By
Paul Sutton, Sukki Sandhar and Manish Gupta
The start of each new year is a temporal benchmark at which time we consciously survey the progress and stumbling blocks of the prior period and fold that information into an updated perspective on what is to come. It’s a time to take stock and re-prioritize our projects and resources so we can maximize our opportunities during the next critical twelve months of our economic recovery and growth. For many operators, rising to the top of the list of critical agenda are decisions on “when” and “how” they are going to deploy an LTE network.
A number of operators have already answered the “when” question in 2009, and LTE projects are already committed to by KDDI, Softbank, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, Verizon, AT&T, Telus, Optus, and others. With the industry looking at substantial proliferation of LTE networks globally between 2010 and 2013, that list is certain to grow.
The rationale for that decision is well substantiated and acknowledged. Evidence suggests that instead of implementing reactive “baby-step” point solutions to individual network and service offering challenges, deploying a comprehensive LTE network will deliver a much more impactful architectural and capability upgrade. This is essential for operators who see the exponential growth in service usage as both a boon, with regard to new revenue opportunity, and a burden, with regard to punishing traffic load on their current infrastructure. Deployment of LTE networks enables operators to make sweeping
|
|
LTE projects are already committed to by KDDI, Softbank, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Orange, Verizon, AT&T, Telus, Optus, and others |
|
- Capability to engage in new partnerships and revenue opportunities based on innovative business models
- The ability to achieve better spectral efficiency
- Increased throughput and cell capacity with reduced response times
- A flatter, more simplified network architecture that reduces the need for multiple interfaces and shortens interoperability testing
The last three listed benefits are important to an operator’s ability to more effectively and cost-efficiently deliver services. However, in most cases the total bottom-line benefit of
|
|
|
|
enhancements to their ability to affect both top-line and bottom-line performance, raising their performance capability bar in line with the steep usage growth curve.
Therefore, LTE can be seen as much more than a network solution. It can indeed be seen as an evolutionary change that provides a new order of benefit… across multiple operational parameters. For example, LTE can deliver:
- Flexibility that will enable a more rapid introduction of new services and devices
- The ability to deploy existing services and legacy infrastructure in a manner that smoothly migrates them to be deployed alongside innovative new services
|
|
harvesting these operational savings is likely insufficient to offset the type of major incremental investment an LTE deployment requires. To justify LTE implementations, it is critical to achieve rapid return on investment (ROI). Moreover, in today’s economic environment, accelerating the pace of return (POR) becomes a critical factor in positioning an operator to participate in and exploit opportunities during the impending economic recovery. Note, however, that the first three points of benefits as listed above go directly to improving an operator’s ability to respond quicker, deliver quicker and therefore exploit new revenue opportunities more rapidly and efficiently. With these benefits added into the equation, LTE network deployment should in fact be able to produce a positive ROI in short duration. It is clear that early monetization of LTE networks is crucial not
|
|
