Telecom Lead India: India is poised to become one of the
top TD-LTE markets in the world. To support the TD-LTE growth globally, chip
major ST-Ericsson said on Friday that it is ready to roll out TD-LTE
smartphones by the end of this year, as the company has developed chipsets
supporting both TD-LTE and FDD-LTE technology.
The news is significant for India. If voice is allowed on
the IP network as per the new National Telecom Policy 2012, broadband wireless
access (BWA) players such as Reliance Industries, Airtel, Aircel, Qualcomm,
Augere and Tikona will be able to utilize TD-LTE smartphones for their 4G
customers in India.
However, Zhang Daijun, president of ST-Ericsson China, who
spoke to China Daily on Friday, did not discuss about Indian availability.
ST-Ericsson is among the very few chipset suppliers in
the world that provides connectivity for multiple LTE technologies through one
chipset. Qualcomm and HiSilicon Technologies announced earlier this year that
they had delivered similar products.
Global TD-LTE subscription numbers will grow from one
million subscriptions at the end of 2012 to 139 million subscriptions by 2017.
China, India, and Japan are collectively forecasted to account for 92 million
TD-LTE subscriptions, according to ABI Research.
The launch of multi-mode LTE chipsets offers the
possibility for the launch of TD-LTE handsets, including the TD-LTE version of
Apple’s iPhone.
“There is no doubt that ST-Ericsson will have a good
position in the LTE chipset market. The NovaThor L8540, the latest multi-mode
LTE chipset produced by ST-Ericsson, is a product of competitiveness and is
likely to be adopted in various LTE handsets,” Zhang Daijun, president of
ST-Ericsson China, told China Daily.
“ST-Ericsson aims to become the world’s top 3
smartphone chipset vendor by 2014, and the Chinese market will play an
increasingly important role for the company. ST-Ericsson would focus on providing
products for 1,000 yuan to 2,000 yuan smartphones, a sector that has the
largest user base in China,” Zhang added.
Asia-Pacific LTE subscriptions are expected to overtake
North America by 2014, primarily driven by adoption in China, India, Japan, and
South Korea.
Currently, the North American region accounts for 60
percent of total LTE subscriptions, followed by the Asia-Pacific region at 37
percent.
The main drivers for the substantial growth include the
wide range of expected LTE smartphone launches in 2012 from major OEMs such as
Nokia, Samsung, and Apple, as well as the surge in data consumption.
