New services to drive adoption of LTE, says SAP survey

58% of respondents believe new offerings and increased data usage will drive operator revenues

Improved data speed for customers (36%) and offering new IP-based services (30%) are primary drivers for operators launching LTE (long-term evolution) services, according to a survey conducted by business software provider SAP AG.

The survey, conducted on-site at the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, Spain, included 300 respondents representing mobile operators (14%), vendors (22%) and other mobile industry leaders (43%). The study was aimed at addressing top issues facing the mobile ecosystem, and reflects the sentiments of mobile operators and fixed telecom providers.

The survey results predict that new IP-based services will also be a main driver of revenue for operators in 2013. 58% of the respondents believed that new offerings, including rich communication services and 4G/LTE, and increased data usage by smartphone users will drive operator revenues.

Given the more recent Asia-Pacific smartphone boom, the finding showed that 40% of Asia-based respondents placed much greater significance on increased data usage by smartphone users.

“Leaders across the mobile industry believe that new IP-based services such as our recently-launched SAP Rich Communication Services 365 will be key to driving LTE adoption. The survey results provide a roadmap for operators looking to expand their customer service portfolio through high-speed 4G LTE networks,” Diarmuid Mallon, lead (global mobile marketing programmes), SAP, said in a release.