An Ignoble Experiment

2. FirstNet's first GM coming on board amid controversy

A top executive at Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) confirmed the operator is working to deploy LTE Broadcast next year, though the business case is still being worked out.

"2014 is a definite" for the launch of LTE Broadcast service, Rich DeSantis, executive director of advanced solutions for Verizon Wireless, told FierceBroadbandWireless.

Though the operator has other LTE-related initiatives on its plate as well--for instance, carrier aggregation--DeSantis said LTE Broadband is near the top of the list in terms of priorities. "It's up there. It's definitely a high priority that will be delivered in 2014," he said.

LTE Broadcast, based on evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS) technology, enables a one-to-many delivery scheme, The service will deliver a greatly improved customer experience vs. unicast video delivery, said DeSantis.

"We see video as a way to showcase LTE. We see broadcast as another vehicle to showcase video on LTE. So that's why we're being bullish on broadcast over LTE," said DeSantis.

Verizon is currently conducting LTE Broadcast lab trials and is preparing for future field trials. "We're going to be doing obviously the full network testing in the service areas," said DeSantis.

Both of Verizon's lead LTE infrastructure suppliers, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) and Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE:ALU), are developing the necessary network gear, multicasting software and gateways necessary for the operator to roll out LTE Broadcast.

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show, Lowell McAdam, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, publicly discussed his desire to use LTE Broadcast to deliver video services to Verizon's customers during 2014's Super Bowl. "Using LTE...we'd love to broadcast the Super Bowl in the 2014 time frame," he said.

Verizon Wireless spokeswoman Debi Lewis emphasized that was merely a service example and did not necessarily reflect a specific commitment on Verizon's part to broadcast next year's Super Bowl to mobile devices. "As a use case for this technology the Super Bowl makes a lot of sense, but there's nothing to announce today," said Lewis.

Venue-specific live event streaming and real-time TV streaming are the chief use cases cited by industry vendors for LTE Broadcast, though there are other potential uses as well. "The business models haven't been defined," said DeSantis, noting there is much to be worked out regarding specific specific content plays Verizon is eyeing.

Some have speculated that Verizon's push to enable LTE Broadcast on its network is related to marketing and joint development agreements the company has with cable operators Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bright House Networks.

DeSantis downplayed that angle, though he said the cable MSOs could use Verizon's LTE Broadcast capability to deliver any content for which they have the necessary rights to broadcast to mobile devices. "They can take advantage of the network, absolutely, but there's nothing specific as far as a defined partnership or anything like that is concerned," he said.

Verizon launched its LTE network in December 2010 and has been rolling it out across the United States ever since. The carrier began working on LTE Broadcast more than 18 months ago.

Special feature: LTE video broadcasting - Top Wireless Technologies in 2013

Read more about: LTE Broadcast, live event streaming, eMBMS
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By Tammy Parker

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4. China Mobile commits $6.7B to TD-LTE capex in 2013

The First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet) is slated to name a general manager today during a special public meeting, which should help the nascent organization get down to the business of designing the National Public Safety Broadband Network (NPSBN). Yet many public-safety entities and state representatives remain concerned that the network is being designed with too little transparency and outside consultation.

The new GM will replace board member Craig Farrill, who has filled the role of acting general manager since December.

During last week's FirstNet oversight meeting held by the House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, FirstNet Chairman Sam Ginn emphasized that FirstNet has had to ramp up quickly with no history behind it. "We have no milestones to measure our performance. We have no employees to start with. We have no budget. We have no financial controls. We have no audit function. We have no history and no culture," said Ginn, who was quoted by MissionCritical Communications.

Ginn sought to allay fears that FirstNet is developing NPSBN plans on its own, without collaborating with state public-safety entities or other interested parties that have expertise to lend. "We've been directed to build an LTE network. We know what we're going to build," he said.

But Ginn said the board has only created "network concepts" not a final design. "And we're not likely to ever complete a final design because as you learn you update your architecture, and that will happen over time," he added.

However, Chris McIntosh, statewide interoperability coordinator for the Commonwealth of Virginia, indicated FirstNet's lack of transparency been disconcerting. "In the inaugural FirstNet board meeting, a national architecture for the network was presented, and we are told that a more refined version will be presented in April. This network is being designed before any of the consultation mentioned before has been done," he said.

