When it comes to mobile broadband, there’s only one thing on operators’ minds: how.
Ask any operator in any market and they’ll tell you basically the same thing: the future for mobile broadband looks bright indeed.
From Asia, to Africa, Europe to the Americas, operators are not-so-secretly preparing for this massive opportunity - and challenge to their networks.
Unprecedented growth
According to GSMA figures published in April, worldwide mobile broadband connections jumped from three million in March 2007 to thirty-two million in March 2008, and by all accounts this is just the beginning.
What divides opinion is the protocol that people think will come to dominate as mobile broadband reaches maturity: should operators put their money on WiMAX or Long Term Evolution (LTE)?
According to a recent article published by Network World, "There are likely years of LTE-vs.-WiMAX technology arguments ahead [...] In the meantime, there are legitimate reasons to be interested in the progress of both."
Indeed, both protocols hold huge promise for operators, who will need to judge which protocol can be most effective given their particular business ecosystem, customer base, and legacy equipment they already have in operation and want to build from.
Can WiMAX and LTE just get along?
Nokia Siemens Networks has been at the forefront of both WiMAX and LTE, and was the first supplier in the world to demonstrate LTE with data speeds up to 160 Mb/s all the way back in 2006.
LTE offers an open and global specification for next generation networks that will bring scale and efficiencies for vendors, choice in network equipment and devices for operators, and ultimately lower costs and more benefits to consumers.
But WiMAX will continue to dominate, for the time being at least. Says Network World: "Globally, there are 305 service providers deploying WiMAX services in 118 countries," citing the WiMAX Forum, which last week certified 10 initial mobile WiMAX products in the 2.5GHz worldwide spectrum for interoperability.
"The forum expects to certify 100 mobile WiMAX products by year-end," according to Network World.
A short-term, long-term approach
To be sure, WiMAX has plenty to offer in terms of efficiency and practicality. But wise operators will keep their options open, taking advantage of WiMAX in the short term but keeping an eye on LTE as it comes into its own over the next few years.
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