GSA confirms 666 LTE user devices launched; 360% annual growth for smartphones to become largest device category

February 3, 2013: An update to the Status of the LTE Ecosystem™ report just released by GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) confirms that 87 manufacturers have announced 666 LTE-enabled user devices, including frequency and carrier variants.

Alan Hadden, President of the GSA, said: “Around 400 new LTE user devices were announced in the past year, and in this time the number of manufacturers grew by 52%. Smartphones are now the largest LTE device category.

The GSA report was released on January 31, 2013 and examined devices that can operate on the FDD and/or TDD modes of the LTE system, tracking manufacturer names and models, form factors, operating frequencies, and fallback technologies that are also supported as customers move outside LTE coverage areas (i.e. to access HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, EV-DO, or TD-SCDMA systems).

450 LTE devices can also operate on HSPA networks, including 201 products that incorporate 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ capabilities. A total of 193 devices can operate on EV-DO systems.

221 LTE smartphones, including operator and frequency variants were confirmed, representing 360% year-on-year growth to become the largest LTE user device category. LTE is supported in the most popular smartphones from all leading brands. The number of LTE-enabled tablets almost tripled during the past year.

Breakdown of LTE user devices by form factor:

2 PC cards
4 Femtocells
19 Notebooks
53 Tablets
64 Modules
102 Dongles
201 Routers
221 Smartphones

Total = 666 user devices (January 31, 2013). Note that some products are carrier or country specific and are not available in all markets.

Regarding frequency band support, the report findings for the main LTE bands are as follows (several products support more than one band):

700 MHz (bands 12, 13, 14, 17): 284 devices
800 MHz (band 20): 137 devices
1800 MHz (band 3): 153 devices
2600 MHz (Band 7): 180 devices
800/1800/2600 MHz triband: 112 devices
2100 MHz (band 1): 107 devices
AWS (Band 4) 147 devices

Most LTE user devices operate in the 700 MHz band. However this is a broad definition encompassing 4 sub-bands and most of these devices operate in only one of those bands.

Band 7 (2.6 GHz) has the highest support with the greatest number of compatible devices, followed by 1800 MHz (band 3) i.e. LTE1800. The number of LTE1800 dev ices more than tripled in the past year. GSA recently confirmed that 1800 MHz is the dominant band for LTE network deployments in virtually all regions of the world, and is used by 40% of all commercially launched LTE networks currently.

A user with a triband 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz LTE FDD device could potentially use it in 55 countries, i.e. in more than 80% of countries where LTE service is commercially available today (subject to inter-carrier roaming agreements).

124 devices can operate in the TDD mode of the LTE standard. Bands 38 (2.6 GHz) and 40 (2.3 GHz) have the largest ecosystems of user devices. Support for bands 41, 33, 42 and 43 is growing.

The GSA Status of the LTE Ecosystem report (January 31, 2013) is available as a free download to registered site users via the link at www.gsacom.com/gsm_3g/info_papers.php4

Registration page for new site users www.gsacom.com/php/register_form

LTE is the fastest developing mobil e system technology ever. According to the Evolution to LTE report published by GSA January 8, 2013 there are 145 commercially launched LTE networks. This figure is predicted to reach 234 commercial networks by the end of this year. The majority of operators have deployed FDD networks. However, this figure includes 13 commercial LTE TDD systems and 4 operators support both FDD and TDD modes in their networks.

Numerous charts, maps etc. confirming the progress of mobile broadband developments including LTE are available at www.gsacom.com/news/statistics

Detailed analysis of the GSA database of 666 LTE user devices can be undertaken using GAMBoD, the GSA Analyzer for Mobile Broadband Devices, which is a unique search and analysis tool developed by GSA for mobile broadband devices, allowing searches by supplier, form factor, operating frequency, mode (FDD or TDD or both), and 3G fallback technology which is also supported e.g. HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, or EV-DO, or TD-SCDMA. Results are presented in list form, or as a spreadsheet, or in charts. GAMBoD is available only to qualified site users, which we define as employees of GSA Member companies or employees of network operators who have registered using their corporate email address, or an organization which is an Associate of GSA. More information is available at www.gsacom.com/news/gsa_368.php

www.gsacom.com/gambod

ABOUT GSA
GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) represents GSM/EDGE/WCDMA-HSPA/LTE suppliers, providing reports, facts, analysis and information explaining market developments and trends. GSA-organized seminars facilitate enhanced dialog between operators, members and developer communities. Through its website GSA supports over 55,000 registered users, and this figure increases every day.

GSA website: www.gsacom.com
News/updates RSS Feed: www.gsacom.com/rss/gsanews.php4
Twitter: www.twitter.com/gsacom
Facebook: www.face book.com/pages/Global-mobile-Suppliers-Association-GSA/123462771012551
GSA LinkedIN group: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2313721
LTE1800 Zone: www.gsacom.com/lte1800
LTE1800 LinkedIN Group: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3129390
LTE TDD LinkedIN Group: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=3978061
LTE User Devices LinkedIN Group: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4146472
APT700 band LinkedIN Group: www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4759091