Wireless network operators worldwide launched 106 LTE networks in the past 12 months, an annual growth rate of 112%. In total there are 200 LTE networks up and running in 76 countries as of July 31, GSA, the mobile Global Suppliers Association, confirmed, making LTE “the fastest mobile system technology ever.”
There were 146 LTE networks operational as of year-end 2012. Another 54 were launched in the first seven months of 2013. This includes the first LTE installations in 12 markets: Chile, Iceland, Iraq, Lebanon, Malaysia, New Zealand, Paraguay, Qatar, Spain, Thailand, US Virgin Islands, and Venezuela, according to a GSA press release.
“LTE is a single 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standard with an FDD (Frequency Division Duplex) mode for operators using paired spectrum, and a TDD (Time Division Duplex) mode for operators using unpaired spectrum,” GSA explains.
GSA broke down the 200 LTE networks in commercial operation as follows:
- 182 networks were deployed using the FDD mode
- 9 networks were deployed in TDD mode (sometimes referred to as TD-LTE)
- 9 networks are using both FDD and TDD modes
GSA’s upcoming “Evolution to LTE” report will include full details of LTE market developments, including network deployments and worldwide service launches. It will be available free to registered GSA website users.
