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Will Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and Vodafone Group, one-time partners, be on different sides in the 5G wireless standards debate? Next-generation 5G services were a hot topic at last week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. Vodafone ( VOD ) surfaced as a surprise member of a group of wireless phone companies aiming to meld two variants of LTE (long-term evolution) technology as a path to 5G. Those companies include China Mobile ( CHL ), India’s Bharti Airtel, South Korea’s KT ( KT ), Japan’s SoftBank ( SFTBY ) and Vodafone. SoftBank controls U.S.-based Sprint ( S ). Verizon, on the other hand, said at the MWC that it will cooperate with Japan’s NTT Docomo ( DCM ), KT and SK Telecom on possibly different 5G specifications . Verizon in early 2014 bought out Vodafone’s 45% stake in their U.S. wireless joint venture, Verizon Wireless, for $130 billion. Two variants of LTE have existed in 4G networks worldwide. China Mobile, with the government’s backing, developed the “TD” variant, which stands for “time division” communications. Most of the world, including Verizon and Vodafone, used “FD,” or “frequency division” communications, in their networks, constructed starting in 2008. U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm ( QCOM ) has intellectual property tied to the “FD” LTE variant. China’s government, meanwhile, has been keen on harmonizing the TD and FD variants, aiming to help companies such as Huawei sell network equipment and mobile phones abroad. In India and China, mobile phone makers have sold 4G devices that support multiple transmission modes. India’s biggest wireless firm, Bharti Airtel, and Japan’s SoftBank were earlier adopters of TD-LTE. Vodafone, meanwhile, has been working with Sweden-based telecom gear maker Ericsson ( ERIC ) and Huawei in some countries to meld the FD and TD technologies. At MWC, the five wireless firms — China Mobile, Vodafone, Bharti, KT and SoftBank — said they would support a five-year strategic plan to build a 5G “ecosystem” and converge the TD and FD technologies. Verizon, NTT and their partners, meanwhile, set technical trials for 2016 through 2018. Verizon’s 5G partners include Alcatel-Lucent ( ALU ), Ericsson, Cisco Systems ( CSCO ), Nokia ( NOK ), Qualcomm and Samsung. Scalper1 News
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