Nortel ditches WiMax to focus on G4

Telecom equipment maker Nortel Networks is dumping its WiMax business to focus on a more popular 4G wireless technology.

The company said earlier this week that it’s focusing its money and development efforts on long-term evolution or LTE. Even though LTE hasn’t yet been standardized, it has more support from major carriers around the world than WiMax. The two largest U.S. operators, AT&T and Verizon Wireless, have already announced they plan to use LTE to build their 4G wireless networks. Vodafone, the largest worldwide wireless operator, also plans to use LTE for its next generation network.

Sprint Nextel is the only major U.S. operator using WiMax. The company earlier this year joined forces with Clearwire and several other companies including Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Intel in a $12 billion joint venture to build a nationwide WiMax network.

Sprint, which has already been testing its WiMax network in some places, did not choose Nortel as one of its major vendors to build the new network. This was a major blow for the telco equipment maker, which instead has been forced to focus on carriers in emerging markets. Relative to LTE, this WiMax opportunity is much smaller, which likely contributed to the company’s decision to ditch it.

Instead of sinking a lot of research and development into WiMax, Nortel plans to address this market through a relationship with Alvarion.

Source : http://news.cnet.com

Is this actually mean that 4G have better bussiness prospect than wimax?

World’s fastest internet connection ‘used to dry laundry’

Last summer a 75-year-old woman from Karlstad became the envy of internet users worldwide.

With her blistering 40 gigabits per second connection, Sigbritt Löthberg had the world’s fastest internet connection - many thousands of times faster than the average residential link and the first time ever that a home user had experienced such a high speed.

So, after nine months with the ability to download a full high definition DVD in just two seconds or access 1,500 high definition HDTV channels simultaneously, how has Sigbritt’s life changed?

Not much, according to Hafsteinn Jonsson, who is heading up the fibre network operation for Karlstad Stadsnät.

“She mostly used it to dry her laundry,” he told The Local.

“It was a big bit of gear and it got pretty warm.”

Sigbritt’s son, Swedish internet legend Peter Löthberg, was behind the project, which was intended to demonstrate how a low price, high capacity fibre line could be built over long distances. Löthberg has now taken the equipment up to Luleå, in the north of Sweden, for further testing.

“The project was a huge success,” said Hafsteinn Jonsson, who explained that his department now measures its history in terms of ‘Before Sigbritt and After Sigbritt’.

“Apart from the death of Ingmar Bergman, this was the biggest story to come out of Sweden in 2007. We used to get all these detailed questions about what we’re working on - now we just mention Sigbritt and everybody understands.”

The secret behind the ultra-fast connection is a new modulation technique which allows data to be transferred directly between two routers up to 2,000 kilometres apart, with no intermediary transponders.

According to Karlstad Stadsnät the distance is, in theory, unlimited - there is no data loss as long as the fibre is in place.

Sigbritt may have been denied her world-beating internet link but she still has an admirable 10 gigabits per second connection. And there may be another surprise in store for her.

“We’re considering giving her a 100 gigabits per second connection in the summer,” said Hafsteinn Jonsson.

“Then she’ll be able to dry all her neighbours’ laundry too.”

Source : http://www.thelocal.se/