A Primer on LTE – link on wikipedia

Our post on “A Primer on LTE” is now referenced on wikipedia on the main LTE page :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Term_Evolution

Let us know your feedback. Thanks for the excellent feedback on a similar post on ”Primer on WiMAX“ and referenced on wikipedia on the main WiMAX page.

A Primer on LTE

LTE or Long Term Evolution is a 4G wireless technology and is considered the next in line in the GSM evolution path after UMTS/HSPDA 3G technologies. LTE is espoused and standardized via the 3GPP or 3rd Generation Partnership Project members. 3GPP is a global telecommunications consortium having members in most GSM dominant countries. 3GPP specifications are based on GSM evolution path of wireless communications. GSM is the most prevalent wireless standard in the world and has maximum number of subscribers globally.

The impact of LTE is so big that even powerful carriers which were on the alternate CDMA path like Verizon Wireless of United States, have decided to go with LTE in their next generation 4G evolution. Firms like Verizon and MetroPCS of USA have all but dumped the CDMA technology path almost dealing a blow to the CDMA owner Qualcomm, although the latter is much more diversified so it is not really short of business models.

LTE vs WiMAX
Whereas WiMAX emerged from the WiFi IP paradigm, LTE is a result of the classic GSM technology path. LTE is behind in the race to 4G with WiMAX getting an early lead with the likes of Sprint ClearWire and several operators in Asia opting to go with WiMAX in the near term. So where WiMAX has a speed to market advantage, LTE has massive adoption and GSM parenthood to back it up.

It is widely believed by market analysts that LTE will win ultimately but WiMAX will find adoption in frontrunner communities and niche business models which tend to take up technology faster. WiMAX vendors will have you believe that speed to market is too important to ignore. History suggests otherwise in case of wireless industry. It is also believed that ultimately, wireless industry will figure out a way to wed the two 4G technologies so the end product in few years might be a nice amalgam.

So ultimately, what standard an operator uses might be a moot point in the long run. The inter-operability would be just too great to get hung up on the wireless standard. The fact that both WiMAX and LTE are all-IP means that a cross-connection will be a piece of cake at some point in future.

In terms of speed, Fixed WiMAX lacks LTE in speed but Mobile WiMAX may catch up with LTE on this front. For an overview on WiMAX, refer to our post “A Primer on WiMAX“.

LTE Technology
LTE builds on 3GPP family which includes GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) etc. LTE is an all-IP standard like its peer WiMAX. LTE allows for rich applications and business models which include ultra-high speed voice, video and data. It also enables integration with the classic internet infrastructure which is all-IP based.

HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), the 3G GSM standard popular over near-term, offers uplink speeds of 11.5 MBPS and downlink of 28 MBPS. Whereas LTE offers 75-100 MBPS Uplink speeds and 250-300 MBPS downlink speeds. Compare this with 20 MBPS U-verse speeds of AT&T wired broadband network U-verse and 50 MBPS speeds in Verizon FIOS TV service. In a nutshell, LTE will beat the fastest wired broadband delivery High Def TV today (in USA) by order of 1 to 4 or 1 to 2 depending on which wired broadband we are talking about. That said, many carriers like AT&T believe that HSPA and its faster cousin HSPA+ will compare well with early WiMAX speeds and so there is no rush to LTE yet for these kind of carriers.

Some key characteristics of LTE are described below :

• Increased Data Rates and High Efficiency : LTE is based on OFDM Radio Access technology and MIMO antenna technology (just like its cousin WiMAX) which offer excellent modulation technique for achieving powerful spectral efficiency.  Think of the OFDM wireless spectrum as a series of very fine and narrow wireless  bands and each band gets allocated to various service providers.  LTE offers higher data transmission rates while utilizing the spectrum more efficiently. This translates to an ability to support many more multitude of subscribers than is possible with pre-4G spectral frequencies. LTE is 2 to 5 times more efficient in spectrum utilization than the most advanced 3G networks.
• Radio Planning : LTE signal goes far and wide and covers a larger geographic territory. LTE signal is way faster than the existing wireless transmission resulting in higher user response times.
• IP environment : LTE is all-IP which permits new enhanced applications like real time voice, video, gaming, social networking and location-based services.  The concept of wireless ubiquity comes alive with LTE processor chips in everything from netbooks to mobile phones to consumer devices; all these devices talk to each other seamlessly and effortlessly.
• Inter-operability : LTE IP network co-operates with circuit-switched legacy networks resulting in a seamless network environment and signals are exchanged between traditional networks, the new 4G network and the IP-based internet seamlessly.

