Telecom Lead Asia: Samsung Galaxy S4 — the newly launched smartphone from the Korean consumer electronics giant — has the potential to take 4G growth in China and India to new level.
Samsung says it will launch TDD/FDD LTE dual mode version of Galaxy S4 later this year.
The dual mode version will be specifically useful for the growth of 4G in India since Indian operators will be launching 4G services using both TD-LTE and FD-LTE technologies.
Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm will launch TD-LTE technology-based 4G services this year. Airtel has already achieved more than 20,000 fourth generation mobile broadband users with a 4G ARPU of around $20 against voice ARPU of less than $3.
On the other hand, new operators like Videocon Telecommunications will launch 4G using FD-LTE. At some point of time, Airtel will aim at using FD-LTE as well.
Both Nokia Lumia phones and BlackBerry Z10 do not support TD-LTE version of 4G.
Samsung says “the Galaxy S4 supports HSPA+42 Mbps and 4G LTE. The LTE version supports up to 6 different band sets which allows it to function in most LTE coverage areas as well as enabling global LTE roaming. TDD/FDD LTE dual mode version will be introduced later this year.”
China – which is spearheading TD-LTE technology driven 4G, is also aiming for significant growth in LTE. China Mobile announced Capex (Capital expenditure) of $38 billion in 2013 with a large portion going for network roll outs — both 4G and 3G.
The dual mode LTE phone with 3G (HSPA) will be handy for Chinese and Indian mobile users as they can opt for both 3G and 4G.
Recently, Infonetics Research said that the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have been fueling the engine with LTE, but weak activity in BRIC countries dragged the overall mobile infrastructure market in 2012.
The LTE market is expected to almost double in 2013, passing the $10-billion mark for the first time. LTE-Advanced is gearing for true 4G prime time, with NTT DOCOMO, SK telecom, and likely Russia’s Yota all planning launches this year.
The U.S. leads the global mobile broadband, accounting for just over half of the world’s 64 million LTE subscribers.
Arvind Krishna
editor@telecomlead.com
