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2nd March - Long Term Evolution (LTE) of 3G technologies
is about to benefit from Rel-8 of the 3GPP standard,
planned for the third quarter of 2007. This will be
the trigger for development of components and systems
to provide 100 Mbps download speeds to mobile devices.
According to a new study from ABI Research, network
operators will invest a total of almost $18 billion
in LTE capital infrastructure over the period to 2014.
This will yield a significant payoff, both in reduction
of operating expenses and in the creation of new revenue
from IP-based services.
“LTE faces competition from other broadband wireless
technologies and it will need to demonstrate clear technical
and economic advantages to convince network operators,”
says ABI Research analyst Ian Cox. “WiMAX has a
two-year lead over LTE but suffers from not being backwards-compatible
with current 3G technologies. LTE will not only be backwards-compatible
with UMTS but is likely to be used to upgrade CDMA networks
as well. But the industry is also working on HSPA+,
which could offer the same performance in a 5MHz bandwidth.
Without additional spectrum, operators face a difficult
choice.”
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Cox further comments that, “The industry is also making
progress in avoiding intellectual property rights issues in
the new standard. Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) has
been set up by leading operators to ensure a level playing
field.”
For users, says Cox, LTE will enable broadband services,
including VoIP, to be offered over SIP-enabled networks. Each
service will be IP-based, offering high data rates and low
latency, with online gaming becoming a reality along with
mobile network data speeds comparable to those of fixed networks.
For vendors, LTE will allow development of a new market to
replace declining 3G revenues. For operators, an all-IP network
with simpler, flat architecture will reduce operating costs
and boost revenues.
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