There's probably no way you missed the news about Nortel's concentrated focus on LTE. All emotional comments from anonymous posters aside, the announcement was strong and painted a line in the sand as to where Nortel saw growth potential, revenue possibilities, and a strong fit with core capabilities.
You can debate till your throat is sore who has the best routers and switches (although in the 90s there was no debate - the BN series took the top honors). What you can't debate is Nortel's presence and capability in the carrier space. Cellular packet networks have gone from being a "nice to have" to an expected service offering. They have enabled mobile workers, services in remote areas, telemedicine, and distance learning (think OLPC).
But from a personal experience, something really got me thinking. I have my iPhone 3G now, and have been browsing the Apps Store which requires a 3G link. The iTunes Store still requires WiFi (or a PC). Even 3G doesn't quite have the bandwidth to reliably transfer 100's of megabytes of media files; so how do you bridge that last gap?
Can you put a WiMAX radio in a small, lightweight mobile device? Probably not unless it comes with a shoulder-mounted battery. Can you do it with LTE? Yes, actually. Now granted the already weak 3G's battery (while using 3G) would need an upgrade, but the bottom line is that for smaller handheld devices LTE has a lot more potential.
Even for laptops that can accomodate the space and power requirements of WiMAX, the smaller footprint of an LTE radio and the lower power consumption has to be attractive. Now before everyone starts telling me how critical WiMAX is and how pervasive it is overseas - I agree with you. As a fixed-point evolved-mesh environment it is absolutely the right thing to do. But that is still thinking in a very campus-oriented fashion. Think global coverage, not "hot spots."
With a mature LTE network, my iPhone could use the iTunes store without needing WiFi. Near real-time communications become real time. Access costs drop due to strong wireless vs. wireline/MSO competition because comparable speed and reliability can now be offered for at-home services.
I am fortunate that Nortel sees the value in demonstrating commitment to its own strategy. Nortel is enabling its worforce through the secure, measured deployments of new devices that use high speed carrier technologies like 3G and EVDO Rev. A to truly offer workforce mobility. More advanced, secure access from more devices equals fewer windshield hours (and carbon emissions) for non essential and non-customer meetings.
Oh yeah, and I could have downloaded the latest U2 compilation album while on a conference call, recieved a secure e-mail, and written this entry all from my hypothetical LTE-enabled iPhone 4G.
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