Worldwide subscribers of 4G wireless known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) are expected to reach 198.1 million in 2013, rising 115% from 92.3 million in 2012, according to report from IHS iSuppli.
According to the report, the increase in the users’ desire for faster content delivery, feature-rich applications and mobile services including social networking with increase in the infrastructure for LTE technology has increase the number of subscribers using 4G services.
IHS wireless communications senior analyst, Wayne Lam, said that with LTE emerging as a true global technology standard, its ecosystem now faces both challenges and opportunities.
"Rapid adoption will drive design innovations, particularly in smartphones, but issues like spectrum fragmentation will also remain an overhang for the LTE industry that requires attention," Lam said.
Availability of 40 different frequency spectrums is also considered a factor for the surge of subscribers.
The 4G technology was implemented in 2010 with 612,000 users. The subscriber base then grew to 13.2 million users in 2011, which went up by 599% to reach 100 million subscribers in 2012. The number of users are expected to grow at compound annual growth rate of 139% over the next five years.
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