Vzw & 4g/lte

[verizonguy]

Verizon Wireless Taking New Path
By Roger Cheng and Jeffry Bartash
623 words
2007-11-30T00:00:00.0000000-05:00
The Wall Street Journal
(Copyright (c) 2007, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.) Verizon Wireless said it is testing a fourth-generation mobile technology as an upgrade path that would help it move closer to technology standards favored by many other cellular carriers around the world.
Many carriers likely will embrace LTE, or long-term evolution, as it is developed. Verizon's move also means U.S. consumers are a step closer to using any phone on any network.
The wireless carrier, a venture of New York telecommunications company Verizon Communications Inc. and U.K. wireless carrier Vodafone Group PLC, said it has opted to go with LTE, a technology that might eventually let wireless carriers offer Internet connections at speeds equal to or faster than existing wireline DSL or cable services. As phone companies find fewer customers to sign up, they see lucrative growth prospects in speedier Internet access and related services.
Verizon Wireless's decision to use LTE is important because it signals the company's willingness to operate a more commonly used network. Its current standard, called CDMA, isn't compatible with much of the world's carriers, which base their networks on a standard called GSM. CDMA, pioneered by Qualcomm Inc., is popular in South Korea and the U.S.
Qualcomm, based in San Diego, said it isn't disappointed with Verizon Wireless's announcement. "Whatever operators want to do with wireless broadband, we stand to benefit," said Bill Davidson, a spokesman for the company. He said that regardless of the technology, Qualcomm will be able to manufacture semiconductors and license out technology. "The industry wants to pick a winner and loser," he said. "We're supportive of both."
LTE is an upgrade over a technology that most carriers, particularly in Europe, employ as a third-generation technology. Verizon Wireless, in effect, is hopping from its own upgrade path to one likely shared by others.
The announcement, along with the wireless carrier's move to eventually open its network to any device or program, marks a reversal of its previous preference for a closed network.
Verizon Communications Chief Technology Officer Richard Lynch said LTE products could come as soon as 2010.
"Suddenly, in a couple of years, we have a unified technology platform in this country again," said Roger Entner, who heads IAG Research's communications practice. "That makes that open-platform announcement even more interesting."
AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile USA, which are both still working on third-generation networks, will probably use LTE down the line. That leaves Sprint Nextel Corp. on its own.
Sprint spokesman John Polivka said the company is committed to WiMax as its fourth-generation technology, which will be widely rolled out next year. He declined to comment on the prospect of looking at LTE, which isn't compatible with WiMax.
A common network goes a long way toward an open environment like Europe's, where cellphones seamlessly roam among different carrier networks. It also means Verizon Wireless and Vodafone could shave costs and enable customers to use their handsets on each other's networks in the U.S. and Europe.
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LTE's Promise
Speed: LTE is expected to boast speeds of tens of megabits per second. Verizon's current network provides average download speeds of 600 kilobits a second to 1.4 megabits per second.
Media: A higher quality of video, music, and mobile games can be streamed faster on your cellphone. Use: The network is intended to connect more than cellphones, including digital cameras and gaming devices. Impact: A commitment means more business for the equipment vendors, which are seeing a slowdown in wireless infrastructure spending.