4G LTE catches on, demonstrating need for wireless expense management

 

Growing popularity for the high-speed connectivity provided by 4G LTE networks demonstrates the need for more companies to practice effective wireless expense management. According to a recent Juniper Research report, revenue generated by LTE networks is expected to reach $265 billion by 2016.

Enterprise mobility is all about the latest and the greatest in technology. Whether it's the newest smartphone or tablet to hit the market or a trendy application, mobile professionals desire cutting edge technology. For wireless connectivity, that means 4G LTE.

Providers claim the download speeds of 4G LTE can rival those enjoyed on home internet connections, which, for enterprise users, means faster access to the enterprise network and data.

However, it's important that organizations think about the bottom line when exploring the possibility of signing 4G LTE contracts. After all, it will be the enterprise that accounts for much of the growth for the technology, according to the Juniper report.

"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," it stated.

And Nitin Bhas, the report's author, added that the move toward 4G LTE won't be reserved solely for larger, already developed markets.

"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," he said.

When the time does come for an organization to renew mobile contracts with a service provider, it's almost certain that the issue of 4G LTE will arise. And it may be a knee jerk reaction to automatically go for the latest technology, but it's important that such capabilities are actually required by end-users.

Currently, the costs associated with LTE don't revolve around the network itself - as data plans are the same whether for 3G or 4G - but rather the devices that can support it. As only the newest smartphones are capable of running on LTE networks, companies will often be required to make a purchase in order to leverage faster connectivity.

So far Verizon Wireless has jumped out ahead of the LTE pack. It launched its 4G network late last year and the first LTE-capable devices were made available in early 2011. Recently, the company expanded the service to 11 more markets.