Telecom Market Reports on LTE Business Models: Global Research & Analysis on Best Practices in LTE Network Deployment, Positioning and Service Pricing

DALLAS, July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

LTE Business Models: Best Practices in Network Deployment, Positioning and Service Pricing to Maximize Market Opportunity is a new research report releasing on July 11, 2014. Built around five detailed country case studies of markets where LTE networks have been launched, this LTE business models research report examines LTE spectrum allocation and availability, network deployment considerations, product and pricing strategies and LTE adoption trends as well as drivers for market growth. Highlighting what works and what doesn't - based on the experience of commercial operators - this report uncovers the pain points and the keys to success for LTE service providers worldwide.

LTE Business Suite 2014-2018 market research report provides a quick reference on key areas of LTE such as investment optimization strategies, CAPEX and OPEX categorization, various LTE deployment strategies, LTE technology trends - TDD/ FDD, developments in LTE-Advanced, and the propositions of various LTE enablers. It also provides analysis of various LTE/ LTE-Advanced business models, strategies for pricing and positioning of LTE services, and scope, viability and trends of wholesale LTE networks.

The report titled "LTE Business Models - Best Practices in Network Deployment, Positioning and Service Pricing to Maximize Market Opportunity" (available starting July 11, 2014 at http://marketreportsstore.com/lte-business-models-best-practices-in-network-deployment-positioning-and-service-pricing/ ) has the following highlights and key findings:

To retain their high-value customers and keep a network edge, market leaders have to launch LTE first; challengers must minimize this edge and consider disruptive pricing strategies. LTE can provide an attractive alternative to fixed broadband, just how attractive depends on the market. In areas with limited fixed-network infrastructure, LTE can be positioned competitively against fixed broadband connectivity. In areas with adequate fixed-network infrastructure, LTE addresses only users who value mobility and those who don't use data-intensive services such as video streaming and thus need smaller data allowances. Such market segments are not insubstantial, as we have seen in the declines of fixed-broadband net additions in Japan following the introduction of LTE service.

Market leaders typically launch LTE first; having the most to lose should they fall behind. In most cases launching first has been the right strategy, primarily in order to retain high-value subscriptions. Remaining competitive in terms of network coverage, speed and capacity is more important than leading in terms of speed alone, given the leaps in speed enabled by the carrier aggregation feature of LTE-Advanced.

Operators challenging market leaders have been most successful by minimizing the leaders' LTE network advantages in terms of coverage, capacity and speed, by executing well, by exploiting any competitor's setbacks or weaknesses and by implementing disruptive pricing plans.

The availability of spectrum underpins the timing and scale of LTE deployments and operators' competitive positioning long-term. The importance of access to appropriate LTE spectrum has resulted in high bids for auctioned spectrum, acquisitions of companies with relevant spectrum and loss of 2G market share for the sake of spectrum reframing.  Adoption of LTE differs depending on the market. As competitive operators reach nationwide coverage, adoption accelerates. To retain their high-value customer bases and keep a network edge, market leaders have to launch LTE first; challengers must minimize this edge and consider disruptive pricing strategies.

Device strategies are important in order to drive upgrades:  Ensuring the availability of a range of devices including popular, exclusive as well as low-cost devices that meet operator configuration requirements such as frequencies and backward compatibility with 2G and 3G networks is fundamental. LTE device adoption can be maximized by offering low-cost devices, providing financing and annual handset upgrade options, limiting the availability of non-LTE devices if appropriate (particularly among tablets) and offering smartphones that target less technology-savvy customers. Shared-data plans also help drive adoption, and more operators are targeting LTE car connectivity. Pricing LTE at a premium has clearly been the right strategy in markets where demand has been strong, thus boosting margins. However, premium pricing comes with downsides and risks, which have been exposed in different markets.

Driving wide adoption of data-intensive services is crucial to a successful LTE strategy. Relevant services must not only take advantage of LTE's better speeds and performance but also encourage greater data usage to boost ARPS. LTE drives data usage, typically increasing consumption by 80-120% compared with 3G. LTE can provide an attractive alternative to fixed broadband; just how attractive depends on the market. VoLTE will reinvigorate voice services and counter OTT providers, and operator approaches and plans to providing high-quality VoLTE services vary.

