Celcom tests LTE with Huawei and Ericsson

TheStar has reported that Celcom too has joined the 4G LTE testing bandwagon. This doesn’t come as a surprise as 4G LTE is the expected next step for 3G players.

Celcom’s CEO Shazalli Ramly was quoted saying: “We have clear reasons for doing (these) trials and (find out) what the technology can do (for us). Ericsson and Huawei are doing the trials for us.” If we read that correctly, sounds like Celcom is merely watching its vendors doing the salesman demo. Apart from all the hype and buzz that LTE is said to deliver, they didn’t share any results or speed capabilities that the technology has to offer on their test network. It would be interesting if Celcom pulls a PR stunt by claiming highest 4G connectivity at the peak of Mount Kinabalu.

As reported earlier Maxis too had its own LTE trials that claims to deliver download speeds up to 104Mbps. Meanwhile, the other two 3G operators, DiGi and U Mobile have yet to make a move on LTE initiatives. Currently it looks like DiGi is focused in 3G roll out and will consider 4G later when there’s demand for it.

LTE is still in its infancy right now. Just take a look at its 4G rival – WiMAX and you’ll see the challenges faced to get to where it is today. Today even with the number of WiMAX devices and operators, they are still not up to par when it comes to network and capacity. We don’t see LTE as a superior challenge to WiMAX at the moment unless the operators can prove themselves that they can run the technology right. Our point is similar as the Nokia N8 video, it’s not technology, but what you do with it.

You may have the best devices and infrastructure, but if you can’t run it properly, you’ll still get customers complaining about slow and unreliable connectivity.

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