Over 100 million LTE mobile broadband subscribers by 2014

HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND: The number of LTE next generation networks is set to grow significantly with the number of subscribers exceeding 100 million by 2014, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

The LTE report found that these market numbers will be buoyed by the embedding of broadband capabilities within consumer electronics devices such as MP3 players, Netbooks and digital cameras.

Market momentum
Juniper Research forecast that whilst subscribers will largely use handsets such as smart phones, and laptops, consumers will be motivated to connect devices in the home by LTE.

Report author Howard Wilcox commented: "There is intense activity in the LTE market right now, with in excess of 30 network operator commitments. Operators and vendors alike are moving rapidly to jump on the road to LTE, attracted by the connectivity-based opportunities that the technology offers. Sony, for example, announced that network connectivity is one of three top priority actions.”

Uncertainties ahead
However, the report determined that there are still several open issues that need addressing before the market takes off. One of these is the issue of device convergence: what will a smart phone look like, and be capable of, in three years' time?

Further report findings include:
* Whilst early LTE adopters will be enterprise subscribers, consumers will begin to take up LTE based services towards 2012/2013.
* There will be multiple millions of LTE subscribers as early as 2011.
* Embedded LTE chipsets will become the second most popular means of access behind SIM cards by 2014.

223mn smartphones to be shipped with open source OS by 2014

HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND: The number of smartphones shipped with open source operating systems (OS) will increase from 106 million this year to 223 million by 2014 according to a new report from Juniper Research.

The Open Source OS research found that operating systems and the applications are playing an increasingly important role in the differentiation of new smartphones and a key factor in the choice of which handset to choose from by users.

AppStore and Open Source
The last three years has seen a revolution in the OS market with market leader Symbian moving to open source and Apple leading the way in the distribution of Applications through their innovative, but now widely copied, AppStore approach.

The move to open-source OS has also encouraged developers to design new and attractive applications and with over 60 percent of the OS market is now based on open-source, and a sizeable pool of software design talent out there, there is a massive opportunity for innovation.

However, the real key is not whether the OS is open-source but whether it’s easy for a developer to design an application and make money from that effort. The combined changes of Apple’s open route to the market and LiMo, OHA and Symbian’s open-source OS approach have generated a tidal wave-like effect which even the economic downturn has been unable to reverse.

There is a clear warning for device manufacturers –- the choice of OS is now critical and market share will, to a large extent, follow application development. The unexpected side effect however will be a shift in the balance of power towards application developers and end users -– they will begin to play the tune!

Open Source OS Whitepaper and further details of the study, ‘Mobile Open Source Operating Systems: Markets & Opportunities 2009-2014’ can be freely downloaded from the Juniper Research website.

WiMAX broadband services to generate $15bn by 2014

HAMPSHIRE, UK: Mobile WiMAX networks are being rolled out more slowly than expected, meaning that service revenues will grow more slowly than forecast a year ago, a new study from Juniper Research concluded.

The report found that revenues from WiMAX 802.16e broadband subscribers will exceed $15 billion globally by 2014. WiMAX will provide an improved experience for broadband customers who are receiving low speed DSL or cable modem services, or at the limit of DSL coverage.

However, WiMAX is faced by spectrum auction postponements in several countries, funding problems from the credit crunch, and slow network implementations, all combining to handicap network operators signing up subscribers.

WiMAX hampered by significant hurdles
These factors -– some of which are outside the control of the WiMAX ecosystem -- are holding back the market.

Report author Howard Wilcox warned: "Whilst market leaders such as Clearwire are launching services and expanding internationally, there are also well-publicised challenges for WiMAX such as those highlighted by French regulator ARCEP. We’re on the cusp of make or break time for WiMAX."

In addition, the report determined that the WiMAX ecosystem needs to deliver by translating trials into reliable, commercial services that attract customers.
Further findings include:

• North America, Far East and China, and Western Europe together will account for 70 percent of market by 2014.
• Mobile WiMAX has role to play in providing broadband in developing countries where there is no wired network.
• Africa and the Middle East, South America, the Indian subcontinent and Eastern Europe will together be worth some $4bn by 2014.