As the workforce becomes wireless so does the ... - Connect-World

Broadband Mobile wireless payment Mobile technologies systemsaccessLTE leads to a connected worldby Chris Pearson, President, 4G AmericasThe connected world today spans just about every digital device imaginable. The 3GPPfamily of wireless technologies is at the heart of this connected world, transformingcommunications for people, businesses and societies throughout the Americas.Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas, is responsible for the strategic planning of the organization. Mr Pearson has more than 23years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Prior to its name change to 4G Americas, Mr Pearson served as the Presidentof 3G Americas, LLC.Chris Pearson earned a Master of Business Administration degree from The Albers School of Business and Economics at SeattleUniversity and a Bachelor of Arts degree with emphasis in Marketing and Finance from the University of Washington.What do a tablet PC, security camera,bandage, digital photo frame and videoadvertising display have in common? Twothings: they’re all examples of how ourworld is increasingly connected, and they’reall existing or potential users of broadbandwireless technologies.This connected world spans just aboutevery digital device imaginable, includingsmartphones, Internet-ready TVs, residentialthermostats and appliances, infotainmentsystems in automobiles and traffic sensors, toname just a few existing examples. Far moreare in development. All of this adds up towhat some analysts refer to as a ‘third wave’of Internet connectivity.It’s more like a tsunami: By 2020, the numberof connected devices will top 22 billionworldwide, according to IMS Research.That’s an average of roughly three connecteddevices for every person.A half-billion connectionsThe 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) family of wireless technologies is atthe heart of today’s and tomorrow’s connectedworld. This family includes the UniversalMobile Telecommunications System (UMTS),High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA/HSPA+)technology, which already supports more thana half-billion connected devices worldwide.This mobile broadband technology isespecially popular in the Americas.“The Americas was the world’s fastestgrowingregion for UMTS-HSPAsubscriptions in the year ending June 2010and helped the technology break through thehalf-billion milestone to reach 535 millionsubscriptions worldwide during the secondquarter,” said Mike Roberts, principal analystat Informa Telecoms & Media.This success will continue with the debut ofLong Term Evolution (LTE), which morethan 250 operators worldwide are expectedto launch over the coming years. A handfulof Asian and European LTE networks arealready in commercial service, while AT&Tand Verizon Wireless are among the carriersthat plan to launch service in the Americas bythe end of 2011.The HSPA/HSPA+ and LTE launches andcommitments are good news for end-users,application developers, content providersand others that can benefit from peaktheoretical upload and download speedsof more than 80 Mbps and 300Mbps,respectively. Today, a typical user can expectdownload speeds of 1.9Mbps to 8.8Mbpson a HSPA+ network that uses 2x5MHz ofspectrum and 5.9 to 21.5Mbps on an LTEnetwork that uses spectrum in a 2x10 MHzspectrum deployment.LTE also is fast in terms of latency: about tenmilliseconds. That’s ideal for delay-sensitiveapplications such as video telephony andvideo surveillance. Just as important, thosebenefits don’t come at the expense of batterylife. Long battery life is key for achieving thevision of a connected world because usersdon’t have to worry about running out ofpower prematurely.To understand LTE’s benefits, it helps to lookat how the technology works. For example,LTE uses Multiple Input, Multiple Output(MIMO) antenna technology and OrthogonalFrequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM).North America 2010 • 3