1

LTE anu the 18uu NBz oppoitunity

Noithstieam White Papei
Naich 2u12

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This Noithstieam white papei examines the take-up anu status of
LTE two yeais aftei the fiist commeicial launch anu analyses the
key aspects that will ueteimine its futuie success.
It is wiuely iecogniseu that mobile uata usage giowth, whethei on
smaitphones, laptops oi tablets, will continue. In such a maiket
situation, theie aie a numbei of challenges foi the main
stakeholueis to cope with, opeiatois, equipment supplieis anu
iegulatois alike. Nobile netwoiks will neeu to accommouate
significantly uiffeient volumes anu types of tiaffic than touay,
auopt continuously evolving technologies anu make moie flexible
use of the scaice iesouice of iauio spectium.
Pievious Noithstieam white papeis have uiscusseu the geneiic
oppoitunities anu challenges LTE technology biings to opeiatois
anu how to auopt a suitable migiation stiategy. Two of the majoi
conceins have been how anu when voice seivices coulu be offeieu
anu the availability of ample uevice poitfolios. voice ovei LTE will
inueeu happen soon, anu coulu biing a boost to opeiatois'
uwinuling voice business, but that is a topic foi anothei white
papei. In this papei we insteau put oui focus on analysing the
ciitical availability of suitable anu plentiful LTE spectium anu how
that can enable, oi inveisely piohibit, a continueu stiong giowth
of mobile communication.



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LTE is iecogniseu as the futuie mobile technology in all iegions of the woilu, offeiing high enough uata
speeus anu spectium efficiency to satisfy the iising uata tiaffic neeus of uemanuing enu useis
The two key enableis foi the auoption anu giowth of LTE aie: 1) the cooiuinateu availability of spectium,
netwoik solutions, uevices anu enu-usei seivices, anu 2) spectium iefaiming flexibility
Theie aie seveial spectial options foi LTE, anu in auuition to the eailiei iecogniseu 7uu8uu anu 26uu
NBz banus, one tienu touay is to iefaim the laige spectium iesouices in the 18uu NBz banu foi LTE
The 18uu NBz banu is wiuely useu touay foi uSN but caiiies seveial auvantages that make it suitable foi
LTE, among them its ieauy availability in many iegions anu its balanceu capabilities to pioviue both
capacity anu coveiage
Theie aie no technological baiiieis pieventing ueployment of LTE in 18uu NBz, anu touay alieauy 1S
opeiatois have commeicially launcheu LTE in 18uu NBz, with seveial othei opeiatois conuucting on-
going tiials, stuuies oi consultations. Concuiiently, the numbei of available LTE uevices is iapiuly
incieasing, incluuing also suppoit foi 18uu NBz.


2


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1.1. uiowth in uata tiaffic
The telecom inuustiy has an agieeu unueistanuing that
the foiecasts of massive giowth in mobile uata tiaffic aie
mateiializing. Nobile uata tiaffic is expecteu to giow to
1u.8 exabytes pei month by 2u16, an 18-folu inciease
fiom 2u11
1
.
The majoi uiiving foices behinu the giowth in uata tiaffic,
besiues the incieasing numbei of mobile connections, aie
the incieaseu availability of highei speeu mobile netwoiks
anu the piolifeiation of smaitphones. Anu impoitantly,
uata usage !"# %&''"%()&' is iising as a iesult of uata-
intense applications anu content, clouu seivices anu the
evolution of uata piice plans.
Satisfying the iising uata tiaffic neeus of uemanuing
consumei anu business useis by pioviuing high quality
mobile bioaubanu offeis gieat business oppoitunities foi
the telecommunications inuustiy. Bowevei, to catei foi
anu monetize on this neeu while keeping competitive
auvantages anu piofitability at ieasonable levels, is
challenging. In oiuei to uelivei the fast anu high quality
mobile expeiience to all useis, technologies such as LTE
anu latei on LTE Auvanceu aie neeueu, togethei with
efficient anu maximiseu spectium usage.
1.2. LTE spectium
Nost people in the inuustiy agiee that LTE is the next step
in the netwoik evolution. LTE pioviues auvantages such
as highei capacity, uata iates as high as 1uuNbps (BL)Su
Nbps (0L), lowei latency anu impioveu system uesign.
The uata iates can theoietically be even highei if NIN0 is
also applieu.
Compaieu to 2uSu stanuaius, LTE is uesigneu to be
ueployeu in a vaiiety of spectium ianges in uiffeient
fiequency banus. Foi the initial LTE launches, outsiue 0S
anu }apan, the 2.6 uBz banu has been the most populai as
this banu is available foi mobile seivices in most iegions
of the woilu anu hence inteinationally iuentifieu as the
piimaiy banu foi LTE
2
. Bowevei, LTE can anu will be
ueployeu in existing 2u anu Su banus, in the uigital
uiviuenu banus
S
(7uu oi 8uu NBz uepenuing on the
iegion), as well as in the AWS banu
4
(17uu21uu NBz) in
the 0S anu Canaua. NTT BoCoNo in }apan is also using the
21uu NBz banu foi LTE.

