More than $340 billion (£219 billion) will be generated worldwide by 4G LTE services in 2017, compared to just over $75 billion this year. That’s approximately 31% of total service revenues from all 2G, 3G and 4G mobile services, according to a new report from Juniper Research.
It says 2013 will be the year that consumers begin to sign up for 4G services in volume, with the total number of 4G LTE subscribers expected to overtake the number of enterprise subscribers in 2015. However, enterprise customers will generate higher revenue.
The new report notes that mobile network operators need to develop clear pricing strategies to encourage customers onto 4G technology. In the UK, EE has recently cut entry-level 4G pricing with a promotional offer while Three UK is promising 4G access at no extra cost.
Nitin Bhas, Senior Analyst with Juniper Research and author of the report, said “Operators will have to review their tariff structures to balance the need to monetise the greatly increased data throughput, yet still offer attractive packages.”
[Whitepaper; report]