Michel Guyot, president, global voice solutions, Tata Communications

Indian operator Tata Communications has launched a service offering international HD voice call termination to mobile operators that have launched HD voice in their domestic markets. Figures from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association show that HD voice had been launched by 61 operators in 45 countries by the end of January this year.

Tata said that its the service enables mobile operators to route international HD calls via end-to-end IP, without transcoding. Tata has delivered IP voice interconnect to 210 mobile operators around the world, 26 of which are HD-ready, Tata said, and four of which are already in the deployment phase of Tata’s new solution.

Tata claims leadership in the international wholesale voice market, carrying more than one billion voice minutes each week. It has an extensive network of submarine and terrestrial cables and a Tier-1 IP backbone that hits more than 200 countries, the firm said.

“Our focus on improving voice quality through innovations such as HD voice has led to 28 per cent year-on-year volume growth from key retail service providers,” said Michel Guyot, president, Global Voice Solutions for Tata. “We will leverage our community of IP-connected MNOs to quickly enable HD voice calls between the widest possible range of destinations, maximising the benefits of premium call quality for our partners and their end users.”

While HD voice is not dependent on LTE, it is expected that deployments will ramp up as VoLTE comes on line. In a recent survey by Telecoms.com Intelligence, 34.9 per cent of operators said that they plan to launch HD voice at the same time as they deploy VoLTE.

72.7 per cent of respondents felt that HD voice should be packaged with VoLTE and RCS as a single, enhanced communications experience.

The LTE World Summit, the premier 4G event for the telecoms industry, is taking place on the 24^th-26^th June 2013, at the Amsterdam RAI, Netherlands. Click here to download a flyer for the event.

LTE is now available from 113 operators across 51 countries

There are now 45 per cent more operators investing in LTE than a year ago, according to the latest report from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). The GSA report highlights the continued growth in the technology and the surrounding eco-system since its inception in late 2009.

A total of 113 operators have now launched LTE across 51 countries, 77 of which were launched in the past 12 months.  Some 195 further networks are in the development stages and 209 networks are forecast to have launched by the end of 2013.

Alan Hadden, president of the GSA, said in a statement, “Regulators are responding to the need for more spectrum for mobile broadband services in all regions. Spectrum auctions were completed in recent months in Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Lithuania, Romania, and Russia and further auctions will be held over the next few months. The move towards technology-neutral licensing policy, e.g. refarming of the 1800MHz band provides a further significant boost to spectrum supply for LTE deployments.”

The report notes that the 1800MHz frequency is one of the prime bands for LTE, having been launched on 36 per cent of all commercial networks with 41 operators launching LTE1800 across 29 countries.

The UK is the latest region to benefit from spectrum refarming, with the carrier Everything Everywhere launched LTE on 1800MHz in 11 cities in the country, with coverage in 16 cities promised by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the European Commission has now called on member states to make 120Mhz of spectrum available around the 2GHz frequency for use with LTE.

LTE also accommodates unpaired spectrum, and the report notes that eleven operators have launched commercial services using LTE TDD.

To complement the growth of LTE there are now a total of 521 LTE end-user devices available from a total of 79 manufacturers – a 164 per cent increase in the number of devices available since last year – with Apple iPhone 5 the most high profile addition to the LTE ranks.

The full report is available as a free download to registered site users at the GSA web site.

For more in-depth LTE knowledge join the world’s leading LTE operators at the world’s premier 4G event at the LTE North America 2012 conference, taking place next week at the 14-15^th November 2012 at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel, Texas. Click here to download a brochure.

By Alan Hadden, chairman, GSA.

The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has been tracking the commercialisation of LTE and market developments, confi rming progress with the latest facts, trends and developments in its Evolution to LTE report.

The trends that we have identifi ed in 2012 are accelerating LTE network deployments and service launches across the world, in both FDD and TDD variants.

The September 11, 2012 issue of the report confi rmed that 347 operators were investing in LTE in 104 countries, including 96 commercial networks launched in 46 countries. At that time there were 292 fi rm LTE network deployments in progress or planned in 93 countries, with a further 55 operators in 11 additional countries engaged in pre-commercial LTE technology pilot trials, tests or studies. Taken together, it means that 347 operators in 104 countries are investing in LTE.

By the end of 2012 GSA forecasts that there will be 152 commercial LTE networks delivering advanced high speed mobile broadband services.

