LTE Gaining Momentum - Who Knew?

Earlier, I posted about a potential technology battle brewing between WiMax and LTE. From the stories below, it appears LTE is gaining momentum - even with WiMax-proponent Clearwire.

Alcatel-Lucent CEO: We'll be ready with LTE

Newly installed Alcatel-Lucent CEO Ben Verwaayen will unveil a plan to turn the company around, and wireless will be a part of that plan, the CEO said last week. Alcatel-Lucent, which has posted seven straight quarters of losses, has been pressured by investors to cut its wireless business loose. But Verwaayen said the vendor will keep its research and development and will be ready with LTE products.

Clearwire says it's not wedded to WiMAX

Having solidified its merger with Sprint's Xohm WiMAX business and secured the $3.2 billion investment from Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House Networks, Intel and Google, Clearwire CEO Ben Wolff announced his company will go to market with WiMAX service branded "Clear" and noted that the company would also consider deploying LTE down the road.

LTE can't come soon enough for China Mobile

China Mobile Communications says it is the "most-ready operator" for LTE technology. The Chinese operator said it is preparing for LTE now and building out its government-mandated 3G TD-SCDMA network so cell sites and other network pieces can be reused for LTE. China Mobile plans to roll out a TDD version of LTE by 2010.