Mobile network operator revenues from deployed LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks are predicted to exceed US$265bn by 2016.
Juniper reports that while the total number of LTE consumer subscribers will be higher than enterprise in 2016, it is a different picture from a revenues viewpoint, with the consumer segment accounting for less than half of total revenues.
The introduction of premium service tariffs to provide high-end enterprise users with required guaranteed connections and/or service levels was identified as key to derive incremental revenues for LTE.
Juniper believes early LTE adopters will be “top end” users who are currently in the higher echelons of monthly spend.
This will be the case in developing countries as much as in developed countries.
Report author Nitin Bhas added: “We believe that high-end enterprise users in developing countries will be much closer in spend to similar users in North America or Western Europe and certainly very distinct from the bulk of the population that contribute towards the high-level regional ARPU levels for all generations, including 2G.”
Enterprise ARPU from LTE
Juniper predicts that LTE enterprise ARPU is forecast to experience lower rate of decline than consumer ARPU.
Western Europe, North America and Far East and China will account for about 84pc of total revenue worldwide by 2016.
LTE service revenue is to represent in excess of 26pc of total service revenues from all mobile services across all generations by 2016.