Uzbekistan gets choice of LTE networks
TeliaSonera follows MTS in using the country as a 4G proving ground
Published: 11 August, 2010
READ MORE: Uzbekistan | LTE
We are used to seeing new wireless networks coming to the developed markets as much as a decade ahead of others, leaving the emerging economies to cope with 2G in many cases. 4G may be bucking the trend because LTE and WiMAX are seen as drivers of broadband access for underserved communities, not just advanced mobile applications. So an unlikely nation, Uzbekistan in central Asia, has become the world's first to gain LTE networks from two different operators.
The country's metro centers now boast commercial LTE services from UCell and Russian-based MTS. Both are primarily serving as testbeds for the cellcos' larger owners, which can test LTE in tough terrain but without the significant expense and risk of rolling out at such an early stage in their key territories. MTS recently switched on its LTE network in capital Tashkent and has plans for the main Russian cities once it validates the technology and acquires spectrum, probably later this year.
Meanwhile, UCell is a subsidiary of TeliaSonera, which was the world's first operator to launch commercial LTE networks in Sweden and Norway, and is looking to expand the technology around its many bases in the Nordic, east European and central Asian regions. The two providers have a combined 78% market share in Uzbekistan.
UCell has turned to ZTE for its equipment, favouring the Chinese firm's software defined base station architecture, while MTS is using kit from rival Huawei. ZTE now claims seven commercial or pre-commercial LTE networks and 50 trials while Huawei has been part of several high profile early awards, including Telia's in Norway.
Uzbekistan may be a testing ground rather than a strategic market for its carriers, but it does illustrate a key trend - the squeezing of the upgrade cycle between 3G and 4G in emerging nations. In some areas, 3G may be largely bypassed altogether as operators chase the better economics and spectral efficiency of the new IP-based systems, and their superior ability to support fixed broadband and packet data services as well as mobile offerings.
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