WIMAX VS. LTE

The LTE technology that Nokia and the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) are pushing is an upgrade to existing GSM networks. The attraction to this technology had made even the CDMA operator, Verizon Wireless, to join the 3GPP trials. It is also a strategic decision, in order to be compatible with its European, GSM-based parent company, Vodafone. LTE looks like it can heal the GSM/CDMA rift that has divided the industry, as no major carrier has yet signed on with obvious CDMA 4G upgrade technology, Ultramobile Broadband (UMB).

LTE will have the following advantages:

• Fast, with peak data rates of 100 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload.
• It makes CDMA and GSM debates moot.
• It offers both FDD and TDD duplexing, which means the upload and download speeds don't have to be synchronous, so operators can better optimize their networks to use more upload channels.
• LTE will have lower latency, which makes real-time interaction on high band-width applications using mobiles possible.

3GPP LTE, one of the most advanced mobile communication technologies to date, is currently undergoing 4G technology standardization by the 3GPP This is the most likely technology to become the 4G standard, as many of the world's major operators and telecommunications companies are members of LTE/SAE (Long Term Evolution/System Architecture Evolution) Trial Initiative (LSTI). These companies include operators, such as Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, NTT DoCoMo, China Mobile and Telecom Italia and vendors, Ericsson, Nortel, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Siemens and LG Electronics. These are also the companies that will be considered to have the advantage in deploying first the 4G services.

WiMAX has certain advantages mainly over the Fiber to the home (FTTH) technology. When bundled with broadband internet access and IPTV, a WiMAX triple play becomes very attractive to residential subscribers. Given the QoS, security and reliability mechanisms built into WiMAX, the users will find WiMAX VoIP as good as or even better than voice services from the telephone company. It also offers a cost effective infrastructure with efficient use of spectrum. Currently, the average cost of WiMAX 802.16-2004 baseband has decreased from $35 to almost $20 today per subscriber.

4G proponents will serve as complements or upgrades to advance the 3G limitation to deliver video/TV and high speed Internet access. For WiMAX, there is a limitation of wireless bandwidth. For use in high density areas, it is possible that the bandwidth may not be sufficient to cater to the needs of a large clientele, driving potentially the costs high. But the main competitor for WiMAX today is the fiber and the wireline network that especially in the US is a real challenge for the residential users as the operators are deploying and growing really fast.