LTE will account for 31 per cent of all mobile service revenues by 2017 according to a new report from Juniper Research. The report says that, by 2017, global LTE revenues will exceed US$340bn compared to US$75bn in 2013 and nearly 70 per cent of this will be generated by the North America, Far Eastern and China markets.
There are now 45 per cent more operators investing in LTE than a year ago, according to the latest report from the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). The GSA report highlights the continued growth in the technology and the surrounding eco-system since its inception in late 2009. A total of 113 operators have now launched LTE across 51 countries, 77 of which were launched in the past 12 months. Some 195 further networks are in the development stages and 209 networks are forecast to have launched by the end of 2013.
2012 sees LTE continuing to gain momentum as the fastest growing mobile technology of all time—and the move by several operators to re-farm 1800MHz spectrum represents the beginning of another key trend.
Only one of the three spectrum bands supported by the European version of Apple’s iPhone 5 is a European LTE band; a decision described by one industry consultancy as “really odd”.
Following the decision announced today by UK regulator Ofcom to allow Everything Everywhere to offer LTE services in its existing 1800MHz spectrum at any point from September 11, 2012, EE has sold off part of its 1800MHz spectrum to 3UK.
We speak to Michael Lai, CEO of Malaysian communications provider P1 Networks, about the progress his company has made in its rollout of TD-LTE services, and how he plans to achieve Return On Investment for these services
Sony, Nokia and Huawei have each announced new handsets at CES in Las Vegas, as competition in the smartphone market hots up.
T-Mobile’s Hungarian subsidiary Magyar Telekom has become the first operator to offer a 4G-LTE mobile broadband service in the country. The service was launched across ten districts of Budapest after the operator carried out a three-month extended network testing phase, involving over a hundred personal and business users.
The price of LTE services will drop by 60 per cent over the next five years, according to new research. UK based pricing and tariff services analysis firm, Tariff Consultancy, claims that LTE mobile broadband will lose its premium tag by 2016.
Apple is losing influence over the telecommunications industry, according to a senior exec at Swedish operator TeliaSonera. Tommy Ljunggren, SVP and head of system development for mobility services at the operator told Telecoms.com that, due to its decision not to embrace LTE and a recent apparent slowdown in its pace of innovation, Apple’s importance to the market is now the subject of much debate within the industry.
Saudi Arabian mobile operator Mobily has launched the first LTE service in the Middle East, but rival STC was hot on its heels, launching its own service a day later.
The Global mobile Suppliers Association has announced that it has updated its Evolution to LTE report and that there are now 218 operators investing in LTE worldwide, with 91 commercial roll-outs expected by 2012. This number consists of 166 firm commercial deployments either in progress or planned across 62 countries and 52 operators in 19 countries that are engaged in trials.
Deployment of LTE in 1800 MHz spectrum is a promising opportunity and option in several markets.
Zain Bahrain confirmed in August 2009 plans to deploy LTE, and showcased the region‟s first LTE call in March 2010, with a download speed of 70 Mbps. Regulator TRA is consulting on allocation of 2.6 GHz spectrum for LTE commercial deployments.
Austrian regulator TKK completed the auction of 2.6 GHz spectrum on September 20, 2010, raising €39.5m from A1 Telekom Austria, Hutchison, T-Mobile and Orange. 14 paired and 9 unpaired frequency blocks were sold. License conditions require coverage of at least 25% of the population by 2013.
Telstra has been trialing LTE from May 2010, comprizing not only urban, but also rural evaluations and extensive laboratory trials. At MWC 2011, Barcelona, Telstra announced plans to upgrade its Next G™ network with LTE technology in the central business districts of all Australian capital cities and selected regional centers by end of 2011. The upgrade will use Telstra‟s existing 1800 MHz spectrum to deliver LTE to areas where traffic demand is most concentrated.
On September 21, 2010 regional carrier MetroPCS became the first operator in the United States to launch LTE. MetroPCS also offered the world’s first commercially available 4G LTE enabled handset, the Samsung Craft.
The 3GPP LTE system delivers capacity and data throughput enhancements and low latency, to support new services and features requiring higher levels of capability and performance. LTE is the next step in the user experience, enhancing more demanding applications such as interactive TV, mobile video blogging, advanced gaming, and professional services. This report from the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) tracks the evolution to LTE.
Consolidation, convergence and competitionCalls for consolidation in the European mobile market grow louder by the week and four-operator markets look increasingly challenged. Now, those mobile operators that have already built scale seem to be suggesting that there is no option but to expand yet further through diversification.
It is testament to Telstra’s aggressive approach to mobile broadband that an operator in a country of just over 23 million people should rank in the top ten operators worldwide in terms of LTE subscriber numbers. Mike Wright, Telstra’s executive director for networks and access technologies talks to Telecoms.com about the firm’s plans for further enhancing its LTE operation with fresh spectrum and LTE-Advanced capabilities.
Jonathan Bell, VP of Marketing at OpenCloud, discusses how policy and pricing are just two dimensions along which telecoms operators can differentiate their propositions. By adding a third dimension, the service behaviour itself, operators can define and bring true innovation to the market that surpasses the traditional approaches of the past, he says.
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With summer supposedly fast approaching, many look to trim some fat and get in shape for the sunny months. The Informer has never been a huge fan of gyms; in fact his favourite machine in the gym is the one that sells chocolate. Telefonica’s UK arm O2, is one business that is looking to get lean for the holidays, though, and this week it announced that it is to trim 3,500 UK employees.