LTE ASIA • LTE AFRICA • LTE NORTH AMERICA | SEPT-NOV 2014 Featuring: Fifth Generation Now offi cially part of the industry discourse, what does 5G actually mean? Name your price How LTE pricing strategies are evolving as markets mature. Tomorrow the World Phone Despite the global embrace of LTE, a truly global device remains to be seen. Living in a 4G world The most pressing issues facing LTE operators today OFC_LTEOutlook_Sept14.indd 1 18/08/2014 17:14 LTE Asia 2014, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore 23-25 September 2014 LTE Africa 2014, CTICC, Capetown 11-13 November 2014 LTE North America 2014, InterContinental Hotel, Dallas 18-20 November 2014 |Contents FRONT LTE FEATURES Editorial ..........................................................02 Number 5 is alive ............................................ 16 EDITORIAL At this year’s Mobile World Congress, 5G was Editorial Director being openly discussed as part of the conference Scott Bicheno INTERVIEWS programme, putting it squarely on the agenda. Contributor Fotis Karonis, CTO, EE ................................... 04 Mike Hibberd MCI looks at the access and core technologies A former CIO of Athens Airport, Fotis Karonis Contributor that may shape the industry of tomorrow. James Middleton shoulders both CTO and CIO responsibilities at UK operator EE. It was Karonis who oversaw EE’s Editorial enquiries: march-stealing launch of LTE at 1800MHz and who Eyes on the price ............................................22 Mobile Communications International Editorial LTE pricing is changing fast as the market matures Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, is responsible for the network that now accounts London W1T 3JH, UK for more than 80 per cent of UK LTE subscriptions amid rapid uptake. But while some operators are Tel: +44 20 7017 5495 looking to new charging models that draw on the Email: [email protected] Jonathan Olsson, .............................................12 sophistication LTE enables, others are still duking WORLDWIDE MEDIA SOLUTIONS Security Specialist, Ericsson it out with least-cost options. Sales Manager The Swedish vendor is adding its voice to the Gary Brown Email: [email protected] industry discussion on network security. Jonathan Long term harmony .......................................28 All advertising enquiries to: Olsson, responsible for security at the Ericsson Being able to make a single device that will MCI Media Solutions, CTO offi ce, talks to MCI about the evolution of the connect to LTE anywhere in the world is such an 37-41 Mortimer Street London W1T 3JH, UK security landscape, how this is affected by the obviously good idea that you would expect all Tel: +44 20 7017 5218 move to LTE and why the fi rm is backing 3GPP’s stakeholders to work together in order to make it Fax: +44 20 7017 5647 Email: [email protected] SECAM security assurance standards. happen, wouldn’t you? PRODUCTION Design & Production Manager Joanne Lowe 04 12 Email: [email protected] HEAD OF MARKETING Sophie Egan Email: [email protected] MARKETING EXECUTIVE Nicole Ramson Email: [email protected] PUBLISHER Tim Banham Email: [email protected] © 2014 LTE Outlook While every care has been taken to ensure that the 28 data in this publication are accurate, the publisher cannot accept and hereby disclaims any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from negligence, accident or any other cause. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in the UK 16 Telecoms.com | LTE Outlook 2014 01 01_LTEOutlook14.indd 1 15/08/2014 11:52 Editorial | LTE advances With LTE fast becoming a mass market technology, we’re already asking “what next?” Some countries are already living the answer to that question and providing a fascinating insight into what a world of fast, reliable and ubiquitous mobile data will look like. t is both the blessing the curse of the gets read and have evolved a Pavlovian LG U+ has launched an extensive suite technology industry that we’re always dependence on making that number as large of services designed to exploit the capacity looking forward to the next big in- as possible. We have found that the newer its shiny, new LTE network provides. These novation to drive everything along. No the news, the higher the read-count and include steaming HD TV services that even sooner have we got the ball rolling on hence the greater the reward. So it’s actually allow you two watch four streams at once on Ione new technology than we’re looking for- your fault, dear reader. the same screen, in case your attention span ward to the next, and this