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alan.varghese
It's true from a mobile operator's point of view, the lower bands such as 700MHz ...
Low bands lead LTE roll out, says analyst
Peter Clarke
7/19/2010 11:50 AM EDT
LONDON — Mobile devices designed to operate with low-band LTE capabilities, at between 700- and 850-MHz will make up the largest segment of the LTE device market through 2014, according to market research organization Strategy Analytics.
The firm estimates that more than 40 percent of devices will operate in that part of the spectrum. Most mobile operators prefer the lower bands for LTE as these bands provide better range and indoor reception than higher frequency bands. Once operators establish LTE coverage, they will add frequency duplex and time duplex capacity at the higher frequencies, in particular at 2.3- and 2.6-GHz, according to market researcher Christopher Taylor. He said that Verizon and AT&T Mobility will be among the first to use the 700-MHz bands for LTE.
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alan.varghese
7/19/2010 4:10 PM EDT
It's true from a mobile operator's point of view, the lower bands such as 700MHz are preferable due to the coverage advantage. Moreover, with cellular frequencies such as 850MHz, the operator can have an overlay strategy for LTE with existing GSM infrastructure, since the coverage characteristics will be similar.
But from a RF/handset designer's point of view, these bands are more challenging; first due to the fact that antenna size is inversely correlated to frequency of operation, and there is a narrower gap between downlink and uplink making RF duplexer design more complex.
In addition, newly allocated bands such as 700MHz will have interference issues with services such as digital TV and public safety.
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