LTE Applications
LTE will enable applications previously unheard of. Wireless ubiquity is a given. All consumer devices. communication and computing resources may be enabled on the wireless network courtesy of chipmakers like Intel who are eagerly building in WiMAX and LTE in future chipsets which will be embedded in all sorts of technology devices that one can imagine.  Social Networking and human-technology interaction (HTI) will take on a new meaning. Human-technology interface and resultant communication could be as seamless and as effortless as the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report makes it out to be (ok we are bragging a bit now).

Web 4.0, if you will, may just comprise the Wireless as an integral element of the hyper-connected world via LTE and WiMAX enablement.  Broadband TV might not need wired cables anymore and new MVNO service providers may emerge who enable wirelessly driven TV and broadband internet. Business users might exchange massive amounts of data while on the go at the flick of a button (or touch). Interacting with your Flickr and Picasas photo streams from mobile devices might be a breeze. Games will cross wired / wireless domains and mobile location will figure in the gaming context naturally. Location-based may take a new meaning with location being the true IP beacon determining the application context in a flash, thereby offering a ultra-personalized mobile experience to the user.

LTE Timeline
Operators are just now fully deploying 3G using WCDMA or UMTS/HSPDA. WiMAX is coming in via ClearWire in USA and several operators like BSNL in India and many others in Middle East and Africa. The first LTE deployment in USA is with relatively tiny MetroPCS which may just beat the big 3 LTE carriers (AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile) in the race to 4G. Verizon is claiming 2010 LTE deployment and AT&T is taking a more patient approach and states that LTE is in 2011-12 timeframe. China is unique, as usual. They have taken the TD-SCDMA 3G route which is a “unique to China” standard.  Chinese 4G strategy is not clear still. India is more LTE centric like the West with major carriers like Airtel and Vodafone adopting the LTE route. LTE in India is many years away as India’s regulator TRAI has not even awarded the 3G spectrum licenses yet.

Japan, we won’t even go there..

A Primer on WiMAX – see our post referenced on wikipedia

Our article on “A Primer on WiMAX” was liked so much that a link to it was created on wikipedia under Notes and References section of the main WiMAX page :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX

Thanks to the team or individual who put our post on wikipedia. So we have decided to create “A Primer on LTE”. LTE is the competing 4G technology and coming a little later than WiMAX. Stay tuned for the LTE primer on this blog.

pre-CTIA event summary 31 March ‘09

Here are interesting happenings from the halos of CTIA Wireless site in Vegas (the event starts tomorrow but there were interesting pre-event conferences/announcements)

• Skype released on iPhone and BlackBerry. We downloaded it and really like what we see. Only issue : it works only on WiFi networks. For now TruPhone wins on this one as TruPhone works on operator network also using its AnyWhere service. We are sure Skype will provide that later. Skype for BlackBerry to be made available this summer.
• RIM to unveil the BlackBerry App World (mobile app store). Nokia Ovi Store comes this summer. MSFT Windows Mobile App Store called Sky Market is later part of this year.
• Handango, one of the initial mobile app developer, launches App Store Accelerator, yet another app store for mobile.
• MSFT thinks that mobile devices are fashion accessories. As such it is teaming up with top designers for designing mobile phone colors and schemes.
• MSFT is collaborating with AT&T for its PlayReady triple-play content management software for synchronized content delivery on three channels – TV, broadband and mobile.
• Go2 Media to create app like experience in mobile browsers like Safari
• AT&T to launch in-vehicle satellite TV service called CruiseCast. If you have seen Uverse from AT&T, you know what AT&T has mastered TV
• Samsung launches first WiMAX device for ClearWire. It is an internet tablet PC.

