The only way for today's operators to meet consumer demands for constant connectivity and great personal media experiences is for them to use a variety of solutions - whether a combination of licensed, unlicensed, Wimax, FDD-LTE, TD-LTE and/or Wi-Fi - and plan now for future growth. After all, this demand for mobile data is not slowing anytime soon, and is no longer is confined to the Millennial generation. The need to be constantly connected now spans multiple generations, namely people from ages 16 to 64.
Continuing to deliver and enhance consumer experiences requires operators to get creative in how and which technologies they use to build their networks. In fact, it may not be a homogenous solution at all. Take AT&T, which use, a combination of 3G and Wi-Fi while it bypasses HSPA+ on its migration to a planned LTE deployment in 2011.
And while much attention has been paid to FDD-LTE, some operators are starting to consider TD-LTE because of spectrum availability, lower cost, and flexibility around shifting upstream/downstream capacity. Additional TD-LTE spectrum offers some scope for future network capacity expansion. Still, for today's operators to succeed in providing critically needed bandwidth, they must mix and match all of the 4G technologies to provide cost-effective backhaul.
As more consumers discover what they can do with a 4G network and new broadband devices, there will be more pressure on operators to move to 4G sooner rather than later so they can meet the growing data demand and deliver personalized experiences. Operators have important decisions to make about which 4G technologies will provide the best combination for them to start with given their unique circumstances. There are a number of options in the "4G House" to meet their requirements, and they need to consider all of them.
Bruce Brda is senior VP and general manager at Motorola Networks