Key Findings of LTE Business Suite 2014-2018 market research report (http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/288090-lte-business-suite-2014-2018.html ) include:

The global LTE service revenue is projected to cross US$500 billion in 2018 from US$78 billion in 2013, exhibiting a CAGR of 46% during this period. North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific will account for 83% of the global LTE service revenue by 2018. USA, South Korea and Japan have established themselves as the early leaders in LTE. However, the developing and underdeveloped markets in Asia and Africa hold huge business potential for LTE.

Operators across the globe are projected to spend US$180 billion in LTE CAPEX by 2018. 4G small cells will surpass 3G small cells in next four years. The overall small cell backhaul expenditure will be worth US$28.7 billion by 2018. The total LTE-Advanced subscriber base will account for more than 42% of the global LTE subscriber base by 2018. The global subscriber base on LTE-Advanced networks is projected to reach 461 million by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 158% during 2013 and 2018. Earlier LTE operators were focusing primarily on USB dongle based data services due to lack of (affordable) LTE smartphones and tablets. However, the increasing penetration of LTE devices is likely to create new business opportunities such as LTE broadcast and online gaming.

Many operators were offering unlimited data plans to attract customers from 2G and 3G networks to LTE. However, they very soon realised that their current available spectrum would not be able to meet such demand in the long run. Consequently, most of the LTE operators across the globe started putting data caps and finished unlimited data plans. Being an ALL-IP network, LTE brings considerable security challenges for operators, end users, device manufacturers and application providers. The growing use of smaller cell sites (picocells and femtocells) will further increase security concerns as these small cell sites tend to be located in less physically secure locations and there will be more network elements to manage.

Explore more reports on LTE market and other sectors of Telecom industry at http://marketreportsstore.com/category/telecom/ .

Table Of Contents for LTE Business Models 2014 market research report, available for pre-order at http://marketreportsstore.com/purchase?rname=15233  (delivery staring July 11, 2014), covers:

Introduction

Report scope and outline

Approach and methodology

Section 1: LTE background and status

4G/LTE technology primer

LTE deployment status

LTE market adoption trends and forecast

Voice over LTE: Technology readiness and operator approaches

Section 2: Analysis

LTE spectrum trends and strategies to improve spectrum availability

Network deployment strategies and best practices

Drivers for LTE adoption and growth

LTE devices and key considerations for service providers

LTE-based services and the role of digital content

Trends in data traffic over LTE

Positioning LTE as a fixed broadband alternative

VoLTE timelines and opportunities for service providers

LTE pricing approaches and best practices

LTE ARPS trends and growth strategies

Market leaders: Go-to-market strategies and best practices

Market challengers: Go-to-market strategies and best practices

Section 3: Analysis of leading and emerging LTE markets

Comparative review of the case study countries

Key takeaways from country case studies

Country case studies

Japan: NTT fails to capitalize on its time-to-market advantage

South Africa: LTE as a fixed-broadband replacement and channel for video content

South Korea: First to market with LTE-Advanced and VoLTE deployments

UK: Challenger MNOs disrupt the market leader's pricing premium

USA: Largest LTE market in the world, where shared data plans have found success

Appendixes

Companies mentioned

Sources and related research

About Pyramid Research

List of Tables

Report overview

HSPA, LTE and WiMAX comparison

Wireless standards evolution

LTE technology evolution

Number of commercial LTE networks, 2009-2014

LTE commercial networks by frequency band, May 2014

LTE percentage of mobile subscriptions globally

LTE penetration by region, year-end 2013

Examples of spectrum-driven acquisitions

LTE deployment strategies by country, operator position

Quarterly LTE adoption since launch in four markets

Low-cost operator-branded LTE devices

Comparison of service strategies by country

Additional data usage on 4G networks vs 3G networks at five operators

Android smartphone 3G and 4G data consumption globally, Jan 2013 and Dec 2013

LTE impact on fixed broadband

LTE pricing comparison and highlights by country

4G ARPS compared with 3G ARPS at six operators

Blended ARPS in Japan and South Korea, Q2 2012 to Q1 2014

SK Telecom quarterly LTE vs WCDMA data usage, 2011-2013

SK Telecom's 3G and LTE price plans compared

Market share and ARPS performance of five market leaders

Market share and ARPS performance of eight challengers

Overview of mobile markets in five countries

Key country indicators in Japan, 2013 (year end)

