LTE, perhaps better known as "the other 4G mobile broadband technology besides WiMAX," hasn't been getting nearly as much press as its 4G competitor, but the companies who've chosen to back it don't want us to forget about it in the midst of all of the Clear/WiMAX deployment excitement. Once thought to be several years behind WiMAX's schedule, it now looks like there is a chance that we could see LTE in the USA as soon as next year. In the wake of the big Sprint/Clearwire merger and subsequent launch of the Clear WiMAX network, Verizon has decided to accelerate their plans for an LTE release. It was originally believed that LTE wouldn't debut in the USA until 2010 at the earliest, but Verizon's CTO and VP Dick Lynch announced this week that they "expect that LTE will actually be in service somewhere here in the U.S. probably this time next year."
Lynch went on to say that once the service is active, Verizon will begin offering femtocells, small base stations for subscribers' homes for indoor LTE use. He also anticipates integrating LTE technology into a myriad of consumer devices, allowing electronics to "talk" to each other and to the internet. As an example, he described a scenario in which your digital camera would include an LTE chip allowing you to upload your pictures directly to the internet right from the camera.
Verizon's change of plans is likely influenced by the early success of WiMAX, and also by a desire to be the first US carrier to provide LTE. Other companies, including competitor AT&T, are working with LTE as well, and whichever provider can be the first to the market is going to benefit hugely. Unlike Clearwire, who has over $3 billion in investor cash from the likes of Google and Intel to use in the development of their new WiMAX network, Verizon and partner Vodafone will have to fund this venture themselves. If they have the assets and are willing to invest, though, beating AT&T to the punch could prove to be crucial to the eventual success of Verizon's LTE offering.
