Europe will see 100mbps mobile phone networks rolled out from
early 2010 and commercial services before Christmas if regulators
make available the necessary radio frequencies.
This confident prediction came from Emin Gurdenli, CTO for
T-Mobile, the Deutsche Telekom mobile subsidiary.
In an exclusive interview, Gurdenli said mobile network
operators (MNOs) were preparing to install new networks based on
Long Term
Evolution (LTE) technology. LTE has the potential to slash
capital costs and running costs while providing transmission speeds
of 100mbps and more to mobile devices.
Gurdenli said there was "a business case" for MNOs to switch to
LTE because of the cost-saving, but they were hopeful that
regulators would grant them a trading environment that offered a
more secure return on investment.
Gurdenli said MNOs were pleased that there appeared to be a
commitment across Europe to reallocating spectrum in the 800Mhz,
900MHz and 2.6Ghz frequency bands. Auctions for these bands are
expected to start later this year and continue in Europe throughout
2010, he said.
The lower frequencies could provide rural areas with high-speed
broadband access at a fraction of the cost of wired networks, while
the high-frequency band could provide densely populated areas with
very high-speed connections.
Gurdenli said T-Mobile, one of the founding members of the
Next Generation Mobile
Network Alliance, is testing LTE components in Bonn in what he
said was the first live trial. T-Mobile achieved initial
transmission speeds of between 30mbps and 50mbps.
"By the time we are ready for commercial launch the speed will
be 100mbps," he said.