The 4G LTE futuremobile devices and services. In fact, consumersand enterprises report a notable willingness toswitch operators in order to obtain such newservices. In <strong>the</strong> European countries surveyed,51 per cent of consumers and almost 80 percent of medium to large enterprises said <strong>the</strong>ywould sign up for 4G LTE service to enjoy <strong>the</strong>benefits of this technology innovation.Wireless network goes IPOne technological change inherited from<strong>the</strong> wireline/E<strong>the</strong>rnet world is at <strong>the</strong> heartof current cellular networks evolution:Internet Protocol (IP). Today’s 2G and 3Gnetworks - to a large extent - are primed totransition and implement IP technology.But LTE (Long Term Evolution), as <strong>the</strong>4th Generation of <strong>the</strong> evolution of cellularnetworks, is natively built on IP architectureand extends network transformation andcapabilities substantially fur<strong>the</strong>r than <strong>the</strong>previous generation of networks.4G LTE is sure to bring dramaticimprovements to <strong>the</strong> subscribers’ mobilebroadband experience thanks to higher dataspeeds and lower latency. 4G LTE is threetimes more spectrally efficient than 3G. 4GLTE boasts technological innovations such asOrthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing(OFDM) and Multiple Input, Multiple Output(MIMO). When coupled with an all-IP endto-endconnection between devices and <strong>the</strong>network application servers (or between <strong>the</strong>devices), with each and every equipmentusing IP, <strong>the</strong>se innovations significantly boostnetwork efficiency.Besides providing <strong>the</strong> user with increasedspeeds more than 10 times faster than 3G,one of <strong>the</strong> key attributes redefining <strong>the</strong> LTEuser experience is <strong>the</strong> lower latency. Withthree to five times better responsivenesswhen compared to 3G, bringing <strong>the</strong> <strong>wireless</strong>experience closer to <strong>the</strong> wired broadbanddesktop experience enables real-timeapplications like voice, video, and gaming tobe delivered to <strong>the</strong> mass market over a pure<strong>wireless</strong> IP network.<strong>As</strong> a result, LTE promises to support <strong>the</strong>same kind of rich, broadband multimediaservices (such as high-definition video, music,multiplayer video gaming) that people havecome to expect at home, delivered wherever<strong>the</strong>y are, any time of <strong>the</strong> day. In addition, LTE’smassive bandwidth and real-time capabilitie<strong>so</strong>ffer <strong>the</strong> prospect of delivering a wide arrayof new services that haven’t yet been defined.Think about, for example, <strong>the</strong> introduction offixed broadband and how it spurred <strong>the</strong> growthof <strong>the</strong> web and <strong>the</strong> myriad services that havebecome available over <strong>the</strong> past decade.New business model opportunities for serviceprovidersChanges in users’ behaviour and technologyinnovations open tremendous opportunitiesand perspectives for service providers.Opportunities to better serve <strong>the</strong>ir customersand increase <strong>the</strong>ir competitiveness, while at <strong>the</strong>same time exploring new business models andgetting new revenue streams from untappeduser demand.Examples of new business models enabledby 4G LTE broadband <strong>wireless</strong> are multiple.Early LTE adopters will be younger, moreaffluent and more open to advertising-subsidymodels. This is a new and immediate <strong>so</strong>urce ofrevenue for operators, at almost no cost. Lowersubscription prices would attract more usersand in turn generate more data traffic, whileadvertising companies would find a new mediafor <strong>the</strong>ir targeted campaigns.Ano<strong>the</strong>r example illustrating <strong>the</strong> huge potentialof 4G is <strong>the</strong> ng<strong>Connect</strong> Programme’s ‘LTE<strong>Connect</strong>ed Car’, a <strong>so</strong>lution concept that drivesan innovative ecosystem of devices, applicationsand content. The concept has a strong appealamong <strong>the</strong> under-35 age group, with Internetconnectivity perceived as highly desirable.Along with always-on connection to <strong>the</strong> Internet,it offers an array of entertainment, traffic,navigation, car maintenance and safety features.Machine-to-Machine (M2M) is ano<strong>the</strong>r keysegment that is growing rapidly. Althoughit <strong>does</strong> not require a lot of bandwidth, it canstrain <strong>the</strong> network because of <strong>the</strong> scale of<strong>the</strong> connections which run into millions in asmall coverage area. LTE will support thisdemand more efficiently. Recent researchfrom Technology Business Research Inc.showed that <strong>the</strong> volume of M2M connectionswill grow to more than 55 billion devices inthis decade.Seizing such business opportunities al<strong>so</strong> meansaddressing challenges for operators. To play<strong>the</strong> game, service providers require severalassets. First, <strong>the</strong>y need a high bandwidth,scalable and cost-effective intelligentnetwork with a high quality of experience(QoE). LTE’s advanced capabilities are set todeliver on that even if implementations differfrom one vendor to ano<strong>the</strong>r. Second, <strong>the</strong>yneed ‘application enablers’ to monetize <strong>the</strong>broadband data explosion. Only by combining<strong>the</strong> trusted capabilities of <strong>the</strong>ir networks with<strong>the</strong> speed and innovation of <strong>the</strong> web, willoperators give end-users and enterprises what<strong>the</strong>y demand: a richer and more trusted webexperience. In this area, relying on an industrypartner with experience in both <strong>wireless</strong> andIP multi-media <strong>so</strong>lutions is vital. Finally, andthis is a recurrent concern for operators, <strong>the</strong>yneed to mitigate risk of business and networktransformations. Few mobile service providersare familiar with wireline networks and <strong>the</strong> IPtransformation <strong>the</strong>y experienced in <strong>the</strong> pastdecade. They need <strong>the</strong> help of a trusted partner.Business transformation for enterprisesFor many businesses over much of <strong>the</strong> worldincluding verticals, broadband services arebecoming a necessity - an indispensablefeature of our daily lives that extends wellbeyond <strong>the</strong> simple connectivity that today’snetworks have provided. In light of this everincreasingdemand for data, <strong>the</strong> need for amobile <strong>so</strong>lution to bridge <strong>the</strong> connectivitygap between home and office has become animportant market driver.A recent study by Alcatel-Lucent in NorthAmerica shows that messaging comes as<strong>the</strong> first <strong>wireless</strong> activity that will increasedramatically (87 per cent of respondents),followed by download/view of documents(67 per cent) and access to Internet/Intranet(60 per cent) and video activities (59 percent). Among eight typical applicationsspanning Group Video Calling, LocationbasedProject Updates, Mobile BroadbandFile Sharing, Video Calling, NavigationHelper, Presence Contact List, MobileCollaboration Tools and Priority of CriticalApplications, respondents said <strong>the</strong>y woulduse <strong>the</strong>m daily with mobile broadband filesharing coming first on <strong>the</strong> list. Enterpriseswith over US$1 million in revenue andmore than ten full time employees are <strong>the</strong>most likely to endorse such 4G applications.<strong>As</strong> a proof-point of 4G attractiveness,<strong>the</strong> majority of enterprises (74 per cent)responded <strong>the</strong>y would definitely or probablysign up for 4G service.4G LTE: a huge potential and a revolution toour lifestyleIn a fast-changing world with ever-increasingcompetitiveness, 4G LTE is set to unlocknew business opportunities for both serviceproviders and enterprises alike. It’s up to <strong>the</strong>mto get ready to leverage <strong>the</strong> huge potentialthis technology offers in terms of businessefficiency and revenue streams. 4G LTEpromises to redefine <strong>the</strong> user experience and<strong>the</strong> way we communicate. It will revolutionizeour lifestyle. •18 • North America 2010
Mobile payment Mobile Mobile offloading systemsaccessNew ways of thinking in <strong>wireless</strong>by Jeff Thomp<strong>so</strong>n, CEO, TowerstreamCreative <strong>so</strong>lutions are required to handle <strong>the</strong> staggering amount of mobile data trafficexpected over cellular networks. Mobile offloading, in which best-effort Internet traffic isseparated from high-value, delay-sensitive traffic, is one answer. This requires differentnetworks to work toge<strong>the</strong>r seamlessly as one network with <strong>the</strong> goal of providing users with<strong>the</strong> best connection and service experience possible.Jeff Thomp<strong>so</strong>n co-founded Towerstream in December 1999 and serves as President and CEO. Prior to Towerstream, Mr Thomp<strong>so</strong>n cofoundedand was Vice President of operations of EdgeNet Inc.Jeff Thomp<strong>so</strong>n holds a B.S. from <strong>the</strong> University of Massachusetts.With <strong>the</strong> surge in popularity of smartphones,tablet devices, and <strong>the</strong> mobile web, one of<strong>the</strong> hottest topics among Internet providersand cellular carriers today is how to copewith <strong>the</strong> corresponding increase in datatransferred over cellular networks. It isfrightening to think that existing carrierinfrastructure is not equipped to handle thismassive amount of data transfer, which willonly continue to increase as smartphonesand tablets grow in popularity.According to data from NPD, smartphonesmade up 42 per cent of all US handset salesin <strong>the</strong> second quarter of 2010, up from28 per cent in 2009. ABI estimates thatnearly 90 per cent of total mobile networkdata traffic in <strong>the</strong> US will result fromsmartphones by 2014, and Morgan Stanleyestimates that within five years, half of allAmericans’ web browsing will be done onmobile devices. Smartphones use 50 times<strong>the</strong> bandwidth of traditional cell phones, and<strong>the</strong> rollout of Long Term Evolution (LTE)networks is projected to only improve <strong>the</strong>bandwidth from 3G by approximately fourtimes.These vast increases in mobile data trafficare forcing operators of <strong>wireless</strong> networksto consider more creative ways to handlesuch a staggering amount of traffic. Withouteffectively taking advantage of alternativetechnologies, handling this data on currentnetworks is like fighting a tsunami with anumbrella. <strong>As</strong> we move toward a future wheresmartphones will outnumber traditional cellphones by 2014, it is imperative to find amore legitimate <strong>so</strong>lution to deal with thisdata tsunami.Increasingly <strong>the</strong>re has been a view amongtelecom professionals that operators shouldnot bear <strong>the</strong> full cost of transporting lowrevenue-per-bittraffic on expensive,optimized, mobile networks. More and moreleaders in <strong>the</strong> space have been paying closeattention to <strong>the</strong> concept of mobile offloading(or Internet offloading). The premise behindmobile offloading is to separate best-effortInternet from high-value, delay-sensitivetraffic and manage each type of dataaccordingly.Currently most cellular sites have insufficientbandwidth behind <strong>the</strong>m to handle 3G and 4Gdata. Moreover, <strong>the</strong>se networks are alreadyNorth America 2010 • 19
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