@ 4G World: KDDI exec discusses CDMA roadmap, LTE buildout plans

Editor’s Note: KDDI’s Dr. Hideo Okinaka, VP and general manager of Japanese operator KDDI Corp., spoke about the operator’s perspective on deploying various technologies across its networks, during a keynote address at 4G World in Chicago, and during a worldwide webcast presented by the CDG and RCR Wireless News. The complete webcast can be viewed at http://www.cdg.org/news/events/webcast/101020_CDMA2000_roadmap/index.asp.
CHICAGO—Wireless operator KDDI has chosen not to get involved in religious wars over technologies, but instead is using different technologies to meet its customers’ needs across the plethora of services the operator provides.
Dr. Hideo Okinaka, VP and general manager of KDDI, talked to the audience at 4G World Tuesday, and Wednesday through a webcast presented in conjunction with the CDG and RCR Wireless News, about KDDI’s decision to use a variety of technologies across its service offerings.
Like the rest of the world, Japan is forecasting explosive growth in data traffic. Japanese end users are demanding high-definition digital cameras, access to YouTube, e-books and online games. “Content is growing richer and richer,” Okinaka said. Even though people assume much of the data growth has been from peer-to-peer communications, traffic per user has grown two times in three years for the downlink, Okinaka said.
Japan’s Ministry of Information and Communications is predicting mobile data traffic will increase 200 times between 2007 and 2017. Interestingly, KDDI has several businesses addressing that growth and is using different technologies depending on its requirements. The company’s mobile business uses CDMA technology; it uses WiMAX technology for mobile broadband services, and the company also offers fixed-line broadband and has cable operations.
KDDI plans to turn on its enhancement to its CDMA technology, EV-DO MultiCarrier next month. As part of its fall lineup of devices, the operator plans to sell seven devices that incorporate EV-DO Rev. B technology. The first device Sony Ericsson’s Bravia, goes on sale Nov. 10. KDDI is the third operator in the world to use the EV-DO Rev. B protocol.
At the end of 2012, KDDDI plans to launch an LTE network, Okinaka said. KDDI plans to use the LTE network to efficiently accommodate data traffic on the cellular network, using 850 MHz spectrum and 1500 MHz spectrum. The operator will continue to use the existing CDMA2000 1x technology for voice traffic. Okinaka said KDDI plans to continue to offer circuit-switched voice communications well into the next decade.
Going forward, the wireless industry faces some real challenges with LTE technology: globally, there is no universal spectrum allocation for LTE; infrastructure costs will be high and backhaul continues to be a problem as data growth continues to climb. Indeed, during the CDG webcast, 40% of people polled named backhaul as the No. 1 enhancement needed to keep up with demand for signaling and data network traffic. While operators are moving from IPv4 to IPv6, there is no compatibility between the two versions of the protocol, Okinaka said.