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The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards organization has firmed up the specifications for Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and extended the deadline for System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network specifications, according to Unstrung.
For those of you unfamiliar with the mass of three-letter-abbreviations in Mobile, then LTE is widely regarded as THE 4G technology, particularly since the waning WiMAX continues to lose momentum.
Of course, there is an awful specified (and not specificed) within the upcoming standards release 8 from the 3GPP – which is adhered to by pretty much all companies involved in Mobile – after all, if you don’t have common standards, then interoperability (IOP) is a dead duck!
Interestingly, Unstrung notes that DoCoMo is shooting for a 2010 rollout of LTE, and Verizon likewise for a similar timeframe of… end of 2009? Wow that is ambitious.
My take on this is that the early adopters (and this is especially the case with telecoms infrastucture products – I’ve spent 10 years working with them, so I should know!) will get tech that doesn’t IOP properly, and that underperforms – and that later revisions of hardware and software will see quite massive improvements. However in this instance, the question is whether being first-to-market will be worth enough to see them push rollout with relatively immature products…
Anyhoo, the news that a 4G standard is being agreed on is great, and I can’t wait for the day when my Mobile broadband outpaces my landline – oh hang on, it already has. Doh.
[Via: Unstrung.com]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
