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LTE Strategies: Mobile Broadband full steam aheadNEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue: LTE Strategies: Mobile Broadband full steam aheadhttp://www.reportlinker.com/p01057533/LTE-Strategies-Mobile-Broadband-full-steam-ahead.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Broadband The LTE technology has now been adopted in all geographical areas and is experiencing a rapid growth. LTE Advanced, the "real 4G", will be launched in 2013. This report provides an overview of the latest trends in the fast growing LTE market and the reasons driving MNOs' migration to LTE. It also analyses operators' roll-out strategies, LTE networks, technical hurdles, the regulatory environment and LTE spectrum issues, in addition to spotlighting the key players' different strategies and what will change with LTE. With more than 26 million LTE subscriptions at mid-2012, the LTE ecosystem is growing fast. How fast do MNOs implement LTE - TD-LTE is now available commercially in 10 countries. How is the TD-LTE ecosystem developing - LTE Advanced will arrive sooner than expected - what impact will this have on MNOs' strategies - More than 14 frequency bands are already in use for LTE around the World. What are the consequences for devices and international roaming - VoLTE has been launched in August 2012 by three operators. What is the current status of VoLTE - How are LTE services priced - Which services are pushed by LTE operators Contents 1. Executive Summary 101.1. Lessons from LTE commercial deployments . 111.2. Network strategies 121.3. Spectrum constraints 121.4. MNOs investments in LTE 121.5. Service strategies . 131.6. Conclusions on MNOs' strategies 132. Methodology 163. Lessons from commercial LTE services . 183.1. LTE status 183.2. Lessons from the first LTE commercial deployments 203.2.1. LTE theoretical and average data rates . 203.2.2. LTE ARPUs . 213.2.3. A very rapid take-off in South Korea 213.2.4. Vodafone . 233.2.5. Swapping Mobile WiMAX for LTE: Yota in Russia . 243.2.6. LTE as a substitute to fixed networks 244. Network strategies and technical hurdles . 264.1. LTE-Advanced coming soon 264.1.1. LTE-Advanced front runners 264.1.2. Equipment providers 304.1.3. LTE-Advanced technical characteristics: the "real 4G" 314.1.4. Carrier aggregation 334.2. LTE-FDD and TD-LTE: real complements . 374.2.1. Technology aspects: towards more complementarity between LTE-FDD and TDLTE 374.2.2. Already ten TD-LTE commercial networks 384.2.3. WiMAX to TD-LTE migration . 404.2.4. TD-LTE develops in parallel with FD-LTE . 414.3. Small cells in LTE networks . 485. Spectrum constraints 495.1. LTE spectrum allocation . 495.1.1. LTE spectrum today 495.1.2. LTE spectrum fragmentation and the importance of band plans . 545.2. Second Digital Dividend and future LTE bands . 575.2.1. 700 MHz band . 575.2.2. Future LTE bands/New MBB spectrum: which frequency bands . 595.3. Spectrum refarming: the importance of the 1800 MHz band . 59LTE strategies 5.4. LTE in satellite frequency bands 616. MNO investments in LTE 646.1. LTE investments by major players . 646.1.1. LTE-related capex increase to offset 2G/3G capex decline . 646.2. Network sharing and outsourcing . 666.2.1. Network sharing . 666.2.2. Network outsourcing 696.3. Higher capillarity and density access networks with small cells and femtocells 716.3.1. Small cells are seen as the inevitable complementary network infrastructures to macro-cells to meet the mobile broadband capacity crunch 716.3.2. Network equipment provider pushes small cells 716.3.3. Femtocells definitely a critical part of LTE network deployments . 726.3.4. Multi-RAN adoption . 746.4. LTE is driving need to upgrade backhaul . 756.5. LTE costs . 766.5.1. LTE for costs savings 766.5.2. LTE: lowering the cost of capacity . 786.5.3. LTE unit cost per MB is declining over years . 797. Service strategies 807.1. LTE pricing . 807.1.1. Presentation of the first LTE price plans: is LTE sold with a premium . 807.1.2. Caps and speeds for LTE services/Comparison 877.2. Voice and SMS over LTE: already a reality in 2012 887.2.1. Technological enablers 887.2.2. Deployment roadmap for VoLTE . 907.2.3. Issues for VoLTE . 927.3. New services on LTE networks 937.3.1. Rich Communications Suite (RCS) 947.3.2. Mobile cloud-based services . 967.3.3. Video services . 997.3.4. Emergency services 1007.3.5. M2M services potential 1027.4. Devices strategy - Review of LTE device availability . 1057.4.1. USB dongles and mobile hotspots . 