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Motorola Expands 4G Broadband During 2009 as It Builds Momentum for WiMAX and LTE in 2010
December 10, 2009 – The Home & Networks Mobility business of Motorola, Inc (NYSE: MOT) today reiterated its commitment to both WiMAX and Long Term Evolution (LTE) as the leading technologies that enable the media experiences that people want, while delivering the lowest cost per bit for operators. Motorola believes there are distinct markets for WiMAX and LTE, and both will co-exist as operators work to meet the ever-increasing demand for fixed, nomadic and mobile data.
“Wireless broadband is the utility of the 21st century, and Motorola has the solutions in both WiMAX and LTE that will meet consumer demand and operator requirements for network efficiency,†said Bruce Brda, senior vice president and general manager, Wireless Networks, Motorola Home & Networks Mobility. “Motorola’s legacy of expertise in wireless broadband, IP networking, video and services, coupled with our portfolio of proven solutions, can help operators go to market quickly to maximize their competitive advantage as they deploy new networks or evolve their existing networks to 4G.â€
Motorola’s 4G progress in 2009 was marked with accomplishments in both LTE and WiMAX that have positioned it well for further momentum in 2010. In addition, Motorola has stated its commitment to WiMAX 802.16m as it expands its product portfolio and customer base to maintain its leadership position in WiMAX. The company also continues its active participation in numerous standards bodies as they refine specifications for various technologies that will enable faster broadband access.
According to Motorola’s 2009 Media Engagement Barometer, a study recently commissioned by the Home & Networks Mobility business to gain insights from American consumers, the need to stay connected and to have access to personal content transcends generations. The overwhelming desire to be constantly connected was expressed by 80 percent of the Millennials and 78 percent of both the GenXers and Boomers who participated in the survey. The barometer findings clearly show how networking technologies have had a powerful impact in integrating the different facets of people’s lives, and why delivering on the promise of 4G is so important to Motorola’s Wireless Networks business.
Motorola’s LTE Solutions
Motorola’s early commitment to WiMAX has given it vast experience and expertise in designing, planning, optimizing and managing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) mobile broadband networks. It also has yielded tremendous insight into perfecting the 4G network scheduler, the master controller of the radio access network that prioritizes voice and data traffic. Motorola is leveraging this extensive OFDM, multiple-in/multiple out (MIMO), all-IP wireless broadband experience, and expertise in the 4G scheduler to deliver a complete award-winning LTE solution that will support both FDD and TD-LTE. Its first commercial LTE deployments will be based on third-generation WiMAX products that have been proven and field-hardened and for which algorithms have been optimized to deliver best performance in a real-world environment.
â€With our experience from WiMAX we can get our LTE customers to market faster and with less risk,†Brda said. “Our deployment, management and optimization of many large-scale commercial WiMAX networks around the world gives us operations-level experience which our research and development teams use to make better and more stable LTE solutions.â€
Motorola’s 2009 LTE Highlights
• Selected by KDDI as a key development vendor for its nationwide LTE network
• Selected by China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC) as the primary TD-LTE solution partner to provide indoor coverage for all major pavilions at the World Expo 2010 Shanghai China, a significant event that runs from May 1 - Oct. 31 and is expected to attract 70 million visitors
• The only vendor able to complete all radio access network (RAN) test cases in CMCC’s TD-LTE trial including reaching the TD-LTE theoretical maximum data rate in 20MHz and successfully running multiple user equipment devices
• Conducted LTE live drives in 2.6GHz demonstrating handoffs and video streaming at Mobile World Congress and in Sweden
• Launched its state-of-the-art LTE trial network in Swindon in the United Kingdom
• Announced enhancements to its LTE product portfolio including its eNodeB that is both FDD and TD-LTE compatible, evolved packet core (EPC) and advanced self-organizing network (SON). Motorola’s complete LTE solution is now commercially available
• Added to its list of industry firsts including:
- First company to successfully complete and pass the TD-LTE key functionalities test initiated by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)
- First TD-LTE dongle that will be unveiled at World Expo 2010 Shanghai China
- First live drive demo of TD-LTE at ITU World Telecom in Geneva in October and demonstrating 82Mbps in a real-world environment (maximum theoretical data rate in that TD-LTE configuration)
- First real-world LTE network with SON capability at its LTE trial network in the United Kingdom
- First demonstration of LTE in 700MHz during a live drive demo at CTIA in Las Vegas in April
In addition to the KDDI and CMCC announcements, Motorola is actively involved in many Tier 1 and Tier 2 operators advanced field trials around the world in both FDD/TDD and in different LTE spectrum bands.
