The mobile industry has clearly chosen LTE over WiMax for the next generation of mobile broadband connectivity, a senior Alcatel Lucent executive has said.
Patrick Plas, Alcatel Lucent's chief operating officer for wireless, said on Monday that the company is "not putting a lot of effort into this technology [WiMax] any longer", adding that upcoming LTE launches by companies such as Verizon showed "a clear direction taken by the industry towards LTE".
Plas is not the first to point out that LTE (the long-term evolution of 3G) is now firmly in the roadmap of most operators — even WiMax backers have acknowledged that their chosen technology is more likely to serve niche markets. It is, however, interesting to hear a telecoms hardware vendor, which still makes and markets WiMax equipment, say it.
According to Plas, LTE handsets are likely to start appearing at the start of 2011, but operators such as Verizon are more interested in data connectivity in the early stages of the technology.
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Alcatel Lucent pulled out of full-scale WiMAX development years ago, after they clearly couldn't compete with other rivals such as Moto, Samsung and Huawei.
No surprise they're trying to declare WiMAX has 'lost' against LTE. Though the reality is, it is very much alive especially for the hundreds of operators who aren’t legacy gsm mobile operators.
It was always expected that operators with billions of dollars in GSM assets would naturally pick the 4G GSM technology - no surprise there. Too late for them to change.
But to say that WiMax lost against LTE, is laughable. There still isn't even a proper live LTE network in production on the planet! Hundreds of WiMAX deployements on the planet, and by the time LTE arrives, WiMAX 2 will be ready.
LTE vs WiMax, just like PSTN vs VoIP, revenge time against rip off cell operators...
It depends where you are. There are lots of WiMax deployments globally yes, but many fewer where there are strong mobile operators, able to provide good data coverage. It's also good for rural in-fill, I understand, boldly going where no data signal has gone before.
combine rural service (um chicago) in-fill and actuall customer service and a product that works as intended when intended and you get a more than viable product. Raise your hand if you are pissed about dropped calls, infrastructure rates, and poor service....leave your hand up if u would abandon AT&T's sinking ship?
The FCC slapped AT&T and Iphone on the wrist for blocking google phone, how much proof does a world need that the major companies are interested in finding ways to seperate 'me from my money?' Bell Company loyalty is gone, AT&T is just a name, it is CLEAR where I've gone...
Steve Archer II
Clear subscriber for home, voip, and mobile ($80 per month)