Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/1019582
Wireless World 7 Friday, September 14, 2018 Cell Phones for Soldiers Provides Lifeline for Military and Veterans Cell Phones for Soldiers is a 13-year-old national non-profit dedicated to serving troops and veterans with free communi- cation services and emergency funding. The program provides a lifeline for mili- tary members while they are overseas and for veterans who have returned home but may still be isolated from the family and community services they need to help them through the transition. Cell Phones for Soldiers is the wire- less industry's leading charitable recycler of electronics. Since 2004, it has recycled more than 15 million cell phones to fund its programs. Its existing partners range from Fortune 500 companies to local grassroots organizations. Cell Phones for Soldiers welcomes all inquiries to join the mission. With more men and women retuning home from overseas in recent years, it is providing less airtime to those abroad. However, the needs for communication solutions for veterans in the United States have seen a real uptick. To combat this, Cell Phones for Soldiers is currently provid- ing more than 500 thousand minutes per month to veter- ans through low cost pre- paid phones. "It's really important to provide domestic airtime for veterans. Right now they're being priced out of the market. A lot of these guys are mak- ing $30,000 or less," says Cell Phones for Soldiers co-Founder Rob Bergquist. "Being able to provide domestic airtime is important. It's one way we can help men and women as they come home from serving our country." Cell Phones for Soldiers raised more than $75,000 from the sponsors and partners at our 2nd Annual Golf Tournament, which hosted many veter- ans. Also, Cell Phones for Soldiers Founders Rob and Brittany Bergquist were honored by Forbes in the 2017 Class of 30 Under 30. For more information, call Rob Bergquist at 678.580.1976, visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com or email info@cellphonesforsoldiers.com. Optical Zonu GPS Fiber Transport Cleans Up GPS Distribution for C-RAN Hubs By Gary Grimes, Director Sales RF Solutions, Optical Zonu Corp. The ideal location for a C-RAN Hub or Base Station Hotel is often a problem for access to a suitable outdoor antenna loca- tion for the GPS antennas. This distance issue is easily solved using the Optical Zonu GPS Fiber Transport, which has made it the only solution approved by all four U.S. mobile wireless service providers. The compact, flexible GPS- over-Fiber product installs easily with no adjustments needed. The patented optical alarm reporting permits a simple integra- tion of the link alarms into the base sta- tion and DAS monitor and control sys- tem without the need for any additional software setup. Now, Optical Zonu has released an evolution of the GPS Fiber Transport product that includes a higher RF output port count and auto-switchover redun- dancy. These features, along with the NEBS Level 3 certification, make this solution the preferred method of distrib- uting the GPS signal to the BBUs at your C-RAN Hub. A single, compact fiber transmitter and a low cost 1x8 optical splitter can provide up to 128 GPS RF connections with auto-switchover to a backup GPS antenna. With the 2-fiber version of the transmitter, you can increase the system reliability with an alternate fiber path. With this approach, the GPS RF sig- nal is routed throughout your C-RAN Hub or Base Station hotel over thin, lightweight fiber instead of thick, bulky coaxial cable. The GPS Fiber Transport receivers are then distributed in the racks with the BBUs with only a short, light- weight RF jumper needed to complete the connection. The system is cost-effective and scalable. As your C- RAN Hub grows, the GPS Fiber Transport is easily expanded to accommodate the new services and sectors. GPS Fiber Transport can also be con- figured to support a mix of direct connec- tions to BBUs and remote connections to distributed radios. A fiber can be routed with the Ethernet backhaul twisted pair to a compact fiber receiver connected to the radio auxiliary GPS antenna port. For more information, visit www.optical zonu.com, email sales@opticalzonu.com or stop by booth #W1424. Intel Introduces Portfolio of Commercial 5G New Radio Modems Intel ® announced substantial advances in its wireless product roadmap to acceler- ate the adoption of 5G. Highlights include the introduction of the Intel XMM™ 8000 series, Intel's first family of 5G new radio (5G NR) multi-mode commercial modems, and Intel's latest LTE modem, the Intel XMM 7660. Intel also announced it has successfully com- pleted a full end-to-end 5G call based on its early 5G silicon, the Intel 5G Modem – a key milestone in its development. Finally, the Intel XMM 7560 modem unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2017 has achieved gigabit-class speeds. "Intel is committed to delivering leading 5G multi-mode modem technolo- gy and making sure the transition to 5G is smooth," said Dr. Cormac Conroy, Intel Corporate Vice President and General Manager of the Communication and Devices Group. "Our investments in a full portfolio of modem technologies and products are critical to achieving the vision of seamless 5G connectivity." 