Your next enterprise wireless network might use LTE — if Qualcomm and some powerful partners succeed in pushing cellular beyond just mobile operators.

This week, Intel, Ericsson and Nokia joined Qualcomm in forming the MulteFire Alliance, an industry group to develop and promote LTE that runs only on the kind of unlicensed frequencies that companies use for Wi-Fi.

LTE networks in enterprises may be a long time in coming. Where a vast industry has grown up to meet companies’ indoor wireless requirements, small cellular base stations are relatively new and have been designed primarily for service providers. But in cases where businesses specifically need cellular coverage or local networks need to be something more than private LANs, unlicensed LTE might have a strong role to play.

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