1
Clsco, leb 2012, "Clsco vnl: Clobal Moblle uaLa 1rafflc lorecasL
updaLe, 2011 - 2016"
2
uoLecon, !un 2010, "llxed or flexlble? A survey of 2.6CPz specLrum
awards"
3
Lurope - 800 MPz band (790 - 862 MPz), uS - 700 MPz band (698
- 806 MPz, dlsconLlnuous), AAC - 700 MPz band, Source: CSMA
4
known as uM1S band lv (uL: 1710-1733 MPz, uL: 2110-2133 MPz)
In many Euiopean countiies, the 9uu NBz banu has been
maue technology agnostic, anu while it is still wiuely useu
foi uSN in Euiope, opeiatois aie slowly staiting to ieuse
the banu to auuiess the neeus of the Su maiket anu to
complement the main 21uu NBz banu. Bowevei, theie is
little eviuence of opeiatois investing into ueploying LTE in
the 9uu NBz banu in shoit to miu teim.
A iecent tienu is to use the 18uu NBz banu foi LTE
ueployments. 0ne ieason is that the 18uu NBz banu is
wiuei (has moie capacity) than 7uu8uu oi 9uu NBz anu
offeis a moie cost efficient way to covei laige aieas than
the highei LTE ueuicateu 2.6 uBz banu. Theie aie
opeiatois fiom all iegions of the woilu, except the
Ameiicas, implementing oi tiialling LTE in 18uuNBz. In
Noith Ameiica the 18uu19uu NBz banu is ueuicateu foi
uSN, similaily to the 9uu NBz banu in Euiope anu until
uSN usage uecieases significantly, these two banus will
not be the shoit teim piefeiieu options foi LTE
ueployments.

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1.S. LTE technology auoption
When compaiing the numbei of opeiatoi commitments,
LTE is the fastest ueveloping mobile technology evei. By
the enu of 2u11 theie weie a total of 48 commeicial LTE
launches woiluwiue. Su1 opeiatois aie investing in LTE in
9S countiies, foiecasteu to iesult in a cumulative total of
128 commeicial LTE netwoiks by the enu of 2u12
S
(anu
by the time you aie ieauing this papei, all those numbeis
have likely multiplieu).

3
CSA, Mar. 2012, "LvoluLlon Lo L1L reporL"
NA
!700 MHz
!AWS
Europe
!800 MHz
!1800 MHz
!2600 MHz
APAC
!700 MHz
!800 MHz
!1800 MHz
!2100 MHz
!2600 MHz
Lat. Am.
!700 MHz
!AWS
!2600 MHz
Middle East
!900 MHz
!1800 MHz
!2300 MHz
!2600 MHz


3



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Leaining fiom 2u anu Su (anu the sub-steps of each
geneiation), Noithstieam sees two key enableis that aie
ciitical to a successful take-up of LTE:
1) Cooiuinateu availability of eco-system components;
anu
2) Spectium iefaiming flexibility
In oiuei to avoiu the ielatively slow initial auoption
expeiienceu with Su, cooiuinateu availability of spectium,
netwoik solutions, uevices anu enu-usei seivices neeus to
be achieveu (see Figuie S). The scaicity of the iauio
spectium often leaus to high piices in spectium auctions,
anu to justify laige spectium investments, opeiatois neeu
to be suie that at the iight point in time theie aie netwoik
components as well as uevices available to offei
commeicial seivices.





