LTE does not only deliver more capacity to mobile operators overwhelmed by traffic growth. It is also brings innovation in the RAN, where operators have started to experiment with new topologies, new ways to leverage existing equipment in new deployments, and more flexible network planning and managing tools and interference.

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In a recent report, I argued that data caps are not effective as a traffic management tool as they may encourage peak traffic, and thus increase congestion, instead of containing it. Fairly enough, one question that I often get is what works then, if data caps don't. Mobile operators have different tools--Wi-Fi and small-cell offload, policy, content optimization, QoS-based tiering to name a few--and they will have to employ many of them to manage traffic effectively.

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Apparently that's possible -- and it is not at all a bad idea. Telekomsel in Indonesia has announced an unlimited Skype plan priced at slightly less than three dollars per month. Why pay for something you can get for free anyway, you can get for free anyway with your data plan? You would not, if you have a multi-GB data plan. But the untapped market for data subscribers -- now that all the deep-pocketed early-users have their fancy iPhones and Android devices -- is among those who are not willing to pay $30+ per month

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New report available at GigaOM Pro

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I have argued for a long time that unlimited data plans are unsustainable – or basically that they are marketing fiction, because available wireless capacity is unfailingly limited, and subscribers cannot escape that fact no matter what operators tell them.

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Vertical applications have become one of the hot areas in the wireless industry. With cellular penetration approaching saturation and subscriber ARPU slowly declining or remaining stable despite the strong growth in mobile data adoption, turning to applications where humans are not required or only play an ancillary part is understandably appealing.

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What are the main drivers that are pushing mobile data traffic indoors, and what does that mean for mobile operators?

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Since Yota, the Russian WiMAX operator, announced a year ago its plans to move to FDD LTE to everybody's surprise, there have been many more developments from operators and vendors that cast some light on the timeline and process of the transition to LTE and on the operators committed to it.

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With dual-mode devices, operators can reduce upfront costs and gain flexibility as they migrate to LTE. A white paper compares the financial benefits for operators who move to LTE with and without dual-mode devices

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Cost per bit is a useful metric to capture costs associated with the delivery of data, and make comparison across technologies, operators, or markets. Yet cost per bit estimates cited as absolute values may be misleading or inaccurate.

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