APAC leads global LTE connections in market share
The global LTE and LTE-Advanced market reached 1.068 billion connections by the end of 2015, following 156 million net additions during the final three months of the year and 552.2 million for the full year, according to a Global Mobile Suppliers Association report.
According to the report, the number of LTE and LTE-A connections are expected to pass the 3G/WCDMA-HSPA global total in 2020.
“A daily average of almost 1.7 million LTE subscriptions were being signed up during Q4 2015, and the rate of LTE subscriptions growth is accelerating,” said GSA VP of research Alan Hadden. “LTE technology is now being used by one in seven mobile subscriptions worldwide.”
In Asia Pacific, total LTE connections amounted to 580 million at the end of 2015, representing a global market share of 54.3%. In the Chinese market, LTE subscriptions totaled 386 million by December 2015, with 84 million net additions during the last quarter of the year.
North America was ranked No. 2 worldwide in terms of LTE connections with almost 237 million, or a market share of 22.2% of the global total. Europe ended last year with 14.8% market share, according to the GSA. In Latin America and the Caribbean region and the Middle East and Africa, total LTE subscriptions reached 54 million and 32.5 million respectively at the end of the year.
A total of 480 operators across 157 countries have commercially launched LTE systems, according to GSA data, which forecasts there will be 550 commercially launched networks by the end of 2016.
Top 30 Indian cities represent 51% of smartphone market in Q4 2015
In related news, India’s 30 largest cities represented approximately 51% of the entire smartphone market in the last quarter of 2015, according to a recent study by tech consultancy firm IDC.
According to the study, New Delhi generated the most demand, closely followed by Mumbai. With increasing appeal and penetration of smartphones in smaller cities, the tier-two and tier-three cities are expected to represent a significant portion of the Indian smartphone market in the near future, IDC said.
“With increasing data penetration and enhanced reach of e-commerce, the smartphone consumers in tier-two and three cities is becoming more aware and demanding,” said Jaideep Mehta, South Asia managing director at IDC.
