To show off the potential of LTE technology in the most demanding of circumstances, Alcatel-Lucent and the Texas Energy Network (TEN) recently announced that they will hold a live demonstration in New Mexico later this month.
Whether AT&T's strategy will allow it to catch up to Verizon, which will leverage its LTE network primarily for wirelessbroadband access at the outset, or not, remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Alcatel-Lucent has cemented itself in the global market as a dominant LTE supplier.
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.
What it means is there is an ongoing opportunity for network operators, whose services are viewed as a much more fundamental part of everyday life than other leisure activities. Indeed, broadband service can be considered recession-proof.
In fact, although CDMA and EV-DO technologies offer a smooth migration path to LTE technologies, each mobile operator has to consider its own needs with regards to time to market, choice of migration path, ecosystem development, interoperability, spectrum efficiency, and CAPEX.
It's a model that works well for both sides. The network owners are able to increase the return on their network investments thanks to increased "rental" traffic, and the "renters" gain access to subscribers in areas in which they don't own network assets without having to invest time and capital in building out their infrastructures.
The possibilities are nearly limitless, when providers leverage all the data that is available to them. The key is they have to do so in order to create the services that drive loyalty among user groups.
In order to facilitate that network migration, NTT Docomo has selected Alcatel-Lucent to build its backhaul network for its LTE-based services using the French-American firm's Ethernet transmission solution.
That's where Alcatel-Lucent's expertise shines. Its LTE model is one that not only delivers on the promise of next generation communications, but its Ultimate WirelessBroadband End-to-End LTE solution is one that offers a migration path from any 2G or 3G infrastructure, in addition to a broad range of ecosystem partners with device, application, and content expertise.
After all, building out their networks is not an inexpensive venture, nor an easy one. So, for many new and growing operators, making the move to LTE networks makes sense now.
Alcatel-Lucent has a long history as an end-to-end infrastructure vendor, and is driving the move to all-IP networks with its broad set of solutions, which includes its Mobile Evolution Transport Architecture (META), which integrates multiple transport technologies into a single end-to-end network architecture to accommodate the growth in network traffic for its customers.
So, while it's clear that various industry pundits and participants are staunchly in one corner or the other, network operators faced with the decision as to which 4G technology to choose can at least sleep peacefully, knowing that, in Alcatel-Lucent, they have a willing -- and more than capable -- partner whichever path they choose.
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Alcatel-Lucent understands that LTE is the future of mobile communications, and has designed a solution to guide mobile operators through the transformation to that all-IP network. To find out how you can leverage Alcatel-Lucent's expertise to beat the competition to the next era of wireless communications, join them at the Mobile 2012 Virtual Tradeshow.