AT&T names LTE partners as it preps to deploy fourth-generation wireless network in 2011
Late Wednesday, AT&T announced agreements with Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson for its upcoming fourth-generation LTE wireless broadband network, setting the stage for the next chapter of its on-going battle with rival Verizon. The carrier said it chose to extend existing relationships with Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson after “testing equipment from multiple suppliers in the field and in a lab environment.” Both companies currently provide equipment for AT&T’s 3G HSPA 7.2Mbps network utilized by the iPhone 3GS and other high-end smartphones.
The carrier said that 3G equipment provided by its suppliers starting this year will be easily convertible to LTE. As a result, the company won’t have to install entirely new equipment to deploy LTE. AT&T hopes this will give them a much needed edge over Verizon which can’t easily upgrade its existing infrastructure since it’s based on CDMA rather than the GSM standard. Verizon expects to launch LTE in 25 to 30 cities by the end of 2010. According to AT&T’s president and CEO of operations John Stankey:
AT&T has a key advantage in that LTE is an evolution of the existing GSM family of technologies that powers our network and the vast majority of the world’s global wireless infrastructure today. As some competitors move away from their existing investment in niche 3G platforms, we are able to efficiently and quickly move toward LTE while enhancing our existing 3G performance and providing access to a strong ecosystem of customer devices.
Analysts estimate that Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson cut multi-year deals with AT&T possibly worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Computerworld reported. An AT&T representative recently told Geek that the company plans field trials of LTE technology later this year, with commercial deployment scheduled to begin in 2011, coinciding with widespread availability of equipment and compatible LTE mobile devices. AT&T and Verizon have 85 million and 91 million subscribers, respectively. AT&T is also an exclusive iPhone carrier in the US. Apple revealed that AT&T will also offer 3G data plans to iPad customers in the US.
AT&T’s network enhancements arrive less than two months ahead of the iPad debut. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) warned that carriers like AT&T may be overloading themselves with the iPad announcement, explaining that additional traffic generated by future users of the iPad and competing devices could choke off wireless broadband services. Companies like Aspera claim custom solutions that can triple 3G data speeds for AT&T’s iPhone users.
LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a preferred radio technology in fourth-generation (4G) wireless networks that promise data speeds up to 100Mbps, roughly matching the speed of a typical local network in your home or at work. The vast majority of wireless carriers in the US and worldwide have announced plans to deploy LTE networks, putting an end to incompatible standards that have prevented wireless devices being used on any network in the past.