GSA has acknowledged LTE as being the fastest developing mobile communications system technology ever. The number of operator commitments to deploy LTE networks which were announced in the 12 months following the fi rst commercial LTE network launch was higher than for any other mobile communications technology in the same stage of development.

The pace of development and market introduction of LTE user devices is impressive. An update to the ‘Status of the LTE Ecosystem’ report published by the GSA on July 3rd, 2012 confi rmed that 67 manufacturers have announced 417 LTE-enabled user devices, with the number tripling year on year.

Compared to HSPA+, which is already a mainstream technology and the “workhorse” delivery system for mobile broadband, the pace of introduction of LTE user devices is faster. The total number of models of LTE terminals today is around 15 per cent higher than exists for HSPA+ despite the fi rst commercial LTE network going live ten months after launch of the fi rst commercial HSPA+ services.

It is encouraging to see how the LTE devices ecosystem already supports all market segments and form factors. However the main growth trend in 2012 is the launch of LTE-capable smartphones and tablets. The number of smartphones has increased by 73 per cent this year.

Most LTE user devices additionally support other widely available mobile communications technologies to ensure service when outside of LTE coverage. Typically this means support for WCDMA-HSPA or HSPA+ and GSM/EDGE, and/or CDMA EV-DO, and for TDD markets support for TD-SCDMA is becoming more common. Referring again to the July 3rd “Status of the LTE Ecosystem” report, 267 LTE devices also operate on either HSPA, HSPA+ or 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ networks (as well as GSM/EDGE). Within this fi gure, 109 LTE devices support 42 Mbps HSPA+ technology. A total of 126 LTE devices support EV-DO networks.

Support for “fallback” technologies is necessary in most markets for an acceptable customer mobile broadband experience. In North America, for example, devices used on the Verizon Wireless LTE network are also required to operate on the fi rm’s EV-DO network. According to GSA’s research (July 18th, 2012), every WCDMA operator today has invested in HSPA in their networks and almost 50 per cent of them have launched commercial HSPA+ networks. There are 472 commercial HSPA networks launched in 183 countries; this fi gure includes HSPA+ investments and 234 commercial HSPA+ networks are now in service in 112 countries.

In parallel to the signifi cant investments now being made in LTE roll outs, 90 operators have commercially launched 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ technology on their networks, and GSA forecasts that at least 115 DC-HSPA+ networks will be in commercial service by end 2012. Can some conclusions be drawn? It is true that LTE is arriving into a globally successful and rapidly developing mobile broadband market. It is also true that past investments, for example in HSPA and HSPA+ systems, won’t be discarded.

Many operators are investing in both HSPA+ and LTE technologies together. CDMA operators, especially in North America, are investing heavily in LTE as the mobile broadband technology of choice and currently claim the majority of the world total of LTE subscriptions. The balance will change as the pace of network deployments outside North America quickens— primarily in Europe and Asia—as substantial amounts of new spectrum for LTE come into use.

Key factors in the more limited progress of LTE in Europe have been the widespread coverage and availability of very efficient HSPA and HSPA+ systems, the economics and vast choice of HSPA user devices (almost 4,000 products) and the piecemeal way in which new spectrum has been allocated in the region. This is in stark contrast with the USA for example, where the early transition of broadcast TV services from analogue to digital transmission technology and the subsequent auctioning of new spectrum as the digital dividend, in a desirable part of the spectrum (700MHz), secured their headstart with LTE rollouts.

In Europe, the switchover to digital TV service is almost complete. The UK will be the last of Europe’s major economies to auction and allocate new spectrum for LTE, which is expected to be completed by end 2012. New spectrum in 2.6 GHz (3GPP band 7) which is ideal for high-capacity requirements in dense urban environments, and 800MHz (band 20 Digital Dividend) with its excellent long-range and building penetration capabilities, has now been auctioned and allocated in several European countries which will drive forward LTE deployments and investments in the region.

Many operators are seizing the opportunity to use 1800MHz spectrum (band 3) for LTE deployments (LTE1800). In all regions except North America, this band was originally allocated for GSM. It is often contiguous and partially under-utilized, meaning that operators typically have sufficient bandwidth to secure the full benefits of LTE. Providing initial widespread coverage with LTE in the 1800MHz band can be as much as 60 per cent cheaper than covering the same area using higher frequency bands. Its use can mean a faster time to market.

