• Nominet and Microsoft collaborate on TV white space broadband project for Africa

    TV white space (TVWS) is the part of the radio spectrum occupied by unassigned or unused UHF and VHF broadcast frequencies, largely unused in many countries since analogue television services started going off air, replaced by digital services. The available set of TVWS frequencies varies from territory to territory, so Nominet developed a geolocation database to tell devices which frequencies they can use in a given area, at what power and for how long. Radio spectrum supports the majority of internet connections, but it is a finite resource and with the anticipated explosion of wireless broadband services and billions of devices connected to the Internet of Things, effective management of the spectrum will become crucial. Speaking to E&T at the launch event, part of Nominet’s Internet…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Ocado warehouse is powered by 1,000+ 4G-connected robots

    The online supermarket retailer claims that this is the first time the wireless protocol has been used for warehouse automation and said that the technology guarantees a connection ten times per second to each of the robots roaming around the warehouse, which are all working within a 150-metre radius. The protocol works in the licence-free spectrum and also has the potential to be used for other purposes in the future including Internet-of-Things applications, vehicle-to-vehicle connectivity for smart cars, air traffic control systems or large-scale industrial systems. Ocado said that controlling and locating over 1,000 robots in such a small area posed some difficult challenges. Initially the project aimed to use Wi-Fi to maintain radio contact with the robots but most Wi-Fi access points…

  • African continent set to reach one billion mobile subscriptions by end of 2016

    The region's growth in new mobile subscriptions is slowing. The average rate of mobile penetration in Africa was 79 per cent at the end of June, with mobile voice revenue on the continent predicted to decline over the five years to 2021.  However, the next phase of growth is being driven by data and digital services. Data connections, as well as data and digital service revenue, will expand Africa’s telecoms market. The take-up of mobile broadband will rise strongly, powered by operators continuing to roll out 3G and 4G LTE networks in all territories and smartphone handsets becoming increasingly affordable.  By 2021, it is estimated that there will be one billion mobile broadband connections in Africa, including 157.4 million 4G LTE connections. Additionally, the number of smartphone connections…

  • Stanford research shatters illusion of online anonymity

    In an experiment called Footprints, Stanford University researchers found that online anonymity is just an illusion as using smart algorithms to analyse which websites people access online and who they follow on Twitter can reveal who a particular user is with great accuracy. During the first day of the experiment, the team was able to identify 11 out of 13 volunteers. Out of the total of 300 people who took part in the study the algorithm was able to identify 80 per cent. “I think the first thing I messaged was: ‘This is kind of scary,’” said Stanford undergraduate Ansh Shukla, a senior studying mathematics who is working on the project with Stanford Engineering assistant professor Sharad Goel and Stanford computer science PhD student Jessica Su. Participants in the experiment gave the…

  • Kinematix Tune wearable running companion – review

    The Tune offers something a little different to the wearable technology market; it’s an in-shoe running companion that goes beyond measuring the basic stats, to help serious runners get the most out of each workout. While other wearables on the market can be used to track a run, using multiple sensors and algorithms to measure your speed, heart rate and basic fitness stats, Tune goes further. Tune is an in-shoe monitoring device that links to your phone – yes, it’s another one of those trackers which necessitate your having to have a phone with you while you go on a run – to provide real-time analysis of how your workout is progressing. While it may not be ideal to have to take a phone with you, what this wearable lacks in practicality it makes up for in functionality. The complete Tune…

  • Moov Now activity tracker - review

    Marketed as more than just a fitness tracker, Moov Now is a lifestyle coach designed for workouts to help you get the most out of every training session. While the first Moov – released in 2015 – was designed only to be worn during training, the Moov Now has a slimmer, more attractive look and comes complete with all-day activity tracking, sleep monitoring, improved battery life and a waterproof design. This means it can be worn throughout the day, even while you shower. The activity tracker is contained within a small and light plastic sensor which is about an inch wide. It fits snugly into a rubber strap designed to be worn on the wrist or ankle, depending on your workout and comes in a variety of colours. I was rewarded with the exceptionally funky aqua blue design, which stands out…

