Looking into the Crystal Ball at 4G Technology—Part Two: LTE

As the popularity of mobile broadband has increased, so has the need for faster connectivity. Business users and consumers alike are making use of fast, affordable links to transmit data, voice and pictures. The only problem is—as with most things in life—everyone wants to go faster and further. People want to download enormous files, stream video and enjoy an overall richer Internet experience—from wherever they are.

Enter the fourth generation (4G) of mobile broadband.

As we discussed in the first article of this two-part Perspective series on 4G technologies, the future of 4G mobile broadband is still emerging. What is clear, however, is that two technologies are leading the 4G charge—WiMAX and LTE. This second installment will explore LTE, its features, benefits, how it fares against competing technologies and iPass' plan to support it.

What Is LTE?
While you've likely heard a lot about WiMAX in recent years, especially if you're in the U.S., LTE may still remain somewhat a mystery. Hopefully, this article can shed a bit of light on the subject for you.

LTE, or Long Term Evolution, is the next step in the evolution of the well-known GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications Systems) technologies. LTE provides a relatively easy upgrade path from these 2.5G and 3G wireless networks.

It also operates in a number of frequency ranges including the 700 MHZ range, which was recently auctioned to carriers in the U.S. In addition, this emerging technology specifies up to 326 Mbps download and 84 Mbps upload speeds.

Being developed under the purview of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)—a standards organization formed to ensure the interoperability of LTE services and products—the LTE effort is being led by top-tier telecommunications companies, including AT&T and Verizon Wireless, among others.

At the same time, GSM operators across Europe, Asia and North America are actively pursuing LTE solutions. However, as LTE specifies a new OFDMA-based air interface, operators will have to deploy new base stations, and users will have to buy new devices.

Consequently, operators are likely to maintain their 2G and 3G networks for quite some time—to provide broad solution coverage, ensure backwards compatibility and maximize their return on investment on these very expensive legacy networks.

LTE vs. Incumbent Broadband Technologies
So how does LTE fare against today's existing broadband offerings?

• Wi-Fi. LTE is like Wi-Fi in that it will be a global standard and offer true broadband speeds. However, LTE promises coverage that's measured in miles versus meters.
• 3G mobile broadband. LTE will mark a major improvement over today's 3G in terms of speed and responsiveness—anywhere from four to 20 times faster than today's fastest 3G implementations. And LTE is likely to become a global standard. No longer will users be confined to only the geographic locations they subscribe to.

How Does LTE Fare Against WiMAX?
LTE is about two to three years behind WiMAX in terms of timing. Part of the reason for this lag is because the 3GPP standards body has yet to approve a specification for LTE whereas the current WiMAX standard came out in 2005.

Still, some vendors have already begun testing LTE. Nokia in Europe and NTT in Japan are two pioneers who have tested LTE prototype systems, achieving throughputs well over 100 Mbps.

LTE also enjoys the backing of AT&T and Verizon Wireless—two of the largest telecommunications carriers in the U.S.—which up to this point have relied on different technologies. These two carriers each picked up bandwidth in the 700 MHz spectrum during a recent FCC auction, which they will use for their next-generation LTE networks, predicted for the 2011-2012 timeframe.

Other carriers around the world are also supporting LTE: China Mobile, T-Mobile and Vodafone—just to name a few. The competitive advantages of LTE compared to WiMAX include:

• A relatively easy upgrade path as well as backwards-compatibility to existing 3G networks. Conversely, WiMAX networks must be built from the ground up.
• High data rates of over 300 Mbps download and 84 Mbps upload are specified in the draft specification, which are higher than those offered by WiMAX (70 Mbps each way). Although, LTE may be competing with the much-faster WiMAX II by the time it is broadly deployed.
• Lower 700 MHz frequency in the US means signals travel farther before weakening. Thus, fewer base stations can be deployed to cover a wider service area, at first—though, this advantage diminishes as usage becomes heavier. The lower frequency also leads to better penetration of homes and offices.

iPass and LTE
So what is iPass' take on LTE?

Well, it's no different than our position on WiMAX. iPass has and will remain technology-agnostic. We offer the world's largest multi-technology network for remote and mobile workers in order to power mobile productivity and business agility. Our service platform is ready to take on these new methods, and we intend to integrate both WiMAX and LTE as they become enterprise-ready.

iPass will continue to ensure interoperability of its services with upcoming networks and devices. And as new networks emerge, we will offer access through them and explore opportunities for adding value by making them safer, easier to access and easier to manage.

As always, iPass can help sort through the clutter and provide a clearer vision of what you need, when you need it. Stay tuned for insightful mobile technology discussions to come.

To learn more about LTE, read iPass' 4G Ahead white paper or visit www.3GPP.org.