Worldwide LTE network connections will pass 100 million this week, according to estimates by 4G Americas and Informa Telecoms and Media, with about 57 million of those coming from the United States and Canada.
4G Americas reported that there are now 172 operators in 70 countries with existing LTE networks around the world, in various stages of development, and there are expected to be 250 commercial LTE networks by the end of this year.
“Canada and the U.S. continue to outpace the world in LTE connections, with a hefty 57% of all LTE connections,” said Chris Pearson, 4G America’s president. He added that 20 Latin American operators has also deployed LTE, so connections in that region are rapidly increasing.
LTE is growing at a rapid pace. 4G Americas said that there were 68 million LTE connections at the end of 2012, representing an increase of nearly 50% in five months to reach the May figure of 100 million. The global figure is supposed to nearly double in 2013, with a projected 134 million LTE connections by the end of the year. The technology is projected to hit 1 billion connections by early 2018.
As far as regional deployments go, 4G America also reported that there are 22 commercial LTE networks in the United States and Canada that account for those 57 million connections and the bulk of the market share. There were 38 million LTE connections in those two countries at the end of 2012.
In Latin America, 20 commercial LTE networks have been deployed in nine countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, the Dominican Republic, and Antigua & Barbuda. There were more than 136,000 LTE connections in those countries as of this month, but they are expected to grow rapidly and hit 2 million connections by the end of the year.