  • LoRa promises cheap low-power alternative to 5G for IoT devices

    LoRa (Long Range) is among a clutch of narrowband technologies that connect devices cheaply over unlicensed spectrum and vast distances and needs very little power. Unlike 5G networks or Bluetooth, which are more commonly touted as possible technologies for IoT adoption, LoRa’s drawback is that it can only send small parcels of data, rather than the gigabytes most wired and mobile standards aspire to. However, advocates of the platform argue that this may be more than enough. "It turns out you don't need that huge an infrastructure and it can be driven by small devices that are very smart and not very expensive," says Mike Cruse, CEO of Definium Technologies, which is building LoRa-based devices for farmers, universities and mines. The IoT has long promised to hook up devices - everything…

  • A millennium and a half before alien contact astronomers claim

    The scientists performed a calculation based on the likelihood of technological civilisations arising among the stars, and the probable length of time they had been transmitting signals across space. They concluded that while there was no reason to think we are alone in the universe, getting in contact may take some time. US researcher Evan Solomonides, a PhD student from Cornell University, said: "We haven't heard from aliens yet, as space is a big place – but that doesn't mean no one is out there. "It's possible to hear any time at all, but it becomes likely we will have heard around 1,500 years from now. "Until then, it is possible that we appear to be alone, even if we are not. But if we stop listening or looking, we may miss the signals. So we should keep looking." Astronomers have long…

  • Record in wireless data transmission achieved

    The technology, which would allow downloading a whole DVD in less than ten seconds, relies on the so-called E-band of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies between 71 and 76 GHz, also known as the milimetre-waves. The team from the University of Stuttgart, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF, said the system exceeds ten times existing state-of-the-art technology. During the experiment, the researchers sent data between Cologne’s 45-story Uni-Centre and the Space Observation Radar TIRA located at Fraunhofer Institute for High-Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques in Wachtberg some 37km away. To achieve the high data rates together with the unprecedented distance, the researchers built innovative transmitters and…

  • WiFi capacity doubled with a chip less than half the size

    The engineers achieved this feat by implementing the first ‘on-chip RF circulator’ which allows both incoming and outgoing signals to be sent and received using just one antenna. In the era of Big Data, the current frequency spectrum crisis is one of the biggest challenges researchers are grappling with and it is clear that today's wireless networks will not be able to support tomorrow's data deluge. Today's standards, such as 4G/LTE, already support 40 different frequency bands, and there is no space left at radio frequencies for future expansion. At the same time, the grand challenge of the next-generation 5G network is to increase the data capacity by 1,000 times. The new duplex system enables simultaneous transmission and reception at the same frequency in a wireless radio by using switches…

  • 5G smartphones could use radar tech to boost signal

    To take full advantage of upcoming 5G networks, antennas need to be much more advanced than they are today where even the best smartphones actually lose around 90 per cent of the signal. One solution being developed by a Danish team from Aalborg University in collaboration with tech firms Intel and Wispry is to have the antennas directed towards the transmitter. This works in a similar fashion to satellite communications where a dish pointing straight up at a satellite can pick up a signal that is 10,000 times weaker than that picked up by a mobile phone. "If you know what direction the signal is coming from, you have a huge advantage," says Gert Frølund Pedersen who worked on the project. Although it may be known where the nearest transmission tower is, the challenge with smartphones is that…

  • Smallest TV antenna ever boasts 'extraordinary reception'

    The antenna, created by a team from the University of Morelos, weighs 12g, increasing to 80g when coated. The device can be used both outdoors and indoors and is designed to be placed in a fixed spot in the ceiling. Its compact, rectangular shape has proved strong and resistant, it does not require any attachment when used indoors, and by using a signal splitter it can be connected to different TVs. The antenna does not require electricity and it has been tested by one of the largest television companies in Mexico, with promising results. It has already been subjected to very low temperatures and other harsh environmental conditions as part of the testing process. "In the California area it could pick up the signal of about 70 local channels, and after the analogue switch-off in Mexico…

