The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) said 63 manufacturers have announced 347 LTE-enabled user devices, with 250 of those being announced over the past year. Of the 347 devices counted, 53 are TD-LTE capable.
The group included modules, tablets, notebooks, PC cards, femtocells, smartphones, routers and dongles in its calculations. "The main growth trend in 2012 so far is the launch of LTE-capable smartphones and tablets. We report that the number of smartphones has increased by one third since January 2012. The number of LTE-capable tablets increased 72 percent in the same period," said Alan Hadden, GSA president.
The GSA said there are 64 LTE smartphones and 31 tablets in total, including frequency and carrier variants. In addition, 217 LTE devices also operate on either HSPA, HSPA+ or 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ networks. That 217 figure includes 91 LTE devices that support 42 Mbps HSPA+. There are also 108 LTE devices that support EV-DO networks.
"The majority of LTE user devices today support the 700 MHz band where LTE networks and services are developing fastest, especially in North America report, said the GSA, which noted 170 devices support 700 MHz spectrum and 72 support the AWS band.
"As LTE network rollouts accelerate in other regions, particularly in Europe where operators are primarily using 2600 MHz, 1800 MHz and 800 MHz digital-dividend spectrum, in many cases using all three bands, manufacturers are responding with products for these markets," said the GSA. Since January 2012, the number of user devices capable of operating in 2600 MHz spectrum has increased by 44 percent while the number of LTE devices for the 1800 MHz band jumped by 50 percent.
For more:
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