http://news.investors.com/102615-777132-apple-verizon-cable-companies-wifi-unlicensed-lte-dispute.htm
Can Apple, Verizon, Wi-Fi Group Fix LTE-U Dispute?
It took Apple years to warm up to Wi-Fi calling, finally enabling the feature
with the iPhone 6 last year and enriching it with an iOS 9 update in September.
How long it'll take Apple to warm up to LTE technologies that, like Wi-Fi, work
in unlicensed spectrum is anybody's guess — especially amid a festering dispute.
Verizon Communications, AT&T and T-Mobile US plan to use unlicensed spectrum
for voice and data services. The phone companies say that new 4G LTE
technologies designed to work in unlicensed airwaves can co-exist with Wi-Fi
services without causing interference or gobbling up airwaves.
Even so, those plans have alarmed some Wi-Fi users and aroused opposition from
cable TV companies and Alphabet's Google, both of which use Wi-Fi airwaves for
their own purposes.
Apple — along with Microsoft, Google and a few others — sponsors the Wi-Fi
Alliance, which has 600 member companies. The Wi-Fi Alliance aims to oversee a
certification system for mobile phones and network gear that use LTE-U (LTE in
unlicensed spectrum) and is developing "co-existence" guidelines with Wi-Fi
services.
Problem is, Verizon and AT&T claim that no special certification is needed as
long as LTE-U devices meet certain basic rules that the Federal Communications
Commission has set up for unlicensed spectrum.
The Wi-Fi Alliance counters that the proposed LTE-U standard has too much
leeway.
"The LTE-U specification still has a lot ambiguity in it," said Kevin Robinson,
VP of marketing at the Wi-Fi Alliance. "There's disagreement over how devices
will actually behave in the real world."
Some cellphone equipment makers do not want the Wi-Fi Alliance, which already
certifies Wi-Fi gear, to act as a "gatekeeper" for LTE-U devices as well.
The Wi-Fi Alliance's members include cable TV firm Comcast, networking company
Cisco Systems and chip and gear makers on both sides of the LTE-U debate,
including Ruckus Wireless, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU) and Broadcom.
The FCC has asked industry groups and companies to resolve disagreements over
whether LTE-U can co-exist with Wi-Fi services. The FCC in August hinted in a
letter to Qualcomm, a LTE-U backer, that it could withhold certification for
LTE-U devices.
A Republican FCC member, Michael O'Rielly, has warned that the dispute could
result in much more regulation of unlicensed airwaves. The Wi-Fi Alliance says
that it doesn't want that to happen.
Most likely, says Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant, "the FCC will
simply continue to send signals that it wants standards groups not to favor
wireless carriers over other users of unlicensed spectrum." Gallant says that
the FCC is steering industry groups toward an "equal access" standard for
unlicensed spectrum.
"But if the FCC views upcoming standards as creating unacceptable risk to Wi-Fi
offered by Google, cable and others, there is sentiment within the agency for
more formal action that could complicate carrier deployment of LTE-U," Gallant
added.
Robinson expects the FCC to stay tuned.
"Ultimately the FCC will decide which devices can operate in unlicensed
spectrum," he said. "But, we're focused on having a real dialogue about how we
move forward and how we can resolve concerns within the industry without having
to rely on regulators to step in."
The commercial market could also play a role and Apple's U.S. smartphone market
share would come into play.
"Ultimately whether a device incorporates Wi-Fi or LTE-U is going to come down
to the individual device manufacturers," said Robinson. "The market is going to
decide which technologies are adopted and where they fit."
Apple did not respond to IBD email queries over the LTE-U dispute.
Wireless phone companies across the globe have built out networks using 4G
"LTE" technology, boosting data speeds and network capacity.
An international standards group, 3GPP, is developing an LTE variant called
"LAA" (license assisted access) for unlicensed airwaves. While 3GPP aims to
publish a standard in March 2016, it could be delayed.
U.S. wireless firms aim to move faster with LTE-U, which Qualcomm and others
developed. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association aims to slow
them down.
"LTE-U does not meet even minimal co-existence standards being advanced for
LAA," the industry lobbying group said in an FCC filing.
The global LAA standard would require that devices use software to check for
Wi-Fi or other users before accessing unlicensed airwaves, a process called
"listen before talking."
Comcast and Charter Communications, which is seeking approval to buy Time
Warner Cable, are among cable TV firms that plan to expand Wi-Fi networks.
Google launched a hybrid cell-Wi-Fi service in early 2015.
The controversy over LTE-U comes as the FCC plans to open up much more
unlicensed spectrum in 3.5 gigahertz and 5 GHz frequency bands. Wi-Fi services
currently work in the 2.4 GHz band.
LTE-U backers say that it has the potential to improve upon Wi-Fi services,
offering higher speeds at longer distances.