  • 5G data transmission efficiency increased 12-fold

    Engineers at the University of Bristol, the UK, and the Swedish University of Lund in cooperation with technology company National Instruments have demonstrated wireless data transmission of 1.59Gbit/s. This was achieved in a 20MHz channel and represents a 12-fold improvement over the fastest currently available 4G cellular technology. MIMO is a multiple-antenna system used in existing Wi-Fi routers and 4G cellular phone networks. It usually relies on four antennas to cater for multipath propagation of the data signal. In massive MIMO, the number of antennas used in a single router is increased multiple times. The system used by the Bristol and Lund teams used 128 antennas. "We see massive MIMO as the most promising 5G technology and we have pushed it forward together with partners in Bristol…

  • Cambridge initiative aims to create 'hyper-connected' city

    Launched by Cambridge Ahead, the #CambsNotspotter initiative aims to take the information on where mobile phone signals, Wi-Fi and broadband access are poor and encourage telecoms providers to take action to improve them. The plan is to provide the city and its surrounding areas with the connectivity infrastructure it needs to become a “hyper-connected” city of the future. “We are going to improve mobile broadband connectivity across the region,” said Faye Holland, Chair of the Connecting Cambridge group within Cambridge Ahead, at the #CambsNotspotter launch in Cambridge. By becoming a #CambsNotspotter, local people will help identify areas of no or low connectivity, or ‘notspots’, using a specially designed app which collects and analyses mobile data signals. The data will then be used to…

  • Facebook uniting telecom sector for 5G development

    The initiative is said to be "engineering focused" and brings operators, infrastructure providers, system integrators and other technology companies together to collaborate on the development of new technologies to aid the future rollout of 5G communication networks. In a post on its site, Facebook said that with people sharing increasingly data-intensive media, such as high-definition video and even virtual reality experiences in the future, the traditional telecom infrastructure "is not moving as fast as people need it to". Facebook, Intel, and Nokia have pledged to contribute an initial suite of reference designs to the project for improved 5G communication networks that operators can deploy when they need them. Jay Parikh, Facebook’s head of engineering, said the project would “result in…

  • Solution found for GPS hacking

    Currently, attackers can alter the GPS location data, received by satnav systems in cars for example, by using a satellite simulator. GPS also has a number of industrial uses, such as the temporal synchronisation of machines, which could be brought to a standstill in the event of an attack. Satellite simulators generate fake signals that appear authentic, and sends them out to receivers. “This is how attackers can fool the receiver, which then assumes it is located in a different position than is actually the case,” explains Professor Christina Pöpper, who is leading the team developing a solution to the problem. Their proposal involves the installation of multiple receivers in a vehicle, situated at a distance from each other, that are all receiving GPS data simultaneously. If they receive…

  • Flood management: how to hold back the waters

    While unprecedented rainfall in the UK has inundated parts of Cumbria, Lancashire, Yorkshire and Scotland this winter, the flood-prone town of Pickering in North Yorkshire has (so far) stayed dry.Pickering’s residents, it seems, were protected by relatively low-cost flood defences developed in a project involving Forest Research and Durham, Oxford and Newcastle universities, funded by Defra, Ryedale District Council, North Yorkshire County Council and the Flood Levy. Instead of building a £10m concrete floodwall through the town centre, they spent around £2m on a carefully engineered concrete bund that could store up to 120,000 cubic metres of floodwater upstream of the town. In the catchments of Pickering Beck (draining through Pickering) and the neighbouring catchment of the River Seven…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • EE and BT merger poorly received by the industry

    After being given the green light, the new company will have a combined customer base of around 35 million mobile, broadband and TV customers. Despite the criticisms, John Wotton, who chaired the CMA inquiry into the deal, said the evidence "does not show that this merger is likely to cause significant harm to competition or the interests of consumers". Broadband and mobile provider TalkTalk is one such industry player that is not happy with the new deal. "We are disappointed, although not surprised, that the CMA has waived through the BT/EE merger, even though the new entity will be even more dominant than it was before privatisation 30 years ago," it said. Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, added: "Fewer players in a market is rarely a good thing, but now this deal has been approved…