1057.4.2. Mobile handsets: early developments . 1057.4.3. Tablets: LTE as differentiating advantage . 1067.4.4. Other devices: a market still in its infancy 1077.4.5. Fixed routers and/ or gateways . 1077.4.6. eReaders . 1087.4.7. Mobile gaming devices 1088. Conclusions for MNOs 1098.1. What can be learnt from the main LTE networks . 1098.2. MNOs strategic positioning 110LTE strategies www.idate.org © IDATE 2012 5 8.3. What can we expect in the coming years . 1128.4. LTE market forecasts 2012-2017 . 1128.4.1. Subscription forecasts . 1128.4.2. LTE revenue forecasts 1159. Annex: LTE devices 1169.1. USB dongles and MiFi devices 1169.2. Handsets 1169.3. Tablets 1199.4. M2M devices 1209.5. Fixed routers 12010. Annex: Case studies . 12110.1. AT&T 12110.1.1. Overall presentation 12110.1.2. Investments . 12110.1.3. Spectrum . 12110.1.4. Devices and services . 12110.2. DOCOMO . 12210.2.1. Overall presentation 12210.2.2. Investments . 12310.2.3. Spectrum . 12310.2.4. Devices and services . 12310.3. China Mobile 12410.3.1. Overall presentation 12410.3.2. Investments . 12410.3.3. Spectrum . 12510.3.4. Devices and services . 12510.4. TeliaSonera 12610.4.1. Overall presentation 12610.4.2. Spectrum . 12610.4.3. Devices and services . 12610.5. T-Mobile 12810.5.1. Overall presentation 12810.5.2. Spectrum . 12810.5.3. Investments and deployments . 12810.5.4. Devices and services . 12810.6. Verizon Wireless 12910.6.1. Overall presentation 12910.6.2. Spectrum . 12910.6.3. Investments and deployments . 12910.6.4. Devices and services . 129LTE strategies 10.7. SKT . 13110.7.1. Overall presentation 13110.7.2. Investments and deployments . 13110.7.3. Devices and services . 13110.8. LG U+ . 13210.8.1. Overall presentation 13210.8.2. Investments and deployments . 13210.8.3. Devices and services . 13310.9. Telstra . 13410.9.1. Overall presentation 13410.9.2. Devices and services . 13410.10.Yota 13510.10.1. Overall presentation 13510.10.2. Spectrum . 13510.10.3. Investments and deployments . 13610.10.4. Devices and services . 137LTE strategies Tables Table 1: VoLTE status and launch date 13Table 2: LTE commercial networks and subscriptions in Q2 2012 . 18Table 3: Q1 and Q2 2012 subscriptions Figures for the 'Top 10' LTE networks 19Table 4: Q2 2012 subscription Figures for the 'Top 10' LTE countries 19Table 5: LTE speeds (commercial networks) 20Table 6: LTE and 3G speeds in the USA 20Table 7: LTE ARPU Figures 21Table 8: LTE coverage . 22Table 9: LTE-Advanced front-runners - first implementations 26Table 10: LTE-Advanced performance . 32Table 11: Possible UE RF architectures for LTE-Advanced resource aggregation 34Table 12: Frequency bands combinations for carrier aggregation 36Table 13: Main TDD and FDD bands 37Table 14: Adoption of TD-LTE technology 38Table 15: TDD and FDD mode advantages and drawbacks . 39Table 16: Main frequency bands for UMTS/HSPA/LTE deployment - TDD mode . 40Table 17: Mobile WiMAX to TD-LTE migration plans 41Table 18: First-phase testing sites and assignments 43Table 19: Spectrum assignment for LTE testing . 44Table 20: LTE commercial networks and associated frequency bands 49Table 21: Main LTE frequency bands by geographical area . 51Table 22: Main characteristics of frequency bands for LTE 52Table 23: Availability dates of LTE spectrum 53Table 24: LTE devices by frequency band 54Table 25: Potential use of FDD bands for LTE . 54Table 26: Potential use of TDD bands for LTE . 55Table 27: Most likely bands for LTE international roaming . 56Table 28: Potential new frequency bands for mobile broadband - Europe . 59Table 29: State of LTE 1800 deployments and trials 60Table 30: Benefits and risks of passive mobile sharing 67Table 31: Benefits and risks of active mobile sharing . 68Table 32: Examples of LTE network sharing agreements 69Table 33: Potential gains and risks of network outsourcing 71Table 34: Base station shipments estimates 73Table 35: Elements of potential savings to reduce network costs for a LTE network . 77Table 36: NTT DOCOMO Xi rates 81Table 37: NTT DOCOMO Xi rates -smartphones and tablets 81Table 38: LG U+ LTE plans 82Table 39: SK Telecom LTE plans . 83Table 40: KT LTE plans 84Table 41: Verizon Wireless rates 84Table 42: AT&T rates 85Table 43: AT&T Mobility shared data plans 86Table 44: Telia rates . 86Table 45: LTE tariff comparisons 87Table 46: Voice over LTE - interworking with common circuit switched voice technology . 89Table 47: VoLTE status and launch date 90Table 48: RCS launch dates . 95Table 49: SKT RCS services features 95LTE strategies Table 50: Standardised QCI characteristics . 