Deep packet inspection vendor Allot Communications said it performed an analysis of its customers' mobile data traffic around the world durin the month-long World Cup event in June and July and found that traffic levels jumped significantly--not just during the 64 games.

Overall, mobile data traffic increased 24 percent during the matches, and surprisingly, browsing was the biggest form of data consumption, not live video streaming. Mobile browsing saw a 35 percent jump during games.

"The growth in Web browsing occurred continuously in all matches, irrespective of whether the overall bandwidth rose or fell during that specific match," the report said. "This increase seems likely to stem in part from the dozens of mobile applications available to World Cup fans, providing football- and match-related information in real time, direct to the mobile device. Another reasonable explanation is the World Cup domination of everything social media from Facebook to Twitter, including the list of top tweeted topics during every week of the tournament."

On a whole, video streaming increased 11 percent during the games, but mornings after the matches, streaming on YouTube increased 32 percent and video streaming increased 22 percent overall as fans recapped the highlights of the previous games.

"The small screen did not replace the big screen during the FIFA 2010 World Cup, but instead created a new category," Allot's Mobile Trends study found. "Rather than replacing televisions, mobile devices found a niche where they function alongside the big screen, enhancing the viewer experience by offering additional information in real time and providing the ability to watch replays at leisure and share them with friends."

For more:
- see this Connected Planet article

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Spectrum Bridge, which offers a spectrum clearinghouse that enables entities to search and purchase wireless spectrum, announced a relationship with GE Energy to offer a new industrial data networking solution for mission-critical applications.

The two companies have launched a new wireless network solution using the licensed 218-219 MHz band, known as the Interactive Video & Data Service (IVDS) spectrum band. The spectrum was auctioned in 1994 and initially used for point-to-multipoint short-distance communication.

GE is offering the MDS SD2 industrial wireless radio. The IVDS band can support multiple applications such as smart grid, automated metering infrastructure backhaul, distribution automation SCAD, water/wastewater control and remote monitoring.

"Spectrum Bridge and GE Energy continue to see increased demand for spectrum in the IVDS band for a wide range of industrial monitoring and control applications. The users of these applications have been struggling to fulfill their growing spectrum requirements and having the option to utilize 218-219 MHz spectrum provides an ideal solution," Spectrum Bridge said in a press release.

Spectrum Bridge said multiple 218-219 MHz licenses are available for immediate purchase or lease on SpecEx.com and cover 20 percent of the nation's population in six of the top 10 NFL markets, including Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Miami.

For more:
- see this release

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According to a Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) executive who spoke at the MobileBeat conference in San Francisco, Sprint witnessed a change in subscriber behavior after it instituted a 5GB monthly cap on its 3G data plans. That trend is part of the reason the carrier is reluctant about capping data use for its WiMAX service.

Todd Rowley, vice president of 4G at Sprint, said some consumers were worried about using data after the cap was placed several years ago. The company doesn't want that to happen with WiMAX, which Sprint resells from partner Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR).

While Clearwire's customers are downloading an average of 7GB per month, the average Sprint WiMAX user consumes less than that because most are mobile or nomadic rather than fixed users. Clearwire has been marketing its service as more of a replacement for DSL than a mobile service.

However, Sprint has not ruled out data caps on the WiMAX network if data consumption skyrockets. All of Sprint's WiMAX plans include 3G service that is still subject to the 5GB cap, and Sprint has no plans to remove that cap, Rowley said.

Rowley also said that Sprint is still mulling its options when it comes to LTE. Depending on which of its spectrum bands are used, Sprint and Clearwire could deploy either TD-LTE or LTE in the FDD band.

For more:
- see this IDG News Service article

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Nokia Siemens Networks is reportedly mulling a purchase of Motorola's (NYSE:MOT) telecom network division for slightly more than $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. While the WSJ noted that Motorola makes older generation wireless gear that would help NSN upgrade equipment for Motorola's existing customers such as Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S), the vendor is also proving to be a strong contender in the TD-LTE market, thanks to its experience with WiMAX.

In fact, Motorola has been eying TD-LTE as a key market niche and making inroads with China Mobile, which is keen on deploying TD-LTE on a widespread basis and working with international operators to deploy TD-LTE. NSN has been working with China Mobile too. While Nokia has not been interested in playing in the WiMAX market, it may do just that with a Motorola acquisition, but Motorola is aiming to deliver LTE and WiMAX equipment that can operate on the same platform.

 For more:
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)

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Millimeter-wave backhaul has made an appearance with a large network operator via E-Band Communications deal with Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR).

E-Band announced that its Gigabit-Ethernet millimeter-wave wireless backhaul solution is being deployed in a number of Clearwire's WiMAX markets, with initial deployments in Chicago and Philadelphia in the 70 GHz and 80 GHz frequency range. The point-to-point systems enable Clearwire to build wireless backhaul rings that carry multiple gigabits of traffic on the network.

Millimeter-wave technology will likely be a part of operators' backhaul solutions that include fiber and microwave. While these radios have more than 1 Gbps capacity, they can only be used over very short distances (about 2 miles) because of the high frequency. As such, the solution is more ideal for highly dense markets where more capacity is needed than what microwave can provide.

According to a recent report from EJL Wireless Research, the overall 60-70-80 GHz market increased 46 percent globally from 2008 to 2009 even as the overall point-to-point (PTP) microwave radio market declined almost 11 percent. In addition, registration data from the FCC for 70/80 GHz use shows growth by more than 400 percent from 2009.

For more:
- see this release
- read this release

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