireless Network, White Spaces, Wireless Spectrum | No Comments »