  • Blackberry pulls out of Pakistan over spying allegations

    In July, the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority notified the country’s mobile phone operators that BlackBerry’s BES servers would no longer be allowed to operate in the country starting in December "for security reasons". Blackberry alleges that the government wanted to monitor every email and BBM message sent through its servers in the country, a directive the company was not prepared to comply with. “As we have said many times, we do not support ‘back doors’ granting open access to our customers’ information and have never done this anywhere in the world,” the company said in a blog post. “Pakistan’s demand was not a question of public safety; we are more than happy to assist law enforcement agencies in investigations of criminal activity.” “Rather, Pakistan was essentially demanding unfettered…

  • FM radio can boost Wi-Fi speeds

    Residents of densely packed areas, such as those living in tower blocks, frequently suffer from inconsistent Wi-Fi performance, which the researchers blame on too many networks being located in a small area. "Most people think it's a mystery," said Aleksandar Kuzmanovic, a professor with the university. "They get upset at their routers. But what's really happening is that your neighbour is watching Netflix." When network data is sent at the same time from different networks, it can ‘bump’ into each other. This results in data packets failing to reach their destinations causing unexpectedly slow Internet speeds. Kuzmanovic and his team of PHD students have created a solution called Wi-FM that allows wireless routers to use the FM spectrum to determine the ‘quietest’ areas that will cause the…

    IET EngX
    IET EngX

  • Google balloons to offer internet access to Indonesians

    The Project Loon programme was first tested in 2013 in New Zealand using thirty 12m-tall solar-powered balloons designed to reach the stratosphere. They are designed to travel at speeds between 8 and 30km/h and are guided by software algorithms to move up and down the stratospheric layers to control their direction. They contain equipment that broadcasts 3G-like wireless speeds to ground-based antennas, which spreads the signal further to users. About 250 million people live in Indonesia, which is composed of about 17,000 islands, although only 42 million have internet access, according to the CIA's estimates. The project is primarily funded by money that Google makes from digital advertising, although it was recently assigned to an independent lab called X that is run by Google's new parent…

  • Sainsbury's mobile network to shut down

    The supermarket set up its virtual network, which piggybacks a signal from Vodafone’s mobile towers, in July 2013. Under a virtual network agreement, carriers such as Vodafone can opt to rent out some of their network capacity to another party so that it can avoid the high capital costs associated with setting up their own infrastructure. Its rivals Tesco and Asda have set up their own similar services that run on O2 and EE’s towers respectively. However, where Tesco Mobile boasts four million customers, Sainsbury’s had only managed to attract 150,000 to its network. It is understood Sainsbury's and Vodafone pulled the plug on the joint venture after disagreeing over the future of the service. Most of the customers affected are on sim-only pay-as-you-go deals and Sainsbury's said they will…

  • Text message tweak to appointment alerts could save NHS millions

    The research study found that when using the new message text, DNA incidents were reduced by 5,800. This figure could have risen as high as 28,900 if the Trust had a record of every patient’s mobile number. Healthcare providers are increasingly using SMS reminders to reduce DNA rates, with statistics showing in 2012–13 around 5.5 million NHS outpatient appointments were missed in England (9.3 per cent of the total). A recent estimate claims missed first outpatient appointments cost the NHS up to £225 million in 2012–13. If the NHS only had mobile numbers for 20 per cent of patients, this could still potentially avoid as many as 400,000 missed hospital appointments per year, saving the NHS and the taxpayer in excess of £64 million. The research Stating Appointment Costs in SMS Reminders Reduces…

  • EU mobile roaming charges to be scrapped

    At a meeting of the EU Competition Council, the UK’s Business Minister, Baroness Neville-Rolfe, and her European counterparts are expected to give their formal agreement to the legislation. The new rule will mean that mobile phone users will not have to pay any extra for mobile roaming which includes making calls, texts and using the internet while abroad. Although the ending of the charge is not due to be implemented until June 2017, further cuts to roaming will be introduced on April 30 2016 as part of the same agreement. After the 2016 date, the cost of using data abroad will have been reduced by 95 per cent in comparison to four years ago. The UK government said it had led the calls to end roaming charges since the beginning by working with its allies in other EU countries and the European…

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