The quest that began with a need for faster data services on the move has ramped up its pace today with the advent of long term evolution (LTE) or 4G. With over 250 commercial network launches and over a thousand LTE-enabled devices available worldwide, as of December 2013, LTE adoption has considerably gained momentum throughout the globe. Faster uplink and downlink speeds, lower latency, the ability to scale effectively to enable operators in supporting ever-growing data right through, and a more satisfactory user experience are some propositions that have driven several early LTE launches. Nearly all operators utilizing 3GPP (Global System for Mobile Communications [GSM]/UMTS) or 3GPP2 (CDMA) and WiMAX technologies are poised to migrate to LTE at some point in the next 10 years. This means a more advanced end-to-end evolution of the LTE services ecosystem.
LTE subscriptions around the world reached nearly 130 Million in the last quarter of 2013. The U.S emerged as a dominant player, solely accounts for a global market share of 37 percent, given the remarkable coverage footprint of tier-1 operators like Verizon Wireless & AT&T. According to market studies,the LTE market, with this migration of networks, is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 56 per cent over the next 7 years, and will eventually represent more than 20 percent of all mobile connections by 2020.
From an infrastructure manufacturer?s perspective, LTE is the next mobile broadband technologies that we have put in significant focus in our research and development efforts. NSN is now leading the commercial LTE engagements globally and showcasing strong technical performance of its LTE products, and gathering a strong vision for the future portfolio of its LTE products, including supplementary technologies like small cells. At present, NSN has 119 commercial references across the world on LTE. From a product perspective, NSN’s flagship offerings include Flexi Multiradio and Flexi Multiradio 10 basestations, which combine 2G GSM/EDGE, 3G WCDMA/HSPA, and LTE in a single solution. The two products, particularly the Flexi Multiradio10, feature a high capacity of up to 10Gbps, combined with a compact design and low energy consumption. NSN is investing significantly in self-organizing networks (SON) software, which will be a crucial element in managing interference, optimising neighbor relations in a small cell environment, and circumventing other related challenges.
Challenges in the uptake of LTE:
Operators are all set to ride the wave of the 4G revolution, in spite of high upfront costs involved in deploying the next generation wireless broadband tech, and a lack of affordable LTE-enabled mobile devices. Transformation to LTE requires new radio access technology and core network expansion. Since existing 2G and 3G networks won?t be phased out anytime soon, this comes as an added burden to operators who are encumbered with the task of maintaining two networks, supporting interoperability, and providing seamless roaming, and handovers across multiple Communication Service Providers.
Operators need to upgrade their existing backhaul capacity as a failure to do so could negatively impact quality of service and end-user experience. For instance, most operators in India, including Airtel, are rolling out their data-only LTE networks on limited devices such as USB modems, due to the non-availability of a mature device ecosystem. Similarly, the prices of LTE-enabled devices range between Rs 25,000 and Rs 40,000. Furthermore, a minimal proportion of devices available in the market support LTE. On the other hand, users who can afford these devices are low in numbers.
This scenario is exacerbated by the limited coverage of high speed networks in non-metro areas, and unfavorable spectrum allocation, which hinders efforts aimed at stepping up the roll out of 4G/LTE services.
In India post the recent spectrum auction LTE on 1800 MHz, also referred as the ?Narrowband LTE? is likely to see acceleration.
Given the global backdrop of initial teething issues in connection with the adoption of LTE and VoLTe, the future looks bright. Recent concepts like Internet-for-everyone and Internet-of-things are rather futuristic and add impetus to the next stride of technology revolution that the world is set to witness. Broadband is everywhere and the Internet will continue to play a pivotal role in our daily lives. With an evolving ecosystem and ever-escalating demands, technology is sure to find its way into the heart of the world around us, in a more compact and affordable form that will bring us closer to reality.
