CellRev

For the first time in over 20 years It looks like the US will be an early adopter of a new mobile network technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE), the 4th generation of GSM. Verizon, one of the big 4 operators in the US, and MetroPCS have started deploying LTE networks, and plan to have them launched in select markets (probably just a few big cities) by the end of 2009. The operators are among only a handful of companies that have started deploying LTE, the others all being from the Asian sector. This is shocking news for the whole American wireless industry, but more-so since both Verizon and MetroPCS use CDMA (a proprietary standard), and employ notoriously draconian business models, known as being the most consumer-unfriendly in the world. What this means for consumers is that in about 10 years, most of the major American mobile operators will be using the same standard (T-Mobile and AT&T have also declared that they will be adopting LTE). This doesn’t mean that there will be any improvement in the mobile rights given to consumers (as is with AT&T and T-Mobile today, who both use GSM based systems but are no more fair than CDMA operators) but it is a step in a positive direction, since in a county with one primary standard Americans will have a much bigger selection of devices to use with any given network.


Wireless Week: Analysis – Global Leadership for LTE In My Backyard