Mikael Ricknäs

In the hunt for more spectrum to speed up mobile networks, Vodafone and Huawei Technologies have successfully tested a technology that lets LTE and GSM share the same frequencies.

The speed of future mobile networks will depend on the amount of spectrum mobile operators can get their hands on. The more they get, the wider the roads they can build.

One thing they can do to get more space is to reuse frequencies that are currently used for older technologies such as GSM and 3G. But that isn't as easy as sounds, as operators still have a lot of voice and messaging traffic in those older networks. That traffic isn't going away for a long time, irrespective of the level of competition from Internet-based services.

However, using a technology called GL DSS (GSM-LTE Dynamic Spectrum Sharing) Vodafone and Huawei have shown a way to allow GSM and LTE to coexist. GL DSS lets Huawei's SRC (Single Radio Controller) give GSM a higher priority during periods of heavy traffic, ensuring that voice calls get though unharmed. But the SRC can also provide more room for LTE when users aren't making calls, allowing for better throughput, the vendor said.

Critics have derided Microsoft's $7.5 billion acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services business, but the deal may be closing at the perfect moment -- during a slowdown in smartphone innovation.

The acquisition closed after an almost eight-month long approval process. The new subsidiary, dubbed the Microsoft Mobile and the Devices division and headed by former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop, has a tremendous amount of work to do to become a serious contender either at the high end or low end of the smartphone market.

However, this may be an opportune time for Microsoft and its thousands of new employees. Innovation has slowed down in the high-end segment of the mobile phone market. New products such as the Galaxy S5 from Samsung Electronics, HTC's One M8 and the Xperia Z2 from Sony are only small upgrades compared to their predecessors.

"This market isn't moving forward quite as quickly as it has in the past. While it is taking a breather, Microsoft and Nokia can up the game and try to close the gap," said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. Microsoft has recognized this chance to make up some lost ground.

"The pace of innovation we are delivering is, I'll argue, accelerating, while some of our leading competitors appear to be slowing down. If you're behind you have to go faster than the guy in front of you to catch up and that's exactly what we are trying to do," said Greg Sullivan, director of Windows Phone at Microsoft.

The company is making progress on both hardware and software. Microsoft has to make sure it gets access to upcoming processors especially from Qualcomm -- including the Snapdragon 805, and then the 64-bit ARM-based Snapdragon 808 and 810 -- quicker than it has in the past.