Ultra-Mobile Broadband (UMB) Might Be Dead on Arrival

But Qualcomm Wins with OFDMA and MIMO Anyway

There is much hype in the wireless industry about WiMAX and Long Term Evolution (LTE), but not much discussion about the third OFDM/OFDMA technology, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB). Many dismiss UMB as being dead since it has so little traction with the operators. This research brief provides a detailed analysis of the state of CDMA, Qualcomm’s current wireless technology, and the potential opportunities for UMB. CDMA would provide the bulk of subscriber and operator base for UMB similar to the role played by GSM/UMTS for LTE. CDMA’s subscriber base is growing in its two strongest markets, Asia Pacific and North America. By 2012, the number of CDMA2000 subscribers is expected to reach over 2.4 billion in the Asia Pacific region and 350 million in North America. The research analyzes why Qualcomm and 3GPP were not able to leverage this base of subscribers and operators to gain traction for UMB, and discusses Qualcomm’s strategy to diversity its product portfolio and guarantee its future opportunities outside of UMB.

Executive Summary

Section 1.
WHERE DID QUALCOMM GO WRONG?
1.1. Where Did Qualcomm Go Wrong?
1.2. Cost
1.3. Commercial Support for 4G Technologies

Section 2.
ULTRA MOBILE BROADBAND
2.1. Advantages of Ultra Mobile Broadband
2.2. Expected Performance
2.3. Voice Services

Section 3.
THE STATE OF THE CDMA MARKET AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR UMB
3.1. CDMA Support in Asia Pacific Region
3.2. CDMA Support in North America
3.3. CDMA in Latin America and the Caribbean
3.4. Where Will Qualcomm Focus Its Attention?
3.4.1. Technology Agnostic Migration
3.4.2. Qualcomm’s IPR Structure
3.4.3. Continued CDMA Development
3.4.4. GMSA Membership
3.5. Supporting GSM and UMTS Based Technologies
3.6. Evolving the Existing CDMA Networks
3.7. UMB in the 700MHz band

Section 4.
RECOMMENDATIONS
4.1. Operators
4.2. Vendors
4.3. Qualcomm

Section 5.
KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS