LTE statistics from 5G America: 94% penetration in North America

Global LTE forecastAccording to the latest data from 5G Americas, global LTE connections reached the milestone of 2.5 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2017.

Global market share for LTE achieved 32 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2017, an increase of almost 10 percentage points in one year.

The market is expected to grow to 3 billion in 2018 and achieving 4.9 billion connections in 2022. LTE connections, including M2M are expected to reach 4.8 billion by year-end 2021.

LTE global market share is forecast to reach 53 percent by year end 2021 while 5G is forecast to reach 111 million connections by then.

North America region continued as a global leader with LTE market share of 73 percent, while Latin America exhibited continued growth with market share for LTE increasing to 26 percent.

Many LTE networks are being upgraded to LTE-Advanced. As per the report form TeleGeography, there were 562 commercial LTE deployments worldwide as of mid-November, while 211 of those operators have already evolved to LTE-Advanced.

“Although the global wireless industry is working on preparations for 5G in the future, currently operators are deploying more advanced LTE capabilities, and LTE subscriptions are continuing to grow at a fantastic rate,” stated Chris Pearson, president of 5G Americas.

New LTE network deployments continue as well as many network upgrades from LTE to LTE-Advanced.  As of mid-November, there were 562 commercial LTE deployments worldwide, while 211 of those operators have already evolved to LTE-Advanced (TeleGeography).

3Q 2017 – North America

North America LTEThe North America region achieved 341 million LTE subscriptions by the end of September 2017. LTE achieved a penetration rate of 94 percent in the third quarter, with 341 million connections compared to the population of 362 million in North America.

In addition to having a significantly higher penetration rate, the U.S. and Canada also have the highest market share for LTE in comparison to all mobile wireless technologies.

5G Americas expects 341 million LTE connections for net gain of 52 million new LTE customers from 3Q 2016 to 3Q 2017. LTE is forecast to reach 456 million connections at the end of 2021 (including M2M).

The report also forecasts 34.9 million 5G connections in North America in 2021 – nearly 31 percent of all global 5G connections.

3Q 2017 – Latin America and the Caribbean

LATAM LTE forecastLatin America nearly doubled LTE connections to 179 million from 99 million year-over-year at 3Q 2017 increasing by 80 percent.  LTE’s market share increased from 14 percent to 26 percent in twelve months.

There are 691 million total mobile wireless subscriptions; 179 million LTE connections; 80 million new LTE connections added year-over-year from 3Q 2016.

The region claims LTE market share of 26 percent. LTE, including M2M, is forecast to reach nearly 200 million connections at the end of 2017.

By the end of 2021, LTE is forecast to reach 458 million connections (forecast includes M2M) and a 59 percent share of market

As of mid-November, there were 108 commercial LTE networks across the Latin America and the Caribbean region of which 20 are LTE-Advanced deployments with Carrier Aggregation, according to TeleGeography.

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