GSA confirms smartphones and TDD (TD-LTE) fuel booming LTE devices growth to 2,646
February 16, 2015: A new update to the Status of the LTE Ecosystem report published today by GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) confirms 1,275 new LTE-enabled user devices have been launched over the past year to raise the total ecosystem to 2,646 devices for 93% annual growth.
The report covers LTE FDD and TDD (TD-LTE) devices. The number of LTE device manufacturers more than doubled (108%) to 275 in the same period, confirming the market maturity of LTE as a mainstream mobile communications technology.
Smartphones continue to dominate the device category with 1,395 products launched, representing 52.7% of all LTE device types, and growing share. Over 98% of LTE smartphones are multimode, capable of operating on at least one 3G technology in addition to the LTE system. LTE-connected tablets and personal hotspots are other fast-growing product segments.
1800 MHz (3GPP band 3) continues to be the most prominent band for LTE network deployments globally and enjoys the largest devices ecosystem with 1,141 user devices. Over 43% of all LTE devices can operate in this band. 532 LTE1800 devices were announced during the past year.
The report shows how the availability of LTE Category 4 (150 Mbps) and Category 6 (300 Mbps) devices is supporting the widespread deployments of LTE-Advanced technology by operators across the world. A total of 696 devices support Category 4, which is more than a quarter of all LTE devices. Another 27 devices (CPEs, MiFis and smartphones) support Category 6.
Alan Hadden, Vice President of Research, GSA, said: “LTE TDD growth is a particular highlight, driven especially by rapidly expanding network deployments and market success in China, which boosts the whole LTE ecosystem. The number of TDD devices has more than trebled since January 2014 and many new companies are participating in manufacture. The range of smartphones especially is impressive.”
Most devices operate in the FDD mode. However the number of terminals that support LTE TDD (TD-LTE) is growing strongly, and gaining share. 969 devices i.e. 37% of all LTE devices compared to 29% in October 2014, support LTE TDD (TD-LTE). The smartphone is the largest device category. 544 LTE TDD smartphone products are now announced, representing 763% YoY growth.
APT700 FDD spectrum (Band 28) has enormous potential as a near-global band for LTE deployments. The report confirms 76 APT700 (band 28) smartphones, tablets, CPEs and MiFi hotspots are announced by many leading suppliers
VoLTE technology is being deployed by operators worldwide, initially bringing HD voice service to their LTE customers. Availability of VoLTE-enabled terminals continues to rapidly expand with 186 VoLTE-capable phones (including carrier and frequency variants) announced.
Joe Barrett, President of GSA, said: “The Status of the LTE Ecosystem report produced by the GSA is a guiding reference for industry and all stakeholders. We are expanding its scope to embrace new LTE device categories including wearables and connected vehicles in the coming year.”
The Status of the LTE Ecosystem report published by GSA on 16 February, 2015 is available as a free download to registered site users via the link at http://www.gsacom.com
Registration page for new site users http://www.gsacom.com/php/register_form
Numerous charts, maps etc. confirming the progress of mobile broadband developments including LTE are also available at http://www.gsacom.com/news/statistics
LTE User Devices LinkedIN Group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4146472
GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) represents GSM/EDGE/WCDMA-HSPA/HSPA+ and LTE/LTE- Advanced and future 5G suppliers. GSA brings together a global industry community of telecoms professionals through the website and through practical activities.
The GSA website www.gsacom.com has over 66,500 registered users for knowledge gathering and information sharing of key facts, trends and analysis, and over 23,000 followers using our social network platforms LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. In 2014 www.gsacom.com saw 222,460 downloads of documents, presentations and reports, a 147% increase over the past three years. Over the past five and half years there were over 1 million downloads.
Website: http://www.gsacom.com
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