LTE: a capex step too far?
An invitation to WiMax? If that's really the case then should 3G operators be considering WiMax instead of LTE?
By Iain Morris | Feb 28 2007 | Telecommunications Magazine
[LTE: Long Term Evolution of the 3GPP radio technology]
telecommagazine.com
Mobile operators are more cautious these days. If they learnt one thing from the sector crash a few years ago, it’s that over-touting a technology before its launch can backfire with disastrous consequences.
["LTE is not a CDMA-based technology, so all of that underpinning investment is going to have to be made."
-Richard Lowe, President, Mobility and Converged Core Networks for Nortel.]
Many governments bought into the hype surrounding 3G and attached astronomical fees to the spectrum licences. When a tsunami of demand failed to materialise, the operators that had paid those fees were left with a dearth of business for some costly networks.
Talk of 4G, then, is understandably muted, but operators are quietly evolving their 3G networks in that direction. Although relatively unknown acronyms outside the industry, HSDPA and HSUPA (collectively termed HSPA) are the next steps on that path, and they promise vast improvements over basic 3G for a fraction of the cost. Because upgrading from 3G to HSDPA involves the replacement of channel cards and a software modification — and not the radical overhaul of infrastructure that was required by the transition from 2G to 3G — it can be done for a comparatively modest US$10,000 per base station, according to analysts at the Yankee Group. And while 3G laboured to offer bandwidth of more than 384Kbps, HSDPA is already delivering around 3.6Mbps in commercial settings, say operators that have deployed the technology.
Indeed, most 3G operators have already taken the HSDPA step. According to the GSM Association — a lobby group for the GSM industry — the number of worldwide deployments stood at 97 in early 2007 (in late 2006 it put the overall number of 3G networks at 134), while another 43 rollouts are planned (indicating that some greenfield operators are launching HSDPA from scratch).
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