Operators will typically want to deploy LTE across a range of bands in order to maximise coverage and capacity, and to optimise cost structures. GSA joined in industry efforts with the GSMA, Telstra and others over a year ago to explain the benefits of using 1800MHz for mobile broadband—and LTE in particular. The campaign is aimed at device manufacturers, encouraging them to include LTE1800 in their roadmaps, and to regulators to allow re-farming for LTE deployments. New white papers from many manufacturers helped to explain the benefits and availability of solutions.

GSA published a report last November “Embracing the 1800MHz opportunity: Driving mobile forward with LTE in the 1800MHz band” which incorporated the insights of GSA member companies Ericsson, Nokia Siemens Networks and Qualcomm and pioneer LTE1800 network operators CSL Limited, Deutsche Telekom, Elisa, Qualcomm, StarHub, Teliasonera and Telstra. The situation today is positive: 32 LTE1800 networks are in commercial service, with many more deployments and trials in progress. 98 LTE1800 user devices are announced, giving ample choice and LTE operators in Europe are increasingly demanding support for LTE terminals in 800/1800/2600 MHz as well as HSPA/HSPA+ and GSM/EDGE.

With LTE heading towards the mainstream and infrastructure widely deployed by year-end, the focus will shift to return on investment, increasing efficiencies, developing new business models and generating revenue and profit growth.

Alan Hadden, chairman of the Global Mobile Suppliers Association

As the demand for data from consumers continues to swell, the need to move from 3G to LTE is becoming ever more apparent to carriers. But while the technical and business cases are readily apparent, the real challenge is obtaining radio spectrum. Spectrum is the life-blood of every mobile operator and its scarcity makes its acquisition a difficult and usually expensive undertaking.

Fortunately the LTE standard can be deployed in a wide range of frequency bands, which enables operators to roll it out, at least initially, with whatever spectrum they have available. “The standard allows LTE to be deployed not only in different spectrum, but in different amounts of spectrum,” Alan Hadden, president of the Global Suppliers Association (GSA) tells Telecoms.com. He goes on to say that the standard has been defined to “recognise very much the individual needs either of a particular operator, country or region—or indeed globally.”

While this is a real plus for LTE it does present the problem of wide spectrum fragmentation. According to a recent report from Informa, (LTE Spectrum Strategies and Forecasts to 2016), LTE will be deployed in at least 20 bands worldwide, with a total of ten bands to be used in the Asia-Pacific region. In Japan alone, for example, there are seven bands that have been earmarked by operators.

As the Informa report observes, this lack of consensus over spectrum is a cause for concern. The uncertainly over when spectrum will be released by regulators and how much they will have to pay for it, is causing operators to hold back on deployments, which in turn is potentially slowing down the creation of a worldwide eco-system and stymieing efforts to create economies of scale around devices.

This issue is the prime reason why there is a delay in the production of LTE smartphones. Chipset manufacturers are looking to the operators before they commit, who are in turn looking to what is available from regulators and indeed what other operators are doing. According to Hadden this is why 700MHz is currently the most widely supported frequency for LTE—simply due to its use in the US, where LTE is most widely deployed. What the industry needs then is an awareness of what the most popular bands will be.

“You do have this huge quantity of spectrum options. But for a successful business what you need are standards, common agreements and international alignment. And what’s likely to emerge will be a series of prime bands, or core bands if you will, for LTE.”

According to Hadden the GSM standard is a blueprint for this double-band approach. “It’s a reflection of the success of GSM. GSM was a common band, and a second band was available So if you look at what’s happening in LTE; basically what are the common bands?”

The most popular approach, he says, is to go for a higher frequency band for adding capacity, and a lower frequency band for wider coverage using fewer base stations and in-building penetration. “New spectrum is coming, more or less, either at the higher capacity 2.6GHz level, which is an internationally agreed spectrum for these systems, and then also in the digital dividend space.”

In the US this digital dividend spectrum is the 700MHz mentioned above, which had already been freed up by June 2009.  In Europe however, this process is still in its early stages. According to Hadden, this is having an impact on Asian deployments, which he believes still looks to Europe for its lead in telecoms, if only due to economies of scale around devices.

“The licensing is sort of underway, but I think you need more of the major markets to have completed that allocation. If you look at the big markets whose decisions then impacts Asia, which are the major economies of France, Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK, then the question arises: Which of those has actually auctioned and allocated 2.6GHz?”

Hadden points out that, of these European markets, only Germany has actually deployed LTE. Spain has completed its auction, France is in the process of doing so and the others are all some way off.

