With the growing demand for bandwidth intensive data services and applications from existing wireless subscribers, along with an ever growing number of next generation devices generating an additional demand for network availability, wireless operators are faced with developing strategies for transitioning from their legacy CDMA networks to LTE technologies. In fact, any operator that intends on remaining competitive must develop strategies quickly for moving from 2G and 3G to 4G technologies in order to be able to continue to deliver services cost effectively.
Wireless operators have to carefully plan their strategies for network evolution, not only with an eye on costs and time, but perhaps even more importantly on how to effectively migrate subscribers from legacy to next generation networks. Having gone through the process of winning subscribers and their loyalty, this migration process is critical to protecting that investment in their customer bases.
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.
A key consideration of any strategy, according to Alcatel-Lucent, is to plan a phased migration, where for a period, 3G CDMA and LTE-based technologies are both in use, helping optimize performance during the migration period, and minimizing unforeseen network outages. To support such a phased migration path, Alcatel-Lucent has developed its converged RAN solution specifically to allow operators to manage a single network that leverages multiple technologies.
For instance, some operators might choose to continue to support 3G voice and leverage LTE networks for data only. Other CDMA operators could choose to upgrade EV-DO Rev A/B for VoIP and QoS before moving to LTE, knowing that EV-DO and LTE will be interoperable for the foreseeable future. With this approach, operators can leverage the increased throughput of EV-DO without having to bear the cost of a move to LTE technologies immediately. It also allows for a more gradual migration, allowing bandwidth to be increased and decreased more gradually to minimize risk.
Regardless of the specific migration path, Alcatel-Lucent has developed its LTE strategy and solutions to accommodate any alternative to allow operators to limit their risk and introduce one technology at a time (e.g., first VoIP, then LTE). This also allows operators to wait for LTE technology to mature and to develop ecosystems that are critical for the effective development of devices, additional infrastructure, and services and applications.
Of course, as with any phased migration, seamless mobility and interoperability between technologies will be critical, as LTE coverage will not immediately be ubiquitous, and subscribers will need to fall back on earlier technologies in many areas. Again, this is where solutions like Alcatel-Lucent's converged RAN play a significant role, allowing multiple network technologies to operate on a single infrastructure.
Of course, the other key factor, as always, is investment protection. By enabling the use of multiple technologies, Alcatel-Lucent increases the ROI on existing technologies, while allowing for flexibility in moving to an end-to-end LTE network.
To find out more about how operators can effectively migrate from traditional CDMA networks to LTE technologies, read Alcatel-Lucent's white paper, CDMA and LTE: Making the Most of Wireless Broadband.
