LTE Subscriber Base To Surpass 1 Billion By 2016

Users at large may not feel the urge to switch to 4G LTE yet, but the technology has gained unprecedented growth over the last three years. The subscriber base now includes nearly 100 million users worldwide. Current trends suggest that LTE subscriber base will hit 1 billion by 2016, according to IHS iSuppli.


IHS iSupply LTE subscriber base prediction

In 2010, nearly 600,000 users subscribed to LTE networks. A year after (in 2011) the subscriber base rose to 13.2 million. Last year, the growth rate was even more aggressive – 599%.

A new report by IHS iSuppli suggests, the growth might slow down a bit this year, yet LTE subscriber base will double in 2013. By 2016, the LTE subscriber base will surpass the 1 billion mark.

But the journey won’t be without challenges, as iSuppli’s senior analyst for wireless communications and author of the report Wayne Lam pointed out. According to Lam, rapid adoption of LTE will drive innovation in the smartphone market, as well as on the infrastructure side. But, the fragmented spectrum space for LTE deployments will be a big issue. This could be a problem when interoperability and seamless roaming need to be ensured.

Lam predicted that the kinks and divisions in the LTE space won’t be of prime importance to LTE stakeholders; it would be “laying the foundation for sustained growth,” instead.

Thanks To: CNET

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Manoj

Manoj Pravakar Saha is an Editor of TheTechJournal. He was one the founding members of TheTechJournal. He was working for the telecom gear-maker Ericsson before joining TheTechJournal team. Manoj searches for meaning in this chaotic world. Find him on Google+.

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