In its latest report, Juniper Research says the 4G LTE revenues will soar to more than $340 billion globally in 2017, reflecting the continued success of LTE “in serving higher value subscribers.”

According to the report author, Nitin BHas, the demand for high bandwidth services from end users and the availability of Wi-Fi on most mobile devices has compelled operators to address consumer expectations around quality and user experience while creating new opportunities for the industry.

“Along with the 4G network roll-out, the 4G/Wi-Fi combination will continue to provide a scalable and cost effective solution. It offers long term benefits, with the present offload platforms supporting future network infrastructures, and is now a priority for many operators.”

BHas also notes in his report that operators need to integrate Wi-Fi offload with other monetisation opportunities such as location based services (indoor and outdoor), to generate additional revenues.

And, BHas cautions that with 4G LTE having gained momentum over the past 12 months, “it is now critical that operators get their pricing models right, thereby avoiding a slowdown in adoption and revenue generation.”

In one example in the UK of pricing by an operator, Juniper says EE felt obliged to cut its initial LTE pricing by approximately 14% within weeks of its network launch, while Three UK announced 4G access at no extra cost, and in the US, Verizon announced strong adoption of its ‘Share Everything’ 4G data plans.

Juniper also says that MNOs who do not have deployment plans, will need to develop and implement their 4G strategies in order to remain competitive in the market, and that vendors need to continue to collaborate and address some of the remaining Wi-Fi/Small Cell challenges and issues

The complimentary ‘4G & Wi-Fi ~ Joined Up Thinking’ whitepaper is available to download from the Juniper website together with further details of the full report.