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And AT&T is clearly ramping up its efforts to pave the way for 4G, as well. Late last month the giant announced it was acquiring Qualcomm’s spectrum rights for just under $2billion USD. The spectrum, formerly reserved for Qualcomm’s soon-to-be-defunct subsidiary FLO TV, will pave the way for increased 4G activity on AT&T’s network.
Verizon, too, is pushing into the next
generation. A recent announcement
from Bridgewater Systems indicates
that Verizon plans on investing millions
in perfecting its 3G networks, and the
carrier was tweeting from CES about
its upcoming line of LTE devices.
Verizon spokesperson Debra Lewis,
however, notes that this is a shift in
technology and circumstance, not a
shift in Verizon’s fundamental strategy.
“Philosophically, I don’t think anything
has changed,” Lewis told Pipeline.
“What you can do with your phones
has increased exponentially.” Noting
that gauging user behavior and
expanding accordingly has been at the
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Wireless providers are readying their networks for the 4G onslaught through OSS/BSS optimization. |
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almost secondary to how users are
engaged with [Sprint’s] offerings,” says
Morton. “The devices we offer and
those offered by our partners have
changed the way customers use a
device. They now engage in an always
connected mindset and expect
instantaneous access to information as
well as being able to make a voice call.”
Morton also points out that Sprint is making changes in some aspects of its organizational framework in the never-ending BSS battle of overhead reduction and profit maximization. “Our BSS environment has shifted to providing employees with the same type of mobility that our products encourage,” says Morton. “This helps to reduce overhead of managed offices while enabling the employees to be more mobile and productive.”
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root of Verizon’s strategic underpinning
for some time, Lewis concedes that
technology is moving forward, but sees
Verizon’s shift in that direction as a
fluid evolution. “Fundamentally, we
haven’t changed the way we go about
things.”
With 93 million customers, however, Verizon clearly has to remain vigilant and meet customer demand wherever the company finds it. “Reliability has always been focus,” Lewis notes, but she points out that, for many wireless customers, little has changed. Even with a growing percentage of smart phones, a huge number of wireless customers remain, essentially, voice-only. The smart money is on supporting these customers, as well as those on the bleeding edge of technology (and, coincidentally, carrier revenue generation. “When a customer wants to do anything on their phone,” Lewis says, “ we want to make sure we have the network to support.”
Morton, however, makes it clear that
while those voice-only customers still
exist, the usage writing is on the wall.
“What was once primarily voice traffic
from customers with cell phones has
now expanded to a multitude of
solutions in which voice usage is now
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Trends to Watch:
And so, as we charge into 2011, wireless providers are making the necessary moves to ready their networks for the 4G onslaught through OSS/BSS optimization and network growth. However, there are a few additional trends that may make 2011 a particularly interesting year for mobile.
For one thing, this may be the year for NFC to hit big in the North American market, and we look for carriers to grab the external partnerships and BSS undergirding they may need to develop this mobile payment trend to its optimal realization.
We’re also keen to see what 2011 has in store in the realm of location-based services. This still-nascent technology may just hit its stride this year, and we’re eager to see what impact that has on user behavior and carrier response.
It promises to be a complex and interesting year for wireless carriers, and we’re eager to see the shape that their networks take as customers continue to get a move on, wireless device in hand.
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