April 22, 2010 - According to an article by David Pringle published on the GSMA's Mobile Innovation Exchange website, When it comes to LTE, not all networks will be created equal.

Just about every major mobile operator is moving towards LTE, but they aren't walking in lockstep. Even the LTE pioneers, such as TeliaSonera, Verizon Wireless and NTT DOCOMO, are each marching to a slightly different tune.

One of the key differences in the early LTE deployments will be the spectrum bands they use. Whereas TeliaSonera has launched networks in Stockholm and Oslo using 20MHz radio channels in the 2.6GHz band, Verizon is planning to use 10MHz channels in the 700MHz band. NTT DOCOMO is deploying LTE at 2GHz initially, but later plans to also use the 1.5GHz spectrum band.

That means LTE dongle and handset manufacturers will either have to make different products for different markets or will have to go to the additional expense and hassle of producing devices that can support all these bands. More importantly, the choice of spectrum bands, which have different propagation characteristics, also has implications for an operator's LTE strategy, which will influence the kinds of devices, services and apps they want to deploy.

The 700MHz band, for example, is ideal for providing coverage over a broad geographic area using relatively few base stations, but is less suitable for providing lots of capacity in a congested hotspot. Radio waves travel much shorter distances at 2.6GHz, so this band doesn't lend itself to rural or suburban coverage, but is well-placed to handle the heavy demand in city centres, airports or rail stations.

source: GSMA Mobile Innovation Exchange | Read full story