Friday, February 21, 2014

NextG-Com announces first LTE protocol stack to target small cell relay nodes backhaul

STAINES, ENGLAND: NextG-Com, an expert in embedded software products and services for LTE, M2M and satellite communications, announced the availability of ALPS 521, a Release 11 compliant UE protocol stack designed for easy integration of relay node (RN) backhaul functionality with an existing eNodeB (eNB) solution. Relays are a key element of LTE-Advanced (LTE-A).

Traditionally, user equipment (UE) architectures are optimized for a high level of hardware integration, for example using an ASIC, and unlike eNB are based on different design approaches that focus on high volume and power efficiency. ALPS 521 is designed to provide interfaces to eNB network protocols via the NextG-Com IPC framework, and is pre-integrated with eNB RN interfaces to the scheduler and eNB controller entities.

"Our ALPS 521 LTE protocol variant offers a fast and effective way of delivering a small cell solution to infrastructure vendors who wish to extend their existing eNB portfolio to support future relay node features," said Denis Bidinost, NextG-Com CEO. "Our UE knowledge and expertise can help eNB vendors where additional development and integration services are required to bring the small cell relay node to market."

Using an in-house 3GPP test environment, ALPS 521 is pre-tested with RN-specific scenarios and configuration parameters, and can be flawlessly integrated into the relay architecture.

ALPS 521 is fully tested against relevant 3GPP/non 3GPP third party conformance tests specific for relays.

As it is already fully Release 11 compliant, ALPS 521 provides a simple platform for the integration and verification of the interactions of relay functionalities to Release 11 specifications such as impact of R-PDCCH and ePDCCH, CoMP, and relay interactions.

ALPS 521 is future-proof to support RN Layer 1 interfaces through an adaptation layer (L1A), which supports both in-band without isolation and out-band/in-band with isolation RF architecture. It is designed with well-proven L1 adaptation layer APIs that can be easily customized based on the different MAC and Physical Layer architecture. The protocol stack components are also supplied with a host of tools-Trace, ASN.1, SE-RTOSTM-to help deliver faster product development and reduce third party licensing costs.

Qolsys announces general availability of IQ panel

CUPERTINO, USA: Qolsys Inc. announced that its innovative IQ Panel, powered by Alarm.com, is now widely available through distributors in the United States.

The groundbreaking "all-in-one" solution is built on Google's Android, the world's leading mobile operating system.  The sleek 7" touchscreen tightly integrates with Alarm.com's market-leading connected home services platform, supporting interactive security, video monitoring, energy management and home automation.

After launching the company in April 2013 at ISC West, Qolsys began delivering the IQ Panel and full line of peripherals to Qolsys Foundation Club members in June, followed by shipping to limited dealers in November.

"The IQ Panel redefines the traditional self-contained number pad into today's all-in-one platform," says Qolsys VP of Sales and Marketing, Mike Hackett.  "We're excited to partner with the security industry to deliver next generation technology and innovation, enabling dealers to meet the demands of the broader marketplace."

"Integrating Alarm.com's interactive services with the IQ Panel gives our dealers a highly attractive package," says Nate Natale, Alarm.com's Vice President of Sales.  "We look for the most innovative technologies when partnering so that our dealers can bring the best options to property owners."

The six (6) built-in communications radios with no external antennas include a dedicated cellular connection for life safety signals and home automation commands, and Wi-Fi for seamless software updates delivering the latest features while reducing dealer support and maintenance; Z-Wave for traditional in-home management and device control, and the Alarm.com Image Sensor for affordable visual verification.

The intuitive interface makes it easy to navigate features, including simple touch arming, disarm photos taken from the integrated panel camera, and photo frame.