The development of communications networks is a ­continuous process. At intervals of eight to ten years, mobile operators are however faced with a strategic decision. This is the length of the cycle for the introduction of new mobile technologies which has been seen to date. At the beginning of the nineteen-nineties it was the second generation which forced its way into the ­daily life of many people, and thus laid the groundwork for mass market success. The introduction of the third generation at the beginning of this century marked the launch of broadband data services for mobile users. The industry is presently approaching the next junction: a decision is to be made as to which technology standard will succeed in the next – the fourth – generation of mobile technology.

A number of competitors have joined the global race to become the dominant standard. Two representatives are crystallizing as the favorites in the best position to be able to provide commercial services which fulfill the requirements of the fourth generation by 2010: The LTE standard developed by 3GPP as the official successor to UMTS, and the IEEE 802.16e standard, better known as „Mobile WiMAX“, have the best odds at the moment. Without going into the details of the present discussion about these standards’ chances of success, it is interesting to consider which strategies network operators and producers are following in order to cope with the planned transition from their established third generation networks to the approaching fourth generation. This transition seems to differ from previous developments in a number of ways. 

Standardization provides the framework  

In order to assess the strategies, the basic structure of the mobile network must first be examined. The initial impression is of a rather large range of specialized network nodes which provide us with the common voice and data services on the basis of mature hardware and software technology. Some nodes can be separated out into a further functional group. A mobile network can thus be seen as a compilation of several specialized sub-networks which must be coordinated perfectly in order to provide the customers with the best possible quality of service, and to make it possible for the operator to provide these services efficiently. The networking ability of the network is inherent to the system and, in the end, an indication of the system’s efficiency resulting from the clearly defined division of work between the individual (sub-)networks.