101Table 51: Bandwidth required by M2M application . 103Table 52: Modules price by technology used, 2011 104Table 53: LTE frequency bands for the various versions of the iPhone 5 . 106Table 54: LTE USB dongles and MiFi devices . 116Table 55: LTE handsets 116Table 56: LTE tablets 119Table 57: M2M LTE devices . 120Table 58: LTE fixed routers 120Table 59: AT&T LTE devices 122Table 60: AT&T LTE plans . 122Table 61: NTT DOCOMO Xi Flat-rates billing plans . 124Table 62: NTT DOCOMO Xi Two-tiered flat-rate billing plans 124Table 63: China Mobile spectrum . 125Table 64: Telia LTE smartphones rates 127Table 65: Telia LTE data-rates . 127Table 66: Sonera rates - Finland 127Table 67: TeliaSonera rates - Denmark . 128Table 68: SKT LTE tariffs . 132Table 69: LG U+ LTE plans 133 Figures Figure 1: LTE in Figures 11Figure 2: LTE front-runners strategic positioning . 14Figure 3: LTE subscriptions forecasts 15Figure 4: Geographical mapping of early LTE commercial deployment . 18Figure 5: 10 million LTE subscribers in one year . 21Figure 6: Reasons for subscribing to LTE 22Figure 7: Average 3G and LTE data consumption in South Korea 23Figure 8: Mobile data consumption in South Korea . 23Figure 9: HomeFusion LTE outdoor antenna and principle 25Figure 10: LTE-Advanced development scenario 29Figure 11: Carrier aggregation in LTE-Advanced 32Figure 12: Relay function . 33Figure 13: Release 10 LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation 34Figure 14: Carrier aggregation example 35Figure 15: Supplemental downlink principle . 36Figure 16: Main TD-LTE backers . 42Figure 17: TD-LTE trials in China . 43Figure 18: TD-LTE devices used by China Mobile for the tests . 44Figure 19: SoftBank TD-LTE subscribers 46Figure 20: UK Broadband spectrum . 48Figure 21: Applications of small cells . 48Figure 22: Timetable for LTE spectrum in Western Europe . 53Figure 23: 700 MHz band plan in the USA . 56Figure 24: Scenario for a second Digital Dividend in Europe, Africa and the Middle East . 57Figure 25: APT 700 MHz plan 58Figure 26: APT band plans 58LTE strategies Figure 27: Harmonised FDD arrangement of 698-806 MHz band . 58Figure 28: Positioning of ICO and TerreStar in the 2 GHz band (S-band) . 61Figure 29: NTT DOCOMO LTE expansion plans, 2011-2015 66Figure 30: Passive sharing 67Figure 31: Active sharing . 68Figure 32: Comparative network outsourcing scope 70Figure 33: Femtocells operator commitments and deployments 72Figure 34: NTT DOCOMO RAN architecture evolution with Remote Radio Head . 73Figure 35: Evolution of Telefonica mobile network . 74Figure 36: Comparison of cost between SingleRAN and non-SingleRAN . 75Figure 37: Operator strategies in migrating backhaul networks . 76Figure 38: LTE capex lower than current mobile capex . 77Figure 39: Potential costs savings for a typical MNO in developed markets (brownfield case) 78Figure 40: Comparison of performance and cost for today and LTE networks 78Figure 41: LTE increases capacity while lowering cost per MB . 79Figure 42: Capex and opex per MB, eurocents (EUR), 2010-2015 . 79Figure 43: NTT DOCOMO Xi rates (commercial launch 12/2010) . 81Figure 44: CS fallback architecture 88Figure 45: Voice over IMS . 89Figure 46: Sprint's VoLTE plans 91Figure 47: SK Telecom - VoLTE characteristics 91Figure 48: VoLTE introduction by NTT DOCOMO . 92Figure 49: premium LTE services from LG U+ . 93Figure 50: RCS services 94Figure 51: SKT RCS launching plan 95Figure 52: Mobile cloud services 96Figure 53: Mobile cloud for storage and processing 96Figure 54: DOCOMO network cloud 97Figure 55: The NTT DOCOMO Shabbette Concier service . 98Figure 56: Translator phone service 98Figure 57: eMBMS logical architecture 100Figure 58: New emergency services solutions from the industry . 102Figure 59: M2M development by vertical industry 103Figure 60: LTE in Figures 109Figure 61: LTE front-runners strategic positioning . 111Figure 62: LTE subscriptions forecasts 115Figure 63: LTE revenue forecasts (million EUR) 115Figure 64: NTT DOCOMO LTE plans . . 123Figure 65: China Mobile LTE plans: . 125Figure 66: Verizon LTE deployment . 129Figure 67: SKT LTE coverage . 131Figure 68: LG U+ LTE coverage 132Figure 69: Yota's traffic - LTE launch: . 135Figure 70: Yota's business model 136Figure 71: Yota: RAN sharing with MegaFon . 136 To order this report:Broadband Industry: LTE Strategies: Mobile Broadband full steam ahead __________________________Contact Nicolas: [email protected]: (805)-652-2626Intl: +1 805-652-2626 SOURCE Reportlinker |