RIO DE JANEIRO – The next evolution of telecommunications so-called fourth generation will enhance user experience by improving Internet capacity. “It brings the same experience to the mobile environment as the fixed world,” said Oi’s technology consultant Alberto Boaventura.
“It is all about lifestyle and possibilities. Just being connected is not enough anymore. It needs to be ultra-broadband with no waiting and ubiquitous connectivity,” said Mohamed Madkour, Huawei’s head of wireless product line marketing.
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To reach this goal, several telecom specialists highlighted the need for an agnostic technology to support LTE. During Informa’s LTE Latin America event this week, delegates representing 51 carriers discussed the future of LTE deployment in Latin America. “The whole world is changing to become technologically agnostic,” Madkour said.
Although the region is just starting to see its first commercial launches, Latin American telecom agencies are conducting auctions to bid frequency bands allocated to LTE.
Moving to LTE helps carriers address data demand. The average data contribution to Latin American carriers’ service revenues is 23%, while in North America it is 37%, according to 4G Americas. There is space to grow, mostly because voice is decreasing as people change the way they communicate. As an example, 4G Americas’ director of Latin America, Erasmo Rojas, pointed out that in Brazil data grew 99% in 2011 while voice only increased 11%.
“LTE is on course to become the most successful mobile technology launched in history,” noted Mike Roberts, principal analyst and head of Americas at Informa Telecoms & Media. The consulting firm expects there will be 15 million LTE subscribers by the end of this year.
Huawei’s Madkour said that capacity, evolution, operation efficiency and user experience are some of the major concerns for LTE deployment.
