Top News Stories of the Week : 11th March, 2016

Mobile World Congress 2016 Breaks its Record of 100,000 Visitors

The Mobile World Congress 2016 was held at the Fira Gran Via and Fira Montjuïc venues in Barcelona, Spain from 22 to 25 March. The 2016 edition surpassed the 100,000 mark for the first time in the event’s history, with nearly 101,000 attendees. This is an increase of more than six per cent over last year.

There were over 2,200 exhibiting companies showcasing cutting-edge products and services across 110,000 net square metres of exhibition and hospitality space. More than 3,600 international media and industry analysts attended the event to report on the many significant industry announcements made at the Congress. Read More

BAE to Develop Next-gen Electronic Warfare Technology for US Navy

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has awarded BAE Systems an $11 million contract to develop next-generation electronic warfare (EW) technology that will quickly detect, locate, and identify sources of radio frequency signals. This technology is known as the Full-Spectrum Staring Receiver (FSSR) and will enable near-instantaneous battlespace situational awareness, emitter tracking, threat warning, and countermeasure cueing. The FSSR technology would be able to provide what conventional threat warning systems are not able to deliver – the high level of coverage and responsiveness.

With the FSSR capability, U.S. Navy ships will be constantly aware of threat emitters over a very broad span of the electromagnetic spectrum. Read More

AtlanTecRF Introduces an Innovative SATCOM RF Testing Approach

AtlanTecRF has launched an innovative approach to Satcom RF Testing - a portable Battery Powered Loop Test Translator. The LBP series of Portable Battery Powered Loop Test Translators (LTTs) offers a new concept to the world of satellite communications, testing and monitoring.

Built in an easy to carry instrument case AtlanTecRF’s Portable Battery Powered Loop Test Translators can be used in the laboratory, on antenna sites, at remote central cabins, media newsgathering and outside broadcast vans. These LTTs provide continuous test facilities with a 24 hour battery life.

Designed for link users operating in Ka band and Ku band, the six main models provide frequency conversions of either Tx – Rx, Tx – L or L – Rx. Read More

New Ku-Band Platform Targets the Industrial IOT Markets

TSAT, a manufacturer of cost-effective satellite ground infrastructure engineered for narrowband applications, has unveiled a new satellite communications platform designed for service providers eager to tap into the emerging Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) market. The TSAT 4000 Ku-band hub and terminals are built for narrowband data connectivity and applications in rugged and remote environments. It addresses the growing demand for Ku-band IoT systems as traffic volumes increase across major industrial markets.

According to NSR, the M2M and IoT over satellite market will increase to more than 5.3 million terminals by 2024. The opportunity extends across a diverse range of industries – such as energy production, power distribution, water management, as well as applications for smart transportation, infrastructure, environment and agriculture. Read More

Enhanced Cloud-Based Tools Shorten DAS Testing Times by 90%

Anritsu has introduced a new version of its SkyBridge Tools cloud-based test management tool that reduces the time associated with testing and verifying distributed antenna systems (DAS) by as much as 90%. With enhanced features, SkyBridge Tools can serve as a DAS Test Management Tool that automatically creates detailed test plans based upon easily imported test criteria to greatly simplify installation and commissioning of in-building wireless systems for more timely reimbursement of completed work.

These Cloud-based Test Management Tool for Handheld Analyzers Replaces Time-consuming Manual Procedures to Provide Benefits to Operators, Installers, and Contractors. Read More

GetSAT Introduces Innovative Ka-Band, Flat-Panel Antennas for US Market

GetSAT is introducing three flat-panel terminals to the US market at Satellite 2016, which takes place in Washington, DC from 8-10 March. Using GetSAT’s Ka-band antenna technology, InterFLAT, these new terminals offer significant savings in their size, weight, and power (SWaP) parameters and they provide improved performance, reduced life-cycle costs, and enhanced operational success.

Three transformative products that are being shocased at SATSHOW 2016. Read More

Drayson Technologies works with CST to Develop Energy Harvesting Technology

Drayson Technologies has used CST electromagnetic simulation software to help develop Freevolt, a revolutionary energy harvesting technology that turns unused RF signals into electricity. Freevolt, which was launched by Drayson Technologies in September 2015, is the first viable power source of its kind.

Harnessing these unused fields requires very efficient devices that can operate in a range of conditions. Drayson Technologies used CST STUDIO SUITE to simulate and develop the antenna designs and wireless power transfer technology used in Freevolt and to develop coil designs for induction-power transfer (IPT). Read More

Highly Integrated 77 GHz Automotive Radar Chip for Long-Range Applications

STMicroelectronics, an expert in short- and mid-range (24 GHz) radar chips for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), will be supplying its latest long-range (77 GHz) radar chips to leading automotive customers. This new 77 GHz radar IC for long range applications will be delivered to Tier-1 bands and compliments ST’s ADAS systems which features short, mid and long-range radar solutions on top of vision processing and V2X.

24 GHz systems have spearheaded the introduction of on-board automotive radar by enabling affordable, short- and mid-range smart-driving features such as blind-spot detection, collision avoidance, and lane-departure warning. Read More

Isotropic Systems Raises $1 Million to Develop the Most Efficient Satellite Antenna

Isotropic Systems Limited (ISL) has raised an additional $1M in funding to revolutionize satellite antenna technology for high throughput connectivity in mobility markets. ISL will design and develop antennas that address the most common operational challenges - efficiency, cost, form factor and durability.

As advances in high throughput satellites and constellations continue to drive demand for high capacity data on the move, a new range of low profile antennas, with no moving parts, exceptional spectral efficiency, at low price prices is required. Read More

EMI Test Receiver Reduces Test Times by up to 6000x

Rohde & Schwarz has introduced a new R&S ESR EMI test receiver whose broadband architecture allows standard-compliant EMI measurements up to 6000 times faster than other solutions. Comprehensive diagnostic tools such as spectrogram display, realtime spectrum analysis and IF analysis help developers detect and eliminate EMI. The R&S ESR is impressively easy to use thanks to its intuitive touchscreen interface.

The new test receiver is available in two different models for frequencies ranging from 10 Hz to 3 GHz or 7 GHz to meet the requirements of all users who perform EMC certification on commercial equipment. Read More

LTE Passes 1 Billion Subscription Milestone

The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), has confirmed that LTE is now growing faster than any other mobile communications system technology and is now responsible for 1 in 7 mobile connections worldwide. LTE gained almost 156 million connections in Q4 2015, which is 75% more than 3G/HSPA systems. The number of LTE and LTE-Advanced subscriptions is expected to pass the 3G/WCDMA-HSPA global total in 2020. GSM subscriptions fell by 141 million in the quarter.

Analysing mobile subscriptions data provided to GSA by Ovum Ltd for Q4 2015, GSA noted that the number of LTE and LTE-Advanced subscriptions reached 1.068 billion worldwide by 31 December 2015. Read More