Prospects for UMTS900
Prospects for UMTS900
30th April , 2009
Ireland :
UMTS900 is attracting significant interest from mobile operators, primarily because of the coverage advantages inherent in deploying UMTS at 900MHz compared with 2100MHz. All other things being equal, the lower the frequency, the further a radio signal propagates, which means that UMTS900 offers a significant improvement over UMTS2100 for cell range and coverage. Inset is the report author Catherine Viola.
This translates into fewer sites and cost savings for both network build and opex, as well as faster network roll-out. These benefits enable operators to roll out 3G services to rural areas that might otherwise be uneconomical to serve using UMTS2100, or, for GSM-only operators, to reduce the costs of building a new 3G network. Other benefits include potential improvements in indoor coverage and better voice quality compared with GSM.
The ecosystem for UMTS900 is rapidly maturing. The technology is proven not just in field trials but also in a number of operational networks worldwide, and network equipment and crucially devices are in ready supply. However, the pace of implementation of UMTS900 has been held back, particularly in Europe, by delays in removing technology restrictions from the 900MHz band. While the regulatory situation is improving, any significant delays in liberalising 900MHz spectrum will make it increasingly likely that operators will opt for alternative solutions for rural coverage, or even introduce LTE rather than UMTS in 900MHz spectrum once refarming is permitted.
This report reviews the deployment status of UMTS900 worldwide and evaluates the potential role of UMTS900 in mobile network evolution for a range of operator types.
Prospects for UMTS900: status review and outlook answers your key questions:
- What are key benefits of UMTS900?
- What is the regulatory status of spectrum refarming worldwide?
- How mature is the UMTS900 device market?
- Which operators have deployed UMTS900, and why?
- Where does UMTS900 in an operator’s network evolution plans, and what are the alternatives?
More information on this report can be found here
http://www.analysysmason.com/Research/Content/Reports/RDTN0-Prospects-for-UMTS900-Apr2009/