Business leaders in the U.K. believe that 4G (LTE) will significantly benefit their organizations, improving customer service and making them more responsive to the demands placed on them, according to a report from Vodafone. Eighty-six percent of business leaders surveyed believe that the high-speed networks will increase productivity by providing a genuine “in-office” experience wherever employees happen to be. Fifty-five percent believe that 4G will benefit their organization, with 1 in 5 believing those benefits will be significant. In addition, 41 percent of respondents plan to start using 4G within the next year.

Tarifica’s Take

While we have opined in the past that LTE may not be all it is cracked up to be, with real-world speeds often far lower than the advertised optimum speeds due to network traffic and physical conditions in any given area. However, it appears that the British business community feels otherwise and is now expressing great confidence in the potential of 4G networks to provide added value, both internally and with regard to customer relations. With this in mind, and with the U.K. a good gauge of attitudes in other technologically sophisticated nations, we think MNOs would do very well to forge ahead with developing and extending their LTE services. High-speed data is universally desired, and whether or not LTE delivers to the fullest extent, business customers are clearly interested in paying for it.