4:45 PM -- SoftBank Mobile Corp. $20.1 billion play for a 70 percent stake in Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) is likely to result in another 4G acronym becoming common parlance on the U.S. wireless scene.
The new 4G flavor you'll need to know is called Long Term Evolution Time Division Duplex (LTE TDD). SoftBank has already deployed an early version of the technology in Japan, so here's a little primer on the fresh 4G.
What it is
The crucial way LTE TDD, which is also known as TD-LTE, differs from the frequency division duplex (FDD) version of LTE deployed today in the U.S. is in what spectrum the technology is deployed on and how the signal is transmitted. TDD technology uses a single channel and a timed signal to separate uploads and downloads. FDD systems have two channels of paired spectrum separated with a guard band for uploads and downloads.
Advocates of TDD technology say that the single channel makes the network more bandwidth-efficient. It also makes it a very suitable technology for data-only wireless devices, much like SoftBank has introduced with its TDD launch this year. (See Just What Is LTE TDD Anyway? and What We Mean When We Say '4G'.)
LTE TDD can be deployed on the 2.6GHz band in the U.S. Sprint's WiMax partner, Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR), holds large reserves of this bandwidth across the nation. It has already been testing LTE TDD in the U.S., although launch plans are less clear now. (See Clearwire Targets 31 Cities for LTE TDD .)
The scale of the technology could, however, drastically increase in 2013. China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE: CHL), the major backer of the technology, has started to hand out contracts to build out the networks in Chinese cities. (See ZTE Wins LTE TDD Deal in China.)
Deployments in a massive market like China could help to kick-start the wider LTE TDD device and infrastructure market around the world.
For more
Catch up on our SoftBank-Sprint coverage below:
joset01, User Rank: Light Beer 12/5/2012 | 5:19:01 PM
re: Defining 4G: What the Heck Is LTE TDD?
No LTE TDD support in any Sprint devices yet. But yes, Clearwire & SoftBank both work on 2.6GHz band for TDD so that *could* open things up in the future.
twill009, User Rank: Light Beer 12/5/2012 | 5:18:59 PM
re: Defining 4G: What the Heck Is LTE TDD?
Last I checked T-Mobile was owned by Deutsche Telecom and Verizon Wireless was 50% owned by Vodaphone, so it it not clear to me that any prohibition against foreign ownership of spectrum has any effect upon the practical control of spectrum.
joanengebretson, User Rank: Light Beer 12/5/2012 | 5:18:54 PM
re: Defining 4G: What the Heck Is LTE TDD?
Interesting theory, Headcoach & it makes some sense
One thing to think about is that Sprint's additional investment in Clearwire is supposed to close in a month & the Softbank deal not until the early part of next year. If the latter were to fall through, Sprint would still have majority ownership of Clearwire -- a status it previously tried to avoid.
It's not clear yet what, if any, roadblocks the Softbank/ Sprint deal might encounter. But it's probably a good risk for both of the companies. As you note, this may be the best shot Softbank has at gaining the spectrum it wants in the U.S. market. And for Sprint it's a way to hasten its LTE network buildouts.
LinkNYC shuts down web access on the street kioks because some people were hogging them and using them 'inappropriately.' Who could've guessed that would happen?
Light Reading’s Upskill U is a FREE, interactive, online educational resource that delivers must-have education on themes that relate to the overall business transformation taking place in the communications industry.
NEXT COURSE
Friday, September 30, 1:00PM EDT Gigabit & the Great Migration Robert Howald, Vice President, Network Architecture, Comcast
UPCOMING COURSE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, October 5, 1:00PM EDT Gigabit & Smart Cities Joe Kochan, COO & Co-Founder, US Ignite
Friday, October 7, 1:00PM EDT Gigabit & DOCSIS 3.1 Ty Pearman, Director, Access Architecture, Comcast
Wednesday, October 19, 1:00PM EDT Securing a Virtual World Rita Marty, Executive Director, Mobility and Cloud Security, Chief Security Office, AT&T
Six different communications service providers join to debate their visions of the future CSP, following a landmark presentation from AT&T on its massive virtualization efforts and a look back on where the telecom industry has been and where it's going from two industry veterans.
Network operators should develop new APIs and business processes for reselling virtual assets to each other, says CenturyLink's Bill Walker. That will enable them to build digital business portfolios that help them avoid becoming commodity transport providers.
At Light Reading's NFV & Carrier SDN event in Denver, Travis Ewert of Level 3 Communications said there is terror in becoming supplier, integrator and developer, but it can be overcome and be cost effective.
