2013 will be the year for Long Term Evolution technologies, an evolution in communication technologies from 3rd to 4th generation (4G). More than 40 networks around the world will have some kind of LTE access in all major cities. Although less than 20% of mobile users have LTE-enabled devices, it is foreseen that by 2015-2016 this rate will grow to 50%.
Currently, the main challenges for mobile operators are focused on their capacity and coverage: how the rise in data consumption will be faced; how will networks evolve to be able to work with LTE (especially companies); or how traffic will be managed –be it for OTT (Over-The-Top) services or in those managed by operators themselves–, as it is expected to grow exponentially until completing the bandwidth.
These are some of the LTE companies that will be attending the Mobile World Congress 2013:
- SpiderCloud Wireless
This American company provides 3G, LTE/4G E-RAN and dual-band Wi-Fi services for mobile operators, as well as BYOD and MDM and PBX services, through UC (Unified Communications) extensions and cloud-based services and applications for their more than 10,000 connected devices. Despite 80% of mobile connections taking place indoors, there is still a general lack of confidence in in-building connections, which is a setback for productivity. SpiderCloud delivers reliable mobile services indoor for enterprise customers, actively working with mobile operators to redesign in-building networks and therefore gain back their trust. If we take into account that smartphone and tablet corporate network connections have grown condierably over the past few years, it is obvious that the corporate world will be leader in application of LTE services. SpiderCloud allows operators to offer real mobility management for companies, which is one of the reasons why Wall Street Journal puts it number 5 in their “Top 50 Start-Ups” “The Next Big Thing 2012”. You will find them at Hall 2, Stand 2A130.
- Ixia
Another United States-based company, Ixia provides comprehensive converged IP network validation and network visibility solutions, providing solutions for mobile operators, service providers, enterprises and government agencies. Among Ixia’s solutions are voice over LTE (VoLTE) services, intelligent network visibility platforms, to cover feedback needs and to maintain wireless security in all the network’s IPs, all of them in a realistic media-rich traffic and network conditions emulation, so that customers can optimize and validate the design, performance and security of their networks before these are deployed. You will find them at Hall 2, Stand 2MR184; and Hall 6, Stand 6C91.
- Citrix Bytemobile
Yet another American company, Citrix ByteMobile works with large telecom companies such as Vodafone, T-Mobile, SFR and Telefónica to face the challenge posed by the growing demand of video, apps and multimedia content through LTE and 3G networks due to the constantly growing penetration of smartphones and tablets. Bytemobile’s traffic management integrates cache storage, load balancing, Deep Package Inspection (DPI), video and website optimization and policies analysis and control, all of this in a single network element to provide the best experience for subscribers and a more efficient network usage. You will find them at Hall 5, Stand 5C110.
TD-LTE at the Mobile World Congress
One of the main LTE events of the Mobile World Congress was the Global TD-LTE Initiative’s LTE TDD/FDD International Summit, where companies like Bharti Airtel, AT&T or China Mmobile discussed the current situation and announced future improvements.
Randall Stephenson, Chairman, President and CEO of AT&T strongly believes that LTE and the cloud are going to be key players in this new mobile era and, in his words, “we’re still early, but this has already proven to be probably one of the most powerful technological combinations that we have seen”.
Bharti Airtel‘s Chairman, Sunil Mittal, also highlighted TD-LTE coverage issue at 2.3GHz, and said that it is proving challenging, although they are working with suppliers like Qualcomm, ZTE, Huawei, NSN and others to improve the situation.
And China Mobile announced, also at the summit, that they are planning to introduce TD-LTE network later this year, and they’re currently trialing it in 15 cities across China. They also said that they will be releasing 8 new TD-LTE devices, including some manufactured by themselves and devices produced by LG, HTC, Huawei and ZTE.
