After 20 years of disconnected mobile networks are we finally heading towards a single unified global mobile technology? With the recent unanimity surrounding LTE, perhaps we finally are.
Recent research indicates that 26 network operators have committed to LTE deployments, and among these are the biggest global service providers such as Verizon, Vodafone, NTT DoCoMo, SK Telecom and China Telecom. And if these guys all choose LTE, all the smaller players will have little choice due to the pressures of economies of scale. Perhaps at last we are seeing the unifiying force that will mean one global technology. And its not in the far future. As I mentioned last week, vendors are already being selected and most operators are committing to launch services in 2010 and 2011. Any vendor who is not far along the road with the solution offering is probably already too late to make it to the party. Undoubtedly, we will be ultimately disappointed with the slow availability of interesting handsets (why should 4G be any different to 3G or 2G), but that problem will eventually be solved.
The opportunities & challenges this presents are beginning to be assessed by the TM Forum in a soon to be launched 4G Wireless program. Quite apart from the traditional management challenges, what new business models and opportunities are being opened up by the emergence of LTE and a single global standard. How do we use our SOA based solutions frameworks to open up the 4G network capabilities to the armies of application developers out there just itching to develop global applications? How do we exploit the linkage between 4G and our advanced work on the service delivery frameworks (SDF)?
Interesting stuff!!
Posted
03-09-2009 4:13 AM
by
Martin Creaner