LTE-Advanced networks coverage will reach 1 billion people in next 4 years from 100 million people in 2014 worldwide, said ABI Research.
LTE-Advanced reached 100 million people in 4 years since the network’s inception.
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The number of telecom operators who deployed LTE-Advanced networks was 49 in 2014.
Western European operators lead the commercialization with 20 telecom operators, followed by 13 in Asia-Pacific.
North America – driven by all top wireless operators — commands the largest population coverage at 7.8 percent. AT&T and Sprint have commercially deployed LTE-Advanced networks, while Verizon and T-Mobile USA are actively deploying.
In December 2014, 4G Americas, a telecom industry association, said the North American mobile market remains in the leadership position of LTE market share worldwide with 39 percent of the world’s 373 million LTE connections at the end of September 2014.
LTE connections in North America have grown to 145 million subscriptions, representing 36 percent of the 398 million total mobile subscriptions in the region at the end of the third quarter of 2014, according to Informa Telecoms & Media research.
Spectrum auction
The forthcoming spectrum auctions in several key mobile markets will be a boost for the growth of LTE-Advanced networks.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently confirmed a LTE spectrum auction on the 25 of February.
In France, the government has approved the reassignment of the 700 MHz band for telecom services. FCC of the United States has conducted an auction for AWS-3 spectrum.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com
