LTE handsets by mid-2011, says Verizon
With ever increasing bullishness, the US operator brings forward the timeline to go beyond dongles
Published: 12 March, 2010
READ MORE: US | Verizon | VoIP | Handset | LTE
Verizon Wireless is getting increasingly bullish about handset availability for its forthcoming LTE network, even though major chip suppliers like Qualcomm remain cautious about timescales. Tony Melone, CTO at the cellco, told The Wall Street Journal that he expected the operator to offer handsets within 3-6 months of launching commercial LTE services, bringing the timeline forward by about six months.
At the recent Mobile World Congress, Dick Lynch - CTO for the Verizon group - said the LTE services would go live in 25-30 markets by the end of this year, so this would imply that Verizon expects handsets to be available by mid-2011 at the latest. Partners had previously indicated that progress beyond the dongle or notebook was faster than expected - for instance, Verizon Wireless' device testing partner, Spirent Communications, had hinted at cellphone availability in 2011. Previously, most analysts had not expected phones to be commercially ready until 2012.
One factor will be Verizon's early adoption of full IMS, so that it can support IMS voice. Many operators will hold back on phones until they have deployed a voice over LTE solution, since voice remains a critical application for handsets. Some will address voice by falling back to 3G networks, others by adopting a somewhat less drastic solution than full IMS, such as the VoLTE (voice over LTE) approach.
The first LTE handsets for Verizon will be dual-mode, allowing users to roam onto 3G CDMA when they are out of coverage areas, which will be confined mainly to large urban centers for the first couple of years at least.
More important than early deadlines, though, will be the devices' usability. Battery life, form factor and user experience will all be issues - as seen in the early days of 3G handsets.
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