Anatech Electronics,
a manufacturer of RF and microwave filters, has published its March newsletter. In
it, Sam Benzacar notes the impressive of rapid transformation of T-Mobile from
virtual insignificance in the wireless world to the top of the hill. He cites Open
Signal's January 2018 report titled, "State of the Networks: USA" as evidence. Sam
offers his take on the reason for T-Mobile's success and for why Verizon and AT&T
fell behind. As usual, it's a worthwhile read.
A Word from Sam Benzacar
 And the Winner
Is: T-Mobile, for Now
By Sam Benzacar
Five years ago, no one would have through that T-Mobile would be a major cellular
player. But in what is possibly the biggest positive turnaround in the history of this
business, T-Mobile has risen from third-tier status to become a first-tier player. Even
disregarding the T-Mobile CEO's aggressive Elon Musk-style marketing, Open Signal's "State
of the Networks: USA" report released in January confirms it.
In case you haven't heard of Open Signal, the company was founded in 2010 to measure
mobile network performance by collecting and analyzing user data from all over the world.
About 2 billion measurements are made every day. For example, to produce this report,
5.9 billion data points were analyzed from 237,213 devices spanning October 1 to December
30, 2017. By the way, Open Signal's reports are extremely informative if you're interested
in following this industry.
In every report, the company awards winners in six performance categories:
- 4G download speed
- 3G download speed
- Overall download speed
- 4G latency
- 3G latency
- Availability
The results this time aren't what you'd expect: T-Mobile won in every category but 4G
latency (AT&T took the honors there). That said, the differences in some metrics
between T-Mobile and Verizon were almost identical, with T-Mobile gaining the edge by
a hair, and the "winner" varied by region. Still, this means that T-Mobile has risen
dramatically: In its August 2017 report T-Mobile won in every category, and in its February
2016 report, Verizon and T-Mobile tied for fastest 4G speed, Verizon had the greatest
4G availability, and Sprint had the lowest 4G latency.
My point here is not that everyone should immediately jump ship and moved to T-Mobile.
Rather, it shows how fierce the competition it is between T-Mobile and Verizon and how
AT&T (once the only other major carrier) has fallen behind and stayed that way. It
also demonstrates what happens when carriers make a massive change in their pricing plans.
Verizon and AT&T bit the bullet early last year and reintroduced their unlimited
data plans to keep pace with T-Mobile and Sprint.
As soon as they did that their 4G speeds dropped precipitously and continued to do
so until September, the inevitable result of users availing themselves of more data.
By the end of the year, both AT&T and Verizon had recovered. It wasn't the first
time this happened, and it won't be the last, as the cellular industry move to its fifth
generation, which will be even more competitive.
What's News...
Miniature Drone Radar
 Boeing is providing $15 million in funding for Fortem
Technologies that sells a small detect-and-avoid radar system for drones called TrueView,
the radar is designed to help UAVs detect and avoid other airborne objects beyond visual
line of sight. It will be required for applications like drone-based delivery systems,
air taxis and assorted other planned uses for the technology. TrueView can simultaneously
track thousands of objects down to below the size of a soda can over a 360-deg. field
of view. The system weighs only 1.5 lb. And consumes little power.
Pennsylvania May Let Cops Use Radar
 Pennsylvania is the only state that does not allow
municipal police officers to use radar. The ban, which went into effect in 1961, was
designed to keep small towns from abusing it. However, Rep. Greg Rothman has introduced
a bill that will eliminate the ban but also impose restrictions on how radar can be used.
Any officer using radar must complete a training course, roads entering towns must be
marked with "radar enforce" signs, and tickets can't be issued unless the speed is 10
miles an hour over the limit. If any town generates more than 1% of its total revenue
from radar traffic fines, and offending motorists can't be prosecuted. In addition, no
quotas can be said, and annual reports must be submitted to the state every year.n. on,
10-min. off increments for more than nine hours each day.
Qorvo Sets New Benchmark
 Qorvo just set a new benchmark for GaN-on-SiC RF transistors
with its QPD1025 HEMT that delivers 1.8 kW (pulsed) at 65 V between 1 and 1.1 GHz that
is designed for L-band avionics and IFF applications. The device delivers gain of 22.5
dB and power-added efficiency of 65.7% at 3-dB compression when tuned for power and 77%
when tuned for efficiency. Maximum VSWR is 10:1 at 3-dB compression. Although the device
has an extremely narrow bandwidth, so do the avionics systems it's designed to operate
in.
Egypt's EW Systems Jam Israeli Mobile Phones
As Egypt fights insurgents in the Sinai, its EW systems have been jamming not just
the insurgents but mobile phone service in some places in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Cairo launched a major sweep of Sinai jihadis loyal to Islamic State in February and
began jamming mobile phone frequencies in Sinai. The goal was to disable the
communication abilities of insurgents who have been suspected of using stolen Israeli
SIM cards close enough to the border to link up with Israeli cellphone reception.
Gadi Yarkoni, a mayor representing Israeli communities near Gaza, criticized the
Israeli communications Ministry and threatened to sue the phone companies, saying the
failure to fix disruptions "shows disrespect for the residents of the Gaza
periphery."
Check out Our Filter Products
Cavity
Band Pass Filters
LC Band Pass Filters Cavity Bandstop/Notch Filter
About Anatech Electronics
Anatech Electronics, Inc. (AEI) specializes in the design and manufacture of standard
and custom RF and microwave filters and other passive components and subsystems employed
in commercial, industrial, and aerospace and applications. Products are available from
an operating frequency range of 10 kHz to 30 GHz and include cavity, ceramic, crystal,
LC, and surface acoustic wave (SAW), as well as power combiners/dividers, duplexers and
diplexers, directional couplers, terminations, attenuators, circulators, EMI filters,
and lightning arrestors. The company's custom products and capabilities are available
at www.anatechelectronics.com.
Contact:
Anatech Electronics, Inc. 70 Outwater Lane Garfield, NJ 07026 (973) 772-4242
sales@anatechelectronics.com
Posted March 21, 2018
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