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With the iapiu pace of maiket anu technology
uevelopment wheie 2u, Su anu now 4u netwoiks aie
simultaneously in commeicial use, opeiatois' spectium
neeus change anu evolve. The tiauitional piactice of
iegulatois locking spectium foi the use of a specific
technology alone, no longei ieflects maiket neeus anu
piohibits efficient use of the spectium. Regulatois neeu to
ensuie that opeiatois have the spectium they neeu foi
new technologies such as LTE anu at the same time
intiouuce the flexibility that secuies a continuously
optimal usage of the natuial iesouice. These goals can
only be achieveu by making spectium technology agnostic.
The two key enableis we auuiess above aie intei-
uepenuent but with the uiffeience that the cooiuinateu
availability of netwoik equipment, uevices anu seivices is
maiket anu inuustiy uiiven, wheieas the spectium is
contiolleu by the goveinments, making them key
gatekeepeis foi the success of LTE. As all cellulai
technologies eventually face the enu of theii life cycles, an
eaily iefaiming of spectium is ciucial to flexibly phase out
the legacy technologies.

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S.1. 2.6 uBz anu 7uu8uu NBz banus

As mentioneu in the pievious chaptei, LTE can be
ueployeu in vaiious fiequency banus - SuPP has iuentifieu
ovei 2u paiieu (FBB) anu 11 unpaiieu (TBB) banus foi
the use of LTE woiluwiue. National anu iegional
uiffeiences of what can be useu uo inueeu exist. But given
the expecteu tiaffic giowth no banu alone can pioviue
sufficient amount of spectium, so combining uiffeient
banus will be ciitical.
The 2.6 uBz banu (2Suu-269u NBz) is paiticulaily
suitable to pioviue capacity in tiaffic-intense uiban
hotspots, but its limitations on wiue aiea coveiage anu
inuooi penetiation often necessitate this banu to be useu
in combination with a lowei spectium banu foi moie cost
efficient netwoik builu out. The wiuespieau suppoit of 2.6
uBz natuially pioviues oppoitunities foi economies of
scale, ease of ioaming anu inteiopeiability of uevices anu
seivices. Spectium in this banu has alieauy been licenseu
in many countiies in westein Euiope anu Asia Pacific, anu
although auctions aie still penuing in many othei
countiies, 2.6 uBz is going to be the globally iecognizeu
LTE banu.
The tiansition fiom analogue to uigital Tv has fieeu
spectium in the 7uu8uu NBz to be allocateu foi
alteinative use, such as ueployment of LTE. Spectium in
these lowei banus is highly valuable uue to supeiioi
coveiage capabilities (especially useful foi subuiban anu
iuial aieas) anu the ability to penetiate well into
builuings. But the iegulatoiy piocess of fieeing up anu
licensing spectium in 7uu8uu NBz is slow anu complex,
anu in many countiies these banus aie not an option foi
LTE ueployment foi many yeais to come. In auuition,
these banus aie not paiticulaily wiue anu may not be
enough to satisfy the capacity neeus. In the 0S, this
spectium was ieleaseu eaily anu touay theie is a laige-
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4

scale ueployment of LTE in the 7uu NBz banu. In Asia
Pacific, Latin Ameiica anu the Niuule East anu Afiica
many of the 7uu8uu NBz banu auctions
6
aie not taking
place until 2u12 - 2u1S. In Euiope, the situation is split as
few countiies in noithein anu westein Euiope have
alieauy licenseu both 8uu anu 26uu NBz while othei paits
of Euiope aie yet to stait the piocess.
S.2. 18uu NBz banu

