The number of LTE operators, which will be offering VoLTE service, will be 100 by end 2016, GSA forecasts.
The number of telecom operators, which are investing in VoLTE deployments, trials or studies is 146 in 68 countries. 82 telecom operators in 43 countries commercially launched VoLTE-based HD voice service against 25 that had launched commercial VoLTE service by July 2015.
GSA confirmed that there are over 400 smartphones supporting VoLTE.
521 operators have commercially launched LTE, LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro networks in 170 countries, according to data recently released by GSA.
74 mobile operators commercially launched 4G / LTE service in the past year. Bermuda, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Liberia, Myanmar, Samoa, and Sudan are amongst the latest countries to launch 4G/LTE.
738 operators are investing in LTE across 194 countries. This figure comprises 708 firm network deployment commitments in 188 countries (of which 521 networks have launched), and 30 pre-commitment trials in a further 6 countries.
GSA raised its forecast to 560 commercially launched LTE networks by end 2016.
Over 28 percent of LTE operators have commercially launched LTE-Advanced networks and supporting device ecosystems are maturing.
192 LTE operators (37 percent) are deploying LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro technologies in 84 countries, of which 147 operators (28 percent) have commercially launched LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro wireless broadband services in 69 countries.
Alan Hadden, VP, Research at GSA said: “Over 100 LTE-Advanced networks today are compatible with Category 6 (151-300 Mbps downlink) smartphones and other user devices. The number of Category 9 capable networks (301-450 Mbps) is significant and expanding. Category 11 systems (up to 600 Mbps) are commercially launched, leading the way to Gigabit service being introduced by year end.”
The widely used spectrum for LTE network deployments is 1800 MHz — used in 246 networks in 110 countries to represent over 47 percent of LTE network deployments. The next most popular band for LTE systems is 2.6 GHz used in 121 networks. 800 MHz is the next most popular spectrum choice — used by 119 LTE operators.
78 operators i.e. almost 1 in 7 of all LTE operators have commercially launched LTE service in TDD mode in 46 countries. 2.3 GHz is the most widely deployed spectrum and is used in 40 percent of TDD (TD-LTE) networks. 23 operators have deployed both FDD and TDD modes in their networks.
The number of telecom operators who have launched LTE service using 700 MHz spectrum more than doubled in the first 7 months of 2016. 25 operators have commercially launched LTE using APT700 spectrum either as a single band or as part of a multi-band deployment.