High-end, cool smartphones and the ecosystem around them are symbolic of the fact that consumers want mobile broadband and applications that can help them connect to information, family and friends seamlessly.
Thus, mobile broadband is clearly today's growth engine for the telecom industry [1,2}. Telecom operators have seen huge growth in wireless data revenue in recent years despite the economic slow down. Meteoric growth in netbooks and HSDPA-USB dongles is also an indication that consumers want mobile broadband, not only in their homes and offices, but anywhere they go.
Missing in the mobile Internet today is the "wow" experience. Consumers still get discouraged by download speeds or degraded graphics while accessing data on their mobile devices. Applications such as video blogging and online gaming rely on faster connectivity and lower latency. Faster and reliable connectivity will help exploit the applications built around cloud computing and, thus, make our mobile office experience not limited by the mobile device's hardware processing capability.
Mobile operators are counting on the fact that even now, out of the 4.3 billion wireless users, approximately 80 percent are voice-only GSM users. Thus, the growth opportunity over the next five to ten years is to capture three billion users who can subscribe to mobile broadband.[2] Growth can also potentially come from another set of devices like IPTV, digital cameras, etc., that have mobile broadband connectivity and can enable new services, generating more revenue for mobile operators.
To keep up with the surging demand to provide faster and reliable connectivity with lower latency, network operators around the world expect to roll out 4G networks, and long-term evolution (LTE) is the global front runner.
* Sometimes LTE also can be termed as fourth generation (4G), and is designed to increase the capacity and speed of mobile telephone networks. The LTE specification provides downlink (forward link) peak rates of at least 100 Mbps, an uplink (reverse link) of at least 50 Mbps, and radio access network (RAN) round-trip delays of less than 10 ms.[1]
* LTE also leverages advanced antenna technology concepts like beam forming to enable extended coverage. High peak-data rates can be achieved with multilayer antenna solutions such as 2x2 or 4x4 multiple-input multiple-outputs (MIMO).
Having all the great features of a new standard is one thing, but wireless and mobile network operators face the continuing challenge of investing capital and building networks that are somewhat "future-proof" in meeting the exploding demands on bandwidth. Network operators must choose the most cost-effective evolution of the networks towards 4G.
Network upgrades required to deploy networks based on 4G standards like LTE must not only balance the limited availability of new spectrum, but also leverage existing spectrum[3]. To manage the evolving complexity of the standards efficiently, a concept of distributed open base station architecture has evolved in parallel with the standards to provide a flexible, cheaper and more scalable modular environment for managing the radio access evolution.