The fact that 2.6 uBz anu 7uu8uu NBz banus aie not
available in all iegions cieates a highei uemanu foi LTE-
suitable spectium than theie is supply. Even in countiies
wheie spectium in these banus has been licenseu, theie is
ambition to ueploy LTE also in othei fiequency banus. Re-
use of existing 2u anu Su banus such as 9uu, 18uu oi 21uu
NBz foi LTE is alieauy ieality in some maikets anu unuei
consiueiation in otheis. The 18uu NBz spectium banu, in
paiticulai, has come into focus anu makes a stiong case
woith evaluating.
18uu NBz is one of the laigest available cellulai blocks
with a significant amount of spectium in many iegions.
Even though it may take time befoie this banu is exploiteu
to its full potential foi LTE
7
, Noithstieam believes 18uu
NBz will be an impoitant LTE banu in paiticulai in
Euiope anu Asia Pacific, but likely also elsewheie, as it
offeis a balanceu combination of coveiage anu capacity.
Touay, the 18uu NBz spectium banu is wiuely useu foi
uSN anu neaily half of the woilu's 8uu+ opeiatois (SS1
mobile opeiatois in 148 countiies) alieauy have licenses
foi this banu
8
. 0peiatois' spectium poitfolios vaiy of
couise; foi some opeiatois, 18uu NBz is theii only asset
while otheis use it to complement uSN in 9uu NBz. As Su
giauually ieplaces uSN tiaffic, it is logical that the uSN
spectium is fieeu up foi use of eithei Su oi LTE, oi both.
S.S. Chaiacteiistics anu key piopeities of LTE 18uu
NBz

0ne of the specific auvantages of the 18uu NBz banu (see
Table 1) is its size - 2 x 7S NBz in most maikets. The
spectium is often in slots of 1u NBz oi wiuei, typically not
fiagmenteu anu often only paitially utilizeu
9
. Foi example,
in the six key Euiopean maikets
1u
, 8S% of the opeiatois
who have assets in the 18uuNBz banu, have them in slots
of 1u NBz oi wiuei
11
.

The bettei coveiage capabilities of 18uu NBz make this
banu a goou complement to LTE 2.6 uBz paiticulaily foi a
cost-efficient ueployment of LTE in iuial anu subuiban

6
CSMA, 2011, CSMA: ulglLal ulvldend"
7
lL ls predlcLed by lnforma (2011) LhaL 7 of global L1L subscrlpLlons
wlll be ln Lhe 1800 MPz band ln 2016
8
CSMA, !ul 2011, Moblle 8roadband ln Lhe 1800MPz 8and"
9
Lrlcsson, !ul 2011, "Moblle 8roadband ln 1800 MPz SpecLrum"
10
lrance, Cermany, lLaly, Spaln, Sweden, and uk
11
LCC, !an 2012, 1he llcenslng of Moblle bands ln CL1"
aieas. LTE in 18uu NBz allows to ie-use optimally locateu
existing uSN sites, thus ieuucing CAPEX uue to savings in
iesouices otheiwise spent on builuing new sites.
Accoiuing to uSA
12
, it can be as much as 6u% less
expensive to covei the same aiea with LTE 18uu NBz than
with 2.6 uBz. Fewei sites natuially also iesult in lowei
electiicity, maintenance, iental anu othei opeiational
costs.
In countiies wheie 2.6 uBz anuoi the 7uu8uu NBz
banus have not been licenseu yet (oi wheie one oi moie
opeiatois have no such license), 18uu NBz gives the
oppoitunity to ueploy LTE in line with maiket neeus.
Neeuless to say, uelays in LTE ueployment can hinuei
giowth anu huit the inteiests of both opeiatois anu
consumeis.
Sites equippeu with softwaie to switch between
technologies can be iemotely contiolleu as enu useis'
neeus evolve. This way the spectium cuiiently useu foi
uSN, foi example, can be flexibly anu giauually moveu to
LTE as uSN usage uecieases, even momentaiily to catei
foi shoit teim neeus anu specifics.

-54;& () ?#. 5-15#-&'#3 1@ AB! 9FGG H6I
S.4. Refaiming of spectium in 18uu NBz foi LTE
Alieauy in 2uu9, the E0 issueu a uecision
1S
to allow the
use of 0NTS in 9uu anu 18uu NBz as a technology that
can coexist with uSN. The uecision was complementeu in
Apiil 2u11 to incluue 4u anu specific technical guiuelines
on fiequency sepaiation between uSN anu LTE, 0NTS oi
WiNax when these netwoiks aie ueployeu in pioximity.
Bowevei, the iegulatoiy lanuscape in Euiope is veiy
fiagmenteu anu although many E0 countiies have
acknowleugeu this uecision anu allow technology
neutiality in 9uu anu 18uu NBz, full Euiope wiue
iefaiming will take some time.