Self-driving cars, medical sensors, smart cities... and refrigerators. In order to address the huge scope of IoT, KNect365 has created a unique online community that will help businesses to understand and monetize the opportunities that live within the IoT market. We look forward to welcoming you to IoT World News -- your gateway to a better connected future.
At Light Reading's NFV & Carrier SDN event in Denver, Ray Watson, vice president of Global Technology at Masergy, says that because of the growth in virtualization, the threat landscape is shifting in favor of the attackers. As a result, service providers need to think beyond just defending the perimeter and take a more holistic approach to security.
At September's NFV & Carrier SDN event in Denver, Light Reading sat down with Victoria Lonker, director of Product and New Business Innovation at Verizon, to chat about where the carrier is with delivering virtualized services to business customers.
More service providers than ever before are battling it out to win a slice of what is now a $40 billion global communications services pie, explains Ovum Principal Analyst David Molony.
Service providers can't compete with OTT players. It just isn't in their DNA. Instead, service providers need to embrace what they're good at -- providing reliable, secure connectivity.
Nick Thomas, practice leader of digital media at Ovum, talks about how digital transformation in the technology, media and telecom sectors will enable the development of a new range of applications and services for enterprises and consumers and how the upcoming Digital Futures event in London will examine ...
One of the main challenges for network operators introducing NFV is to combine performance and flexibility in a cost-effective way, but there is a solution, explains Napatech's Dan Joe Barry.
Self-driving cars, medical sensors, smart cities... and refrigerators. In order to address the huge scope of IoT, KNect365 has created a unique online community that will help businesses to understand and monetize the opportunities that live within the IoT market. We look forward to welcoming you to IoT World News -- your gateway to a better connected future.
One of the main challenges for network operators introducing NFV is to combine performance and flexibility in a cost-effective way, but there is a solution, explains Napatech's Dan Joe Barry.
F5's Kishore Patnam, product manager for F5's service provider solutions, discusses why service providers are moving towards virtualization and how his clients are utilizing F5's solutions.
Heavy Reading Senior Analyst Jim Hodges speaks with Accenture's Larry Socher and Matt Anderson about what service providers must do to transform their business to get the benefits of SDN and NFV including: leveraging DevOps, introducing real-time OSS and implementing analytics.
VeEX's Senior Director of Business Development, Perry Romano, explains how VeEX provides tools to help install, maintain, monitor and manage network infrastructure efficiently and effectively. The portfolio of products on display include the RXT-6000, MTTplus and TX300s.
Light Reading Editor Mitch Wagner talks to NetScout CMO Jim McNiel about maximizing the benefits of enterprise cloud and digital transformation while minimizing potential pitfalls with a proper monitoring and instrumentation strategy.
Many of the initial use case implementations are single-vendor and self-contained. The industry is still climbing the virtualization maturity curve, needing further clarity and stability in the NFV infrastructure (NFVi) and greater availability and choice of virtualized network functions (VNFs). Interoperability between NFVis and VNFs from different vendors ...
Senior Juniper Networks executives talk to Light Reading Founder & CEO Steve Saunders about NFV developments and the recent independent evaluation by test lab EANTC of Juniper's Cloud CPE solution.
At UBBS World Tour 2016, Alla Shabelnikova of Ovum shares the findings of a white paper outlining the challenges and opportunities of broadband rollout in Russia.
Light Reading CEO Steve Saunders and UXP Systems CEO Gemini Waghmare discuss the strategic importance of digital identity for operators in the midst of transformation.
Join us for an in-depth interview between Steve Saunders of Light Reading and Alexis Black Bjorlin of Intel as they discuss the release of the company's Silicon Photonics platform, its performance, long-term prospects, customer expectations and much more.
A vital part of increasing the number of women in comms is transforming the ways companies can support and empower women. While progressive company policies that support both men and women in achieving work-life balance are a step in the right direction, creating a company culture that supports those policies can at times be more challenging.
During this show, we'll talk to Lynn Comp, Senior Director of Industry and Sales Enabling (ISE) in the Network Platforms Group at Intel, about why those challenges exist and how companies can overcome them. She'll provide insight into how Intel has worked to create a culture that supports work-life balance, and provide steps and guidance for other companies wishing to do the same. We will also leave plenty of time to get your questions answered live on the air.
To save this item to your list of favorite Light Reading content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
(7) | 
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Tweet This