$8.6 Billion LTE Base Station Forecast Shows There Is Still Enthusiasm for Deployment

NEW YORK - January 9, 2009 -

More than eighteen operators globally have announced LTE deployment plans, and the tough economy does not seem to have dampened their enthusiasm. In fact, Verizon has announced acceleration of its LTE deployment timetable, bringing the launch forward from 2010 to 2009. Many of the others are looking at a 2011-2012 timeframe, by which time, they hope, much of the current pain will have passed.

According to ABI Research senior analyst Nadine Manjaro, "ABI Research believes that NTT will also deploy LTE in Japan in 2009. We forecast that by 2013 operators will spend over $8.6 billion on LTE base station infrastructure alone. For operators that have already deployed 3G networks, LTE will be a key CAPEX driver over the next five years."

LTE application development will also drive investment as operators work to determine which services to deploy on this high speed, low latency network.

Sprint and Verizon have both announced that they will provide third-party access to their GPS data. "The resulting new applications will tie mobility and presence aspects together to create more compelling services than in the past," says Manjaro. "This is significant because it represents the beginning of a new generation of application development which will leverage the vast amounts of data in operators' networks."

Application developers already talking to these carriers include WaveMarket, Inc. and uLocate Communications, Inc.

ABI Research's recent report "Long Term Evolution (LTE) [1]" charts the LTE timeline, operators' strategies, and migration plans. It discusses IPR, backhaul, and security,  includes forecasts for subscribers, base stations and femtocells, and lists planned LTE trials and deployments.

It forms part of the firm's Mobile Networks Research Service [2].

ABI Research is a leading market research firm focused on the impact of emerging technologies on global consumer and business markets. Utilizing a unique blend of market intelligence, primary research, and expert assessment from its worldwide team of industry analysts, ABI Research assists hundreds of clients each year with their strategic growth initiatives. For information, visit www.abiresearch.com [3], or call +1.516.624.2500.