NETWORK STRATEGIES
Early to rise: front-runners deploying LTE networks
French research company Idate forecasts 25.5 million LTE subscribers worldwide in 2012, rising to 327.9 million in 2015. It cites Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) fi gures that there were 110 LTE network commitments in 48 countries at the end of May, and that up to 22 LTE networks are planned to be in service by the end of this year and up to 37 by the end of 2012. Infonetics Research, meanwhile, says Asia Pacifi c and North America
will drive the fi rst major wave of LTE rollouts through to 2012. The second wave will begin in 2012-2013 when Chinese operators start their rollouts along with the majority of Western European operators. Infonetics forecasts users could exceed 153 million by 2014, with most of them split between Asia Pacifi c and the EMEA region. Sweden leads the way when it comes to commercial deployments
and network-sharing agreements, but analysts think other markets are likely to follow the cost-saving model. “The network–sharing model— already widely deployed in WCDMA in Sweden—is …expected to be replicated elsewhere in the world,” says Joss Gillet, a senior analyst at Wireless Intelligence, in a recent report . “In Sweden, average capex declined to around 5-6% of total revenues in 2009, compared to the 10-11% range recorded in previous years,” says Gillet. “Investments in LTE in 2010 are likely to be visible in Q2 and Q3 capex fi gures as several operators in the Nordics prepare for year-end launch.” Selected early commercial launch commitments: n TeliaSonera, the fi rst operator to launch commercial LTE services, in Stockholm and Oslo at the end of last year, says it will expand the network to 25 of Sweden’s largest municipalities by the end of this year as well as Norway’s four largest municipalities.
n Denmark’s TDC said in April that it hopes to be the second operator to roll out commercial LTE services, initially in the cities of Copenhagen and Aarhus this summer. n Net4Mobility, the joint venture between Sweden’s second- and third-largest operators Tele2 and Telenor, plans to deploy LTE in 100 Swedish cities by the end of 2011, following launches before the end of this year in Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmo, Karlskrona and Lund . Longer term the aim is to cover 99% of the Swedish population by 2013. n Verizon has said it will start providing LTE services to 25-30 markets, covering about 100 million people in the US, in the fourth quarter. The operator has committed to its LTE network covering 200 million people by 2012 and its entire 3G footprint the following year. Trials are already being carried out in fi ve cities. Both Verizon and AT&T are deploying LTE in the 700-MHz band, with AT&T planning to launch next year. n Japan’s NTT DoCoMo has said it will to go live with LTE by the end of this year, offering wholesale capacity from the outset. Pre-commercial tests are being carried out in Tokyo, and the operator hopes to cover 50% of the country’s population with commercial services by 2014. n Zain Bahrain aims to complete its LTE network by the end of this year for commercial launch. The operator has already carried out tests in conjunction with Nokia Siemens Networks. n Hong Kong operator CSL says it will offer commercial LTE services by October, having carried out pre-commercial trials a year earlier, initially in the 2.6-GHz band. n US operator MetroPCS has said it will launch commercial LTE services in the second half of this year.
Strategies for Broadband 14 & 15 September 2010
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