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AT&T, Verizon push LTE plans, advantages
AT&T Mobility and Verizon Wireless don't agree on many things in the wireless market, but executives from both carriers were able to concur on one thing at least: LTE is superior to mobile WiMAX.
Kris Rinne, AT&T's senior vice president of architecture and planning, and Tom Sawanobori, Verizon's vice president for network strategy, each touted their companies' respective LTE plans and commitments during a webcast Thursday sponsored by the GSMA trade group. The two execs also lauded their LTE advantages over Clearwire's mobile WiMAX network.
Clearwire contends its spectrum position--which stretches to 150 MHz in some markets--gives it the leadership position in wireless, but AT&T's Rinne says that AT&T can expand its LTE offering into more spectrum bands. Both Verizon and AT&T are deploying LTE in the 700 MHz band, but Rinne said AT&T could eventually push LTE into its exisiting 850 MHz and 1900 MHZ spectrum. "We will have the opportunity [to grow spectrum for] LTE in future years, both the quality and range of it," she said. "You need to make sure you count all of our spectrum when you make these comparisons."
Sawanobori said Verizon's 700 MHz spectrum has better propagation characteristics and requires fewer cell towers than Clearwire's airwaves, which primarily sit in the 2.5 GHz range.
Verizon plans to deploy LTE in 25-30 commercial markets this year, covering 100 million POPs. AT&T will begin LTE trials this year, with wider deployments scheduled for 2011. Clearwire has said it aims to launch 80 commercial mobile WIMAX markets by year-end, covering 120 million POPs.
The Verizon and AT&T executives also touched on two hot LTE topics: how to provide voice over the IP service, and whether LTE will spark a move to usage-based pricing. Sawanobori said Verizon hopes to have voice over LTE running in either 2011 or 2012, and AT&T said it will do so in 2012. Neither Verizon or AT&T openly committed to employing usage-based pricing for LTE--thereby reversing their current flat-rate data pricing--though Sawanobori said Verizon's effort will "probably be usage based."
Metered, tiered pricing for LTE appears to be a major discussion topic inside Verizon and AT&T. Executives from both carriers have in the past discussed the possibility of moving to the pricing scenario--possibly as a way to ease data traffic congestion while boosting data revenues--though neither has made a firm commitment on the topic.
For more:
- see this Computerworld article
- see this Connected Planet article
- see this Network World article
Related Articles:
AT&T CEO unsure if LTE will trigger pricing changes
Verizon: Look for LTE handset in mid-2011
AT&T chief: Industry moving toward usage-based pricing
Is usage-based pricing inevitable?
Comments
Posted by mk | March 19, 2010 - 11:34am
because the propagation characteristics of 700MHz is better than 2.5GHz and this makes LTE better than WiMAX? Hmmm. so what happens when WiMAX also deploys 700MHz? can't believe people with this level of knowledge are sitting at the top positions of the companies and making big decisions. As if stupidity and the big decision are going in parallel?
Posted by Anonymous | March 19, 2010 - 1:57pm
http://wimaxcommunity.ning.com/profiles/blogs/overcoming-indoor-coverage
Wireless community has stated numerous times about the importance of 700 MHz band which is considered "beachfront property", implying that this band is very valuable.
But why is it valuable? The simple rationale most often cited is that the 700 MHz band has better propagation characteristics. Smaller cells at 2.6GHz so best suited for hot spots and 700MHz has a better indoor coverage, but more prune to interferences in urban environment.
Posted by the evil spawn of some baby bells | March 19, 2010 - 2:40pm
I think you need to stop thinking of single frequency applications.
Let's say Verizon deploys LTE at 700MHz, 800MHz, and at 1900 with 10MHz of RF Bandwidth on each. They have both Suburban coverage and urban penetration with 700Mhz/800MHz, and they still have 1900MHz available for density areas and overlay.
The difference between Clear (aka Sprint) spectrum is that most all of their spectrum IS in the LMDS and MMDS spectrum. This means that as WiMax is deployed by Clear, it will have spectral limitations for coverage (not capacity) compared to LTE operators at lower spectrum. So in essence to get the same bit per square mile coverage, will cost them significantly more.
Posted by Anonymous | March 21, 2010 - 11:37am
The main issue for WIMAX is sustainability and global acceptance as the leading mobile broadband technology. Based on the current market trend and global technology decision taking by carriers, this seems not likely to happen.
So, its quite clear that LTE will get the global support and scale from both carrier and manufacturers point of view, which ultimately demise or narrowdown the global footprint of the Wimax.
Its not that WIMAX is good or bad compared to others, its how the scale and support ultimately it gets from the ecosystem /community to make it success.
I think , in this aspect Wimax is really in backfoot compared to HSPA+/LTE going forward as defacto standard. In USA, this is clearly visible by looking at the clearwire as lone horse riding on WIMAX and looking at other carriers decision related to future mobile broadband technology selection.
Posted by Anonymous | April 4, 2010 - 4:55am
That may be but I will tell you one thing, wimax 4g is ulimited data, at&t & the other is already hinting at usage rates, I will stay with 4g forever stictly because of this, go ahead and be the sheep to at&t and verizon and support their ceo millions.
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