GSA: 360 LTE Networks Launched; 96 in 2014

A new report by GSA finds that:

• 360 operators have commercially launched LTE networks and service in 124 countries (vs. 572 HSPA networks in 213 countries)
   
• 96 LTE networks were launched in 2014
   
• 611 operators are investing in LTE across 174 countries. This comprises 566 operator network deployment commitments in 166 countries (of which 360 networks have launched), and 45 pre-commitments trials in a further 8 countries
   
• The LTE commercial service footprint extended to a further 27 countries in 2014
   
• 80 operators in 42 countries i.e. over 22% of operators are investing in VoLTE deployments, studies or trials
   
• 14 operators having launched HD voice service using VoLTE in 7 countries. Many more launches are expected in 2015
   
• 107 operators in total, i.e. almost 30% of LTE operators have launched, are deploying or are trialling LTE-Advanced technologies
   
• 49 operators have commercially launched LTE-Advanced carrier aggregation in 31 countries, and this figure could double in 2015
   
• 373 million LTE subscriptions globally by Q3 2014 (according to Ovum) achieving 131% YoY growth. The balance of regional shares continued to shift to Asia, driven by impressive growth in China

See "GSA confirms 360 LTE networks commercially launched by end 2014, strong growth in LTE-Advanced and VoLTE deployments" - here.