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Mobile Communications

Transition from Voice to Data

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Mobile access technology evolution has seen huge increases in the ability to carry higher data rates

 

The inherent value of mobility to end users and the cost advantages over fixed access have driven the tremendous growth of the mobile user base and the near stagnation of the fixed user base. Will we see with mobile broadband data what we saw with voice?

 

Rapid growth in mobile data services is seen everywhere on 3G and 3.5G networks. The drivers are social networking, photo and video sharing, navigation and online gaming. Usage in some instances has reached levels where the mobile data performance is affected, in turn affecting the user experience, especially in high user density urban areas.

 

Is 4G the answer? Yes. 4G (LTE) promises mobile data rates of over 100 Mbps and improved performance, especially lower latency. 4G offers better spectral efficiency and lower costs for providing data. But 4G will also attract new and unexpected usage.

 

Mobile broadband access may be the only way to offer broadband in some developing country markets. It may also displace some fixed broadband in mature markets, but the availability of spectrum is a limiting factor. A fibre optic cable �contains� the entire spectrum without interfering with adjacent fibres or over-the-air radio transmission. It therefore seems likely that offloading of the radio spectrum where possible will be driven by expected usage increases.

 

Some forecasts indicate that the mobile broadband user base will grow globally at over 35% per annum through 2014 to reach some 1.8 billion users, resulting in a mobile broadband user base of between 25 to 30% of all users. The chart below is from �LTE and the Road to 4G (2010-2015)� (info.) Click here to request access to this report.

 

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Machine Type Communications

Handset Trends

4G forecasts

 

�Smart phones� drive data traffic. Typical applications include email, calendar and contact data periodically synchronized across multiple devices (e.g., phone, desktop and laptop computers.) End users may be unaware of this �background� traffic, but network operators must deal with it.


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Updated : 2011-07-19