LTE Should Fuel Mobile Device Fire

Increasing use of mobile wireless devices is apparent in most places, especially in locations where network coverage is strong. The deployment of Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless networks worldwide should only enhance consumers' appetites for mobile wireless services, according to the latest report from market research firm ABI Research. In particular, the researcher notes, revenue from mobile Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) sales is expected to increase more than 100 percent over the next five years, due largely to the deployment and expansion of LTE networks. About $8.4 billion was spent on IMS during 2009 and, according to ABI's Principal Analyst, Aditya Kaul, that figure will rise to $17.3 billion in 2014. LTE has often been viewed as a data-based network. Ironically, however, much of the growth will depend on how LTE systems handle voice services. According to ABI, most operators still earn most of their revenues (about 70 percent) from voice and messaging services. Kaul explains that "It's all to do with recent progress in standardizing how voice services will be handled within LTE." And because a significant group of operators and equipment suppliers, including AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson, have agreed upon on a standard that defines voice services in LTE, the future for the networkand the growth of mobile wireless deviceslooks promising.