Days after unveiling a Web-based UC solution that experts say may kill a free speech recognition service from Google Inc., a Paris-based voice, data and video solutions provider today is bolstering its packet microwave radio line with new features for fixed and mobile operators.

 

Officials from Alcatel-Lucent say they’re going to help operators add capacity to existing microwave backhaul networks to help them evolve to next-generation wireless broadband, including LTE.

 

According to Philippe Dumont, head of wireless transmission activities for Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert), offering a cost-effective mobile transport network that maximizes the relationship between cost and capacity is critical to delivering greater profitability for mobile network operators.

 

“After an exhaustive evaluation of all millimeter wave solutions on the market, we selected BridgeWave’s (News - Alert) gigabit wireless technology due to its superior combination of performance and capacity, as well as its attractive feature set that makes it a perfect complement to our industry-leading microwave transport portfolio,” Dumont said.

 

The company is eyeing a technology on the rise by targeting LTE, a new wireless broadband solution that offers data speeds comparable to the fastest fixed broadband tools, and at reduced latency.

 

As TMCnet’s Patrick Barnard reported this week, new study from Juniper Research (News - Alert) predicts that the LTE mobile broadband market will generate more than $70 billion in revenues for mobile operators within the next five years.

 

According to Juniper’s LTE Mobile Broadband report, LTE will create a “new connected era for devices such as portable games consoles and digital cameras.” As such, it will “bridge the gap between the mobile and consumer electronics worlds.”

 

But there are many challenges ahead – not the least of which is how mobile operators will make profits from this new technology while at the same time keeping services reasonably priced.

 

According to the report, LTE’s main markets will be the developed nations of North America, Western Europe, the Far East and China, which together will account for 90 percent of the market by 2014.

 

The report also finds that LTE will drive further adoption of mobile commerce and payments. What’s more, it will contribute significantly to the growth of the “mobile web” and will also drive further acceptance of mobile e-commerce among consumers.

 

Officials at Alcatel-Lucent say they’ll integrate their multi-gigabit millimeter wave radios from BridgeWave, a gigabit wireless solutions provider.

 

That company’s president and chief executive officer, Amir Makleff, said he’s “proud” to collaborate with Alcatel-Lucnet, “a company with a clear strategic vision for an open LTE ecosystem.”

 

“Our expertise and leadership in the 80GHz spectrum combined with Alcatel-Lucent’s broad product offering and support organization provides customers with an attractive combination of technology and solutions,” he said.

 

Alacatel-Lucent made its formal announcement at a wireless trade show in Las Vegas – one of many major news items that the company made at the event. As TMCnet reported, the company’s new Web-based UC solution, the 5155 Rich Communications Manager may pose a potentially lethal danger to Google Voice, a new service that gives users one number for all their phones and then transcribes voice messages into text.

 

Telephony Online’s Ed Gubbins in a story here says that the offering “not only matches the converged communication features newly offered by the search giant but also allows telecom service providers to leverage their own unique advantages to one-up over-the-top providers.”

 

In advance of the product’s launch at CTIA Wireless 2009, TMCnet this week interviewed Ray Colbert, Alcatel-Lucent’s director of Rich Communication marketing strategy.

 

We learned during our interview that much of Alcatel-Lucent’s focus on developing the next-generation solution was Internet-based, and that the company paid attention to end users’ habits and the rising popularity of social networking tools such as Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter.

Specifically, Colbert told us, Alcatel-Lucent understands that the Web is where innovation is happening now. Grasping that, Alcatel-Lucent developed Rich Communication Manager and so-called “WebCom widgets.” The company envisions widgets and mash-ups for photos, songs and videos, that seamlessly integrate social networking sites, like Facebook and MySpace (News - Alert), with a service provider’s communication assets – a network address book, presence, location, voice mail, voice calling, SMS/MMS.

 

“By blending activities previously only available on mobile handsets with services on the Internet, exciting new personalized experiences for consumers and businesses are created,” Colbert told us. “This includes the convenience of unified messaging – being able to access, manage and share all of their fixed and mobile messages and converged content in one place – a Web portal on your laptop – whether at home, work or on the move. It is all about delivering superior value. Customers are looking for value.”