Limited promotion of 4G LTE services has contributed to a worsening financial position for mobile operators, said Strategy Analytics.
Strategy Analytics says the annual global mobile service revenue increased by 2 percent in Q3 2013, half the growth rate achieved in 2012.
The mobile industry noted rapid deterioration in Western Europe, in stark contrast to the improving picture in leading 4G LTE markets such as the US, South Korea, and Japan.
Mobile services revenue in South Korea rose 4 percent, the US (3 percent), Japan (1 percent) and Western Europe (-9 percent).
The report said Europe’s mobile operators are still struggling to correct market declines, with the deteriorating performance helping to fuel recent consolidation in the region.
Phil Kendall, director or Strategy Analytics’ Wireless Operator Strategies service and author of the report, said: “4G LTE has yet to provide much of a revenue boost here, with operators struggling to identify revenue-enhancing growth stories and so resorting to improving value for customers through lower prices.”
The picture in Japan, South Korea and the US is more encouraging, where revenue growth has been maintained or improved through rapid migration of connection volumes to 4G and pricing successes in areas such as tiered and shared data plans.
The telecom analysis report said LTE is not the answer to all Europe’s woes, but will be important in helping to shift mobile user behavior from price-based to more quality-based decisions.
