Spectrum issues could slow LTE rollouts, warn experts

John C. Tanner | June 18, 2010

telecomseurope.net

The pace of LTE rollouts could be slowed down by lack of spectrum availability and high speeds offered by HSPA+, according to industry experts.

Ronny Haraldsvik, marketing VP for SpiderCloud Wireless, said that operators planning on LTE will stay with HSPA+ for a long time.

“They’ll have a lot of devices available and they’ll be looking for ways to drive network efficiencies and get as much capacity out of existing networks as possible, whether it’s via indoor systems or something else,” he said. “It’s about capex and opex and leveraging what they have.”

Haraldsvik added that while that wouldn’t stop cellcos from launching LTE services completely, many will be much more likely to deploy it in pockets of coverage where it makes sense rather than push for large-scale rollouts.

“It’s going to be at least ten years before you see full LTE-only coverage in any market,” he told CommunicAsia Show Daily.

Commenting on the debate over whether HSPA cellcos should leapfrog to LTE or put it off by evolving to HSPA+, Dirk Wolter, Alcatel-Lucent CTO for North & Southeast Asia, said it would depend mainly on how much spectrum a given cellco has on hand.

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