Stay tuned for more from CTIA as the conference kicks off tomorrow in Vegas.

CellStrat on twitter now

We are pleased to announce that CellStrat is on twitter now. So if you are really really interested in checking what we are doing at the moment, feel free to follow us on twitter.

http://twitter.com/CellStrat

We will be providing tweets as they call them. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 bytes in length. Twitter is an interesting micro-blogging service to post one liners – it is what they are now referring to as “Real-time Web”. A web which changes by the minute and people publish their thoughts on the go. Other people can follow the tweets by a person whereas that person can follow other peoples’ tweets. It becomes more relevant from a mobile perspective as one can post tweets while on the go. So we downloaded the twitter client “twitterific” from iPhone AppStore. This has been created by a firm called “the iconfactory“. Twitterific is fabulous as is twitter.

This is a new model which has evolved over last one year. It has been adopted by one and all around the world from celebrities to businessmen to evangelists.

So chase us on http://twitter.com/CellStrat …

TV Episodes on BlackBerry soon

RIM is planning to announce a full-episode television service for BlackBerry users as early as next week at CTIA. The service is part of RIM’s effort to turn itself into an attractive multimedia option. It will be on a monthly subscription based model. Multiple broadcast and cable networks have licensed content for the service. Read More here.

ROI on Mobile Marketing Campaign

BMW presented a case study at the Mobile Marketing Forum in London. BMW shared how a MMS campaign in Germany, promoting the use of winter tires sent to 117,000 mobile consumers, generated $45 million in sales – or a return on investment of approximately $750 dollars for every dollar spent.

This makes a strong case for any and every kind of company in product or service space to add mobile to their marketing mix.

 

Attended Atlanta Interactive Marketing Assoc Seminar on Ad Networks and Exchanges

I attended a very interesting session at the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AIMA)’s March event. The topic was “How businesses can leverage Ad Networks and Exchanges to drive sales in a down economy“. Four leading ad networks were present to show how their customers are using their platforms in unique and creative ways.

The panelists were :

Lexi Reese, Director Google Ad Network

James Fellows, VP Product Management, Platform-A (AOL)

Marc Grabowski, Executive Director, Yahoo Network Sales

Jay Sears, EVP Strategic Products and Business Development, ContextWeb/ADSDAQ

Moderator : Joel Lunenfeld, Chief Innovation Officer, Moxie Interactive 

 

It was an interesting discussion with lots of insights on internet ad networks and the success factors in internet advertising. Here are some key discussion notes from the panel discussion :

Ad Networks are growing much faster than the overall display market. Advertising is at an all time low but this offers opportunity for advertisers in various ways. The merger and acquisition market is going wild with all sorts of media, tech and ad firms buying each other across industry categories and business verticals. The ad network exchange is now called the super network.

The three pillars of the ad ecosystem are :

Technology, audience and data. All three interplay to provide a compelling ad offering.

According to eMarketer/ComScore, the highest ad network inventory is with Platform A (AOL) although this may be disputed by Google and Yahoo. The latter two follow close behind according to eMarketer.

Lexi’s (Google) presentation :-

With merger with DoubleClick, Google has seen acceleration in display ad category.

Savvier customers are turning to web. 54% customers researching products online before they make buying decisions. Reach is a key factor. With perspective to Reach, Long Tail (vast customer base) drives engagement.

Lexi mentioned that 2x more customers look at niche ad sites. Providing user with choice drives value. Transparency and Flexibility drive ROI.

Lexi gave an example where a major retailer drove down cost of online card redemption by 77% by reviewing Google reports on ad placement and success. Google is also using tools like Conversion Optimizer to determine what price leads to most conversion.

James (Platform A/AOL / advertising.com) :

According to James, the challenges for an advertiser include Fragmentation, Reach, Lack of trust, Quality, Need for ROI and Results. James mentioned that ad market is highly performance oriented now and pays for performance. Platform A’s predecessor Advertising.com is the leading web display network. It has #1 reach, experience and high quality to serve advertisers. Platform A has tools like AdSonar for premium placement targetting. It also offers self-service management for advertisers which is a popular concept.