As well as 2.6GHz, 1800MHz is also likely to be of great interest in Asia. “The real beauty of 1800,” Hadden says, “is that it’s already a common allocated band that can be used to deploy technologies other than GSM. And in many cases there is adequate spectrum that will allow a competitor to allocate 10MHz for LTE, and that’s really attractive. It’s clearly already happening and, as it does, the ecosystem will begin to support it.”

The evidence is certainly there to back up Hadden’s assertion. Telstra in Australia is starting to roll out LTE at 1800MHz, and is part of an 1800MHz alliance that also includes Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom, which can only help with economies of scale. Singaporean carrier StarHub has also announced plans to use 1800.

One country that looks as though it might be following a different path, though, is Japan. NTT DoCoMo is refarming its UMTS 2100MHz band for LTE, and has called on operators worldwide to show support by following suit, something that Hadden feels is unlikely.

“There will always be solutions found for specific requirements. While DoCoMo is a major player with major market reach, that doesn’t make 2100MHz a major band for LTE. I don’t think that what’s happening in Japan will spill out elsewhere.”

One Asian country that is likely to have an impact on the LTE market worldwide though is China. Its focus on TDD spectrum is being echoed around the world, with many operators choosing to use the technology. The attractiveness of TDD for operators stems from the fact that spectrum tends to be cheaper than FDD, while its time division nature is touted as a better match for the asymmetrical nature of internet use.

For Hadden, the tipping point though is the recent announcement by Clearwire in the US that it will be moving to LTE, using TDD technology. “It’s a positive outlook [for TDD] with the potential for a global standard.  It’s meeting needs and being tested. But what’s important about Clearwire, and with respect to the Chinese, is that it’s the first commitment in a well developed market.”

Ultimately, Hadden believes that identifying core bands is vital for the efficient development of LTE. Aside from 700MHz in the US, he believes that the dominant bands will be 800MHz, 1800MHz and 2.6GHz. While there may be another 16 other frequency bands in operation by 2016, it is these four that could form the basis of a global standard, delivering the benefits of economies of scale to operators and vendors, and the vital ability to roam worldwide for LTE users.

Alan Hadden, will be speaking at the sixth annual LTE Asia conference, which takes place in Suntec, Singapore, on the 5-7th September 2011

There are now 218 operators in 81 countries now investing in LTE

The Global mobile Suppliers Association has released updated figures for its Evolution to LTE report, revealing that there are now 218 operators investing in LTE worldwide, with 91 commercial roll-outs expected by 2012. This number consists of 166 firm commercial deployments either in progress or planned across 62 countries and 52 operators in 19 countries that are engaged in trials.

Alan Hadden, President, GSA said in a statement that, “LTE is the fastest developing mobile system technology ever. The number of operators investing in LTE has increased 98 per cent since June 2010, while the number of firm deployment commitments has more than doubled (107 per cent) in the same period. We have again raised our market outlook and forecast at least 91 LTE networks will be in commercial service by end 2012.”

The report also highlights the momentum behind re-farming spectrum for LTE, particularly at 1800MHz with four networks launched at the frequency and many more in the pipeline, including one from Australian operator Telstra.

The rise of TDD spectrum for use with LTE is also noted, with numerous trials and deployments around the world. Telecoms.com recently spoke at length with Michael Lai, the CEO of Malaysian operator Packet One about its planned TD-LTE roll-out.

The previous report is hosted at Telecoms.com and will be updated with the new report in due course. In the meantime, the new report is available as a free download for registered users from the GSA website.

This fact was recognized earliest by the Ministry of Transport & Communications in Finland, and their decision in April 2009 to allow LTE to be deployed in this spectrum enables the possibility to provide networks for fast mobile broadband services with a substantially wider coverage at a lower cost than when using 2.6 GHz, which requires a considerably larger number of base stations.

