A line in the sand: WiMAX and LTE face off
Demand to drive deployments
October 1 2008 - 12:05 pm ET | Gary E. Salazar | RCR Wireless News
Association executives debate technology choices and market drivers.
Photo credit:Michael A.Marcotte
CHICAGO — As the wireless industry gears up for the new wave of technologically advanced networks, the market will determine where WiMAX and LTE will be deployed.
As WiMAX World 2008 kicks off today in Chicago, the two next-generation networks received plenty of attention during the 4G Executive Summit Tuesday. Industry leaders not only talked about market demand but also spectrum issues and cable companies becoming players in mobile networks.
Officials talked greatly about Monday’s WiMAX launch in Maryland by Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. The Xohm wireless broadband service is intended to give Baltimore residents a third option for high-speed Internet access.
“It is the dawn of the next generation of technology,” said Berge Ayvazian, chief strategy officer for Yankee Group, who was the moderator for Tuesday’s summit.
WiMAX and LTE are both essential networks for the world because they will be utilized by the next generation of antenna systems, said Charlie Martin, Huawei Technologies CTO of North America. Individual market conditions and operators will determine which technology to deploy.
“When a customer tells us they are not sure what they should do in regard to LTE or WiMAX, it is clear cut to us,” he said. “It will depend on the specific market and the specific customer. It will be very market driven.”
Martin said Huawei, a Chinese-based company, has helped with 29 launches of WiMAX networks around the world.
Although mobile WiMAX technology has been launched in countries around the globe and in the United States, LTE is not expected to become available until 2010, said Chris Pearson, president of 3G Americas, which is a major supporter of LTE.
Pearson said for the new networks to succeed, there has to be seamless evolution and buy-in by consumers.
“It will be based on the market demand,” he said. “Consumers want devices. They want applications and they want coverage.”
Pearson said LTE is the right choice for the industry. The comment drew some laughter from the crowd.
“We welcome smart decisions,” he said.
With all the talk focused on the future of the two networks, Dr. Mo Shakouri, VP of marketing for WiMAX Forum, said supporters of WiMAX need to focus on how networks are working in current markets.
Shakouri said there are issues regarding the amount of spectrum available for future WiMAX use.
“We need to make sure WiMAX is succeeding where it is available,” he said, “This is a global phenomenon and we have to make sure those operators are making money.”
Shakouri said the future of WiMAX depends on the success of current operators, which number in 100 worldwide.
“Let’s crawl and walk before we look too far ahead into the future,” he said.
Fred Campbell, acting president and CEO of the Wireless Communications Association, agreed that spectrum would be an issue for any new technology networks. Campbell said the WCA is technology neutral. “There is not a lot of spectrum in wide bandwidth,” he said. “There is limited amount.”
Industry officials also see cable companies playing a major role in the wireless industry. Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks have invested heavily in Xohm. Officials for Cox Communications have said the company is interested in moving into the mobile market.
“For cable companies, mobile is going to be a key factor,” said Dr. Peter Meissner, operating officer for the Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance. “People want to be connected all the time. These cable companies are going to join the mobile market.”
Ayvazian noted cable companies are well represented at the WiMAX show.
“They are looking for a home,” he said.
Campbell said it will be interesting to see how LTE and WiMAX are deployed and in what markets. “We feel each one can play an important role,” he said.
October 3, 2008 09:06 pm
Well, LTE has its legacy advantage over WiMAX, but it is at least two years away from present WiMAX deployments. The GSM networks have huge cash flow, they are trying to stick to its future evolution where WiMAX needs a fresh deployment. What about their back-hauls? Most cases, they have to get to GSM operators for their transmission backbone.Who has advantages when it comes to economies of scale?--Raqueeb HassanBangladesh
October 2, 2008 06:25 am
You are all missing important points.1) WiMAX has a time-to-market advantage over LTE that will be slightly negated by its lack of coverage.2) WiMAX is not a 3G technology - all 3G technologies are based around CDMA, including EV-DO, and WCDMA/HSPA.3) WCDMA (or UMTS) and its HSPA improvements are nearing their end. HSPA+ makes some improvements to increase the speed and uses MIMO as well, which does not work as efficiently with 3G technologies as it does with 4G technologies. After HSPA+, that's it. LTE is a completely different air interface.4) WiMAX and LTE are 4G technologies. It is the later versions of these that will comply with the ITU's requirements, but they are still OFDMA technologies.5) 4G (WiMAX, LTE) is not geared around handsets the way 1G, 2G, and 3G networks have been, but rather Internet access for any device.6) Speed aside, networks need 4G for capacity, as EV-DO and HSPA can serve decent speeds, but only for a very limited number of users at the same time.7) Clearwire has an immense spectrum advantage over other mobile operators, who will be at a disadvantage. What good is LTE with only a limited amount of spectrum to use it on?
