[PRWEB] A new report by DIGDIA finds that congestion in 3G networks, caused by a massive increase in demand for mobile digital media, will accelerate adoption of higher capacity 4G technology. Mobile WiMAX is first out of the gate in the U.S., and will establish itself as more than just a niche player, while operators who plan deployment of LTE technology race to catch up.
While partisan wars have been raging between proponents of WiMAX and LTE, over whose technology was faster and who would "win", something more serious was happening. The capacity of 3G networks was already running out. Wireless data traffic is doubling every year and video traffic is growing faster than that. With millions of subscribers trading up to smartphones, many equipped with video cameras, mobile uploads to YouTube have spiked 1,700% in the first 6 months of 2009.
As a result, operators are imposing caps and policy control mechanisms while completely prohibiting some of the most popular place-shifting mobile video applications from their 3G networks. The imposition of disincentives on consumers will prove to be counter-productive. Voice ARPU for wireless operators has flattened or declined in recent years. Operators seeking revenue growth increasingly depend on new subscribers for data ARPU, which has increased an average of 25% from 2008 to 2009.
The solution, for operators and consumers alike, is more rapid deployment of 4G networks optimized for internet protocol traffic, with higher capacity WiMAX and LTE air interfaces. Mobile WiMAX service is now commercially available in several U.S. cities, while LTE only saw its first field test in Europe in June 2009 and will not be available in the U.S. until 2010.
For some leading U.S. wireless operators, LTE deployment is more than two years away. Chipsets and consumer electronics for LTE also lag WiMAX developments by two to three years. These challenges present opportunities for companies throughout the wireless value chain to develop devices, services and applications to meet consumer demand for mobile digital media.
Explosive Growth in Mobile Video Shifts Advantage to WiMAX Providers Until 2012
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