Motorola’s WiMAX Commitment: Delivering Today and Investing for the Future with 802.16m
According to the WiMAX Forum®, there are 519 WiMAX networks deployed in 146 countries worldwide with more than 10 million subscribers. WiMAX is supporting a range of diverse business models including retail and wholesale access, smart grid applications, and retail-only broadband connectivity for users at home or on the go.
“WiMAX is a robust solution for providing broadband today in emerging markets as well as in more competitive developed markets. For example, WiMAX has the ability as a platform to meet the unique needs of operators like Clearwire in the United States and Imagine in Ireland,†Brda said. “We believe WiMAX will continue to grow and its future path to 802.16m provides a way of delivering more bandwidth even more efficiently. In addition, we are planning new products in 2010 that will be geared for regional operators.â€
Motorola continues to be the leading WiMAX vendor since it entered the market in 2005. It now has contracts with more than 35 operators in more than 20 countries, the majority of whom have launched commercial service. In a report issued by Infonetics Research they stated that “Motorola takes the lead in the fast-rebounding WiMAX equipment and device market.â€
Recently, Clearwire deployed its CLEAR™ 4G WiMAX service in Chicago, the latest of a number of markets across the U.S. using Motorola’s network infrastructure, deployment, services and devices. Another Motorola customer, Time Warner Cable, launched its Road Runner Mobile 4G network service in several markets this month including: Charlotte, Raleigh and Greensboro, North Carolina, and Dallas, Texas. In the UAE, integrated telecom service provider ‘du’ launched its mobile WiMAX network for the Dubai Metro. Motorola’s WiMAX equipment provides mobile connectivity and effective backhaul for Wi-Fi traffic on the Dubai Metro transport system train carriages as well as in the Metro stations.
Motorola’s 2009 WiMAX Highlights
• Stated its commitment to 802.16m including membership on the IEEE 802.16m leadership team and its contribution to the standard proposal submitted to ITU for inclusion into the IMT Advanced definition
• Hit milestone shipments of 1 millionth CPE and 10,000th WiMAX access point
• Motorola’s public key infrastructure (PKI) Center of Excellence in San Diego was selected by the WiMAX Forum to be a root certificate authority for WiMAX devices worldwide
• Launched WiMAX Device Partnership Program, a service that helps device providers qualify their WiMAX products through Motorola’s comprehensive interoperability testing (IOT) laboratories. This program supports a healthy WiMAX ecosystem by providing operators with greater access to WiMAX devices
• Introduced four new CPEs and one WiMAX Access Point (WAP):
- CPEi 775 that combines WiMAX and Wi-Fi, for the 3.5GHz band with support for the 5MHz, 7MHz, and 10MHz bandwidths
- CPEo 450, an outdoor unit that has integrated Voice over IP (VoIP) , for 3.5GHz band with support for 5MHz, 7MHz, and 10MHz channel bandwidths.
- CPEi 725 for the 2.5GHz band
- USBw 200 for the 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz bands
- WAP 650 with 4x4 antenna coverage
• Received WiMAX Forum certification on the following products:
- WAP 400 for 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz
- CPEi 25150 (data only) for 2.5GHz
- CPEi 25750 (data and VoIP) for 2.5GHz
- WiMAX Access Point (WAP) 25600 for 2.5GHz
- WMT 1000
“Motorola’s Home & Networks business has had a very productive and profitable year in 2009. With our proven experience deploying WiMAX systems, combined with an increasing portfolio of LTE products, we look to continue our leadership in both WiMAX and LTE as the promise of wireless broadband access becomes a reality for people around the world,†Brda said.
For more information about Motorola’s 4G solutions please visit our 4G Digital Press Kit. For more information about Motorola’s WiMAX solutions please visit www.motorola.com/wimax. For more information about Motorola’s LTE solutions please visit www.motorola.com/lte