Study Finds Strong Demand for LTE Services

European telcos could increase consumer revenues by as much as 10 per cent, and enterprise revenues by nearly 30 per cent, as the adoption of LTE (long Term Evolution) technology matures. That’s the conclusion of an extensive pan-European study carried out by Alcatel-Lucent that found strong support and demand for applications enabled by LTE mobile broadband networks.

The study gauged the preferences of more than 4,500 consumers and 950 enterprise respondents based in the UK, France and Germany. Based on the results of the study, Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs’ Network Planning, Performance & Economic Analysis business modelling team believes that this interest in new LTE-optimized applications could be translated into a significant market opportunity and substantial revenue gain for services providers. The results further concluded that the greatest benefits could be gained by leveraging a market entry strategy based on carefully packaged and priced applications.

Among businesses & enterprise respondents, interest in signing-up for LTE services was found to be high across all segments, and was especially high in medium- and large-sized businesses. More than half of small-sized businesses, and more than three-quarters of medium- and large-sized enterprises said they are interested in signing-up for next generation wireless network access for their employees.

The study also found that interest in accessing LTE service also impacts customer loyalty. Again, a higher response rate was reported for medium- and large-sized
enterprise respondents. More than half of small-sized businesses, over 70 per cent of medium-sized companies, and over 80 per cent of large enterprises said that they would change service providers in order to get LTE.

Improved speed and quicker response time, enabling improved interactivity, were the top two attributes cited by respondents for enhancing the quality of experience, across all enterprise segments. However, speed ranked highest for the small-sized enterprises, while improved interactivity was most important for medium- and large-sized enterprises.

The LTE-optimized applications covered in the study were solidly received in the three European countries, especially by medium-sized and large-sized enterprises. In addition to mobile cloud computing, the surveyed enterprises also expressed a strong interest in signing up for mobile collaboration and multi-party video conferencing.

The consumer research found that more than half of consumers are likely to sign up for LTE, and 40 per cent would switch network providers to gain access to the technology. The main perceived benefit for consumers was faster speeds.

Live messaging, next-generation music, and enhanced mobile video, with an enhanced end-user experience in a next-generation network environment were the top three consumer applications tested.

“Anticipation, new opportunities and excitement are building among both businesses and consumers,” says Ken Wirth, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s 4G LTE activities. “Our research results are a strong endorsement that LTE-enabled applications will drive significant revenue opportunities for service providers.”

Rati Thanawala, vice-president, Network Planning, Performance & Economic
Analysis at Bell Labs adds: “Our analysis shows that with the right end-to-end infrastructure, bundle offer and market approach, service providers can capitalize on the pent up demand for mobile broadband services. They could optimize revenues with a migration strategy focused first on offering carefully chosen applications and pricing strategies towards enterprises, and then with creative offers for consumers.”

There’s more information about Alcatel-Lucent’s LTE activities here.