4G Americas provides global deployment list of 200 commercial LTE networks

BELLEVUE, USA: 4G Americas reports that LTE has been commercially launched on 200 networks worldwide in 78 countries and that number is expected to grow to 250 networks by the end of 2013. 4G Americas, a wireless industry association, provided the first public list of the milestone 200 LTE networks.

The surge in LTE deployments will result in more than 100 new LTE networks launched in 2013 alone. Additionally, the evolution of LTE to the 3GPP Release 10 standards of LTE-Advanced has been commercially launched on two networks to date. Some analysts expect numerous LTE-Advanced networks to be launched by the end of this year as operators deploy one or more of the enhanced features of the standard.

"Telia Sonera, in Norway and Sweden, was the first mobile network operator to commercially launch LTE in December 2009 and today the groundswell of commercial deployments continues as government regulators allocate and auction new spectrum," commented Chris Pearson, president of 4G Americas. "Internationally harmonized spectrum in the Americas, and the rest of the world, has been the fuel for the explosive growth of LTE commercial network deployments.

"Carrier Aggregation appears to be a very popular feature for operators deploying LTE-Advanced, as it provides the capability to combine disparate and underutilized spectrum assets increasing the size of an operator's mobile data pipes."

LTE-Advanced using Carrier Aggregation was commercially launched in South Korea by both SK Telecom (which included a compatible handset) in June 2013 and LG U+ in July 2013. Four commercial LTE-Advanced networks are expected to launch in the United States by the end of 2013.

The number of LTE mobile broadband commercial deployments have grown tremendously; from 2 commercial deployments in 2009, 16 in 2010, 51 in 2011, 139 in 2012 and now 200 commercial deployments as of August 22, 2013. There are 250 commercial LTE networks anticipated by the end of this year and more than 440 total deployments in the coming years.

LTE's explosive growth is reflected not only in more networks, but also in rapidly increasing connections and broader selections of devices worldwide. LTE is the next generation mobile broadband technology of choice, helping operators enable the Internet of Things. LTE has significant benefits for wireless carriers; LTE's flat IP architecture leads to a lower deployment cost-per-megabyte, better spectrum management and efficient scalability. Deployment of LTE-Advanced will bring even more enhancements to increase network performance and speed and utilization of spectral resources.

Key facts on LTE include:

Global

* 200 commercial LTE networks today; 250 commercial LTE networks expected by the end of 2013.

* Over 440 total commitments to LTE deployment by wireless operators to date.

* 72 million LTE connections at the end of 2012.

* 125 million LTE connections as of June 2013; representing an increase of 64 percent in six months.

* Forecast 150 million LTE connections by end of 2013, more than doubling LTE connections at the end of 2012.

LTE connections are forecast to reach 1 billion by early 2018.

North America

* 29 commercial LTE networks deployed in U.S. and Canada.

* 40 million LTE connections at the end of 2012.

* 65 million LTE connections as of June 2013 with 55 percent global market share.

* Forecast 75 million LTE connections by end of 2013.

Latin America

* 25 commercial LTE networks in 12 countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, the US Virgin Islands and Venezuela.

* More than 165,000 LTE connections as of June 2013.