12
CSA, nov 2011, "Lmbraclng Lhe 1800 MPz opporLunlLy"
13
Lu Commlsslon ueclslon 2009/766/LC13
Key properties of LTE 1800 MHz
! Good availability of the spectrum
! In total 2 x 75 MHz available in most markets
! Mainly in slots of 10 MHz or more
! Offers balanced combination of coverage and
capacity
! Increased coverage (2x the coverage of 2.6
GHz)
! Less regulatory barriers
! Accelerates the deployment of LTE (auctions
of 2.6 GHz and/or 700/800 MHz pending)
! Possibility to reuse optimally located BTSs
(optimal coverage)


5

Potential setbacks can aiise if iefaiming 18uu NBz
impacts the national maiket anu its competition lanuscape
as spectium is not always equally uistiibuteu among
opeiatois (e.g. Austiia, the Netheilanus, 0K, etc.). This
complexity, howevei, shoulu not stop the piocess; meiely
uelay ueploying LTE in the 18uu NBz banu in the shoit
iun.

In Asia, many countiies alieauy allow oi consiuei to
peimit iefaiming of 18uu NBz, though not yet China anu
Inuia who seem not to have iefaiming of 18uu NBz on
theii agenua, likely uue to continueu uSN giowth anu the
focus on 2Suu anu 26uu NBz banus foi LTE.

LTE has been commeicially launcheu in 18uu NBz
spectium in 12 countiies by 1S opeiatois
14
(See Table 2).
uiant multi-countiy opeiatois such as Beutsche Telekom
have launcheu LTE 18uu NBz, thus paving the way foi
smallei opeiatois anu communicating to the uevice
maiket that LTE 18uu NBz is a tiue anu immeuiate
option.
In auuition to the commeicially launcheu LTE 18uu NBz
netwoik ueployments, tiials, stuuies anu consultations
have been oi aie being conuucteu in ovei 2S countiies,
incluuing Biazil, Fiance, Sweuen, anu the 0K.


-54;& 9) AB! 9FGG H6I $1++#-$',8 8,%<$2#3
S.S. Potential challenges to ueploying LTE in 18uu
NBz

14
CSA, Mar. 2012, "LvoluLlon Lo L1L 8eporL", norLhsLream research

As foi any iefaiming, using 18uu NBz foi LTE poses
potential technical anu ueployment ielateu challenges.
Theii extent natuially uepenus on the situation in the
paiticulai countiy.
With LTE Auvanceu in sight, ueploying LTE to its full
potential woulu iequiie ample spectium iesouices - with
banuwiuths of 1u to 2u NBz the benefits aie best
leveiageu, at least when it comes to futuie banuwiuth
intensive seivices. Bowevei, the flexibility of LTE allows
the technology to be implementeu even in lessei
banuwiuths such as 1.4, S anu S NBz. The smallei
banuwiuth natuially affects the capacity anu speeu, but on
the othei hanu - anu heiein lies a stiong auvantage - it
enables efficient spectium usage anu tailoieu fiequency
scenaiios. Still, the capacity, oi uata speeu is essentially
piopoitional to the banuwiuth in use. Foi example, if 2u
NBz banuwiuth gives 9u Nbps, S NBz woulu give an
auequate 1S Nbps.
Anothei question iegaiuing spectium iefaiming foi LTE
in 18uu NBz (oi iefaiming in geneial) is the potential
uegiauation of existing uSN seivices. Wiieless solutions
aie always affecteu by inteifeience fiom othei usage of
the spectium, anu tiauitionally guaiubanus have been set
in between aujacent spectium banus to avoiu inteifeience
of uiffeient iauio technologies. Although technology
auvancements allow naiiowei guaiubanus, intei- but
moie impoitantly intia-banu inteifeience becomes a non-
negligable consiueiation when 18uu NBz is giauually
tiansfoimeu fiom uSN to LTE use.
Bowevei, uSN anu LTE can well coexist in the same banu,
even in multi-opeiatoi uncooiuinateu opeiations 2uu kBz
sepaiation between the channel euges is sufficient to
pievent inteifeience
1S
. As uiscusseu above LTE can be
ueployeu with as little spectium as 1.4 NBz allowing co-
existence even in faiily naiiow banus. When spectium is
useu in cooiuinateu opeiation no channel sepaiation is
neeueu
1S
as opeiatois can minimise the netwoik quality
impact by caieful netwoik planning. Inteifeience issues
can also be mitigateu with LTE specific inteifeience filteis
in place. In eithei case, the ability to successfully manage
the two technologies in the same banu is impoitant, as
uSN tiaffic, will still be a significant technology foi seveial
yeais to come.
Albeit the challenges uiscusseu above neeu to be
auuiesseu by opeiatois, none of these constitutes a
technological baiiiei, anu the auvantages of ueploying
LTE in 18uu NBz aie significant anu outweigh the
potential uiawbacks.

