More Than 100 LTE Launches in 2013, 2 LTE-A Networks Commercially Launched

4G Americas reports that LTE has been commercially launched on 200 networks worldwide in 78 countries and that number is expected to grow to 250 networks by the end of 2013.

The surge in LTE deployments will result in more than 100 new LTE networks launched in 2013 alone. Additionally, the evolution of LTE to the 3GPP Release 10 standards of LTE-Advanced has been commercially launched on two networks to date. Some analysts expect numerous LTE-Advanced networks to be launched by the end of this year as operators deploy one or more of the enhanced features of the standard.

“Telia Sonera, in Norway and Sweden, was the first mobile network operator to commercially launch LTE in December 2009 and today the groundswell of commercial deployments continues as government regulators allocate and auction new spectrum,” commented Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. “Internationally harmonized spectrum in the Americas, and the rest of the world, has been the fuel for the explosive growth of LTE commercial network deployments.”

Pearson continued, “Carrier Aggregation appears to be a very popular feature for operators deploying LTE-Advanced, as it provides the capability to combine disparate and underutilized spectrum assets increasing the size of an operator’s mobile data pipes.”

LTE-Advanced using Carrier Aggregation was commercially launched in South Korea by both SK Telecom (which included a compatible handset) in June 2013 and LG U+ in July 2013. Four commercial LTE-Advanced networks are expected to launch in the United States by the end of 2013.

The number of LTE mobile broadband commercial deployments have grown tremendously; from 2 commercial deployments in 2009, 16 in 2010, 51 in 2011, 139 in 2012 and now 200 commercial deployments as of August 22, 2013. There are 250 commercial LTE networks anticipated by the end of this year and more than 440 total deployments in the coming years.

Source: Cellular-News