is especially true Having established culpability, we can is exceptionally short, even by tech industry of mobile networks. now move onto talking freely about LTE- standards and 3D navigation that can even LTE has been arguably the defining buz- Advanced, or LTE-A, or LTE Cat 6, or 3GPP utilise realtime data and images from the zword of the mobile industry in recent years release 10, or 4.5G, or, as most people outside cameras most Koreans have installed on and now we’re finally beginning to live the the industry would probably say, even faster their cards these days. dream. From its Scandinavian first faltering mobile data. Of course, the mere mention of LTE-A steps in late 2009, the commercial roll-out of On a recent trip to South Korea I was able renders it instantly old-news. The elephant LTE networks soon gathered pace in Western to live the dream. On an LG G3 using the LG in the room during any discussion on mobile Europe, North America and East Asia and the U+ network, I managed to get close to 100 networks now is 5G, despite the fact that we term ‘WiMAX’ was relegated to a whisper. mbps while sitting in a Seoul traffic jam, don’t even know what it is yet. This is good By 2014 LTE has been around in some which is around ten times the download news for us industry commentators because commercial form for over four years, making speed I can typically expect from my UK where there is uncertainty, there’s plenty for it decidedly antiquated in the view of the fixed broadband. LG U+ has skipped straight us to write about and we’ve got a built-in technology industry, which has an atten- to LTE from its legacy CDMA network, not excuse to keep it nice and speculative. tion span so short it’s almost surprising any even pausing at 3G on the way. In other But regardless of what form 5G ends up tak- projects ever get seen through to conclusion. words it’s all-in on LTE and, as well as lead- ing and which technologies contribute to it, it’s “What’s next?” we ask a nanosecond after ing the way in mobile download speeds, is purpose will essentially be very simple: to al- a new technology is brought to life. Not to also being very innovative if looking for ways low more data to be consumed by more people worry – the 3GPP had defined LTE-Advanced to exploit all this lovely capacity. more quickly. And clever though the technology by 2011. The mobile industry famously paid that enables that will be, for end-users the I have to hold my hand up here – us tech obscene amounts of money for 3G licenses really clever stuff will be what the broader tech hacks have a lot to answer for regarding a decade or so ago, then struggled to find industry finds to do with this extra resource. the industry’s impatience. The problem lies ways of generating returns on that invest- The mobile utopia is to have 100% in the word ‘news’, which is literally the ment. Plenty of things were tried but few guaranteed connectivity 100% of the time. plural of ‘new’. When you read the news that tempted consumers, or business for Once end-users have total confidence of this you’re looking for new stuff and it’s our job that matter, to put their hands into their the flood gates will really open and other to deliver it. We know this because since the pockets, so it’s hard to view those spec- buzzwords such as ‘cloud’, ‘IoT’ and ‘big invention of the Internet we can track, in trum auctions as a success, unless you’re a data’ will take on real meaning to the mass real time, how many times a piece of news finance minister. market. I can’t wait. 02 Telecoms.com | LTE Outlook 2014 02_LTEOutlook_Sept14.indd 2 15/08/2014 12:01 Untitled-3 1 02/06/2014 09:39 Interview | Evolution everywhere The CTO and CIO of UK LTE pioneer EE talks to MCI about his experiences of launching the technology, how it has given EE greater leverage in the wider ecosystem, and why CTO and CIO functions belong together. he significance of EE’s march- took less than eleven months to prepare the down the early stages of the LTE rollout, and stealing launch of LTE in the UK launch, according to CTO Fotis Karonis. “To now we’re more experienced in the process was perhaps most effectively land this project safely, at such a speed, was a and aligning all the teams involved, so we’re demonstrated by the responses huge technical challenge,” he says. increasing the number of sites we switch on of competitor operators Vodafone The aeronautical analogy may not be ar- each month. We now have a first time success Tand O2 to Ofcom’s decision to authorise the britarily deployed; Karonis was, in a previous rate of 90 – 95 per cent,” he says.