The goal of LTE was to increase the capacity and speed of wireless data networks using new DSP (digital signal processing) techniques and modulations that were developed around the turn of the millennium.
[15][16] In Canada, Rogers Wireless was the first to launch LTE network on July 7, 2011, offering the Sierra Wireless AirCard 313U USB mobile broadband modem, known as the "LTE Rocket stick" then followed closely by mobile devices from both HTC and Samsung.
[17] Initially, CDMA operators planned to upgrade to rival standards called UMB and WiMAX, but major CDMA operators (such as Verizon, Sprint and MetroPCS in the United States, Bell and Telus in Canada, au by KDDI in Japan, SK Telecom in South Korea and China Telecom/China Unicom in China) have announced instead they intend to migrate to LTE.
Long-Term Evolution Time-Division Duplex (LTE-TDD), also referred to as TDD LTE, is a 4G telecommunications technology and standard co-developed by an international coalition of companies, including China Mobile, Datang Telecom, Huawei, ZTE, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Qualcomm, Samsung, and ST-Ericsson.
[72][73][74] There are two major differences between LTE-TDD and LTE-FDD: how data is uploaded and downloaded, and what frequency spectra the networks are deployed in.
[76][77] The ratio between uploads and downloads on a LTE-TDD network can be changed dynamically, depending on whether more data needs to be sent or received.
[85] The creation of LTE-TDD involved a coalition of international companies that worked to develop and test the technology.
[90] Qualcomm also participated, developing the world's first multi-mode chip, combining both LTE-TDD and LTE-FDD, along with HSPA and EV-DO.
[94] In September 2011, Huawei announced it would partner with Polish mobile provider Aero2 to develop a combined LTE-TDD and LTE-FDD network in Poland,[95] and by April 2012, ZTE Corporation had worked to deploy trial or commercial LTE-TDD networks for 33 operators in 19 countries.
[98] With Sprint's acquisition of Clearwire in 2013,[75][99] the carrier began using these frequencies for LTE service on networks built by Samsung, Alcatel-Lucent, and Nokia.
[86] As of November 2013, the South Korean government planned to allow a fourth wireless carrier in 2014, which would provide LTE-TDD services,[77] and in December 2013, LTE-TDD licenses were granted to China's three mobile operators, allowing commercial deployment of 4G LTE services.
VoLGA however never gained much support, because VoLTE (IMS) promises much more flexible services, albeit at the cost of having to upgrade the entire voice call infrastructure.
VoLTE may require Single Radio Voice Call Continuity (SRVCC) in order to be able to smoothly perform a handover to a 2G or 3G network in case of poor LTE signal quality.
[109] While the industry has standardized on VoLTE, early LTE deployments required carriers to introduce circuit-switched fallback as a stopgap measure.
[110] Fraunhofer IIS has proposed and demonstrated "Full-HD Voice", an implementation of the AAC-ELD (Advanced Audio Coding – Enhanced Low Delay) codec for LTE handsets.
For end-to-end Full-HD Voice calls to succeed, however, both the caller and recipient's handsets, as well as networks, have to support the feature.
"[120] Independent studies have found that about 3.3 to 5 percent of all revenues from handset manufacturers are spent on standard-essential patents.