By Paula Bernier
Executive Editor, IP Communications Magazines
Wireless service providers, and just about everybody else, have long said that mobile operators need to move away from all-you-can-eat packages and deliver more targeted solutions based on the particular usage and other needs of end users. Now, it appears, Verizon (News – Alert) Wireless is moving in that direction.
Verizon Wireless expects to offer tiered monthly data plans on its first LTE networks, which are expected to go live in 30 to 40 metro markets later this year, according to a report on the matter. That’s a change from the unlimited access it offers today on its 3G network, the same story indicates. The new tiers are likely to offer buckets of data by the megabyte and could potentially allow customers to share those megabytes across their multiple wireless devices, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam indicated according to the same report, which said the company expects to deliver three to five LTE (News – Alert) handsets in the first half of 2011.
As INTERNET TELEPHONY magazine and TMCnet have reported, both Verizon Wireless and AT&T are relying on Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson (News – Alert) as their key LTE vendors, but while the former is pushing forward with 4G in a stronger way, AT&T is expected to use 4G on a more incremental basis.
Even as AT&T last year publicly embraced LTE, it made new investments to upgrade 3G cell sites to HSPA 7.2 technology, for which it offers 10 end user devices.
Although AT&T has been lambasted for poor coverage and capacity on its 3G network, which has seen heavy traffic in light of the introduction of the iPhone (News – Alert), the company has made clear it aims to continue to leverage its 3G network. That is evident in these new 4G supplier agreements, which stipulate that the 3G equipment delivered by Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson to AT&T starting this year must be software-convertible to LTE, so the company doesn’t have to rip out hardware when it needs to make the long-term evolution.
Tekelec CTO Vince Lesch (News – Alert) points out that, despite exploding mobile broadband demand, service provider revenue is not following the same upward curve from these new access services. As a result, he says, wireless operators must find a way to address demand while at the same time holding down costs, which they’re doing by trying to leverage existing gear whenever possible. That means wireless broadband will typically be supplied over hybrid networks that use a mix of technologies and, thus, require special gear like gateways to handle interworking and security between the two sides.
Edited by Marisa Torrieri
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