Telecom Lead Europe: With more countries are deploying
LTE network on Time-Division Duplex standard, it is estimated that 25 percent
of all LTE connections will include LTE TDD by 2016, according to Ovum.
The technology has been already been widely adopted by
operators in Japan, the Middle East, and Europe. In India, all of major LTE
license holders have chosen TD-LTE as the standard. Recently, Bharti Airtel
rolled-out its 4G networks in Kolkata and Bangalore based on TD-LTE technology.
Although, interestingly many mobile operators, such as
Softbank of Japan, Australian Optus, Hi3G (Sweden and Denmark), and STC (Saudi
Arabia), have either deployed or deploying multimode LTE FDD/TDD route as part
of their existing GSM and WCDMA/HSPA networks.
Huawei and a number of other vendors support multi-mode,
multi-band devices, with market estimates placing total commercial devices at
over 60.
The technology has been backed by leading infrastructure
and device vendors that helped TD-LTE in gaining wide ecosystem acceptance.
“The biggest market opportunities for LTE TDD will
come from its deployment to support mobile broadband services. Other
opportunities will include its use as a fixed wireless broadband network and
for small cell backhaul,” said Daryl Schoolar, a principal analyst in Ovum’s
Network Infrastructure practice.
By combining multiple standards such as GSM and
WCDMA/HSPA and LTE FDD and/or TDD will grow the overall network capacity and
increase quality of service, the report noted.
“As LTE TDD becomes more common with mobile
operators, a vendor’s 2G, 3G, and LTE FDD success is just as important as that
vendor’s early LTE TDD deployments. Thanks to multi-standard base stations,
mobile operators will look to the same vendors that deployed their 2G/3G and
LTE FDD networks to deploy their LTE TDD networks,” Schoolar added.
Half a million TD-LTE base stations will be deployed by 2016:
ABI Research
Recently ABI Research predicted that half a million base
stations will be installed or upgraded for TD-LTE by the end of 2016.
editor@telecomlead.com
