Survey Sez 07/25/12

There is good news and bad news: LTE will generate more than $1.7 billion for wireless vendors this year (increasing tenfold by 2017), but LTE only will fulfill that potential if operators address several key business challenges first, says Maravedis-Rethink. Mobile carriers need to overcome such hurdles as spectrum availability, a smooth transition for voice services, and a clear strategy for pricing. Another important trend is the entry of TD-LTE into the mainstream; multi-mode devices will be essential to TD-LTE uptake, the group says, forecasting that, by 2017, 83 percent of devices will be capable of supporting both TDD and FDD modes.