Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) Addresses Portable LTE with lightRadio

Jean-Pierre Lartigue, product marketing and strategy for Alcatel-Lucent’s (NYSE:ALU) wireless networks business, says the current generation of radio access equipment is not acceptable for all of today’s cellular network needs given the site acquisition and other costs related to macro base stations. So picocells have arrived to address these needs.

Alcatel-Lucent has a new product in this space called lightRadio. It’s a 2G/3G/LTE solution that’s about the size of a child’s block and can support up to 48 users.

Lartigue says China Mobile (NYSE:CHL), Orange, Verizon (NYSE:VZ), and two other wireless carriers already have endorsed the product, which will be in trials by the end of the year, and available in commercial quantities starting next year.

Along with lightRadio, Alcatel-Lucent has introduced a baseband unit in the form of a chipset. The unit, which can be located with the picocell, or be placed remotely to serve multiple picocells, creates the digital signal and brings it to the IP network, says Lartigue. Basically, it does traffic conversion and prioritization.





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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone in Asia Could Drive 8 Million More Unit Sales

With Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone being a huge hit in Asia, expectations are it could drive 8 million or more in unit sales in 2011.

In what will be scary to competitors, it seems iPhones are taking hold in Asia as they already have in the U.S. market.

Yesterday China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) announced they were working with Apple on a deal to offer the iPhone to their network of 584 million subscribers. The potential there is mind-boggling.

Other carriers which should offer the iPhone soon are China Telecom (NYSE:CHA), Japan’s KDDI, and South Korea’s LG Telecom.

Apple was trading at $344.03, up $0.18, or 0.05 percent, as of 1:13 PM EST.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), China Unicom (NYSE:CHU), China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) and China Mobile Momentum

Announcements in China that the Chengdu China Mobile Retail Store is selling Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone 4 16GB, has Ticonderoga excited about the potential, but they note supply chain restraints could hinder initiatives in China at this time, and uncertainties as to how exclusive (if it is at all) the deal with China Unicom (NYSE:CHU) is, and whether China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) will get a piece of the action.

Ticonderoga said, "Is China Mobile Starting to Sell the iPhone 4 in Chengdu? Today, the local Chinese character version of the Chengdu Chinese Commercial News reported that the Chengdu China Mobile Retail Store began offering the iPhone 4 16GB version for a prepayment of RMB5,400 and RMB288 per month. Additionally, the article specifically highlights a Chengdu China Mobile advertisement for the iPhone 4 in the Chengdu Commercial Newspaper. This prepayment is RMB480 lower than the China Unicom plan. Recall, China Unicom (NYSE:CHU)(NR) is the only carrier that has an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone 4, but we have been told that this is not an "exclusive agreement." China Mobile (NYSE: CHL)(NR) has not officially announced an agreement with Apple, and it remains unclear if an agreement is necessary for this type of selling arrangement.

"Apple Well Positioned for Chinese New Year. With the Chinese New Year beginning on February 2, we believe Apple is well positioned to enjoy continued momentum over the holiday in China; however, supply chain constraints remain our biggest concern. During our recent China Tech Tour meetings, we highlighted the iPhone 4 was sold out for two months, and we estimate China Unicom had been unable to fulfill approximately one-third of the iPhone 4 orders. We still believe that China remains in the early stages of catching "Apple fever," and demand for iPhone 4 has been well above the ramp of the iPhone 3GS thus far. During our recent China Tour, various carriers estimated the high-end smartphone market at 100-125 million subscribers, which we believe provides Apple with a significant opportunity for growth in years ahead."

Apple closed Tuesday at $331.29, gaining $1.72, or 0.52 percent. China Unicom closed at $14.42, up $0.02, or 0.14 percent. China Mobile closed at $50.06, gaining $0.09, or 0.18 percent.

Ticonderoga maintains a "Buy" rating on Apple, with a price target of $450 on them.

China's Wireless Subscribers Soar to 833 million, as China Unicom (NYSE:CHU), China Telecom (NYSE:CHA), China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) Surge

Wireless subscribers in China continue to soar, as the latest data from China Unicom (NYSE:CHU), China Telecom (NYSE:CHA), China Mobile (NYSE:CHL) confirms.

Ticonderoga said, "China's Wireless Subscribers Rise to 833 million. This morning, the final November subscriber data from the China-based carriers such as China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile were released. Total subscribers (wireless, broadband and wireline) rose by 0.7%, or up 8.04 million month-over-month in November (vs. up 0.8% in October, or up 9.74 million) to 1.217 billion, while total wireless subscribers increased by 1.1%, or 8.86 million (vs. up 1.2% and up 9.52 million in October) to 833.18 million.

"3G Subscribers Grow 10% at China Mobile and China Unicom...China Mobile Remains in the Lead as 3G Ramp Continues...China Runs into iPhone 4 Shortages; Cogo Also Benefits from 3G Ramp"

China Unicom closed Monday at $15.00, up $0.31, or 2.11 percent. China Telecom closed at $50.56, up $0.48, or 0.96 percent. China Mobile closed at $49.36, up $0.16, or 0.33 percent.

Is Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) Ready to Date China Mobile (NYSE:CHL)?

Although not able to be confirmed yet, a newspaper report from Chengdu Chinese Commercial News said Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) has signed a cooperation agreement China Mobile (NYSE:CHL).

"Today, the online Chinese character version of the Chengdu Chinese Commercial News reported that a "cooperation agreement" between China Mobile and Apple has been signed based on the newspaper's industry sources. The newspaper has not been able to confirm any potential agreement with either Apple or China Mobile. Recall, a recent article from the China Real Time Report (in The Wall Street Journal) indicated that ten China Mobile stores in the Beijing area were offering a SIM card-cutting service that allows for the card to fit into the iPhone 4, which requires a microSIM card slot. Today, the Chengdu Chinese Commercial News indicated that a "small card" is in production. There is also a microSIM card for the iPhone 4 highlighted on the China Mobile website. Additionally, the Guangdong China Mobile website indicates that the new microSIM card can be used for both the iPhone and iPad. Although the details are fuzzy surrounding any "cooperation agreement" between the two companies, and the number of services that can be used is unclear, we believe the key takeaway is that any potential relationship or increased cooperation between China Mobile and Apple is an incremental positive, in our view, given the number of wireless subscribers (~70% of China) at the carrier," said Ticonderoga Securities.

"China Unicom has an official agreement to sell Apple's iPhone and remains the only carrier in China that is licensed to do so....During our China trip in October, the buzz surrounding the iPhone 4 and iPad in China was much stronger than previous Apple launches. Clearly, China is catching "Apple fever,"" added the company.

Apple closed Thursday at $308.43, rising by $7.93, or 2.64 percent. Ticonderoga has a price target of $450 on Apple.