The leading mobile operators in the US, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have teamed up to launch a new coalition named EVOLVE that will promote unlicensed spectrum like LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) and Licensed Assisted Access (LAA). Qualcomm, Alcatel-Lucent along with CTIA – The Wireless Association and the Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) are also the founding members of the new coalition.
The move follows opposition by Google, the Wi-Fi Alliance and cable operators against the LTE-U technology, saying that the unlicensed LTE could effectively reduce the bandwidth avaiable on WiFi networks. Qualcomm, a major proponent of LTE-U and LAA, said that "Operators such as Verizon and T-Mobile have announced plans to deploy a variant of LTE in unlicensed spectrum called LTE-U next year. But organizations opposed to LTE-U are trying to stall these developments, arguing that LTE-U will not coexist fairly with Wi-Fi and even asking the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to delay approvals for LTE-U equipment."
Kathleen Grillo, Senior Vice President of Federal Regulatory and Legal Affairs, Verizon
We look forward to continuing an open dialogue, sharing information and answering questions across the mobile community. We know that by working together, the U.S. will remain a global technology leader for decades to come.
