[opendtv] LTE trials mount in problematic sub-1GHz bands

From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 18:47:11 -0500

Truth has a way of coming out, sooner or later.

Bert

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http://www.rethink-wireless.com/2010/05/27/lte-trials-mount-problematic-sub-1ghz-bands.htm

LTE trials mount in problematic sub-1GHz bands
German and US carriers focus on low frequencies, but business case may be tough
By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 27 May, 2010

Deutsche Telekom plans to begin a user trial of LTE in its newly acquired
800MHz spectrum in Germany this year, hard on the heels of Telefonica O2 in the
UK and Germany. With Verizon Wireless deploying LTE initially in 700MHz, the
early focus is very much on low frequencies, even though many experts question
whether carriers really can get a decent return on their investment in these
bands.

A new study from network planning firm Aircom finds that US carriers could save
$1.2bn by relying on HSPA+ instead of building out LTE. And Tommy Ljunggren -
head of mobile networks at the only commercial LTE carrier, TeliaSonera - was
dismissive of Europe's 800MHz digital dividend band at the recent LTE World
Summit. This was echoed by supplier NEC, whose director of global LTE strategy,
Dr Sharam Niri, told MobileEurope: "Why would you do it? It's not a useful
solution in Europe - you don't see the benefits of LTE - you can't achieve much
more throughput than with good HSPA coverage. So what are you offering?"

The answer is that many carriers do not have optimal spectrum for LTE, and they
have different and sometimes conflicting objectives for building 4G. One is to
reduce the cost of delivery of heavy duty data services by investing in the
higher capacity and greater spectral efficiency of the new technologies. But
these profitable data services rely on intensive build-outs to cover areas of
high demand and population - which means the smaller cells and higher capacity
of frequencies above 2GHz.

However, in some cases carriers cannot get their hands on that optimal mobile
data spectrum, as in the US, where the 2.5GHz band is largely controlled by
Clearwire, and the new allocations for Verizon and AT&T are in 700MHz. For high
frequency capacity, they will have to refarm 3G bands or wait for new
allocations. Niri added in the interview that cellcos were coming round to the
idea that LTE "will not map onto the macro 3G network, and will require a
roll-out of far smaller cell sizes of between 100 and 200 meters".

The other reason for the focus on low bands is that many carriers have rural
coverage targets to meet, as in Germany. The large cells of 800MHz are ideal
for covering sparse populations, though arguable HSPA+ would be a more
efficient technology choice, as Aircom claims. These rural targets may be in
commercial conflict with the real profit potential for LTE, urban data.

However, Deutsche Telekom says it will start user trials in underserved areas
this year, an exercise already begun, even before the recent auctions, by
Vodafone Germany. And UK regulator Ofcom has granted O2 a trial license to
begin LTE testing in the 800MHz band, using equipment from Huawei. O2 is
already carrying out trials in 2.6GHz, and now wants to evaluate LTE in the
digital dividend spectrum. Licenses in both bands will be auctioned
simultaneously, probably near the end of this year. The 800MHz test will take
place in the northern English city of Carlisle during the third quarter, partly
to assess interference potential between between mobile LTE and existing
television broadcast services.

Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless plans to share spectrum and build-out with some
rural carriers to accelerate its own coverage of underserved areas. For first
stage users, it claims it will not go short of devices for its LTE network,
which goes live in Boston and Seattle later this year. Speaking at a Barclays
Capital conference, CEO Lowell McAdam said: "I think you will be surprised at
the number and variety of LTE devices that we bring to the table" at the
Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

McAdam said Verizon had progressed from field trials to the pre-commercial
phase of its deployment and will start adding 'friendly users' soon in its two
initial cities plus Erie, Pennsylvania, where rural models are being tested. He
also said pricing would change as users moved to connect five or six different
gadgets to an LTE connection. This would drive them to purchase megabytes of
data. "I think this concern over unlimited megabytes on a smartphone will go
away as we bring new devices and new applications onboard," he told the
conference. He was also dismissive of the controversy over how LTE will support
voice. "By 2012 the voice we sell on LTE will be VoIP," he commented.

Meanwhile, Aircom estimates that the cost of the US' GSM carriers, AT&T and
T-Mobile, migration to 21Mbps HSPA+ would cost $594m, while national LTE
networks would cost $1.78bn. AT&T is upgrading to HSPA+ but stopping at the
14Mbps variant while TMo will go for 21Mbps and do 4G at a future date, almost
certainly via a partnership. "By deploying 21Mbps HSPA+ they resolve most of
their capacity issues," Aircom told ConnectedPlanet. "Once you get to 1 Mbps
per second to the customer it doesn't really matter. There will be some subtle
differences between the HSPA+ and LTE services, but at the end of the day the
weakness in coverage in a new LTE network will outweigh in gains in
performance."

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[opendtv] LTE trials mount in problematic sub-1GHz bands

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