14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone operator AT&T announced today that it had selected two suppliers for the deployment of its already unveiled LTE mobile broadband network, namely Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson. According to the company, the selection of equipment partners will be followed by field trials of LTE technology later during the ongoing year, and that the commercial deployment of the network is expected to start in 2011.
AT&T notes that it tested equipment from multiple suppliers prior to making a decision, and that it chose to expand its relationships Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson, which already provide it with 3G network equipment. The carrier expects for the collaboration to result in full compatibility of existing equipment with LTE one, especially since the equipment that will be delivered by the two suppliers during this year will be easily convertible to LTE.
“AT&T’s LTE rollout schedule aligns with industry expectations for development of LTE technology and widespread availability of equipment and compatible LTE mobile devices. The supplier agreements also complement AT&T’s plans to make the nation’s fastest 3G network even faster in advance of LTE networks and devices scaling, allowing the company to continue delivering the most advanced mobile broadband experience in the nation,” the wireless carrier notes.
LTE (Long Term Evolution) is the next-generation technology when it comes to mobile broadband technology, including the GSM/UMTS platform used in AT&T's 3G network today. The LTE technology is expected to deliver higher mobile broadband throughput, as well as lower latency when compared to the existing 3G networks today. According to the carrier, its customers should benefit from compatibility between existing and future networks, since upcoming devices are expected to feature interoperability between 3G and LTE networks.
“The selection of Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson is an important step forward in our ongoing mobile broadband strategy, which is focused on delivering the best possible combination of speed, performance and available devices for customers at every level of technology deployment,” said John Stankey, president and CEO, AT&T Operations. “AT&T has a key advantage in that LTE is an evolution of the existing GSM family of technologies that powers our network and the vast majority of the world’s global wireless infrastructure today. As some competitors move away from their existing investment in niche 3G platforms, we are able to efficiently and quickly move toward LTE while enhancing our existing 3G performance and providing access to a strong ecosystem of customer devices.”