Verizon Wireless and Vodafone today announced that the first steps towards a global 4G LTE network will begin next year.
Verizon today announced plans to develop and deploy its fourth generation mobile broadband network using LTE (Long Term Evolution), the technology developed within the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization. By selecting LTE, Verizon and Vodafone aim to create a common access platform on a global scale that is also compatible with the existing technologies of both companies.
Verizon and Vodafone have a coordinated trial plan for LTE that begins in 2008. Trial suppliers include Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia-Siemens and Nortel. Discussions with device suppliers have expanded beyond traditional suppliers such as LG, Samsung, Motorola, Nokia and Sony Ericsson, as consumer electronics companies anticipate embedded wireless functionality in their future products. The most notable example of such products is wireless HDTV streaming to a set-top-box.
Although still a few years away, the first products to appear with LTE support will most likely be handsets with EV-DO/LTE support in the U.S. and HSDPA/LTE support in Europe. Despite today's LTE announcement, Verizon Wireless will continue the expansion and operation of existing CDMA2000 1x and EV-DO networks for many years to come.
By moving towards a 4G platform now, Verizon and Vodafone aim to become the first carriers to roll out a fully operational 4G network that will provide pervasive wireless Internet connectivity and mobility. The network is expected to achieve full reach in the U.S. and Europe by 2015.
According to Verizon, customers' evolving appetite for more information, entertainment and functionality, combined with an increasing customer expectation for easy access, high speed, easy handling and seamless mobility, were important factors when making the decision to trial LTE next year. However, there's no doubt that increasing competition in the wireless market has contributed to an acceleration of Verizon Wireless' 4G plans this year.
Now that Verizon Wireless has officially chosen LTE, it'll also be interesting to see what will happen to Qualcomm's competing Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) technology. Since the industry is currently working to merge the 3GPP (LTE camp) and 3GPP2 (UMB camp) standards, there's a possibility of seeing Qualcomm bringing its UMB technology over to LTE. Both technologies are based on the same standards, OFDM and MIMO, and currently UMB offers lower latency (16.8 ms) and faster theoretical data speeds (275 Mbit/s).
Optimally, we'll soon see an open Verizon Wireless LTE network with UMB performance, combined with handsets based on Google's Android OS. Then, add EV-DO/LTE and HSDPA/LTE iPhones to the picture, and we'll stop complaining, for a while.
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