It appears that the turf battle for LTE contracts is fully engaged. Hard on the heels of its announcement that it and LG have demonstrated network-to-device interoperability, Nokia Siemens Networks has announced that global operator Telefónica will run a six-month 4G trial in the Czech Republic on NSN’s end-to-end LTE solution. Meanwhile, Huawei has signed on to integrate Belgium incumbent Belgacom’s GSM, HSPA and future LTE networks in a converged radio access network and all-IP core. The Chinese vendor will replace Belgacom’s existing RAN supplier, which happens to be...wait for it...NSN.
Also this week, Telecom Italia said it is working with Huawei for an LTE trial in Turin.
The LTE showdown is really ramping up, with contracts being signed and trials getting underway. Who will emerge market leader is anyone’s guess. Huawei is making some big wins, but NSN did land a role in Verizon Wireless’s LTE plans and will support NTT DoCoMo’s network, both of which will be among the first to launch commercially, next year. NSN is also rumored to be trialing LTE for T-Mobile USA and can boast milestones like completing the world’s first LTE call using a commercial base station and fully standard compliant software. And in October, it conducted the world’s first LTE handover test. Also, it is doing interop testing with three other to-be-announced handset manufacturers, which could put it ahead of the curve in commercial environments.
At the same time, rival Ericsson got the lion’s share of the Verizon Wireless LTE contract, and also will supply Metro PCS’s 4G network. Alcatel-Lucent meanwhile said it will launch 14 new LTE operator trials within six months.
There are plenty more infrastructure contracts to snag. In addition to the Czech Republic, Telefonica is doing trials in about half a dozen countries in Europe and Latin America with support from Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, NSN and ZTE, so that’s anyone’s game.
Also, in the U.K. Telefonica’s O2 plans to soon carry out LTE trials, with T-Mobile, Vodafone and Orange all expected to soon follow suit.