Skip to main content

Gigabit LTE Network Deployments Advance in 2017

The mobile internet continues to drive mobile network infrastructure investment. 4G LTE will grow from approximately 30 percent of global mobile subscriptions in 2017 to 50 percent in 2024, according to the latest worldwide study by ABI Research.

The most advanced LTE service, Gigabit LTE, is expected to near two million subscriptions globally in 2017, which is less than 5 percent of LTE Advanced Pro subscriptions in 2017.

Gigabit LTE devices, launched in 2017, will far exceed the subscription numbers, as few cell sites are expected to reach Gigabit LTE speeds in 2017. Gigabit LTE is a pivotal piece of an advanced 4G mobile network that can support an operator’s mobile service goals over the next six to eight years and beyond.

LTE Network Market Development

"Gigabit LTE is a specific configuration of the LTE Advanced Pro standard and is expected to account for 70 percent of LTE Advanced Pro subscriptions by 2026," said Prayerna Raina, senior analyst at ABI Research.

Their analyst believes that it's a critical network milestone for operators in an increasingly competitive environment in the evolution to 5G. It is essential for operators to support the ever-rising bandwidth needs of consumers, while also upgrading the network to support 5G networks in future.

As Gigabit LTE offers higher bandwidth to consumers and very efficient use of spectrum for operators, ABI Research expect more operators to launch Gigabit LTE globally over the next year and a half.

Sprint launched the first Gigabit LTE service for mobile devices was in New Orleans, Louisiana in March 2017. Telstra launched a Gigabit LTE mobile hotspot service in Sydney, Australia in February 2017, and is expected to support Gigabit LTE mobile devices as they become available.

Monaco Telecom launched a mobile Gigabit LTE service in April 2017. ABI Research expects additional launches to take place this year from all key operators in the U.S. market, as well as by some operators in Asia, Europe, and Canada.

"Today, operators globally are in various stages of upgrading their LTE networks," concludes Raina.

Outlook for LTE Investment Growth

Over the next four to six years, they expect mobile networks to evolve considerably with the proliferation of LTE Advanced, LTE Advanced Pro, and Gigabit LTE on one hand and the launch of 5G on the other hand.

According to the ABI assessment, the vendor ecosystem is essential to this network evolution with device availability being critical for the service launch. It is, therefore, imperative for telecom vendors to align their competitive strategies with the network operator transition timeline, as well as alliances in the ecosystem.

Popular posts from this blog

Mobile Device Market Still Awaiting Recovery

The mobile devices market has experienced three years of unpredictable demand. The global pandemic, geopolitical pressures, supply chain issues, and macroeconomic headwinds have hindered the sector's consistent growth potential. This extremely challenging environment has dramatically affected both demand and supply chains. It has led to subsequent inflationary pressures, leading to a worsening global cost of living crisis suppressing growth and confidence in the sector. In tandem, mobile device industry stakeholders have become more cautious triggering market uncertainties. Mobile Device Market Development Operating under such a backdrop, the development of mobile device ecosystems and vendor landscapes have been impacted severely. Many of these market pressures persisted throughout 2022 and now into 2023, borne chiefly by the smartphone market. According to the latest worldwide market study by ABI Research, worldwide smartphone shipments in 2022 declined 9.6 percent Year-over-Year

Global Digital Business and IT Consulting Outlook

Across the globe, CEOs and their leadership teams continue to seek information and guidance about planned Digital Transformation initiatives and the most effective enterprise organization change management practices. Worldwide IT and Business Services revenue will grow from $1.13 trillion in 2022 to $1.2 trillion in 2023 -- that's a 5.7 percent year-over-year growth, according to the latest market study by International Data Corporation (IDC). The mid-term to long-term outlook for the market has also increased -- the five-year CAGR is forecast at 5.2 percent, compared to the previous 4.9 percent. Digital Sevices & Consulting Market Development IDC has raised the growth projection despite a weak economic outlook, because of vendor performances across 2022, growth indicators from adjacent markets, increased government funding, and inflation impacts. The actual 2022 market growth was 6.7 percent (in constant currency), which was 87 basis points higher than forecast last year, alth

Digital Talent Demand Exceeds Supply in Asia-Pac

Even the savviest CEO's desire for a digital transformation advantage has to face the global market reality -- there simply isn't enough skilled and experienced talent available to meet demand. According to the latest market study by IDC, around 60-80 percent of Asia-Pacific (AP) organizations find it "difficult" or "extremely difficult" to fill many IT roles -- including cybersecurity, software development, and data insight professionals. Major consequences of the skills shortage are increased workload on remaining digital business and IT employees, increased security risks, and loss of "hard-to-replace" critical transformation knowledge. Digital Business Talent Market Development Although big tech companies' layoffs are making headlines, they are not representative of the overall global marketplace. Ongoing difficulty to fill key practitioner vacancies is still among the top issues faced by leaders across industries. "Skills are difficul