GSA Silicon Series Luncheon | Santa Clara Abstracts

Keynote Address: LTE and the Future of Mobile Networks

Mobile broadband is today's growth engine for the telecom industry. Despite the current global economic slowdown, AT&T witnessed a 37.2 percent increase in wireless data revenue to $3.4 billion during the second quarter of 2009, adding more than 2.4 million iPhone customers. Ericsson released measured traffic data on live networks showing that data surpassed voice traffic globally in Dec 2009. The message is clear: Consumers want mobile broadband, and they want it now.

As consumers strive to achieve more connected lifestyles, mobile networks will evolve, and the mobile industry is already hard at work defining the technical solution that will allow mobile networks to meet the growing demand for wireless broadband services. LTE is a cost-effective solution that enables the telecom industry to meet the consumer’s connectivity needs by utilizing it in smart phones, computers, Netbooks, PCs, and other mobile internet devices.

The focus of this keynote will be on converged connectivity beyond phones and laptops/netbooks/ebooks and how the semiconductor industry can take an active roll in the revolution toward 50 billion connections by 2020. Today's discussions center around converged architecture, mobile data traffic explosion & 4G/LTE network deployments. The entire global ecosystem (operators, enterprises, consumers, verticals, etc.) can gain from mobility, internet and broadband coming together. Mobile network transitions (GSM to HSPA and CDMA to LTE) are surprisingly easy due to standardized, mainstream technology like LTE, IP and End to End (users to core) solutions. Mobile connectivity requires re-thinking of business values (cost of producing gigabyte of mobile data versus willingness to pay for connectivity) and the associated Mobile application ecosystem (fragmentation/verticals giving way for a horizontal interoperable layer).

Panel Discussion: Beyond 3G: 4G, WiMax, LTE...What Next?

4G networks will be one of the biggest tech-building booms of the decade, promising to take smartphones to desktop speeds, unleash new wireless devices and deliver the full potential of the mobile Internet. Conventional wisdom suggests that technology evolves when the current generation has reached its maximum usefulness. We are witnessing a skyrocketing demand for wireless data consumption, supported by a flourishing ecosystem of devices and applications, as well as a fundamental change in end-user behavior. The Internet generation is adopting a wireless lifestyle, and this appetite for data-based applications is driving the need for ever faster mobile broadband.

To meet consumer demand, two technologies hold a great deal of focus: WiMAX and LTE. The battle between WiMAX and LTE is significant and polarized. Like WiFi, WiMAX is an IEEE standard, while LTE is a 3GPP standard, as is GSM (2G), UMTS (3G) and HSPA+ (3.5G). Because of the latter, many proponents believe approximately 80% of the world’s carriers will ultimately evolve beyond 3G capabilities. However, as with all technologies, there are several obstacles to achieving this evolution. Semiconductor companies must find ways to innovate to meet operator and consumer demand. Many 3G supporters that feel that 3G still has a lot of untapped potential and that moving beyond 3G is not necessary. However, consumers want more speed, more data and more connectivity, leading to the development of next-generation networks.

This panel will focus on the challenges and opportunities for growth of next-generation wireless technologies.