The battle betweenLTE and Wimaxfor supremacy
in4G mobile technologymay be over
before it has begun.
US-based
Verizon
said today it would build its new superfast mobile broadband
network on
LTE
(long-term evolution) using technologies from Ericsson and
Alcatel-Lucent.
Announcing the decision during his keynote speech to the GSMA
Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, executive vice-president and
chief technology officer Dick Lynch said Verizon Wireless, a joint
venture between Verizon and Vodafone, would switch on America's
first next-generation network in 2010.
Verizon's announcement came on the heels of joint
Verizon-Vodafone field trials of LTE technologies using existing
spectrum licences in the US and Europe. The tests showed peak
download rates of 50-60Mbps, but Lynch did not commit to these for
the commercial launch.
The decision is expected to jump-start deployment of LTE
networks globally. Verizon has 80 million customers and pan-US
coverage, while Vodafone has 289 million customers and a global
footprint.
Vodafone's global chief technology officer, Steve Pusey,
endorsed the decision. "As well as supporting these plans for the
US market, Vodafone continues to work in close cooperation with
Verizon Wireless on a range of initiatives designed to drive the
commercial development of LTE, including an extensive programme of
trials," he said.
Lynch said Verizon Wireless' LTE network deployment would
provide ubiquitous global wireless broadband connectivity and
mobility to meet business customer demands. These included higher
bandwidth, low-latency services that work in the US and globally,
and which "mobilise" many of the applications customers use when
"tethered" to high-bandwidth wired networks.
Alcatel-Lucent CEO and former BT boss Ben Verwaayen said LTE's
bandwidth and its ability to co-exist with the current
3G platform made it possible to lay the next-generation
technology foundation.
This would make viable new forms of communications using both
fixed and wireless, as well as mobile broadband, he said.
Verizon Wireless said it had chosen Nokia Siemens Networks and
Alcatel-Lucent as key suppliers for the
IP
multimedia subsystem (IMS) network. This would enable rich
multimedia applications, regardless of access technology. IMS will
be a cornerstone technology in the evolution of Verizon's services
infrastructure, Lynch said.
Verizon plans to offer IMS-based IP converged applications and
services on its wireless and landline broadband networks. LTE will
be one of the key wireless access networks linked to the IMS
technology.
Lynch said building and offering commercial services over LTE
while expanding its FiOS fibre network was a consistent and
complementary broadband strategy.
Verizon's capital spending was almost $17bn in 2008. Lynch said
LTE network costs would be within the company's overall programme
as spending shifts from older technologies to new ones such as
LTE.
The company expected to maintain commercial service on its 3G
service well into the next decade, he said.
Lynch also announced the creation of the Verizon LTE Innovation
Center to applications development for LTE networks. Based in
Waltham, Massachusetts, it will have start-up funding from Nerizon,
Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent.
Lynch said several companies had already expressed interest in
the centre. Their interests were in LTE-based solutions for
consumer electronics, machine-to-machine, and business products
segments.
Using the
700MHz spectrum it acquired recently, Verizon Wireless will
expand trials this summer with a commercial launch in 2010, Lynch
said. He planned an "aggressive deployment" throughout Verizon
Wireless' network, as well as new areas.
He said the 700MHz spectrum for LTE deployment permitted quick
deployment of a high-quality wireless broadband network that gave
excellent coverage and in-building penetration at a cost
"significantly below" current levels.
"The appetite for new and innovative broadband services is
insatiable: People want new and customised content, relevant
information and services, and increased opportunities to
communicate with each other and the world around them," Lynch
said.
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