1H2014: LTE Share 33% of all Mobile Connections in the U.S. and Canada vs 4% Worldwide

September 04 2014

BELLEVUE, Wash. – 4G Americas reports that in North America with 127 million LTE connections, LTE technology represented 33 percent of the total 391 million mobile connections in the region—the largest market share for LTE compared to any country or region in the world—at the second quarter of 2014 based on Ovum research. On a global scale, there were 280 million LTE subscriptions representing 4 percent of the world’s 7 billion mobile connections.  North America currently has 45 percent of all LTE connections worldwide, compared to Asia Pacific with 36 percent and Western Europe with more than 13 percent.

North America

With 127 million LTE connections, of which 15 million LTE connections were added in the second quarter alone, North America leads the world’s regions in the number of connections, market share and penetration of LTE, with a 33 percent market share of all 391 million mobile connections.

“Innovations in regulatory policy, new advanced LTE networks with leading technology and smartphone penetration of 66 percent have resulted in a tremendous confluence of subscriber demand for mobile broadband data applications and services in the U.S and Canada ,” stated Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas . “The benefits of the 3GPP technologies in the North American region have provided not only leadership for our region in the mobile economy, but significant opportunities in the convergence with computing for the Internet of Things.”

The North American market remains in the leadership position of LTE market share worldwide with 45 percent of the world’s 280 million LTE connections at the end of June 2014 and 49 commercial LTE networks. The North American penetration rate for LTE is significantly higher than the rest of the world, with almost 36 percent LTE penetration of the population compared to the next leading world regional market of Western Europe at nearly 8 percent and Asia Pacific with nearly 3 percent LTE penetration. All other world regions have an LTE penetration rate at or below 1 percent.

• 49 commercial LTE networks deployed in U.S. and Canada
• 16 million LTE connections at the end of June 2012; 63 million LTE connections as of June 2013; 127 million LTE connections as of June 2014 representing 45 percent of global LTE market
• 108 million HSPA connections
• HSPA and LTE mobile broadband market share in North America at 60 percent
• Overall annual mobile connections growth of 5 percent in North America
• Forecast 139 million LTE connections at year-end 2014; nearly 200 million LTE connections by year end 2016

Latin America

In Latin America , LTE is gaining traction with 44 commercial networks in 18 countries. Although LTE subscriptions remain low, they are growing rapidly with 4.8 million connections at the end of the second quarter representing an annual increase of 900 percent at the end of the second quarter.

Pearson commented, “ Mobile communications have transformed the Latin American region with the Internet opening avenues in education, healthcare, finance and social interaction while boosting the overall economy.” He continued, “It was evidenced during the recent World Cup in Brazil that the service providers in Latin America have invested in successful mobile broadband services to the benefit of subscribers in the region.”

• 44 commercial LTE networks in 18 countries
• 479,000 LTE connections as of June 2013; 4.8 million as of June 2014
• Forecast 6 million LTE connections at the end of 2014
• HSPA growth continued to 230 million connections, 32 percent market share
• Overall mobile market growth of 3 percent in Latin America ; 58 percent growth in mobile broadband
• The percentages of  LTE subscriptions in the region by country are: Brazil , 68 percent; Mexico , 11 percent; Colombia and Chile , 4 percent; Bolivia and Puerto Rico, 3 percent; and Perú and Venezuela , 2 percent
• During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, use of mobile apps and video traffic increased by 300 percent (Citrix)

Global

“LTE is quickly becoming well-established around the world with networks available in more than 100 countries spanning all global regions today,” said Kristin Paulin, Senior Analyst at Ovum.  “At the same time, there are still plenty more LTE launches to come, with at least 30 more operators planning to launch yet this year,” Paulin added. “While LTE subscriptions grew 179 percent year-over-year from 2012 to 2013, they are still forecasted to grow 95 percent from 2013 to 2014 to reach 386 million subscriptions.”

• 320 commercial LTE networks today; 350 commercial LTE networks expected by the end of 2014
• About 500 total commitments to LTE deployment by wireless operators to date
• 71 million LTE connections at the end of 2012; 198 million as end of 2013, and 280.4 million as of June 2014
• Nearly 42 million LTE connections added in 2Q 2014
• More than 100 million new LTE connections forecast for 2014, ending with 386 million LTE connections
• LTE connections are now being forecast to reach 1 billion by early 2017 rather than previous forecasts by early 2018

LTE-Advanced

4G Americas published a white paper, 4G Mobile Broadband Explosion, 3GPP Release 11 and Release 12 and Beyond in February 2014, that defines the many features in LTE-Advanced.  Vicki Livingston, Head of Communications at 4G Americas and a contributing author to the paper, noted that, “LTE-Advanced is no longer a future technology. It offers operators the opportunity to deploy many new network architecture innovations today. 4G Americas expects to see 40 or more commercial LTE-Advanced networks by the end of this year.”

LTE-Advanced is now commercial on 20 networks in 15 countries including AT&T and Sprint in the U.S. LTE-Advanced technology utilizes features such as Carrier Aggregation, advanced Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antenna systems, Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP) and Self-Organizing Networks (SON) that will allow for improved performance and service delivery, greater network capacity and faster network speeds. North America will be the most aggressive LTE-Advanced market, followed by Asia-Pacific and Western Europe according to industry analysts.

LTE-Advanced will be the topic addressed by 4G Americas in 4G World and CTIA MobileTalks at Super Mobility Week on September 9 and 10 respectively.

4G Americas maintains a current list of HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE Global Deployments on its website.  For more information and to view a variety of statistical charts on the 3GPP family of technologies, visit www.4gamericas.org.  LTE subscriber and forecast data is from Ovum.

Additional information on LTE and LTE-Advanced is available in free white papers on the 4G Americas website.

###

About 4G Americas : Unifying the Americas through Mobile Broadband Technology

4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization’s mission is to advocate for and foster the advancement and full capabilities of the 3GPP family of mobile broadband technologies, including LTE-Advanced, throughout the ecosystem’s networks, services, applications and wirelessly connected devices in the Americas . 4G Americas contributes to the success of 3GPP technologies and their No. 1 place in the region. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue , Wash. More information is available www.4gamericas.org or www.facebook.com/4gamericas and www.twitter.com/4gamericas.

About Ovum

Ovum is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. Through its 180 analysts worldwide it offers expert analysis and strategic insight across the IT, telecoms, and media industries. Founded in 1985, Ovum has one of the most experienced analyst teams in the industry and is a respected source of guidance for technology business leaders, CIOs, vendors, service providers, and regulators looking for comprehensive, accurate and insightful market data, research and consulting.  With 23 offices across six continents, Ovum offers a truly global perspective on technology and media markets and provides thousands of clients with insight including workflow tools, forecasts, surveys, market assessments, technology audits and opinion. In 2012, Ovum was jointly named Global Analyst Firm of the Year by the IIAR.

In addition, Ovum operates a large portfolio of technology conferences annually in Europe under the OvumLive events brand, presenting a more interactive opportunity to learn from its analysts. Its flagship event – Ovum Industry Congress – attracts over 300 end-user attendees every year.

Ovum is a division of Informa plc, one of the leading business and academic publishing and event organisers globally, headquartered in London . Informa is quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

© Ovum 2014.  All rights reserved.