5G is more than the device; it requires a cloud-ready, virtualized 5G network. Intel is unique in bringing the network, cloud and clients together in a powerful end-to-end 5G solution. "Today's wireless networks are the equivalent of data driving down a single- lane highway; tomorrow's will need to serve as a multilane superhighway as data moves at warp speed with 5G net- works," said Sandra Rivera, Intel Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Network Platforms Group. "Our roadmap progress shows how Intel is moving at gigabit speeds to help the industry create this superhighway and benefit from the speed, capacity and low latency that 5G promises." A summary of Intel's wireless roadmap updates includes: Intel XMM 8000 series: Intel's fam- ily of commercial 5G multi-mode modems, operating in both sub-6 GHz and millimeter wave global spectrum bands. The series will enable a range of devices to connect to 5G networks – from PCs and phones to fixed wireless con- sumer premise equipment (CPE) and even vehicles. Intel XMM 8060: Intel's first com- mercial 5G modem is capable of deliver- ing multi-mode support for the full 5G non-standalone and standalone NR, as well as various 2G, 3G (including CDMA) and 4G legacy modes. Expected to ship in commercial customer devices in mid-2019, the Intel XMM 8060 will accelerate deployment of 5G-ready devices prior to anticipated broad deployment of 5G networks in 2020. Intel XMM 7660: Intel's latest LTE modem delivers Cat-19 capabilities and supports speeds up to 1.6 gigabits per second. This powerful LTE modem fea- tures advanced multiple-input and multi- ple-output (MIMO), carrier aggregation and a broad range of band support. It will ship in commercial devices in 2019. Additionally, Intel is helping set the pace for the industry with the Intel 5G Modem. Intel's early 5G silicon is success- fully making calls over the 28GHz band. Along with the Intel Mobile Trial Platform, Intel technology is at the heart of dozens of trials around the world, giving Intel and the industry valuable learnings about the tech- nologies that will make 5G a reality. ASHA Raises Concern about Potential Impact of Popular Tech Overuse and Misuse on Hearing The American Speech-Language- Hearing Association's (ASHA) Healthy Communication and Popular Technology Initiative focuses upon the potential dan- gers of popular technology overuse and misuse. What is the concern with respect to hearing? Previous polling by ASHA indicated that many young people are using popular technology for hours daily, every day, at high volume. That sort of usage could produce hearing loss. Additionally, for years ASHA has put on "safe listening" concerts in middle and elementary schools to encourage safe listening to popular technology. Again and again, educators embraced the message and understood the need for it based on what they observe daily and know about their students' usage habits. What are the conse- quences of hearing loss? Hearing loss can have severe effects on a child's development. It can delay other communication skills, impede academic achievement, cause social isolation and even affect future employment. Children with hearing loss develop their vocabu- lary more slowly, and have more trouble learning abstract words or words with multiple meanings. Also, the vocabulary gap between them and children with nor- mal hearing widens with age. What are some tips for enjoying technol- ogy while avoiding dan- gers to hearing? The most effective step is to keep the vol- ume down. Regularly lis- tening to music over 75 decibels for extended periods can cause hearing loss over time. A good rule of thumb is to keep the volume level on a device at no more than half. It is also important to set parameters that encourage things like lis- tening breaks, and technology-free times and zones at home. Parents should also model healthy technology usage them- selves. For more information, go to www.asha.org.