Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) – the industry’s second-largest infrastructure vendor – claims to have made the world’s first LTE call using commercial basestations and fully standard compliant software. The LTE data call was conducted in NSN’s R&D centre in Ulm, Germany, using its Flexi Multiradio Base Station kit. With commercial LTE networks due for operator deployment from next year (from the likes of Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS and NTT Docomo), NSN has missed out on the first high-profile contracts and seen rivals Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent scoop early deals. However, NSN is talking up its credentials in the future LTE space, stating that it has shipped “LTE compatible Flexi Base Station hardware” (requiring only a software upgrade in order to support LTE networks) to over 80 operators. “Wherever we have deployed LTE-capable base stations it gives us an edge to quickly multiply and deploy LTE networks,” Marc Rouanne, the head of radio networks at the company, told Reuters.

Of significance is the fact that NSN’s efforts focused on a data call, rather than voice. At present, question marks remain over the best way to deliver voice and SMS services over future LTE networks. Various options are available to operators, one of the most high profile being efforts by the VoLGA Forum which has attracted the support of the majority of the world’s major equipment vendors. NSN has proposed its own approach, which it calls ‘Fast Track Voice over LTE.’