ABI Research: "LTE adoption will take off more rapidly than expected"

    

A new report from ABI Research finds that "In the first quarter of 2011, Verizon Wireless activated half a million LTE-enabled devices, while Japan’s NTT DoCoMo scored 25,000 LTE subscriptions .. These are solid gains out for LTE, and point to strong demand for fast wireless data connections .. North America is forecast to reach 387 million mobile subscriptions by 2016, out of which close to 85 million are potentially LTE-enabled subscriptions .. In Asia, 3G networks are starting to gain momentum. With Indian spectrum auctions concluded last year, ABI Research puts the number of 3G subscribers in that country at more than 100 million".

See "LTE Subscriptions Racing Ahead of Expectations" - here.

Fei Feng Seet, analyst, said: "We believe LTE adoption will take off more rapidly than expected, with more operators announcing network launches and existing players widening network coverage .. and as mobile data speeds increase, the idea of replacing fixed lines with wireless connections becomes more popular among consumers.” (See also - "Ofcom: 21% of Broadband Homes Use Mobile Broadband" - here).

The following chart may put these numbers in global perspective. According to a report by Infonetics Research - "The number of LTE subscribers is forecast by Infonetics to top 290 million by 2015" (while total number of subscribers will be close to the world population - 7B).

See "LTE equipment catches up to WiMAX; $245B to be spent on mobile equipment 2011–2015" - here.