Digital Lifescapes

Global 4G LTE subscribers are projected to grow 35 percent compounded annually over the next five years, from 516 million to 2.3 billion, according to the latest market study by TeleGeography . LTE market penetration has been the greatest in South Korea, where the 4G technology accounted for 63 percent of wireless subscribers in 2014. Close behind South Korea is the United States market, where LTE overtook 3G as the leading mobile communications technology last year -- to account for just over half of wireless subscribers, and Japan, where LTE had a subscriber market share of 41 percent in 2014. While 4G LTE will continue to grow in each of these leading nations over the next five years to account for between 80 and 90 percent of their respective mobile subscribers, mobile networks in the rest of the world will now begin to catch up. The country to watch is China, where a boom in TD-LTE network deployment and soaring use of mobile internet access and data service usage are occurr...

LTE is a fourth-generation (4G) global standard which is the natural development route for GSM/HSPA network operators -- it's also the next generation mobile broadband system for many CDMA network operators. Juniper Research forecasts a rapid uptake of 4G LTE mobile technology in the next five years, with active connections crossing the 1 billion mark in 2017 -- and reaching 1.8 billion by 2019. This will represent 22 percent of the global active mobile subscriber identity module (SIM) connections by this time. Their latest global market study finds that, with the rate of LTE network commitments and roll-outs at an all-time high, network and device vendors have significantly improved their position to offer products and solutions to network operators. The GSA (Global Mobile Suppliers Association) confirmed that 168 manufacturers have announced 1,889 LTE-enabled user devices, including operator and frequency variants, along with 300 commercial network launches. TD-LTE t...