5G Hype Aside, True 4G Is Finally Materializing, Says IHS

CAMPBELL, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/23/15 -- IHS (NYSE: IHS) today released excerpts from its 2015 IHS Infonetics 4G and 5G Strategies and Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey, for which operators were interviewed about their LTE network deployment plans, challenges and service offerings. Half of respondents participating in the study say they have already deployed LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) in their LTE networks.

"We are slowly but surely moving to true 4G, and that's good news. However, most users already believe they are on 4G, and that's the bad news because the experience is far from consistent and is falling short of expectations. How many times does your smartphone display LTE or 4G and you still see the infamous spinning wheel?" said Stéphane Téral, research director for mobile infrastructure and carrier economics at IHS.

"The 5G debate has started with great fanfare, hype and confusion, but little substance about what it is exactly and what it is not. For now, the mindset is still locked into mobile broadband as we know it with LTE, so it's good that the ITU has just stepped in to define 5G in its brand new IMT-2020," Téral said.

4G AND 5G STRATEGIES SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

Inter-band carrier aggregation is the most common and very first LTE-Advanced feature deployed by respondent operators.

Commercial voice over LTE (VoLTE) service is taking off slowly and ramping this year and next.

4G network functions virtualization (NFV) migration won't happen any time soon because the bulk of LTE networks are brand new and, therefore, mobile operators are not ready to undertake migration that soon.

Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia (in alphabetical order) are perceived by survey respondents as the top LTE equipment manufacturers.

4G/5G SURVEY SYNOPSIS
For the 38-page 2015 4G and 5G Strategies and Vendor Leadership: Global Service Provider Survey, IHS interviewed purchase-decision makers at 22 mobile, incumbent, competitive and cable operators from EMEA, Asia, North America and Latin America. The study covers LTE network build-out plans; challenges and drivers; migration scenarios; LTE features, services and suppliers; and operator ratings of LTE manufacturers (Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung, ZTE) on 9 buying criteria. The service providers participating in the study represent about one-third of the world's telecom capex and revenue. To purchase the report, please visit: www.infonetics.com/contact.asp.

RELATED RESEARCH

NFV Market to Grow More than 5-Fold through 2019, Says IHS:
http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2015/NFV-Market-Highlights.asp

Mobile Services Market Dragged by Europe Again:
http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2015/Mobile-Services-Subscribers-Market.asp

LTE Peaking at $6 Billion a Quarter - Not Enough to Offset 2G/3G Decline:
http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2015/1Q15-Mobile-Infrastructure-Market-Highlights.asp

Operators Spent $67B Outsourcing Network Tasks to Equipment Vendors in 2014:
http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2015/Service-Provider-Outsourcing-Highlights.asp

Telecom Carrier Spending Entering New Era Marked by Diverse Regional Trends:
http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2015/2H14-SP-Capex-Rev-Capex-by-Eqpmt-Highlights.asp

Mobile Operators Using EDGE, HSPA+ to Improve User Experience on Road to LTE:
http://www.infonetics.com/pr/2015/IP-RAN-3GPP-Strategies-Survey-Highlights.asp

RECENT AND UPCOMING RESEARCH
Download the IHS Infonetics 2015 service brochure (http://www.infonetics.com/downloads/2015-Infonetics-Research-Services-Brochure.pdf) or log in: www.infonetics.com/login.
- Service Provider Capex, Opex, Revenue & Subscribers Database (May)
- Service Provider Capex, Revenue & Capex by Equipment Type Forecast (May)
- Mobile Services & Subscribers Forecast (June)
- C-RAN Architecture Equipment Forecast (June)
- Global Telecom & Datacom Market Trends & Drivers Forecast (June)
- LTE Infrastructure Vendor Scorecard (July/Aug.)
- Mobile Infrastructure Equipment Forecast (Aug.)

IHS INFONETICS WEBINARS (https://www.infonetics.com/infonetics-events)
- Striking Gold with Subscriber Analytics (July 28: Register)
- SDN & NFV: Accelerating PoCs to Live Commercial Deployment (Watch now)
- Leveraging NFV for Carrier WiFi Services (Watch now)
- The Path to VoLTE (Watch now)
- Data Density in the Mobile Network: Small Cells, RRH, DAS, or WiFi? (Watch now)

TO PURCHASE RESEARCH, CONTACT:
- The Americas: +1 855 323-3363, +1 719 265-1535, [email protected]
- Europe, Middle East, Africa: +44 1344 328300, [email protected]
- Asia Pacific: +604 291-3600, [email protected]

About IHS (www.ihs.com)

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of insight, analytics and expertise in critical areas that shape today's business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 150 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs about 8,800 people in 32 countries around the world.

IHS is a registered trademark of IHS Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. © 2015 IHS Inc. All rights reserved.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/7/23/11G048469/Images/2015-IHS-Infonetics-4G-5G-Service-Provider-Survey--1370822598765.jpg

   News Media Contact:Stéphane TéralResearch Director, Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier EconomicsIHS +1 408-583-3371Email contact Twitter: Email contact

Source: Infonetics Research

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