The decision also means that wireless networks capable of transferring data more efficiently could now be introduced (in Finland) more rapidly. As a result, mobile network operators in Finland are planning deployments of LTE in re-farmed 1800 MHz spectrum. In the first stage, LTE has been launched using 2.6 GHz channels, with the expectation that 1800 MHz will be used to extend the geographical reach of LTE across the country. The motivations are clear:

Coverage area approx. 2x compared to deploying in 2.6 GHz band

Possibility to re-use assets including antenna cables of GSM1800 or WCDMA-HSPA2100

Possibility to deploy multi-RAN with simultaneous LTE and GSM capabilities

1800 MHz band widely available throughout Europe, APAC, MEA, and some regions of South America – thus having the potential to be a core – and global – band for LTE deployments

Operators often have sufficient bandwidth in 1800 MHz to secure the full benefits of LTE

Often easier to re-farm than 900 MHz

User device eco-system is building; a good choice of user devices expected by end 2011

Can be a transition strategy between HSPA and availability of new (e.g. 2.6 GHz, digital dividend) spectrum

LTE1800 Global Status: operator plans

Data rates are significantly higher. LTE supports a full IP-based network and harmonization with other radio access technologies. LTE reduces the cost per Gigabyte of data delivered, which is essential to address the mass market. LTE standardization covers FDD and TDD modes. Infrastructure solutions offer an easy upgrade path to LTE. The HSPA and HSPA+ mobile broadband ecosystem is mainstream and LTE is the natural migration choice for GSM/HSPA network operators.

CDMA operators and, increasingly, WiMAX operators are also deciding to evolve to LTE as the clear mobile broadband system of choice.

Spectrum for LTE deployments

LTE can be deployed in existing 2G or 3G bands, and in new spectrum such as 2.6 GHz now being allocated in many regions, and the 700 MHz band released as part of the Digital Dividend, starting in the USA. Initial deployments in Japan use 800 MHz, 1.5 GHz and 1.7 GHz (operator-dependant). There is strong demand in Europe and elsewhere to access new spectrum from the Digital Dividend (800 MHz), which enables LTE to be deployed more efficiently over large geographical areas, and improve in-building coverage. There is also high interest in using re-farmed spectrum LTE, e.g. 900, 1800 MHz bands as regulators adopt a technology-neutral approach.

Design targets for LTE include:

• Instantaneous downlink peak data rate of at least 100 Mb/s within 20 MHz allocation (5 bps/Hz)

• Instantaneous uplink peak data rate of 50 Mb/s (2.5 bps/Hz within a 20MHz uplink allocation)

• Downlink: average user throughput per MHz, 3 to 4 times Release 6 HSDPA

• Uplink: average user throughput per MHz, 2-3 times Release 6 Enhanced Uplink

• E-UTRAN optimized for low mobile speed: 0-15 km/h. Higher mobile speed between 15-120 km/h should be supported with high performance. Mobility across the cellular network shall be maintained at speeds 120 km/h-350 km/h (or even up to 500 km/h depending on the frequency band)

• Spectrum flexibility: scalable to operate in 1.4, 2.5, 5, 10, 15 and 20 MHz allocations: Uplink and downlink…paired and unpaired

• Co-existence with GERAN/3G on adjacent channels; with other operators on adjacent channels; overlapping or adjacent spectrum at country borders; handover with UTRAN & GERAN LTE radio network products incorporate several features to simplify building and management of next-generation networks. Plug-and-play, self-configuration and self-optimization simplify and reduce network rollout and management cost. LTE will be deployed alongside simplified, IP-based core and transport networks that are easier to build, maintain and introduce services on. The 3GPP core network has also undergone System Architecture Evolution (SAE), optimized for packet mode and in particular for the IP-Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) to support all access technologies, including fixed wire-line access. This allows:

• Improvements in latency, capacity, throughput

• Simplification of the core network, and optimization for IP traffic and services, and expected growth

• Simplified support and handover to non-3GPP access technologies The result is the evolved packet system (EPS) that consists of the core network part, the evolved packet core (EPC) and the radio network evolution part, the evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), i.e. LTE. The EPS is also standardized within 3GPP Release 8.

LTE TDD Systems

Most LTE commitments and deployments use the paired spectrum (FDD) mode. The LTE TDD mode for unpaired spectrum is complementary and valuable in several markets. LTE TDD also provides a future-proof evolutionary path for TD-SCDMA, another 3GPP standard, which is widely deployed in China.

LTE TDD is the perfect choice for providing high speed mobile broadband access in unpaired spectrum. It is an integral part of the 3GPP standards implementing a maximum of commonalities with LTE FDD and offering comparable performance characteristics with similarly high spectral efficiency.

Within the globally assigned IMT bands for mobile (broadband) communication, significant spectrum resources are suitable for LTE TDD. The largest contiguous bands are at 2.3 GHz (100 MHz) and within the 2.6 GHz band (e.g. 50 MHz according to the CEPT band plan). Due to the recognized demand for radio technologies for unpaired bands and based on the commonalities as explained above, LTE TDD can exploit global economies of scale similar to LTE FDD, with a short time to market.

