New Research Provides Insight into LTE Usage by Smartphone Users; Mobile Operators Continue to Benefit

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Mobidia Technology, Inc., the leading provider of mobile analytics, in collaboration with Informa, a leading analyst firm, today released new research, and the latest update, to their white paper series, "Understanding Today's Smartphone Users," which offers new insights into LTE usage from an extended analysis of the leading LTE markets of the U.S., Canada, Germany, Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

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Using a data set spanning 8 months from August 2012 to April 2013, and covering markets that have more than 90 percent of the current LTE subscribers, the analysis indicates a positive impact for the more than 100 mobile operators that have deployed LTE. LTE subscribers are shown to be using more data and buying larger volume-limited data plans. The data also reveals the reliance of Wi-Fi networks by smartphone subscribers, especially those using heavy data-consuming applications such as video. This could represent both a threat and opportunity for the mobile operators.

The analysis highlights the following trends:

• In all markets, LTE subscribers are buying more large data plans from the mobile operators. In Canada, for example, more than 21 percent of LTE subscribers are on 5-10GB plans where only 14 percent of 3G subscribers are purchasing those plans.
• LTE subscribers are using less Wi-Fi than 3G subscribers. In April 2013, Wi-Fi represented 67 percent of all data usage of LTE subscribers versus 72 percent of the 3G subscribers. Nevertheless, growth of Wi-Fi usage by all subscribers during this time outpaced both 3G and LTE data usage growth.
• Wi-Fi continues to be a critical network for smartphone users. In aggregate across these six markets, Wi-Fi data consumption represented more than 70 percent of total data used on a smartphone and is growing faster than cellular usage.
• Apps that subscribers value while mobile, such as Google Maps, or that subscribers want all the time and everywhere, such as Facebook, were used more by 4G subscribers. However, data-hungry apps, such as music services, actually saw a drop of usage over the cellular networks and an increase on Wi-Fi networks, indicated an increase of the reliance on Wi-Fi and the growing sophistication of users.

"We are excited to make this set of LTE usage data and white paper available to the industry," said Chris Hill, vice president of marketing at Mobidia. "Our data sets are the most comprehensive global view of LTE usage trends, generated by actual users, available today. While our latest white paper provides a compelling set of insights, it represents only a fraction of the data that is available for planning, benchmarking, and strategic decision making."

With a global set of data provided by millions of smartphone users, Mobidia is able to provide the mobile industry ecosystem with detailed and unique insights into real subscriber behavior surrounding data and application-specific usage on all the networks to which smartphones and tablets connect, including mobile cellular (and LTE), roaming and Wi-Fi. The data also includes both aggregate data amounts consumed by, and time spent in, specific applications and services.

For more information about Mobidia's mobile data, please visit Mobidia's website, where you will find detailed white papers available for download, or visit Mobidia's Blog for updates on data and analysis of mobile usage.

Note to Editor:

Mobidia analyzed data collected August 2012 through April 2013 from hundreds of thousands of Android users in Canada, Germany, Korea, Japan, United Kingdom and the U.S. to analyze LTE usage trends. This data was collected on a strictly anonymous and optional basis from a sample of millions of users who have downloaded Mobidia's smartphone application, My Data Manager.

About Mobidia Technology, Inc.

Mobidia develops and delivers intelligent, client-based solutions for enhancing wireless data with leading mobile operators around the world. Mobidia's popular My Data Manager application has been downloaded by millions of subscribers around the world looking to better manage their mobile data usage and data plans. Mobidia's white-labeled version of the application is being used by mobile operators around the world for customizing and branding to increase subscriber satisfaction and decrease care costs; to increase the efficiency of upselling and cross-selling promotions; and to develop a unique view of usage trends across cellular, roaming, and Wi-Fi networks. A cloud-based architecture allows for integration with back end billing and analytics systems.

Mobidia is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia with local presence in the U.S., Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.mobidia.com or call 604-304-8640.

SOURCE Mobidia Technology, Inc.