GSA confirms 6,504 LTE user devices, twice the June 2015 total, VoLTE terminals surge
October 12, 2016: The latest update to the Status of the LTE Ecosystem report by GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) confirms the mainstream and fast-growing LTE user devices ecosystem and increasing support for LTE-Advanced and LTE-Advanced Pro technologies. 6,504 LTE user devices including frequency and operator variants from 502 suppliers are verified announced by GSA. The report covers LTE FDD and TDD (TD-LTE) models. The number of suppliers grew around 65% in the same period (June 2015 = 305 suppliers).
Alan Hadden, VP, GSA, said: “The new LTE user devices total (6,504) is twice the number reported in June 2015. Notably, the choice of VoLTE-capable devices has surged, largely due to market developments in India with the launch by Reliance Jio of its 4G/LTE network and the company’s decision to offer VoLTE-based voice service for LTE customers from launch.”
The smartphone is the largest LTE device category. 4,187 smartphones are announced for a quarter-on-quarter improved 64.3% share of all LTE device types. 98.6% of LTE smartphones are multimode, capable of operating on at least one 3G technology in addition to LTE. 61.7% of LTE smartphones, which is a growing proportion, can operate on 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ networks.
Spectrum bands
Research for this report and the related GSA-owned GAMBoD database specifically covers:
• FDD bands 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,11, 12,13,14,17,18,19,20,21,25,26,27,28,29,30, 31, 32 and 66
• TDD bands 38,39,40,41,42/43,44
1800 MHz (3GPP Band 3) is the most common spectrum for LTE deployments, and has the largest devices ecosystem. 3,889 LTE1800 (band 3) user devices are announced. 2,764 LTE1800 smartphones represents 71% of the total number of LTE1800 devices, and 376 are UE Category 6 or above. 313 LTE1800 tablets equates to 8% share of the LTE1800 device ecosystem. The next most deployed bands are 2.6 GHz (band 7) with 3,566 products, and 2.1GHz (band 1) supported with 3,094 products.
LTE-Advanced
UE device Category 4 offers an enhanced user experience and a theoretical peak downlink rate up to 150 Mbps with peak uplink up to 50 Mbps on compatible networks. 3,398 devices i.e. 52.2% of all LTE devices support speeds up to UE Category 4.
Deployment of LTE-Advanced systems for Category 6 (300/50 Mbps) or 7 (300/100 Mbps) user devices is a major trend. 441 devices support speeds up to Category 6 (419 devices) or Category 7 (22 devices) e.g. smallcells, routers, MiFis, smartphones, tablets.
61 Category 9 devices are launched (450Mbps DL/50 Mbps UL)
1 Category 10 device is launched (450/100 Mbps)
1 Category 11 device is launched (600/50 Mbps)
33 Category 12 devices (600/100 Mbps) including 24 supporting 150 Mbps Category 13 on the uplink
APT700 (band 28)
469 APT700 devices are announced, confirming key industry traction for this near-global 700 MHz band.
450 MHz (band 31)
53 LTE450 (3GPP band 31) devices including 44 CPEs and 1 MiFi have been announced.
LTE TDD (TD-LTE)
2,505 devices i.e. 38.5% of LTE devices support the LTE TDD (TD-LTE) mode. The smartphone category is the dominant form factor for LTE TDD (TD-LTE): 1,740 devices.
Bands 40 (2.3 GHz) and 38 (2.6 GHz) have the most mature ecosystems followed by bands 41 and 39. The 3.5 GHz ecosystem (bands 42 or 43) continues to grow with 87 user terminals now available. Convergence is a strong theme and a growing trend with several devices supporting both TDD and FDD modes.
VoLTE
Operators worldwide are investing in VoLTE enabling an HD voice experience for LTE users. 696 VoLTE-capable devices including carrier and frequency variants, 646 of which are smartphones, are announced across all price points.
The Status of the LTE Ecosystem report was published by GSA on October 10, 2016 and related graphics are available free to download by registered site users via the link at http://www.gsacom.com
Details for all 6,504 LTE user devices identified for the report are available in the GAMBoD area of the GSA website (restricted access, see http://www.gsacom.com/gambod)
ABOUT GSA
GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) represents GSM/EDGE/WCDMA-HSPA/HSPA+, LTE/LTE- Advanced and future 5G suppliers. GSA brings together a global industry community of telecoms professionals through its website, reports, information papers and practical activities to inform, influence, educate, explain and promote the opportunities enabled by mobile broadband systems.
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