Mobile broadband will require a practical approach for it to succeed

It has been found that, compared to the mature markets, mobile broadband in emerging market is a totally different proposition according to a new report from Ovum, a global advisory and consulting firm.

The recent report called “Operator strategies for mobile broadband in emerging markets” found that an opportunity for mobile broadband to become a viable alternative to fixed-line services has been provided by low PC and fixed-line penetration. It is believed, however, that “pragmatism” is the key word in terms of deployment, market approach, devices and access technology if operators are to succeed said Ovum.

Rather than focusing on technology and devices many operators are looking at mobile broadband in emerging markets in a far more practical way than in developed markets with more focus on the services offered, like web access. Mobile broadband services are being sold on anything from GPRS to WiMAX according to the report.

With two thirds of access connections over next generation networks by 2014 accounted for by HSPA there is no doubt that it will be the dominant technology in emerging markets over the next five years.

Senior analyst at Ovum and the co-author of the report, Steven Hartley said “The opportunity for mobile WiMAX in emerging markets is certainly greater than in developed markets, but the more rapid adoption of LTE will see the two next-generation technologies almost on parity by 2014.”

As with any emerging market services the cost that is involved in the launching and running of mobile broadband services is another very important practicality that should be considered.

Hartley advised “It is vital that operators build and then run highly efficient networks to handle the resulting data traffic. ARPU will be low and margins negligible without a clear understanding of the building and operational costs associated with these services. Nonetheless, costs will not be solely in the network. The additional support needed for more complex services and devices should also be carefully considered.”

Source – Ciol