Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) states that Russia has the potential to become one of the first countries with long term evolution (LTE) roll-outs on a large scale. Due to the deployment of new technologies and increasing government support, the market is likely to grow significantly over the next five years, welcoming new opportunities for end users, as well as telecom operators and equipment providers.

Until recently, the Russian broadband market has remained fairly undeveloped, especially in rural areas. "There are more and more attempts to start deploying LTE (News - Alert) technology by both mobile network operators and new entrants. Mobile broadband penetration in Russia is expected to grow from 2 percent at the end of 2009 to 8 percent by 2014, mainly due to increased 3G and 4G network coverage," said Edyta Kosowska. "The technology leapfrog may be especially beneficial to telecom operators, equipment providers and end users."

However, there are still plenty of challenges to overcome, including achieving consensus for frequency spectrum allocation. Nevertheless, by skipping 3G/HSPA rollouts, the implementation LTE will bring significant savings in Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) for operators, giving end users a new experience of high-speed broadband and access to advanced services. 

These trends and developments will be discussed in Frost & Sullivan's upcoming Analyst Briefing on the Russian Telecommunication Market scheduled for Wednesday, 1 September 2010, at 16.00 BST. Edyta Kosowska, Research Analyst from the Information and Communication Technologies group, will discuss mobile broadband penetration growth in Russia and identify some key potential opportunities for market participants. This web conference will interest telecommunication companies and network equipment, as well as application, providers.

Frost & Sullivan, the growth partnership company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's growth partnership service provides the CEO and the CEO's growth team with disciplined research and best-practice models to drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. The company leverages over 45 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 40 offices on six continents. To join our growth partnership, please visit http://www.frost.com.

In related news, Frost & Sullivan states that the increase in the popularity of mobile Internet usage will boost demand for smart phones in Asia Pacific. About 54% of mobile phones that will be sold in the region by 2015 will be smart phones, significantly higher than the 5% growth posted at the end of 2009.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2010/08/25/4973382.htm

Sales of Smart Phones in Asia Pacific to Gain Significant Grow by 2015

Frost & Sullivan states that the increase in the popularity of mobile Internet usage will boost demand for smart phones in Asia Pacific. About 54 percent of mobile phones that will be sold in the region by 2015 will be smart phones, significantly higher than the 5 percent growth posted at the end of 2009. This means that about 477 million units of smart phones will be sold in Asia-Pacific in 2015, and that incremental data usage from smart phones will generate over US$38 billion for operators in the Asia-Pacific region, up from just over US$1.3 billion in 2009. The firm said Asia-Pacific smart phone sales is rapidly increasing in all markets, as developed countries like Japan and South Korea are switching from feature phones to smart phones, while operators in emerging economies are pushing smart phones to entice users to upgrade from 2G to 3G service.

Frost & Sullivan said that mobile social networking has also proven to be a big driver of smart phone adoption in all Asian countries. Smart phones are usually capable of third-generation or 3G connections, which allow for faster mobile Internet connection speeds. The study highlights the possible exponential growth in mobile Internet usage, which telecommunication firms need to take advantage of.