Senior Analyst, Wireless Operator Strategies, Strategy Analytics: “The latest EU roaming regulation is potentially a game changer for roaming business in Europe.”

Guang Yang is a Senior Analyst in wireless operator strategies for Strategy Analytics

Guang Yang is a Senior Analyst in wireless operator strategies for Strategy Analytics and is moderating the panel session entitled, “How Can a Converged, Dual Mode FD and TD Network Most Effectively Work?”, taking place on Day One of the TD-LTE Summit, taking place on the 8th-9th April 2014 at the Fairmont Singapore Hotel, Singapore. Click here to download a brochure.

In this interview we catch up with him to get a insightful overview into TD-LTE and 4G in general in 2014. He explains how ending roaming charges could be a game changer for Europe, discussed the introduction of LTE Broadcast and the effects of China’s 4G roll-out could have on the TD-LTE eco-system.

Roaming, especially within Europe is a high on the EU digital agenda. Is the lowering of roaming pricing through regulation a threat or an opportunity for operators?

The latest EU roaming regulation is potentially a game changer for roaming business in Europe. Many options for technical and commercial models may rise with the regulatory update. Although there are a lot of uncertainties and challenges in the roaming market, the data roaming should be an opportunity for mobile operators. Regulation has turned Europe into an innovative market for roaming products, in many cases with pricing already significantly below the regulated ceiling. Currently, 90 per cent of data roaming traffic in the EU is on Wi-Fi rather than cellular networks, so there is a real opportunity there for operators to grow, despite the pressure on pricing.

Apple iPhone 5s launch underwhelming, but rounds off global LTE support nicely

As the furore settles down over yesterday’s Apple iPhone 5s/iPhone 5c update we can take a quick look at the news and specifically what it means from an LTE perspective.

Two new phones were launched and while are clearly very solid offerings, no wheels were reinvented, and as such, it was a little underwhelming, at least from an iPhone 5 owner’s perspective.

The iPhone 5C is essentially an iPhone 5 in a plastic shell, available in more colours and the 5S is essentially a faster version of the iPhone 5, thanks to a new 64-bit chip capable of taking advantage of the 64-bit iOS7.

The ‘budget’ iPhone angle that analysts were predicting also failed to come true. The 5c is still a £469 phone SIM free – which hardly makes it likely to appeal to developing markets.

The good news though is that both phones though are capable of taking advantage of more LTE bands that any other smartphone in the world right now. There are five models of each to choose from depending on region.

This is essentially as Apple has to make a choice as to which LTE frequencies to support, as with 40 LTE bands currently employed round the world supporting them all at once would mean a battery life of around five minutes.