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Though 3G spectrum auction is yet to take place in the country, the operators should start formalizing the LTE strategy. The Indian operators need to decide their stand on LTE even as they get ready for the forthcoming 3G auctions. This is because the LTE technology is moving from definition to implementation. Commercial launches of LTE are expected to start in 2010, with early deployments from NTT DoCoMo, Verizon and TeliaSonera.

A recent research by Ovum advocates that operators need to clarify their plans for LTE in order to pursue the near-term goal – spectrum acquisition. Implementing LTE presents different challenges, not all of which need to be addressed immediately but keeping in mind the clear cut strategies will help propel the technology into accessible and easy adoption.

“It isn't necessary to do everything at once or soon. There are few first-mover advantages at the moment, as the entire LTE environment and business case is not yet mature. However, it's crucial to have a top-down strategy with a clear vision of what LTE is for; this will drive the business case and thus the rollout plan, which in turn is needed to drive the most pressing issue – spectrum acquisition,” says Jeremy Green, practice leader, mobile at Ovum.

Early strategizing for LTE deployment offers clear advantages to the operators. Ovum believes that there is no need to rush headlong into implementation. A few operators with specific technology migration concerns or capacity issues may have grounds for an early move to LTE; others can afford to wait until implementation and operational issues are resolved and the business case improves. In the same vein, CDMA operators with LTE ambitions will have to assess what they want to do with their existing CDMA assets. This may range from shutting down the network to go to HSPA before moving to LTE, to operating two or three networks in parallel.

In these trying times, faster rollout appears to make most sense. Moreover, from a marketing and technical outlook, a futuristic option seems more viable. In the domain of of mobile communications, it is always hard to sell a service which requires user behavior to overcome limited coverage. Therefore, the gradual roll outs will only guarantee long term sustainability and the efficiency gains which LTE promises.

However, not all technical factors point in the same direction. LTE's support for legacy services such as voice telephony and SMS means that it cannot yet effect a wholesale replacement of the 3G network. The phased introduction of devices, beginning with data-only devices, tends to support the same conclusion.

The report also says that eventually most mobile networks will almost certainly implement LTE, just as they did 3G; only niche players with a very carefully defined strategy aimed at low-end customers will be able to give a long term sustaining services. The introduction of LTE is provoking feelings of repetition as many of the claims being made for the technology are repetition made for 3G ten years ago, some of which like the suggestion that higher data speeds will enable new sources of revenue for mobile operators – are no more likely to be true now than they proved to be then.

The issue of rollout strategy also has a certain touch that can be compared to 3G. The indecisiveness with LTE can be easily compared to 3G, like there is the question of whether to go for a rapid and wide rollout so that LTE is quickly co-extensive with the existing network, or to go for a much slower and more targeted rollout so that LTE can be used to provide increased data capacity in the locations where it is most needed.

Although the entire LTE environment is not yet ripe. However, it's important to have a strategy with a clear vision of what LTE is for; this will drive the business case and thus the rollout plan. Here the only certainties are partial coverage and dual-mode operation for some years to come, and eventual replacement of the 2G/3G network to ensure ROI. At the same time, all intermediate steps should factor in the eventual migration to LTE, so that investments and incremental improvements to the network are LTE-ready.

archanasi@cybermedia.co.in