What European LTE has Changed

The most significant change in European wireless markets as a result of Long Term Evolution is the  phase out of unlimited data plans, the second most important consequence being a drop in prices. 

More than 90 percent of the LTE operators surveyed in Europe were found to use a speed-based element in their LTE tariffs, even though this type of pricing is rarely seen elsewhere in the world.

Typical advertised maximum speeds are 7.2 Mbps, 14.4 Mbps (HSPA), 42.2 Mbps (HSPA+) and 100 Mbps (LTE).

Tariffs are then priced in line with the advertised speeds. At 7.2 Mbps, a 10 GB monthly allowance costs $23 on average, rising to $44 for an 80 Mbps service (the highest speed at which a 10 GB plan is available). At the other end of the scale, an unlimited plan costs $35 at 7.2 Mb/s rising to $70 at 80 Mbps.

Conversely, at a per GByte level, the average price of data decreases as network speeds increase. The average cost per GByte at 7.2 Mbps in Europe is calculated at $6.20, dropping to around $1.15 per GB at 80 Mbps (LTE).

Wireless Intelligence says 4G LTE data costs $2.50 per GByte on average in Europe, around half the global average of $4.86.

The first commercial cellular LTE networks were switched on in Europe in December 2009 and there are now 38 live operators across 18 European markets, accounting for almost half of the global total. There were 88 live cellular LTE operators worldwide by the end of Q2 2012, according to Wireless Intelligence.

The most competitive LTE market in Europe is Sweden, where all four of the country’s mobile operators have launched the next-generation technology. The Swedish market-leader TeliaSonera had an estimated 170,000 LTE connections in the second quarter of 2012, accounting for almost three percent of its total subscriber base, while rivals 3 Sweden, Telenor and Tele2 have also launched LTE services.

As a result, a Swedish 4G data contract can cost as little as $0.63 per GByte per month (at both Tele2 and 3 Sweden). By comparison, the best value 4G data tariff at the world’s largest LTE operator, US market-leader Verizon Wireless, works out at $7.50 per GByte, Wireless Intelligence says.