3GSM: Notes from the show

Mobile Complete released a new testing and monitoring solution for cellular TV and video networks, which allows carriers to track video streaming performance to the handset in real time. Mobile Complete CEO Faraz Syed said unlike other testing solutions that emulate the handset, Mobile Complete’s uses actual handsets connected to the live network. The platform tracks variables such as blur, blockiness, jitter and frame rate and allows carriers to see the actual on-screen performance of video across a range of devices.

Alvarion eschewed its usual WiMAX platform to focus on its smaller cellular business at the show. Today it announced the availability of what it calls a “network in a box,” a complete GSM network from core switching to base station and radio access gear as well as applications like voicemail, SMS and authentication—all in a 19-inch rack-mounted chassis that can be lifted by two people. The UltraWave platform is targeted at small carriers with limited geographic range or only handfuls of subscribers, or specialty deployment scenarios—such as disaster relief or cruise ship commercial communications—in which a carrier needs all of the switching and functionality of the network located on site.

Openwave is adding TV streaming and download capabilities to its mobile browsers, announcing toady partnerships with video content provider IceTV and multimedia software developer Nexage. Openwave said it would integrate Nexage’s PhoneCast software into its Mobile Integrated Dynamic Application System (MIDAS) platform and would support streaming services from IceTV.