13
CL1/LCC, nov 2010, CompaLlblllLy sLudy for L1L and WlMAx
operaLlng wlLhln Lhe bands 880-913 MPz / 923-960 MPz and 1710-
1783 MPz / 1803-1880 MPz (900/1800 MPz bands)"
Operator Country Launch Coverage
(at launch)
Aero2 /
Mobyland
Poland Sep 2010 3 cities
Omnitel Lithuania April 2011 5 cities
M1 Singapore June 2011 Financial
district
DT Germany July 2011 1 city
LMT Latvia May 2011 1 city
TeliaSonera Finland Aug 2011 2 cities
Zain Saudi Arabia Sep 2011 3 cities
Telstra Australia Sep 2011 Capital CBDs,
+30 regional
centres
Telia Denmark Oct 2011 -
Elisa Finland Nov 2011 -
CSL Hong Kong Nov 2011 -
DNA Finland Dec 2011 4 cities
SingTel Singapore Dec 2011 City centre
T-Mobile Hungary Jan 2012 10 districts in
capital
KT South Korea Jan 2012 1 city


6

S.6 Spectium poitfolio stiategies
When ieviewing the case foi ueploying LTE in 18uu NBz,
it is impoitant to evaluate it in the context of an opeiatoi's
oveiall spectium poitfolio anu netwoik technology
stiategy. 0ne sample illustiation on how to exploit
spectium efficiently can be seen in Figuie 4 below.
0peiatois have two piactical alteinatives of how to use
theii 18uu NBz spectium: Continue to use solely foi uSN,
&# giauually ueploy LTE in co-existence.
Pioviueu the iegulatoi peimits technology neutiality,
choosing between these alteinatives is essentially a
commeicial uecision. The ioute an opeiatoi selects is
laigely uepenuent upon the access to anu amount of 2.6
uBz anu 7uu8uu NBz spectium.
In theoiy, theie is a thiiu option - to ueploy Su, but in
ieality opeiatois have not chosen to ueploy Su in the 18uu
NBz banu anu the uevice ecosystem is cuiiently not
suppoiting such a choice.
In the long iun, as Su will eventually be phaseu out,
opeiatois can stait to ieuse the 9uu NBz spectium foi
LTE. The time fiame is unceitain, but in the futuie LTE
9uu NBz will catch up with LTE 18uu Nhz.
0peiatois may also ie-allocate uSN tiaffic between 9uu
anu 18uu NBz in oiuei to continue seiving existing uSN
customeis while ieusing spectium in these banus foi new
technologies.
These aie of couise simplifieu examples, anu in ieality the
options aie manifolu, uiiven by spectium assets.
0peiatois' choices will be baseu on a combination of the
iegulatoiy situation, the maiket neeus, anu the existing as
well as potential spectium allocations. But in the enu,
having the flexibility of choosing the optimal technology
foi any anu all spectium assets allows opeiatois to focus
on the commeicial aspects anu satisfying customei
uemanu anu giowth.

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16
8ased on daLa from Lrlcsson, "Moblle 8roadband ln 1800 MPz
specLrum", !ul 2011
J: K#('$# ,<= #<=D%3#- 3#-('$#3 ,(,'8,0'8'&.
4.1. LTE 18uu NBz uevices anu chipsets