October 2, 2008 06:25 am
Perhaps I don't understand all there is to know about the complexities of roaming. Are you saying that you can't roam across WiMax networks (say from Clearwire to non-Clearwire?) What about international use, where WiMax is already deployed? But I see your point...if I'm going to be concerned with nationwide roaming, I'd take my EVDO/A device anyway. At least for the next two years ;)
October 2, 2008 06:04 am
Wmark - WiMax is being deployed on very high frequency bands and not homogenous, thus roaming will be tough. In addition Sprint/Clearwire is the lone wolf in the US. There will be no superb uptake of Wimax nationally because it will only cover 113M pops in 2012 and require 3x more base stations. so if you have it locally and just need it locally or reguionally you are fine. if you move around nationally, you will need ATT or VZW
October 2, 2008 06:25 am
This will all be market driven. The carriers will hop on whatever bandwagon has the best head of steam. If WiMax gets a good start (and it will have 2 years to do so), resulting in a large customer base and a large number of supported devices, why would any carrier want to reinvent that? It's not just about deploying the equipment and having great speeds, it's about the support from developers, manufacturers, and "market pull." There's an entire "eco-system" that has to be developed, and WiMax has much more behind it right now than LTE (how many chip manufacturers, laptop manufactures, and consumer device manufacturers have committed to LTE?)Keep in mind that VZ and ATT are taking every chance to make Sprint look "non-standard" and therefore, a bigger risk. Anything to hasten Sprint's demise. If WiMax gains strength, let's see how the bullies behave then.
October 1, 2008 12:10 pm
Face off? 2-4 MBS is laughable. When LTE is launched it will have huge performance advantages. If you read on the technical attributes of each you would understand this. LTE will be the world standard just like HSPA. Have some foresight.
October 1, 2008 12:10 pm
The interesting thing is that Sprint is the only carrier backing Wimax. I agree that HSPA and the coming of HSPA+ puts the CDMA/EVDO carriers behind the curve, the other remaining EVDO carrier seem to be going to LTE. Having worked for Clearwire, I am not a huge fan of Wimax since it will not win out as a ubiquitous standard... given that the majority of the worlds major wireless carriers are going with LTE for 4G. Don't look for any of the incumbent CDMA/EVDO carriers in the US to go to UMTS/HSPA. The push is on to go to LTE as soon as possible!
October 1, 2008 12:10 pm
The winner will be decided by what option (LTE or WiMAX) the carrier or carriers with the most available bandwidth will implement. Both have great promise, but if on carrier implements WiMax and doesn't have the bandwidth to support multiple users in a urban market, then the end users will not realize a increase of preformance over 3G. It is not always the better technology that wins, but how and by whom it is adopted. Look back to Betamax and VHS. Some might say the same for Apple and Microsoft. In the US my money is on WiMax becuase Sprint and Clearwire have more usable bandwidth for it than Verizon or AT&T. Also since WiMax has already been released it will have a head start on LTE. AT&T and Verizon will play catch up, and they honestly have the capital to do so quickly, but the question is will they have the bandwidth and backhaul network to back it up. Only time will tell, but until then, assuming Sprint doesn't mess it up, Sprint will have the monopoly on 4G in the US and will for at least 2 years.
October 1, 2008 12:10 pm
Funny... the real service offering for high speed cellular data will be on HSPA (up to 14.4Mbs DL) and HSPA+. Reality is .... GSM carriers do not need LTE as soon as CDMA carriers, and those CDMA Carriers using EVDO have few options right now from 3GPP2. So the hype around wimax and lte is just from folks who are themselves feeding off other poorly informed sources. Wimax is simple 3G, as is HSPA. LTE and any future versions of Mobile Wimax are not yet considered 4G by the ITU. If I wanted a strong roadmap HSPA is the answer.
October 1, 2008 12:10 pm
Hi Stan:HSPA can do a lot more than Wimax already ...for incumbent carriers, to protect their investment, there is no other way but go for HSPA-LTE because of handsets, coverage and backward compatibility - Look at how many US carriers will take LTE and how many will go for wimax? Wimax will be for spotty coverage, greenfield carriers or 3rd world countries....