By Carlos Romero, Product Marketing Manager América Latina Telecom, Gemalto
On a recent weekend, I went to the park with my family and using my mobile phone, recorded a high definition video of the good time we were having and instantly shared it with friends using social media. Comments and “likes” started popping up immediately, putting a smile on all our faces. Later on, I downloaded some great new music we heard in the car on our way home. Along the way, we wanted to stop to buy a new lamp; but first, we used my cell phone to visit the store’s website and check color and style choices. We decided on the best option before we arrived and immediately proceeded to the check out register. The store had discount coupons available for download to my phone, so we used them along with my mobile banking account for payment. Throughout the day, my mobile phone served as a valuable tool that improved our entire experience.
Just a few years ago, a day like this would have been impossible. Mobile phones were limited to low speed Internet connections that could not support heavy data services and instant replies typical of computers connected to a fixed network at home. Thanks to the evolution of worldwide mobile networks, it’s now possible to browse from any smartphone or tablet at speeds higher than those possible from a broadband connection.
The last link in modern mobile network evolution is 4th generation LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology. The LTE standard has been gaining ground and quickly growing since it was selected by the majority of mobile network operators to move CDMA EVDO and 3G HSPA networks users to high speed mobile Internet. Deployments are already taking place in Latin America where bigger countries like Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Chile are introducing high speed LTE in major cities during 2013.
According to 4G Americas, a prominent wireless industry trade association, LTE will reach download speeds of up to 100 megabits per second (Mbps), and upload speeds over 50 mbps. Using IP (Internet Protocol) based technology can be complemented by other technologies like Wi-Fi and Femtocells to achieve a total coverage anywhere you go. To put that in perspective, the average Internet speed for Latin American homes is 10 mbits per second for a fixed Internet connection shared by multiple users. So even if an LTE network may achieve an effective speed of 30 mbps, there will be a noticeable and significant change in the type of applications and tasks a mobile user will be able to perform from his handset.
The LTE network map is growing all over the world. According to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA), currently there are 163 commercial networks in 67 countries. From Northern Europe and the United States, to the Middle East and Asia, mobile operators have adopted this benchmark technology and Gemalto is actively supporting commercial launches around the globe.
The immediate benefit for mobile operators that adopt LTE is reduced operational costs and enriched data services that are more economical to provide all due to LTE’s efficient architecture.
According to Ovum Research, the vast number of subscribers moving to mobile broadband is the best indicator of LTE significance. Ovum predicts a five-year growth rate of almost 1000% by 2014 with more than 2 billion users producing annual revenues of $137 billion USD.
The evolution to LTE technology represents a major change and a significant investment for operators since almost all elements of the mobile network must be modified or entirely replaced. Technology providers of internal infrastructure, antennas, handsets and services are swiftly delivering reliable and efficient solutions to get networks up and operating in a short period of time. Gemalto is helping to speed LTE evolution by developing new standards and advancing SIM card technology, the element that connects each user securely to the network.
As the SIM card has evolved, it now supports high-speed connectivity to IP HTTP based platforms enabling continuous application updates and reconfiguration as needed. The platform for Over-the-Air (OTA) remote management has also evolved and can now communicate data using HTTP connectivity via the SIM card in order to facilitate content updates. For new applications like NFC and M2M, it enables advanced use cases that were not possible previously due to use of short messaging (SMS) technology. These advanced applications allow mobile operators to expand into new markets such as mobile trade and payments as well as telemetry and device control, where apps can now be securely downloaded to a SIM card or its profile can be remotely modified in real time when needed.
There are many new applications and users benefit enabled with the arrival of LTE networks, not only for entertainment, but for other purposes such as telemedicine and mobile payments. LTE is enhancing our mobile lifestyles, simplifying the way we live and making apps more reliable. And this evolution only represents the beginning of what high speed networks can offer – we are on the way to a brighter future.