There was much buzz around Alcatel-Lucent at the Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona, last week.
This followed the announcement of a “breakthrough in wireless technology” - the lightRadio, which essentially reduces a base station and tower to the size of a Rubik's cube.
The lightRadio system was developed by Alcatel-Lucent's research and development arm, Bell Labs.
“What we have done is essentially compress everything into a cube that is multi-technology and multi-band. It does 2G, 3G and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) in one antenna,” explains Alcatel-Lucent head of strategy and corporate development Haran Sold.
The lightRadio can be mounted on poles, buildings and “anywhere else where there is a power source and a broadband connection”. The technology is said to drastically reduce power consumption and cut costs for operators, placing it in a strong position as operators look towards LTE network upgrades.
“The last thing you want to do is put very expensive equipment in very remote locations, because it has the tendency to evaporate,” says Sold. “With lightRadio technology, we can suddenly put wireless access in far flung areas that otherwise wouldn't have that opportunity.
“It fundamentally changes the approach to how you build, structure and manage a network - it changes the dynamics of connectivity.”
LTE ecosystem
Andre Mechaly, VP for wireless networks strategy at Alcatel-Lucent, says the perception that LTE is just for the US is wrong as it is a technology “for everyone”.
The current boom in smartphones and resultant data explosion mean there is now a need to reinvent the business model of mobile Internet, according to Mechaly.
“It would make sense from a technical standpoint to go straight to LTE,” notes Mechaly. “There are very positive signs that LTE is being considered in the short-term by both India and China - which will have a positive impact on developing the LTE ecosystem.”
Speaking of the barriers to the implementation of LTE, Mechaly says: “You need the spectrum to be available and you need the regulator to decide how to sell the spectrum.”
Need for spectrum
In the South African context, however, it is the availability of spectrum that is the problem. With little movement on the proposed spectrum auction and doubts over whether the country will meet its digital TV migration deadline, hopes of LTE network upgrades have essentially been put on ice.
WWW Strategy MD Steven Ambrose explains that the spectrum that is being auctioned was initially well suited to WiMax, mainly due to the frequency and configuration, and it was precisely this that delayed the auction in the first place.
Frost & Sullivan senior industry analyst Vitalis Ozianyi argues that, as it stands, the preferred technology would be WiMax instead of LTE. “As compared to LTE, WiMax-equipped devices are already available in the market. Consumers are already buying WiMax-integrated laptops. On the other hand, LTE devices have not reached the mass consumer market yet.”
MTN CTO Kanagaratnam Lambotharan reiterates that the local commercial ecosystem for LTE is still very limited.
“Device availability, technology maturity, and interoperability with HSPA+ are all factors that will impact the roll-out of LTE. MTN is focusing on ensuring that its network is ready for the evolution to LTE and will be conducting internal investigations for the time being and possibly trials in the near future,” he states.
But Ambrose argues against this thinking. “WiMax fell foul of all the hype that preceded actual networks being rolled out, and the lack of compelling and cost-effective devices that were based on that technology. There is no question that LTE will be the access technology of choice for GSM operators for the next few years,” he says.
Mechaly adds that he believes that the opportunity for WiMax is over. “Which is unfortunate, because it was a good technology, but the ecosystem was not there. But LTE is now real, and I think the choice is quite obvious.
“SA has always had a market of early adopters, and I don't know what the plans of the operators are, but I believe that there is a real market demand for these services. I would be happy, of course, if we could help operators in deploying their networks,” concludes Mechaly.
Share