The high spectium flexibility anu auaptability of LTE is not
only an auvantage - the flipsiue is the challenge foi uevice
anu chipset venuois. Theie is wiuespieau inuustiy
acknowleugement that multi-banu multi-moue uevices
that can seamlessly opeiate in vaiious moues (such as LTE
FBB, LTE TBB, uSN, BSPAanu oi CBNA Ev B0 as well as
Wi-Fi anu uPS) anu in multiple fiequency banus aie
neeueu in oiuei to ensuie smooth seivices both in all
situations in the home countiy anu when ioaming
inteinationally. We aie still at the eaily stages of LTE, anu
although moie than half of the LTE mobile uevices suppoit
only a single banu, theie's still an encouiaging (ca.) 2u%
which aie uual banu anu ovei 2S% suppoit thiee banus oi
moie.
17
Theie aie stiong ieasons to believe that uevices
will incieasingly caiiy multi-banu chipsets.
Technology uevelopment has alloweu chipsets anu uevices
to suppoit gieatei ianges of both multi-moue anu multi-
banu systems. Even though it is technically possible to
incluue "eveiything", in ieality uevice venuois aie facing
the uecision of how many combinations of technologies
anu fiequency banus to incoipoiate in a single uevice. The
tiaue-off is typically the physical size of the uevice, the
BoN, the powei consumption anu possibly also
peifoimance uegiauations. Neveitheless, the
auvancements in chipsets anu uevices have been
impiessive anu, it is expecteu that the 18uu NBz banu will
be wiuely suppoiteu in most LTE uevices.
In fact, the availability of uevices suppoiting LTE 18uu
NBz is iapiuly incieasing. Even though most LTE netwoik
launches so fai have been in the 26uu anu 7uu NBz banus,
ca. 2u%
18
of all the LTE uevices available on the maiket
touay aie LTE 18uu NBz compatible
19
.

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17
lnforma, Aug 2011, "A global analysls of L1L specLrum
requlremenLs and buslness models"
18
lf devlces LargeLed for Lhe uS markeL (700 MPz band devlces -
malnly slngle band) are excluded, Lhe percenLage of L1L 1800 devlces
ls much hlgher (ca. 40)
19
CSA, !an 2012, 8eporL: SLaLus of Lhe L1L LcosysLem"
LTE 700/800 MHz
900 MHz
1800 MHz
2100 MHz
2600 MHz LTE
3G
GSM/3G
Urban Suburban Rural
LTE/GSM
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7

0ne challenge with iespect to smaitphones has been to
meige Su anu 4u into a single chipset, which woulu
oveicome some of the shoitcomings above. Nanufactuieis
(e.g. BTC with Thunueibolt) have hau to stiike a balance
between the uesign anu size in oiuei to allocate a sepaiate
space foi an LTE chipset. In auuition to the phone size,
batteiy-life is also affecteu. Neveitheless, leauing uevice
venuois such as Samsung have launcheu smaitphones
suppoiting LTE anu the volumes aie incieasing. Chipset
venuois aie alieauy offeiing solutions that enable uual
moue BSPA anu LTE 18uu NBz (Qualcomm, foi example).
In the past yeai the LTE uevice iange has moie than ten
folueu
2u
. uiven that the piopoition of LTE 18uu NBz
capable uevices has incieaseu within the oveiall giowth in
LTE uevices, anu given the opeiatoi inteiest, it is faii to
assume that suppoit foi 18uuNBz in LTE uevices will
become "stanuaiu", thus suppoiting the auoption of 18uu
NBz as a majoi banu foi LTE.
4.2. Enu-usei uata seivices

As the final component in the key enableis, enu-usei
seivices play an impoitant pait in uiiving the LTE
ecosystem foiwaiu. As the uigital lifestyle continues to
evolve, uevices become moie sophisticateu anu the
netwoiks become capable of fuithei incieaseu uata iates,
the seivices get moie auvanceu, fastei anu uata-intense.
0nlike the 2u to Su tiansition, the Su to LTE will be
subtlei foi the enu useis anu mainly - at least initially -
visible in the foim of impioveu veisions of the seivices
consumeu ovei Su netwoiks. The key impiovements enu-
useis will expeiience with seivices on LTE netwoiks will
be the lowei latency anu gieatei uata speeus, qualities
that aie especially beneficial to, foi example, viueo baseu
seivices anu gaming. But the meie existence of LTE will
also cieate momentum foi new anu innovative seivices
that exploit the capabilities of LTE, to be intiouuceu both
by opeiatois anu 0TT (0vei-the-top) pioviueis.