Japan market highlights

Key LTE spectrum in Japan by operator

Population coverage of LTE FDD by operator in Japan, Q1 2011 to Q1 2014

NTT network evolution

Service subscriptions of KDDI and NTT, Q4 2013 and Q1 2014

Net FTTH additions of NTT, 2011-2013

Smartphone sales as percentage of handset sales in Japan, 2012 and 2013

KDDI smartphone plans

LTE and smartphone penetration in four countries, Q1 2014

Mobile, smartphone and LTE subscriptions in Japan, Q1 2011 to Q1 2014

3G and 4G data consumption in Japan, Jan 2013 and Dec 2013

Blended ARPS by operator in Japan, Q1 2011 to Q1 2014

Change in subscription market shares in Japan, Q1 2011 to Q1 2014

Key country indicators in South Africa, 2013 (year end)

South Africa market highlights

Number of Vodacom base stations in Gauteng by technology, 2014 and 2015

MTN South Africa coverage by network generation, year-end 2012 and 2013

MTN coverage by network generation in select African countries, year-end 2013

Telkom South Africa fixed broadband packages

Prices of 5Mbps broadband at Neotel and Telkom in South Africa

Mobile, smartphone and LTE subscriptions in South Africa, Q1 2013 to Q1 2014

Mobile subscription breakdown by network generation and use, Q1 2014

Data devices on Vodacom network, Q1 2012 to Q1 2014

Change in market shares in South Africa, Q1 2013 to Q1 2014

Key country indicators in South Korea, 2013 (year end)

South Korea market highlights

KT Telecom LTE lag behind SK Telecom and LGU+

LTE spectrum by operator in South Korea

LTE operator services in South Korea

Fixed broadband net additions in South Korea, 2010-2013

LGU+ fixed broadband subscriptions: 100Mbps vs total, 2011-2013

LTE subscriptions using VoLTE in South Korea, Q2 2012 to Q4 2013

Evolution of LTE plans in South Korea

Comparison of operator data plans in South Korea

Mobile, smartphone and LTE subscriptions in South Korea, 2010-2014

SK Telecom subscription breakdown by technology, Q1 2014

SK Telecom data usage on LTE and WCDMA, Q4 2011 to Q4 2013

Blended vs LTE ARPS in South Korea, Q2 2013 and Q1 2014

Blended ARPS by operator in South Korea, Q4 2011 to Q4 2013

Changes in subscription market shares, South Korea, 2010 to 2013

Key country indicators in the UK, 2013 (year end)

UK market highlights

LTE coverage by operator in the UK, 2012-2015

Key LTE spectrum holdings of UK operators

LTE content and service details by operator in the UK

Data usage on 4G plans in excess of average 3G usage, Vodafone, Q1 2014

Evolution of LTE plans in the UK

Mobile, smartphone and LTE subscriptions in the UK, 2010-2014

Additional LTE ARPS over 3G ARPS at three operators in the UK, Q1 2014

LTE subscriptions by operator in the UK

Change in retail postpaid ARPS of UK operators, Q1 2013 to Q1 2014

Key country indicators in the United States, 2013 (year end)

US market highlights

LTE coverage by operator in the US, Q1 2012 to Q1 2014

Free personal cloud storage bundles of ATandT and Verizon

Verizon broadband prices compared

US HD voice and VoLTE timeline

Portion of postpaid subscriptions on shared-data plans, Verizon and ATandT, Q1 2012 to Q1 2014

Verizon retail postpaid subscription breakdown by device, Q1 2014

Mobile, smartphone and LTE subscriptions in the US, 2010-2014

Postpaid ARPS by operator in the US, Q1 2011 to Q1 2014

Verizon average revenue per account, Q1 2012 to Q1 2014

Change in retail postpaid subscription market shares among top four US operators, Q1 2012 to Q1 2014

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