Global Telecoms Trends for 2017 - Fibre Networks, LTE, 5G, Video Streaming, Smart Nations - Research and Markets

The global telecoms sector continues its transformation process as infrastructure improvements to both mobile and broadband technologies continue. The operators are continuously seeking new revenue streams relating to the apps and services generated by these technologies and video streaming continues to be a key area of focus. Developments relating to IoT and M2M will continue to emerge in 2017 which will ultimately lead us to the smart cities of the future. This report explores the key global trends impacting upon the telecoms sector in 2017 and beyond, supported by valuable analyses, examples and key statistics.

Key developments:

FttX held only a 22% market share of global broadband access technologies in 2013, but by 2016 this had increased to around 47% at the expense of DSL which is in decline.

- With the improved coverage and penetration of LTE as well as the massive adoption of smartphones, VoLTE has become a priority throughout the world for operators that wish to bring HD voice service to their LTE customers. Nevertheless, while VoLTE services certainly offer opportunities, Over-The-Top (OTT) mobile VoIP services will attract the largest revenue market shares, at least in the short and medium term.

- Key developments for 2017 include M2M and IoT infrastructure, facilitating the development of smart homes, buildings and cities. Many of these applications will be opened up partly through the use of 4G LTE A(dvanced) - a halfway house on the way to full 5G.

- LTE Broadcast, or LTE-B, also known as Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS) took a step further in late April 2016 with the announcement that Verizon, Telstra, KT (South Korea) and EE (United Kingdom) had formed the LTE-B Alliance. The alliance hopes to encourage further operators to join the push for LTE-B - and in particular to encourage device manufacturers to begin making devices LTE-B compatible in 2017.

- The use of millimetre wave spectrum for 5G took a significant step forward in mid July with the US becoming the first country to designate rules for its usage. Millimetre waves can be beamed through ultra-high speeds (Gb/s), enabling mass-content-storage applications, which are not possible over the current mobile networks. The FCC has adopted the new rules which will open up the millimetre wave spectrum.

Source: Rsearch and Markets release