Marc (Yahoo) :-

Marc mentioned some ideas from perspective of Yahoo :

- It is a matter of reach vs frequency. Frequency is important in advertising.

- Context makes difference.

- Place where an ad is exposed matters. Yahoo ranked within top 3 in 26 vertical categories (eg Sports, Finance etc)

- Specialization is key. This is where Yahoo’s extensive partner network helps.

Jay (ContextWeb) :-

We are in Media Buying 2.0 phase. There is a concept of Fat Tail vs Long Tail of Ad audience. While most eyeballs are spread across Long Tail, 77% of dollars are in Fat Tail. Audience are leaving portals and search is becoming the default portal. There are 100,000 blogs created everyday (wow!). There are 160 million registered web domains today.  As to how marketplace is reacting to the media world now :

Google bought DoubleClick

Yahoo bought RightMedia and BlueLithium

Microsoft bought aQuantive and adECN

AOL bought Tacida and Quito to create Platform A

Agencies are busy building “demand platforms” for ads. 

 

As to what is the way these ad networks differentiate from each other :

Google – targetting

Yahoo – data. Has user attributes and their web behavior stats.

Platform A – Technology and Complete Package plus the ability to act on these factors.

 

All panelists agree that emotional aspect needs improvement in ad business. Eg Video Advertising brings up human emotional aspects.

On Mobile Advertising (the topic we love) : the panelists said that it is a new area yet to be cracked. There are massive liquidity and technology issues in mobile. Although personalization is more advanced in mobile. But really mobile is another channel for advertisers to reach their audience.

4G still ways off

In spite of the massive 4G hoopla the world over, our estimate suggests that LTE-based 4G is still a good bit ways off. We expect 2011 when we see some sporadic strength in 4G business models where real money starts coming in with customer adoption. Although carriers like Verizon, Sprint, MetroPCS in USA and others in Europe and Asia are planning LTE based 4G launches beginning this year, customer adoption may remain low and return on 4G investment will take time. 2012 is a good bet where we see LTE 4G beginning to take hold.

Till then, the “other” 4G technology ie WiMAX does have a time to market advantage. We expect substantial uptake in WiMAX until LTE comes around. However, we think that ClearWire and Sprint (and telecom equipment makers) will ultimately find a way to marry WiMAX and LTE and in 5-10 years we may have either a single dominant standard or at least cooperating WiMAX and LTE environment where devices and networks communicate at the IP layer easily.

As to 3G, China has just now come out with 3G licenses and countries like India are way behind on 3G – the license auction for 3G in India got postponed to later this year due to economic turmoil and upcoming General Elections. So WiMAX and LTE on a mass scale still look like distant dreams. Fact is that 3G and HSPDA is very good for many high speed apps which the customers want today. The business models around 4G are not even visualized so far. Of course all our thoughts exclude countries like Japan and Korea – where wireless is generations ahead….

iPhone 3.0 OS Overview

I wanted to write about the new Apple news – that of iPhone 3.0 software. Apparently it is a version which will fulfill many of the things which were missing before :

- 100 new features
- Search iPhone
- Cut, copy and paste capability – sorely lacking in prior versions
- Send photos, contacts, audio files and locations via MMS
- Read and compose email and text in landscape mode. Earlier the safari browser allowed this but not the email and message box. Now the latter will allow landscape also.
- 1000 new APIs for developers
- enable in-app purchase of content like subscriptions, additional game levels and other content
- apps can communicate with other hardware via Bluetooth
- push is available to developers to push content
- multitasking so multiple apps can run simultaneously
- developers can use the map feature of iPhone in their apps
- developers can access the iPod music (or podcasts etc) library stored on the device and use them innovatively in their apps

 

This is a sample list – we will write more as we learn about this exciting new announcement from Apple – we remain die-hard fans of iPhone which is a true mobile revolution as far as we are concerned.