Mapping it out: Operator commitments to LTE in 2010

Analysts are expecting next year to be the year when LTE makes a big debut. Most notably, heavyweights Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ [1]) in the United States and NTT DoCoMo in Japan plan to turn on commercial service by the end of 2010.

According to ABI Research, 132 networks are in LTE trials or will see a commercial launch in the near future. That number is 32 more than at the end of 2009 [2].

Ericsson Chief Financial Officer Jan Frykhammer told FierceBroadbandWireless that the world's largest infrastructure vendors saw a significant jump in LTE trials during the second quarter, but whether the trials translate into commercial contracts remains to be seen.

"Operators are now looking at the technology and trying to understand its advantages," he said. "Whether trials lead to contracts now or later is difficult to say."

For many operators, LTE deployments are contingent on getting access to suitable spectrum. Countries such as Finland, Denmark and Germany have now awarded spectrum for LTE, but other regions, such as Latin America, have not released spectrum.

In addition, operators in Europe will be able to refarm their existing GSM spectrum for LTE deployments, which might mean upgrades to equipment capable of supporting GSM, HSPA and LTE, but not necessarily an LTE deployment in the near term. The same could be true for some operators in the U.S., such as Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S [3]), which has indicated it is studying its next-generation options for its 1900 MHz CDMA network [4].

The map below is not meant to be an exhaustive list of LTE commitments and trials around the world, but rather a reference to indicate where the technology is heating up.

View Mapping it out: Operator commitments to LTE 2010 [5] in a larger map