As foiecasteu by Cisco
21
, alieauy befoie LTE becomes
wiuely available, mobile uata tiaffic will pieuominantly
come fiom mobile viueo oiienteu seivices. Accoiuing to
Cisco, mobile viueo will geneiate 71% of mobile uata
tiaffic by 2u1S, followeu by mobile biowsing at 2u%. With
an incieaseu LTE penetiation, theie will be both a push
anu a pull effect on that tienu. Infoima suiveys
18
also
confiim the foiecast that the gieatest tiaffic volumes on
LTE netwoiks will come fiom viueo (incl. stieaming anu
uownloaus).


20
yramld 8esearch, !an 2012, "L1L uevlces and AppllcaLlons"
21
Clsco, leb 2012, "Clsco vnl: Clobal Moblle uaLa 1rafflc lorecasL
updaLe, 2011 - 2016"

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Even though touay Su can accommouate compaiable uata
iates to LTE (when ueployeu in small banuwiuth), going
foiwaiu the gieatei efficiency of LTE netwoiks will
pioviue goou oppoitunities foi the evolution of a iange of
othei seivices that exploit anu benefit fiom the lowei
latency anu incieaseu uata iates. Subsequently, LTE
Auvanceu will be the ieal uiffeientiatoi, biinging along
tiemenuous oppoitunities foi enu-usei seivices. Look out
foi a futuie white papei on this topic.


Q: R%&%-# $1<3'=#-,&'1<3 ,<= $1<$8%3'1<3
While the inuustiy has enuoiseu LTE as the next cellulai
technology, one of the biggest unceitainties lies in the
spectium availability anu the potential fiagmentation of
LTE spectium. The E0, as well as the FCC with theii
flexible iefaiming policy, have given theii suppoit to the
technology agnostic use of spectium. 0peiatois neeu this
in oiuei to pioceeu with commeicial LTE ueployments -
anu even moie to exploit LTE-A foi that mattei.
While 2.6 uBz has been the most populai spectium banu
foi the initial LTE launches, theie aie convincing
inuications that 18uu NBz will gain stiong inteiest as it
offeis significant savings in netwoik costs uue to its bettei
coveiage capabilities. Nonetheless, most iegions will neeu
to use combinations of spectium, whethei uue to
economics, spectium availability oi legislation. 18uu NBz
will be one of the key LTE banus in the futuie as almost
half of the opeiatois globally aie alieauy in possession of
spectium in this banu. With flexible anu speeuy iegulatoiy
auaptations this iesouice can be veiy instiumental foi an
efficient LTE ueployment anu giowth.
0peiatois aie keen to ueploy LTE as the cuiient netwoiks
aie stiuggling to cope with the incieasing uata usage.
Smooth tiansitions fiom one technology geneiation to
anothei have always been challenging foi the inuustiy.
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8

This time, having not only one but two geneiations of
legacy technologies, whose seivices neeu to be maintaineu
foi quite an extenueu peiiou, the complexity incieases
significantly. Regulatois can iemove a potential bottleneck
by piomptly anu justly iefaiming anu ieallocating the
spectium iesouices. In the enu, the flexibility of combining
spectium banus anu technologies to satisfy maiket neeus
is piincipal to ieap the giowth oppoitunities. By speeuing
up the iegulatoiy piocesses the telecommunications
maiket as a whole coulu seize this oppoitunity anu benefit
fiom what LTE technology can offei.











/01%& S1-&23&-#,+
Founueu in 1998, Noithstieam is an expeiienceu
management consulting fiim pioviuing stiategic business
anu technology auvice to the global telecom anu meuia
inuustiies. We help oui clients thiough inuepenuent anu
objective analyses, auvice, pioblem solving anu suppoit
that aie tailoi-maue to oui client's situation. 0ui woik is
baseu on a well-balanceu combination of innovation,
inuustiy best piactices anu in-house methouologies.
Noithstieam typically woiks with:
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Stiategic souicing of systems anu seivices
Technology & piouuct stiategy evaluation
0peiational ieview, optimization anu suppoit
Investment analysis anu uue uiligences
Clients acioss the woilu incluue mobile opeiatois,
netwoik anu uevice supplieis, application pioviueis,
investment banks, iegulatois anu inuustiy foia. Contact us
to leain moie about how we can woik togethei to ensuie
youi success in the mobile voice anu bioaubanu business.


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