GSA reveals growth in LTE devices

LTE devices growth
The number of LTE devices, including frequency and operator variants, reached 5,614 from 455 suppliers, said GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association).

GSA said the number of LTE user devices increased 72 percent, while the number of LTE device makers grew 49 percent since June 2015.

25 percent of telecom network operators have launched LTE-Advanced including 7 LTE-Advanced Pro networks.

Devices for Gigabit-capable LTE networks are expected to be announced in H2 2016.
LTE devices ecosystem
There are 3,580 LTE smartphones in the world. 98.5 percent of LTE smartphones are multimode, capable of operating on at least one 3G technology in addition to LTE. 56.5 percent of LTE smartphones can operate on 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ networks. There are 500 LTE-connected tablet PCs.

1800 MHz (3GPP Band 3) is the best supported spectrum for LTE deployments, with the largest devices ecosystem (LTE1800). 3,227 devices i.e. 57.4 percent of all LTE devices, can operate in band 3. The next most deployed bands are 2.6 GHz (band 7): 2,993 products, and 2.1GHz (band 1): 2,613 products.

314 devices support speeds up to UE Category 6 including small cells, routers, MiFis, smartphones and tablets. 43 Category 9 devices are launched (up to 450 Mbps downlink) plus 1 Category 11 and 8 Category 12 UE devices (up to 600 Mbps UL/100 Mbps UL).

372 APT700 devices are announced, confirming the industry traction for this near-global 700 MHz band.

There are 2,141 devices i.e. almost 40 percent of LTE devices support the LTE TDD (TD-LTE) mode.

There are 430 VoLTE-capable devices including 401 smartphones.