4G LTE in North America is forecast to account for 84 percent of total connections by 2020, said GSMA.

The telecom industry association said 4G already accounts for just over 50 percent of the wireless connection base in the US, while Canada is expected to cross the 50 percent mark in early 2016.

Driven by the roll-out of LTE 4G networks, mobile operators in the region have invested nearly $35 billion per year in network infrastructure development over recent years. Main telecom network operators are AT&T, Verizon Communications, T-Mobile and Sprint.

North America has more than 250 million unique subscribers, equivalent to unique subscriber penetration rate of 70 percent and 360 million mobile connections (excluding M2M), with three-quarters of connections being smartphones.

4G networks have 98 percent population coverage in the United States and 92 percent coverage in Canada.

Operators in both markets are already in the process of launching LTE-A (Advanced), which offers even faster speeds for users in addition to voice over LTE (VoLTE) services.

Mobile data is expected to grow at a 42 percent CAGR through 2019 to nearly 11 GB per user per month, compared to a global average of 4 GB, with usage driven heavily by content from third-party sites and apps, particularly video.

Across the region, the mobile industry employed more than 2.2 million people directly and indirectly in 2014.

According to GSMA Intelligence there were 54 million M2M connections in Q3 2015 across the region.

“The region’s evolving mobile landscape has benefitted from a high level of operator investment and a vibrant venture capital community that has resulted in numerous innovations that many of us take for granted today,” said Michael O’Hara, chief marketing officer of GSMA.

Baburajan K
[email protected]