Even with the high rate of adoption of LTE, Ericsson is of the view that older systems are definitely here to stay. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Ericsson’s Joakim Sorelius spoke to IT News Africa about the future of LTE.
“LTE is becoming the mobile standard across the world. We expect it to grow into such a capacity that it reaches at least 2-billion people. While some countries don’t have it yet, it is definitely a reality, and it’s also an answer to network capacity,” said Sorelius.
Sorelius is in charge of Ericsson’s software development platform, and he adds that energy efficiency is becoming a major concern for many mobile operators. “Enegry efficiency is becoming very important, and Green LTE is becoming more prevalent across the world. Mobile operators have found many ways to scale the service, and most importantly, how to save power. LTE can take up a large chunk of power, so reducing it effectively is very important.”
Delving into predictions, Sorelius is of the opinion that while LTE is becoming more prevalent, legacy systems will still be here for a number of years.
“Looking into predictions, you will see GSM and CDMA will still be here in 2020. It would be impossible to undo a large rollout, and GSM is still growing in the number of pick-ups and still has a huge install base. Operators would want to capitalize on that,” he says.
As for LTE, he adds that it is a driving force in the market right now. “For LTE, it is driven by tech-crazy markets. No user can really see the difference between 100 and 450 Mbps, but what it can do is make the network more efficient, and it can make the network faster.”
While developing countries scramble to get the necessary infrastructure in place, it is not these countries that drive adoption, but rather the likes of the USA and Korea.
Sorelius concludes by saying that it is developed nations that play the biggest role in driving, developing and managing LTE solutions, and once they have adopted and developed better speeds, equipment and manageability, it filters down to the nations who need it most.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
