Abstraction

From Unstrung: http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=176867&

T-Mobile and Orange are both saying that LTE has many technology hurdles to overcome before it is viable for their networks (Verizon and NTT’s aggressive plans notwithstanding).

The operators’ concerns with LTE include: support for voice services; the impact on backhaul capacity; intellectual property rights; the lack of standardization for self-organizing networks (SONs); and the lack of spectrum. And those are just the chief conerns.

In addition, T-Mobile and Orange, along with other European carriers, are scarred by the disastrous early days of WCDMA (3G), when they spent billions of euros on licenses and hyped 3G downlink speeds beyond reality, leaving customers and investors sorely disappointed. They don’t want to repeat those 3G mistakes in LTE, especially in the midst of a global financial crisis.

In my mind, this reinforces my contention that mobile bandwidth will quickly and inevitably become a finite resource in the face of unprecedented demand. Business models will change from a flat-rate all-you-can-eat (or all-you-can-eat-up-to-a-point) to more complex and nuanced charging that includes dynamic tiering, utility-style billing, and so on.