4G business model options
The large-cell model. One business model that extends to 4G is the "large-cell" or "rural" model of service. If 4G towers and spectrum permit, the range of the service could be quite large and the number of users per cell similarly large. But the higher capacity could still provide a reasonable grade of service.
This exact business model has been the primary example of early Wimax success in emerging economies. As long as the available bandwidth per device is constrained to prevent a cell from being hogged by a few users, Wimax can provide good service with widely separated cells. For this reason, it presents a low-threshold entr into mobile and even wireline-replacement markets.
The migratory user model. Another 4G possibility is the "migratory user" business model. In this model, the users consume wireless service not because they're mobile but because they're migrating between fixed locations, each of which represents a place where they are at rest and available to view video content, play games, and so on. This fits well with the behavior of the youth market, and it has the advantage of reducing the constraints on device size and thus display size, because the appliances need not be used while moving. The migratory model appears to be what the Clearwire/Sprint Wimax alliance is aimed at, and what Intel hopes to support with its own investment in Wimax.
The Internet over-the-top (OTT) model. In the "Internet" or OTT model, the primary use of devices on the wireless network is to make voice calls and support extemporaneous access to the Internet for Web browsing for news and directions, access to social networks and email, and so forth. In many ways, this model is based on the assumption that mobile users will evolve into smartphone users, that smartphone applications will (like wireline broadband) focus on the Internet, and that the operator probably won't obtain significant incremental revenue from premium delivery of content such as video. This model clearly favors 4G/LTE, since it is an evolution from the current 3G model.
The assignment of the "new" models to Wimax and the evolutionary models to LTE may seem pejorative, but it's critical to understand the dynamics of 4G deployment. New consumption models are generally easier to launch if they aren't constrained by existing practices and technology. So while "migratory" use of LTE handsets to view mobile content is certainly practical, it may be easier to view that content with a different device and thus through a different service relationship.