LTE Trials Pick up Speed as Networks Around the World Get Ready for 4G

Developers have been touting Long Term eEolution (LTE (News - Alert)), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) and 4G for sometime now without delivering goods. But, that scenario is expected to change soon as service providers and operators begin serious trials. According to market research firm ABI Research, Verizon (News - Alert) in the United States and DoCoMo in Japan will begin wide-scale roll-outs by the end of 2010. As a result, 2011 will be the year when LTE goes live in a big way, reported ABI Research analyst Bhavya Khanna.


"132 networks have reported trials or plans to launch LTE commercially, 32 more than the end of 2009. Verizon has also hinted at the availability of LTE-based handsets by May 2011," said Khanna. 

"However," Khanna cautioned, "don't expect WiMAX (News - Alert) to bow out just yet. Despite setbacks including Russia's Yota switching to LTE, 188 WiMAX networks are now in trial or commercial operation worldwide. With India's wireless broadband spectrum auction recently concluded, expect that number to grow in 2011. Clearwire, a WiMAX service provider in the United States, continues to build out its network and add subscribers, buoyed by the launch of a popular WiMAX-capable handset, the HTC (News - Alert) EVO 4G."

The threat that WiMAX will face will come from TD-LTE, an alternative technology championed by China and Qualcomm that can operate on the same bandwidth as existing WiMAX networks. If this technology proves successful, it could see several WiMAX operators migrate to the LTE standard, the ABI study shows.

While this battle plays out, incumbent operators cannot afford to ignore their legacy 3G networks. Technology upgrades such as HSPA+ for wideband CDMA (WCDMA) networks are also proving popular, helping incumbents cope with demands for increasing speeds and bandwidth efficiency. As of March 2010, over 41 network operators had trials or commercial launches of evolved high-speed packet access (HSPA+) networks, including T-Mobile (News - Alert) in the United States and Vodafone in Turkey, as indicated by ABI's report.

The report titled "Wireless Spectrum, Services and Technology Deployment Market Data" (https://www.abiresearch.com/research/1004106) provides a comprehensive source of information of all wireless network providers; their operating spectra, access technologies and key network vendors globally. Also included in the database is a summary of the major network supplier contracts awarded, by geography and network.

This report, in fact, is part of the research firm's Mobile Networks Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/Wireless_Infrastructure_Research_Service).