LTE subscriptions increased by 123.7 million in Q1, which is over 58 percent higher than for 3G/WCDMA-HSPA gaining 77.9 million. GSM subscriptions fell 100 million in the quarter.
APAC increased its share of global LTE subscriptions to 49 percent, compared to 38 percent one year previously. North America remains the second largest LTE market though its share fell to 28.3 percent of global LTE subscriptions, compared with 45 percent a year earlier. Europe is steadily building share and stands at 16.4 percent. Strong growth was seen in the Latin America and Caribbean region which now has over 16 million 4G/LTE subscriptions and is over 13 million higher than a year ago, equivalent to 396 percent annual growth. A strong performance for LTE was also achieved in the Middle East with annual growth of 240 percent. Russia is another fast-growing LTE market achieving 4x growth in the number of its LTE subscriptions over the past year. By March, China had 162 million LTE subscriptions, having gained 64 million in Q1.
A total number of 393 operators have commercially launched LTE systems in 138 countries, according to GSA data announced in April. GSA forecasts there will be 460 commercially launched LTE networks by end 2015.
The number of LTE subscriptions is expected to reach around 3.7 billion by the end of 2020, and at that time should pass the 3G/WCDMA-HSPA global base.
