LTE - the bandwidth it will really deliver

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 08 December 2009 04:31

Business IT - Technology

Enthusiastic cellular operators hoping to upgrade to long term evolution (LTE) and their equally enthusiastic vendors have been cheerfully talking up the bandwidth capabilities of the technology to dizzying heights. Verizon Wireless has brought some reality to the situation, announcing what users can expect to get on its LTE network.

iTWire has seen bandwidths in excess of 300Mbps bandied about in press release. Verizon Wireless will be the first operator in the US and among the first in the world to launch LTE. It plans to have services in 25 to 30 markets in 2010, covering approximately 100 million people in the US. It has launched a web site   to give customers a foretaste of what they can expect, saying:

"With Verizon Wireless’ 10 + 10 MHz [10MHz for receive and 10MHz for transmit] implementation, LTE will be supporting average data rates per user of 5-12 Mbps in the forward link, and 2-5 Mbps in the reverse link."

 Verizon has access to spectrum in the 700MHz band covering the lower 48 states of the USA, and Hawaii. It says these data rates will "truly enable video application on the downlink as well as uplink – including but not limited to video-sharing, surveillance, conferencing and streaming in higher definition than is possible with existing 3G technology today."

Another US carrier, Clearwire, which is building out a mobile WiMAX network, claims it will deliver "average mobile download speeds of 3 to 6Mbps with bursts over 10Mbps."