LTE: mobile technology for the next generation

Rudolph Muller

Rudolph Muller is the editor at MyBroadband and covers telecoms and broadband news. Rudolph comes from an academic background, but left the University of...

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THERE is a lot of talk about LTE, the next generation mobile technology that will eventually provide users with peak speeds of 150 megabits per second (mbps) and an expected average download speeds of 70mbps.

LTE will complement rather than replace the operators’ existing 3G/HSDPA services, with which Ericsson recently achieved download speeds of 21mbps in Australia, says Kutty Kanagaratnam, their director for radio access.

He says HSDPA will become as readily available as mobile voice and GPRS coverage is today.

“Customers will be able to mix and match different types of mobile services for different applications.”

He says that Ericsson has signed up with Telia Sonera in Sweden to implement its first commercial LTE network, expected to be in operation some time next year and offer network speeds up to 150mbps, with the potential to push this up to 300mbps.

Most of the large mobile operators are committed to rolling out LTE networks and have set up the Next Generation Mobile Network Alliance to drive the technology forward.

“It is made up of operators and suppliers that represent 90% of the existing mobile network infrastructure globally and service more than 50% of mobile subscribers worldwide.”

He says more than five major global operators plan to set up LTE trials. LTE will provide an efficient delivery platform for existing bandwidth-hungry mobile data applications, including mobile TV, and will make way for new ones. Operators will be able to connect business customers to their networks to deliver converged voice and data services and support application hosting and PBX hosting.

It will open opportunities for operators to support mainstream applications in the corporate market on their mobile networks, and smaller businesses will be able to use it to run their entire business, he says.

“LTE will change the mobile operators’ business models.”

In the local market, Ericsson recently won a tender for a city wide, high-speed broadband network for Johannesburg. The three-year project will begin in April and is expected to involve fibre and wireless elements supported by power-line communications and container kiosks. Its aim is to improve the delivery of metropolitan services to citizens and stimulate socio economic development.

LTE discussion