Further, Greg Walden, subcommittee chairman, asked about state representation on the FirstNet board and was informed not one board member is actually on a state payroll and representing state interests.

Another issue facing FirstNet is which agencies will be given access to the NPSBN. Numerous groups, including utilities and transportation departments, are angling to use the network along with first responders.

During a roundtable discussion at the International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) last week in Las Vegas, board member Jeff Johnson--who is CEO of the Western Fire Chiefs Association--noted that although the law specifies a "public-safety network," FirstNet's board "is choosing to interpret that pretty broadly."

Johnson, who was quoted by Urgent Communications, added, "Whether [the network] is broad enough to include utilities, transportation and public works, I think this board is seeing it as the broader public-safety community, and not just the people who spray and shoot and get shot at."

"The ability to set partnerships with utilities, and they become almost a first responder or a second responder in support of first responders, is going to be hugely helpful," said Charles Dowd, deputy chief of the New York City Police Department, during the same roundtable. "You want to ensure that they can get their job done and that you can communicate with them efficiently during [disasters]."

FirstNet was created by the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 as an independent authority within the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with responsibility for establishing a single, interoperable, LTE-based NPSBN.

For more:
- see this FirstNet March 18 meeting agenda (PDF)
- see this Energy and Commerce Committee video
- see this MissionCritical Communications article
- see this UrgentComm article

Read more about: ISM
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By Tammy Parker

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5. Verizon, Comcast target 'magical' mobile video offerings

China Mobile disclosed that it will invest $6.7 billion in rolling out TD-LTE this year, potentially setting up the operator to finally get an Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone that will work on its network.

The operator expects to end 2013 with more than 200,000 TD-LTE base stations in 13 cities, up from the 20,000 base stations it had deployed by the end of last year.

The move will have significant ramifications outside of China, helping give confidence to makers of network gear and devices that there will be a viable TD-LTE ecosystem in the years to come. "If you're Ericsson, Huawei, Softbank or Apple, it's sending a clear statement that they believe this technology will work and they're putting their money where their mouth is," said analyst Tucker Grinnan, who was quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

The $7 billion TD-LTE investment is part of a much larger $30 billion capex budget outlined by China Mobile for 2013. The operator spent only $19.7 billion on capex in 2012.

China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua also urged China's government to issue licenses that would enable LTE networks to launch by year's end, saying it would be "appropriate" to do so. Chinese officials have indicated the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will finally be ready to finally issue the licenses sometime this year. Though operators have been rolling out "trial" TD-LTE networks, none are officially licensed for commercial use.

China Mobile CEO Li Yue also said there has been "no progress" on negotiations between the operator and Apple to create an iPhone compatible with China Mobile's existing TD-SCDMA 3G network. Some 10 million of China Mobile's customers reportedly own an iPhone even though the device does not work properly on the operator's network.

Having a commercial TD-LTE network in place could change everything for China Mobile.

"Apple's iPhones will be like a killer app for China Mobile once it gets its 4G up and running," said Huang Leping, an analyst at Nomura International in Hong Kong, in a Reuters article. "That will definitely boost user numbers, though it will weigh on the bottom-line in the first year or so as China Mobile will most probably have to provide heavy handset subsidies for the iPhone."

China Mobile said its 2012 profit grew 2.7 percent to $20.8 billion, almost half the growth rate of the 5.2 percent the operator saw in 2011. However, its 2012 revenue rose 6.1 percent to $72 billion. China Mobile is the world's largest mobile operator with 710 million subscribers.

In January 2012, U.S. WiMAX Clearwire (NASDAQ:CLWR) and China Mobile announced plans to conduct joint interoperability testing for TDD-LTE networks to accelerate the deployment of TDD-LTE devices. The agreement built upon a partnership Clearwire and China Mobile inked in September 2010 to accelerate the TDD-LTE ecosystem.

Clearwire CEO Erik Prusch said last month that the operator remains on track to turn on 2,000 TD-LTE sites by the end of June and 5,000 by the end of 2013. Clearwire CFO Hope Cochran said the company is budgeting $600 million to launch 8,000 TD-LTE sites, and $200 million to $250 million of that will come from vendor financing agreements.

For more:
- see this Wall Street Journal article (sub. req.)
- see this Fox Business article
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article

Read more about: capex, Clearwire
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By Tammy Parker

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