It is likely that LTE TDD will become a globally accepted technology, and provide an excellent evolution path for TD-SCDMA and WiMAX networks.

The growing number of LTE TDD operator commitments, system maturity, and the expanding eco-system are detailed later in this report.

LTE-Advanced Systems

LTE FDD and LTE TDD have a clear evolution towards LTE-Advanced which includes many features originally considered for the future ITU IMT-Advanced system.

In October 2010 the ITU accepted and officially designated LTE-Advanced as an IMT-Advanced (4G) technology.

IMT-Advanced provides a global platform on which to build the next-generations of interactive mobile services that will provide faster data access, enhanced roaming capabilities, unified messaging and broadband multimedia.

A number of LTE-Advanced test systems are operating or planned around the world, and several demonstrations were given at MWC 2011. NTT DoCoMo is undertaking field experiments of LTEAdvanced in real radio environments in the cities of Yokosuka and Sagamihara. NTT DoCoMo has already confirmed the performance of LTE-Advanced technologies using simulators in its R & D center, achieving transmission data rates of approximately 1 Gbps on the downlink and 200 Mbps on the uplink.

The Korea Communications Commission and the Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy have held a demonstration of an LTE-Advanced system, which featured ‘evolved Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Service’ indoors and an in-vehicle demonstration outdoors demonstrating 3D full HD broadcasting and HD video calling.

3GPP has published Release 10 of the standard (at the March 2011 Plenary meetings) and formally frozen the set of features for LTE-Advanced. The completion of Release 10 is the final step in the four year process to ensure that the 3GPP radio interface will meet the formal requirements of IMT-Advanced. As is the case with current work on HSPA Evolution (HSPA+), LTE work will continue beyond the current Release. It is a well proven method in 3GPP that work is allowed to carry on, but is punctuated by a series of Releases, allowing the industry to make products and plan services from that point on. 3GPP is setting the Release 11 requirements during 2011, with its completion being scheduled for late 2012. Commercialization of LTE-Advanced systems is expected in the 2014-2015 timeframe.

Back to the Evolution to LTE report and more regions

LTE is now the fastest growing mobile network technology ever

The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has said in an update to its Evolution to LTE report that, since June 2010, 98 additional countries have invested in LTE, bringing the total to 208. In terms of hard deployments, either existing or planned, the numbers have gone up by 32, taking it to 154 across 60 countries.

There have been 20 commercially launched networks so far, across the following 14 countries: Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Sweden, USA, and Uzbekistan.

Meanwhile, fifty-four operators are currently engaged in pilot, pre-commitment LTE network trials. The fast pace of LTE development means that the GSA has raised its forecasts for the market and anticipates that an additional 81 LTE network will be in commercial service by the end of 2012. This makes LTE the fastest developing mobile network technology ever, the trade organisation said.

The brightest and best from the LTE industry will be attending the two-day LTE World Summit 2011, which starts tomorrow at the RAI, Amsterdam. The winners of the LTE Awards 2011 will be announced in the evening on the 17 May 2011.

Each of the winners will split $525m and pitch against one another with different federal agencies for varying contracts.

Each of those government agencies are expected to spend around $20bn on the contract over 10 years.

Dubbed ‘Networx Universal’, the contract has been prepared for over several years, with all four competing companies spending a significant amount of time and money to win a piece of the ten-year-action.

Sprint, which has been providing telecoms services to the US government for almost two decades, said it would request a meeting with the GSA next week.

In a statement the company said: “Sprint is disappointed not to receive a portion of the Networx Universal contract… The Sprint team spent significant time and energy on the program and has made large investments to meet the diverse requirements of the agencies.”

According to the terms of the deal, the GSA will allow each firm to sell voice and and data services to the US’ 135 federal agencies, including the treasury and defence departments.

The organisation’s latest report suggests that operators choose a dual system strategy but found that most prefer to migrate their whole customer base to GSM.

The GSA survey confirms 25 operators who are deploying or operating GSM/WCDMA technology either as an overlay, or as a replacement of the existing CDMA systems.

According to the GSA, no instances of a network operator abandoning GSM in favor of CDMA have been found. The vast majority of TDMA operators also chose a migration path to the GSM family.

GSM had over 2 billion subscriptions by June 2006, and over 81% share of the global market.