Long-term evolution (LTE) by 2014 will have more than nine times as many subscribers as its main rival in the 4G market (WiMAX), reports IHS iSuppli research. iSuppli claims that this is driven by widespread mobile network operator adoption. Although the International Telecommunication Union has announced that neither LTE nor WiMAX are officially 4G technologies, industry vernacular has adopted the designation for both. In the United States, the heaviest LTE hitter is Verizon, which will be launching the HTC ThunderBolt and Xoom tablet this month.
- Worldwide LTE subscribers will increase quickly in the next two years, surpassing those of WiMAX in 2012.
- In 2014, LTE subscribers will reach 303.1 million, compared to 33.4 million for WiMAX..
At the Consumer Electronics Show, Verizon Wireless introduced 10 LTE devices from four different manufacturers, utilizing four different core-chipset partners. Popular highly-anticipated tablets and smartphones include the LTE-capable HTC ThunderBolt (2/14 launch date), Droid Bionic (dual-core processor), LG Revolution, Samsung 4G LTE smartphone and Motorola Xoom (2/24 launch date) tablet.
Some of these LTE smartphones appear in Wireless and Mobile News' Review of Reviews Top Ten Best Android an' Droid Phones Now an' Later. They also appeared in CES Winners.
The new entries beefed up Verizon's previous LTE lineup of two USB dongles introduced last quarter.
LTE subscribers worldwide are expected to top 14.9 million in 2011,
up from 6.8 million last year. In comparison, global subscribers in 2011
on LTE--championed by most tier-one MNOs globally, such as AT&T Inc.
and Verizon Wireless in the United States, as well as Vodafone and
TeliaSonera in Europe--are projected to reach 10.4 million. But while
that total is smaller than WiMAX numbers, it reflects an astonishing
leap from just 702,000 users in 2010 and virtually zero in 2009.
The technology has very high data-transmission speeds, flexible
width channelization and perhaps, most importantly, low-latency packet
transfers. The race is on to determine which 4G technology, WiMAX or LTE,
will provide the expected performance and enhancements from day one.
An estimated 10 LTE operators worldwide have launched to date, and more than 30 new operators will start LTE services this year, IHS forecasts. For WiMAX, the majority of operators can be found in Europe, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa, and the Americas.
"With WiMAX enjoying a two- to three-year head start in next-generation network deployments, it presently enjoys a major advantage in market share in the 4G segment," said Francis Sideco, principal analyst for wireless research at IHS. "However, with LTE supported by most of the leading wireless operators worldwide, it will rise to surpass WiMAX in 2012 and then dominate worldwide during the following years."