Base stations upgraded to support LTE-A network is expected to grow by 200% CAGR to 600,000 by 2018, according to a report from ABI Research.
The growth will be driven by competition from countries deploying LTE-A networks as they meet increasing data consumption demands.
ABI Research research-associate Ying Kang Tan said that it’s about boosting capacity as data consumption soars.
"Besides acquiring more spectrums, operators need to use the scarce resources more efficiently," Tan added.
"Thus, despite all the clamour about a spectrum crunch, spectrum is one option but not the only one to enhance capacity."
ABI Research VP and practise director Jake Saunders said that operators are reaching out to secure whatever spectrum they can get.
"As a result, they are ending up with a variety of different frequency bands. This is where carrier aggregation technology becomes useful," Saunders added.
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The increase in LTE-A base station follows the launch of first LTE-A network by Yota in Russia in October 2012.
The commercial launch of the technology by SK Telecom in June 2013 and the South Korean operator reported over 150,000 subscriptions within two weeks after the launch.
The report revealed that the US will have about four LTE-A networks in service by the end of 2013 and over half of the LTE subscribers in North America are expected to start using the LTE-A by 2017.
