The Monetising LTE: capitalising on the growth of mobile handset data

NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:  The Monetising LTE: capitalising on the growth of mobile handset data

http://www.reportlinker.com/p02347018/The-Monetising-LTE-capitalising-on-the-growth-of mobile-handset data.html   

About this report-This report addresses the question of how mobile operators can monetise LTE data services, having invested heavily in rolling out these networks. It covers the following aspects, along with recommendations for operators.-Challenges of monetising mobile handset data: Mobile revenue forecasts, LTE's impact on data usage and ARPU.-LTE bundling strategies: Evaluating operators' value-added services and connectivity extension (that is, multi-device tariffs) bundles for LTE tariffs.-The broader market opportunity: Assessing the impact of LTE on the prepaid market, data allowance overage and the MVNO market.

Key questions answered in this report:

-Can LTE service launches reverse or slow mobile ARPU decline in developed markets?

-What strategies can mobile operators follow in order to encourage customers to adopt LTE tariffs and higher data allowances (for example, content bundles and multi-device tariffs)?

-Should mobile operators charge a premium for LTE services, or keep the cost down to differentiate from the competition?

Who needs to read this report:-Strategy and marketing executives at mobile operators responsible for devising and promoting mobile tariffs, including promotions and bundles.-Senior executives at mobile operators that have forthcoming LTE launches, or that have launched LTE services and wish to gain an overview of how other operators are addressing these key questions.-Executives at mobile content and application providers that may be seeking to partner with mobile operators to reach a wider audience.

Mobile data is expected to be the principal driver of revenue growth for the industry

- Mobile retail revenue continues to grow worldwide and is expected to exceed USD1 trillion by 2018.

- Much of this growth will be from emerging markets, in particular the emerging Asia–Pacific region, where revenue will grow at a CAGR of 6.5% in 2013–2018.

- In developed markets, revenue will remain relatively flat, and in Europe it is expected to decline during the forecast period.

- Mobile handset data revenue is the strongest area of growth.

-Mobile data is expected to grow from 28% to 38% of total mobile handset revenue between 2013 and 2018.

-Conversely, mobile voice will decline as a proportion during this period, from 62% to 53%.

- As smartphone adoption becomes widespread, customers are increasingly viewing mobile data as a more-important service than voice or SMS, and operators are, to varying degrees, rebalancing their tariffs and using data to demarcate value rather than the number of voice minutes or messages.

- The launch of LTE enables operators to offer higher-speed services, potentially driving the consumption of higher bandwidth content and offering improved service parity with fixed broadband.

Table of contents

About this report

Executive summary

Recommendations

Mobile data is expected to be the principal driver of revenue growth for the industry

Operators need to strike a balance between positioning themselves to address growth opportunities and managing the decline of legacy services

Data consumption is increasing but operators still face challenges to ensure that this translates into upsell of higher data allowances

Operators in most markets charge a price premium for 4G services

In challenging market conditions, a few operators in mature mobile markets have been able to increase ARPU with the help of LTE

In the long term, operators' tier structures for handset data must tackle the 'running out of runway' problem

Many of the strategies designed to differentiate 4G tariffs involve bundling with other service elements

Many operators around the world are starting to offer 4G-specific content and services and extending connectivity options [1]

Many operators around the world are starting to offer 4G-specific content and services and extending connectivity options [2]

Content and services: Operators should offer premium content for high-end and popular OTT apps for lower-end customers

Extending connectivity: Operators have an opportunity to increase tablet connectivity, but need to reduce costs to match perceived value

Extending connectivity: Multi-device sharing plans and data-sharing services are becoming more common

Limited SMS messages or voice minutes and sub-500MB allowances on

SIM-only tariffs can bring LTE services to low-end customers

Availability of prepaid LTE services is currently limited, but operators are starting to offer it as LTE handsets become more affordable

Overage charges are another potential source of revenue – particularly among low-end users

Operators that use unit-based pricing for overage employ it for different reasons

Throttling is used as a consumer-friendly alternative to charging for overage, but the lack of upsell opportunities makes it of limited interest

Some operators have restricted MVNO access to LTE networks but the sector is producing some innovative data-centric pricing models

About the authors and Analysys Mason

List of figures

Figure 1: Topics and companies covered in this report

Figure 2: Mobile handset connections by network generation, worldwide, 2013–2018

Figure 3: Mobile retail revenue by region, worldwide, 2013–2018

Figure 4: Mobile handset retail revenue by service type, worldwide, 2013–2018

Figure 5: Voice and data allowances on 4G SIM-only tariffs for selected operators, June 2014

Figure 6: Average mobile handset data usage per month by technology generation, developed markets, 2013–2018

Figure 7: Smartphone respondents' self-reported data usage as a proportion of their data allowance

Figure 8: iPhone 5S 4G smartphone contract monthly fee premium on contract ARPU by operator; June 2014

Figure 9: Mobile ARPU, and LTE launch date for eight MNOs, 1Q 2010–1Q 2014

Figure 10: Approaches to structuring mobile handset data tariffs

Figure 11: Potential operator strategies for differentiating 4G services

Figure 12a: LTE smartphone tariff marketing strategies, by country, June 2014

Figure 12b: LTE smartphone tariff marketing strategies, by country, June 2014

Figure 13: Content and value-added services bundled with 4G postpaid tariffs

Figure 14: Tablet respondents by type of connectivity

Figure 15: Types of multi-device tariff structure

Figure 16: Monthly data allowances and fees for entry-level 4G SIM-only smartphone tariffs, selected operators, June 2014

Figure 17: Availability of LTE on prepaid plans, selected countries, June2014

Figure 18: Operator approaches to overage charges for LTE services

Figure 19: Charges on selected SIM-only LTE packages by data allowance tier, selected operators, June 2014

Figure 20: Selected data plans from LTE MVNOs, USA, June 2014

Company coverage

The following companies are mentioned in this report.

AT&T

EE

FreedomPop

Free Mobile

Hutchison Whampoa

KDDI

LG Uplus

NTT DOCOMO

Orange

SFR

SK Telecom

Telefónica

Telekom Deutschland (T-Mobile)

Telenor

TeliaSonera

Telstra

Yuilop

Verizon Wireless

Vodafone

To order this report: The Monetising LTE: capitalising on the growth of mobile handset data 
http://www.reportlinker.com/p02347018/The-Monetising-LTE-capitalising-on-the-growth-of-mobile-handset-data.html   

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