January 2013 Industry News

The 3GPP announced that it aims to complete Release 12 of its specification in June 2014. In anticipation, the forum has release "an objective look" at the next 18 months of work to be completed by the 3GPP TSG SA. Priorities include exploiting new business opportunities, Wi-Fi integration, and improving system capacity and stability. More...

Svein-Egil Nielsen is the new chairman of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group. James Rutledge and Toby Nixon join him as vice chairman and secretary, respectively. Nielsen, who has been a SIG board member for a year and a half, is the director of emerging technologies and strategic partnerships for Nordic Semiconductor. More...

As it looks forward to what it predicts will be a "milestone" 2013, the Broadband Forum also looked back at a successful 2012. Among the year's accomplishments, the forum says it approved 31 technical reports, saw its BBF.069 CPE certification take off and presented awards to several key people in the industry. More...

Six volunteers working with the Cloud Security Alliance have been honored with the organization's first annual Ron Knode Service Award, named after the late security expert. "The six individuals who have been selected for this award embody the spirit of Ron's commitment to volunteerism," said Jim Reavis, co-founder and executive director of the CSA. More...

A survey conducted on behalf of the Small Cell Forum reveals that 98% of mobile operators call small cells "essential for the future of their networks." More...

Kevin Bourg, the senior director of global market development for Aurora Networks, will serve as chairman of the Fiber to the Home Council Americas in 2013, the organization announced. He will be joined by two newly elected board members: Walt Donovan, vice president of telecom business development for Quanta Services, and Scott Jackson, business development manager-smart grid for Graybar. More...

Two studies conducted on behalf of the GSMA and AHCIET show that "lowering taxation on telecoms would benefit the Latin American economy," the GSMA announced. The organizations say high taxes on mobile consumers slow down adoption of new services. GSMA says the mobile industry has contributed $177 billion to the economies of just nine Central and South American countries. More...

The IEEE Standards Association and the Standards Institution of Israel signed a memorandum of understanding in November to facilitate cooperation between the two bodies. More...

The ITU and the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) will establish the first Cybersecurity Innovation Center for the Arab region in Muscat, Oman. The organizations will partner with the Information Technology Authority of Oman to create the center. The $2 million cost to build the center will be paid by the ITU and the government of Oman. More...

A new paper commissioned by the Association for Progressive Communications and the Internet Society argues that Internet protocols and human rights are closely linked. The authors say Internet protocols and human rights share principles that "generate continuities and discontinuities which could inform and assist those who seek to defend human rights and to maintain a free and unencumbered Internet." More...

The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) this month announced that they are collaborating on standards to allow mobile users to reach emergency 911 services through SMS text messages. Major mobile providers have told the FCC that text-to-911 will be available by May 2014. More...