@ MWC: Verizon Wireless Details Its Next Generation 4G Plans

At Mobile World Congress today, the early morning keynote focused on the future of the wireless industry — mobile broadband. The speakers were diverse, ranging from China Unicom, which is one of the largest operators in the world and rolling out its first 3G network, to Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ), which is the largest U.S. operator, and is getting ready to roll out a 4G network. I was able to catch part of the presentation by Dick Lynch, Verizon’s EVP and CTO, who explained why 4G was necessary, and then announced details of its LTE plans, including which technology vendors they’ve chosen and how it will bring new devices to market that will require the higher bandwidth network. Lynch: “There’s a promise of a truly converged world, and while we are mostly wireless folks here, the consumer of the future is not going to think about fixed or wireless, they’ll think about applications.”

Data is the area for growth: Lynch said that 27 percent of Verizon’s wireless revenue today is coming from data, and going forward “we won’t talk about revenue generated from data, but from broadband data….When I think about applications, I think how much demand am I going to have and how much bandwidth do I need? In today’s world, I have a good idea, but what about tomorrow’s applications? Many of them will be video based. It’s no longer good enough to provide a megabit…I’m going to have to deliver 8-10 megabits per second of average throughput.”

More after the jump

The 4G/LTE Innovation Center: Lynch said that new devices that take advantage of this bandwidth will be the key to success. “But before a company invests millions of dollars, how does Verizon bridge the gap about thinking about a LTE device and selling it? We are announcing today, the formation of the LTE innovation center.” Based in Massachusetts, Verizon will provide technology expertise and marketing services to help potential manufacturers of LTE embedded devices on the market.

Trials and Deployments: Verizon said its been testing 4G LTE networks in Minneapolis, Columbus, Ohio, and Northern New Jersey. Vodafone (NYSE: VOD), which owns part of Verizon Wireless is trialing in Budapest, Düsseldorf, and Madrid in Europe. These trials have seen download rates of 50 to 60 Mbps peak speeds (actual average download results are still to be determined.) Verizon Wireless will expand trials this summer, and Lynch said the company will commercially launch its LTE network in 2010.

Equipment vendors: Verizon has selected Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) and Alcatel-Lucent as primary network vendors for its initial LTE network, and Starent Networks has been selected as a packet core vendor.

Full coverage at our Mobile World Congress channel

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