Published: 30 April, 2012
Intel failed in its major attempt to drive 4G standards when it backed WiMAX as the future face of mobile broadband. It finally admitted defeat there, but is still seeking influence in the LTE world. Dominated by traditional players like Ericsson, LTE nevertheless has a TDD flavour which is heavily focused on operators and spectrum bands previously associated with WiMAX. No surprise, then, that Intel has announced a major collaboration with Huawei to boost its profile in TD-LTE.
Huawei is one of the biggest suppliers of both WiMAX and TD-LTE kit, and like Samsung, has successfully chased migration or coexistence projects between the two technologies. It has a role in the world's largest TD-LTE project, at China Mobile, but also in its largest WiMAX migration plan, at Clearwire. Other major TD-LTE roll-outs are taking place in Japan (Softbank), with various Indian operators also expected to start deployment soon.
With such riches on the horizon, Intel is working with Huawei to advance the development of interoperability testing and deployment solutions for TD-LTE. The two companies will establish a jointly owned laboratory in China.
"Huawei has been committed to LTE TDD commercial deployment worldwide," said Deng Taihua, president of Huawei's LTE TDD, WiMAX and TDS business unit. "We will continuously invest in TDD research and deployment as well as the global expansion of LTE TDD networks. We are excited to partner with Intel to accelerate the development of our technology and provide our customers with leading LTE TDD solutions."
By connecting directly to the Huawei's infrastructure Intel will carry out end-to -end testing of its mobile platforms in a real life environment, it said. "Collaborative innovation is Intel's strategy in China," said WK Tan, head of the chip giant's Chinese unit. "The engagement wit Huwaei will take advantage of the two companies' strengths and leading technologies. We are committed to working together with partners in China to build a healthy LTE TDD ecosystem within China and even beyond."