LTE Mobile broadband Technology
The next complete advance from the current mobile 3G technologies such as GSM/UMTS over to the new fourth generation, or 4G mobile broadband, will be achieved by using technology like LTE mobile broadband also known as Long Term Evolution. The technology currently used for LTE mobile broadband is still in development and is currently competing with WiMAX, which is also aiming to be the main technology used for 4G mobile broadband access. Although a number of broadband providers are trialling LTE mobile broadband it will not be considered as a true 4G technology until the standard for this technology has been set.
The technology used for LTE mobile broadband will provide broadband access using wireless signals, in a similar way to WiMAX, although LTE mobile broadband will use the radio wave spectrum rather than microwaves to send and receive signals.
What will LTE mobile broadband offer users?
Users who connect using LTE mobile broadband will require an LTE modem to access the network, which will be available using PCMCIA cards, internally embedded modems inside laptops, ExpressCard or using a USB modem. Any users with mobile phones or PDA devices will also eventually have the ability to access the internet using LTE mobile broadband services.
Once implemented the LTE mobile broadband network will offer users broadband connection speeds of up to 100Mbps for downloads and upload speeds of as much as 50Mbps, which will make it more than capable of competing against fixed-line broadband providers. The other great advantage of LTE mobile broadband is that because it offers speeds that will either match or in many cases exceed that of standard fixed line connections it will now be a viable alternative for those users that are in areas that are either covered by or only receive slow connection speeds from services like cable, DSL, dial-up or satellite. It also means that as long as a user is within the coverage area of their LTE mobile broadband service provider they will be able to access super-fast internet as long as they have their LTE mobile broadband modem without the need to search around for the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot.
With the new speeds that LTE mobile broadband will offer users of the service and the fact that LTE mobile broadband offers users the freedom to access the internet from anywhere there is coverage from their provider a whole new world of choices will be available to mobile users. With these speeds mobile users will be able to use network intensive applications, stream films, music or data, and even play online games wherever they want, which will bring about a whole new freedom from the constraints of normal fixed line broadband access and will provide mobile workers with the facilities to work without limits from almost anywhere.
The competition between LTE mobile broadband and WiMAX for 4G supremacy
As the decision on an industry standard for 4G mobile broadband looms ever nearer there is now a battle going on over marketing and technology between equipment vendors and operators. There is a clear division in opinion at the moment, with regards to WiMAX and LTE mobile broadband, as to which of the two competing 4G mobile broadband technologies will get the largest share of the marketplace. Other than minor differences in how the two technologies work there is essentially little difference between the underlying network architecture and the spectrum bands that the two will support, which means that for 4G mobile broadband both are equally suited.
One of the main questions currently being asked by industry experts is whether it will be possible for both WiMAX and LTE mobile broadband to work together to provide a combined technology for 4G mobile broadband services or whether either LTE mobile broadband or WiMAX will emerge as a single clear market leader in the 4G marketplace.
In order to obtain a firm and clear idea of the benefits of LTE mobile broadband and WiMAX technologies with regard to their implementation as 4G mobile broadband technology a set of industry standards must be put in place, even though its implementation is years away. These standards will look at key areas to provide the best 4G service possible and these include:
- Other than a general description and facts regarding LTE mobile broadband and WiMAX a number of other areas must be examined and compared
- Standards, vendors, operators, spectrum and the market must be included in the scope of coverage for WiMAX and LTE mobile broadband
- The consideration of which out of LTE mobile broadband and WiMAX will be the most likely to succeed in the marketplace based on the previous two areas
The best option for the implementation of a 4G mobile broadband network for cellular operators was found to be LTE mobile broadband by recently carried out research. The reason for LTE mobile broadband being the best option was because it would offer benefits like being simpler to evolve from the current 3G network over to LTE mobile broadband, all spectrum bands would be supported by LTE mobile broadband, and the technology would be applicable throughout the world, which would make LTE mobile broadband technology far easier to rollout worldwide.
New changes in regulations, however, now mean that the option of using WiMAX technology has now become a more viable option for cellular providers, although unlike LTE mobile broadband any operator thinking of using WiMAX technology for their network would need to obtain new spectrum in order to gain any kind of benefit.
