Wotta shocka from Yota! Russian operator is ditching WiMax for LTE

Dan Jones, Mobile Editor

May 21, 2010

2 Min Read
LTE Watch: Yota Drops WiMax for LTE

Russian wireless broadband pioneer Yota says that it is dropping WiMax in favor of Long Term Evolution (LTE) for new deployments, in this week's summary of the big news for the proto-4G specification.

  • Yota said Friday that it plans to spend $100 million on the rollout of LTE networks in five Russian cities in 2010, instead of sticking with the WiMax technology that it had been working with. Reuters reports that the operator is planning to deploy LTE in 15 cities over time.

    By dumping WiMax in favor of LTE, Yota is doing what comparable US carriers have only so far talked about. Clearwire LLC (Nasdaq: CLWR) and Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) have both expressed interest in deploying LTE instead of WiMax in the future, but neither has laid out any actual roadmap for such a change yet. (See Sprint RFP May Include LTE and Clearwire Paves Way for LTE in US.)

  • High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) (Taiwan: 2498), LG Electronics Inc. (London: LGLD; Korea: 6657.KS) , Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), and BlackBerry are all said to be developing LTE handsets for Verizon Wireless 's LTE network in 2011, Brighthand notes. Verizon had initially said that it would have at least one LTE handset ready in the first half of 2011. (See LTE Watch: Verizon Shows Off in Boston.)

    This video from IDG on the NTT DoCoMo Inc. (NYSE: DCM) prototype LTE terminal offers some clues on what early handsets might be like:


    DoCoMo Prototype LTE Terminal Preview

  • Meanwhile, WiMax backer Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) may not be putting all its eggs in one basket, according to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland. The German paper reports that the chipmaker is in talks with the wireless arm of Infineon Technologies AG (NYSE/Frankfurt: IFX), which would give it more access to LTE and other wireless technologies.

  • Verizon's rural plans for LTE will even take the service to areas where the carrier doesn't offer CDMA phone service today, the Wireless Federation blog says.

  • Maravedis Inc. expects LTE subscribers to hit 200 million by 2015, according to CNET.

    — Dan Jones, Site Editor, Light Reading Mobile

About the Author(s)

Dan Jones

Mobile Editor

Dan is to hats what Will.I.Am is to ridiculous eyewear. Fedora, trilby, tam-o-shanter -- all have graced the Jones pate during his career as the go-to purveyor of mobile essentials.

But hey, Dan is so much more than 4G maps and state-of-the-art headgear. Before joining the Light Reading team in 2002 he was an award-winning cult hit on Broadway (with four 'Toni' awards, two 'Emma' gongs and a 'Brian' to his name) with his one-man show, "Dan Sings the Show Tunes."

His perfectly crafted blogs, falling under the "Jonestown" banner, have been compared to the works of Chekhov. But only by Dan.

He lives in Brooklyn with cats.

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