Though the majority of global LTE deployments will not begin for another year, there will be 200 million LTE subscribers worldwide by 2015, according to a new report from research firm Maravedis.
According to the report, which was compiled in part through interviews with carrier executives, the pace of LTE network deployments in North America and parts of Asia likely will speed up over the next two years. Fully 80 percent of the top 25 carriers launching LTE networks have already picked vendors to conduct trials, according to the study. The majority of deployments will occur between 2011 and 2013.
Similar to a recent report from IDC about the LTE infrastructure market, the Maravedis study found several key barriers to continued LTE movement. Among those: a dearth of spectrum, a lack of LTE devices, and lingering questions over voice calling via LTE, according to the report.
Though LTE will first be used as an overlay to 3G networks, the report said carriers will begin migrating their 3G spectrum to LTE during the next decade.
For more:
- see this CNet article
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