Technical, product leadership and the ability to test solutions prior to deployment: Why these attributes are key for LTE deployments

Next Generation Communications Blog

Technical, product leadership and the ability to test solutions prior to deployment: Why these attributes are key for LTE deployments

The growth of the global wireless broadband has created immense pressure in a highly competitive market to quickly introduce new, innovative services to attract and retain subscribers. We've seen the impact on the mobile device market already, and the explosion of mobile services and applications. But, this is merely the beginning. Most of these devices and applications are designed for 3G wireless networks - but network operators are well on their way to creating a 4G world, with the intent of effectively creating a wireless network infrastructure that mirrors today's wireline broadband capabilities.
 
Though the debate continues to rage between proponents of LTE and WiMAX technologies, and there likely is more than enough need for both, the true mobile network operators are leaning heavily towards LTE. Why? It's a natural migration from their existing 2G and 3G networks, rather than a completely new network buildout. In fact, nearly all GSM, W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA, and CDMA operators have embraced LTE as the model for their next phase of evolution.
 
Nevertheless, operators need a solid strategy for evolving to LTE, including not only service and subscriber migration, but well before that, testing of the new networks and services to ensure their reliability, stability, and or course, effectiveness, meets expectations. After all, nothing will cause subscriber churn faster than poor service. With the variety of providers available today, subscriber loyalty is very fragile, and network operators must take the steps to ensure, when they roll out their new LTE services, it will happen seamlessly.
 
Alcatel-Lucent is helping network operators migrate to LTE in a phased approach that meets their needs technologically, financially, and with subscriber management. For instance, Alcatel-Lucent understands that while a quick migration to LTE might be desirable, it is not the prudent strategy. For instance, supporting existing CDMA subscribers with a portion of their available spectrum, allowing them to remain competitive through the development and migration process. In fact, a recent Alcatel-Lucent white paper, CDMA and LTE: Making the Most of Wireless Broadband, describes several potential migration paths CDMA operators can employ as they move eventually to LTE-based networks.
 
By supporting any number of transition strategies and technologies - including leveraging 1x circuit voice, 1x enhanced voice, EV-DO VoIP, and IMS - Alcatel-Lucent helps its customers manage the risk inherent in moving to LTE. Alcatel-Lucent's broad range of wireless network technologies also allows them to manage the introduction of new technologies into the network as well as the migration of spectrum and subscribers, in a way that helps reduce risk and ensures a user satisfaction.
 
In addition to its own expertise, Alcatel-Lucent is a strong proponent of LTE ecosystems to help facilitate the growth and acceptance of LTE as the next wireless standard and drive the development of chipsets, devices, and infrastructure, as well as the applications and services that will follow.
 
By promoting collaboration within the LTE community through structured programs like the ng Connect program, Alcatel-Lucent believes it can drive open innovation, build new business models, and accelerate the development and adoption of LTE technologies and services globally. 
 
Combined with its technology, the shared experiences of the ng Connect community will help create a more effective migration path to LTE, not least because it will allow for easier, more cost effective, and more substantial testing of services and equipment prior to deployment.
 
Yes, it's still all about the applications and content, but in order to effectively introduce the next generation of bandwidth-intensive services, operators have to take the time and effort to ensure success. Alcatel-Lucent not only provides the technology expertise to support an intelligent migration strategy, but is providing a forum for ongoing collaboration that will benefit the entire community - from network operators to end users.
 
For more on Alcatel-Lucent's vision for the migration to LTE, read its white paper, CDMA and LTE: Making the Most of Wireless Broadband.


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