4G Now

LTE Momentum Increases, to Eclipse WiMAX Equipment Spending by 2011

The cellular infrastructure world is buzzing as LTE (Long Term Evolution) gains momentum to bring wireless customers one step closer to a viable 4G mobile network. According to new research from International Data Corporation (IDC), more than a dozen new networks are poised to go live this year, and spending on LTE will exceed WiMAX equipment spending by the end of 2011. Worldwide LTE infrastructure revenues will fall just below $8 billion by 2014.

Femtocell Base Stations Poised for Spectacular Growth

The ecosystem surrounding femtocells, or cellular base stations that improve indoor wireless coverage, is headed toward critical mass among all major nodes of the wireless supply chain and will vault into explosive growth after reaching a decisive watershed this year, iSuppli believes.

Unit shipments of femtocells will more than triple this year, rising to 1.9 million, up from 571,000 in 2009, according to iSuppli projections. A period of phenomenal expansion then will follow, with shipments reaching 7.2 million units in 2011, up 289 percent from 2010. Shipments will rise by 232 percent to reach 23.9 million units in 2012 and by a whopping 657 percent to hit 39.6 million units in 2013.

LTE impact in Australia only significant from 2014

According to Ovum, significant impact from LTE will not occur in Australia until 2014, as networks are deployed nationally in digital dividend spectrum.

Ovum believes that LTE will be deployed predominately in urban areas using the 2.5GHz and potentially other bands long prior to 2014. However, the big impact will come once digital dividend spectrum becomes available and national LTE rollouts commence, of a then mature LTE technology. By end 2014, LTE will represent 10% of mobile connections in Australia.

Mobile WiMAX Chipset Shipments Surge in 2009

Shipments of mobile WiMAX chipsets reached 5 million in 2009, up from 1.3 million in 2008, according to the first issue of the 4Ggear Quarterly Report from Maravedis. 4Ggear is an ongoing research and analysis service focusing on technology and business trends among the leading equipment vendors for LTE, WiMAX, and selected proprietary systems.

LTE and WiMAX Deployments Go Head-to-Head as the 4G Technology Battle Begins

December 2009 saw the first commercial launch of LTE networks, with TeliaSonera the first service provider in the world to offer the service in Stockholm and Oslo. 2010 promises to see the commercial launch of several LTE networks, including large operators such as Verizon Wireless in the United States and NTT DoCoMo in Japan. With voice standards still in development and a lack of compatible handsets, however, we can expect these networks to carry only data traffic for some time to come.

WiMAX equipment and device market up for third consecutive quarter, subscribers up 75% in 2009

Infonetics Research released its fourth quarter (4Q09) WiMAX Equipment, Devices, and Subscribers market share and forecast report.

"The WiMAX market is coming out of the recession period strongly, posting three consecutive quarters of revenue growth for 802.16e equipment and devices. With Clearwire in the U.S. announcing strong quarterly results, Yota in Russia expanding rapidly, and others such as UQ in Japan being aggressive, the WiMAX business model seems to be working. Though we are still in the early days, WiMAX is proving to be a good fit in a range of broadband segments in developed as well as developing markets," notes Richard Webb, directing analyst for WiMAX at Infonetics Research.

LTE Chipset Makers Position for Long Term Endeavor

LTE is a truly evolutionary communications platform and will become the dominant 4G technology. However, LTE deployment will be gradual and protracted. Nevertheless, chipset manufacturers, such as Broadcom, Infineon and Qualcomm, have established LTE product development plans, according to market research firm In-Stat.

Further, market entrants, such as Altair Semiconductor, Beceem, BitWave, Comsys, Sequans and Wavesat, are hoping the LTE shift opens new opportunity.