Third-generation, high-speed data networks and their accompanying attractive flat-rate pricing and devices are driving mobile broadband to mass-market levels and giving mobile operators a strong business case to migrate to LTE technology.
Operators have experienced dramatic growth in mobile data traffic thanks to their widespread deployment of 3G networks and aggressive flat-rate pricing plans for both laptops and smartphones. As this trend accelerates, operators must find ways to reduce their network costs and still make money despite the fact that their services are turning into mass-market offerings.
Today’s 3G networks simply cannot handle the influx of data traffic at mass-market levels without costly investment. This hastens the need for an all-IP, next-generation technology that is more spectrally efficient and requires fewer base stations and radios.
Indeed, wireless industry experts don’t see any signs that the demand for mobile broadband services is slowing and Asia is actually leading the growth. According to research conducted by Informa Telecoms & Media, mobile broadband subscribers worldwide reached more than 225 million subscribers at the end of March last year. Another report released by Allot Communications last July points out that worldwide mobile data bandwidth usage increased by about 30% in the second quarter.
Asia leads with 36% growth while Europe posted 28% growth and the Americas recorded 25%. Data-intensive services such as video streaming are growing exponentially. Meanwhile, inexpensive, web-friendly smartphones are turning wireless customers into heavy users of mobile data services.
These trends are setting the stage for a mobile broadband offering that compares well or complement fixed broadband services on flat-rate pricing but with the added benefit of being mobile. 3G operators will suffer capacity issues and will have to face a choice of either allowing the customer experience to degrade, invest significantly to support the capacity growth or deploy more efficient networks.