3Q 2015: LTE Holds Over 50% of All Connections in North America

BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwired - December 03, 2015) - 4G Americas, the industry trade association and voice of 5G for the Americas, today reports that LTE connections top over half of all other mobile connections in the North America region with 51 percent. As of the end of the third quarter of 2015, LTE connections in North America are at approximately 219 million out of the total 431 million mobile connections in the region.

Latin America continues to develop and expand its use of LTE with a growth of nearly 350 percent in the last twelve months. The combined total of LTE and HSPA mobile broadband connections represent nearly half of all mobile connections in the region.

LTE and HSPA in North America

"North American operators have invested heavily in building LTE networks resulting in a leadership position for LTE in the region," commented Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. "That investment will continue to spur the deployment of new LTE-Advanced features. The LTE-Advanced roadmap leading to the evolution of 5G contains significant technical innovations that will benefit carriers and their subscribers. LTE-Advanced will provide the mobile broadband foundation for future 5G networks."

LTE dominates the share of the mobile broadband marketplace in North America with 51 percent market share in the U.S. and 55 percent in Canada. HSPA and HSPA+ still holds a 23 percent market share bringing the combined market share for LTE and HSPA mobile broadband in the region to 74 percent.

LTE penetration for North America sits at 61 percent with the next highest global markets in Western Europe with 27 percent and Oceania, Eastern and Southeastern Asia with 21 percent.

• 68 commercial LTE networks deployed in U.S. and Canada
• 7 commercial LTE-Advanced networks deployed in U.S. (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Redzone Wireless) and Canada (Bell Mobility, Rogers and Telus)
• 219 million LTE connections as of September 2015 for a net gain of 69 million new LTE customers in the last 12 months; expected forecast of 392 million by year-end 2020
• 98 million HSPA connections
• 317 million total HSPA and LTE mobile broadband connections; 74 percent market share

LTE and HSPA in Latin America and the Caribbean

Jose Otero, Director of Latin America and the Caribbean at 4G Americas, stated, "Allocation of spectrum for mobile services has been catalytic for the incredible growth of LTE in Latin America and the Caribbean. One year after the allocation of new spectrum in Argentina, the country is close to having 10 percent LTE penetration. LTE's growth has been driven by aggressive investment from operators seeking to expand their footprint and accelerate the mass adoption of this technology."

Latin America made significant strides with LTE and HSPA as its mobile broadband market share rose to 49 percent with 358 million connections of the total 733 million mobile connections in the region. The region gained a total of 74 million new HSPA and HSPA+ connections year-over-year.

• 73 commercial LTE networks in 29 countries; increased from 51 LTE networks year-over-year
• One LTE-Advanced network
• 36 million LTE connections as of September 2015; growth of over 346 percent year-over-year; expected forecast of 259 million by 2020
• 322 million HSPA connections; 74 million added year-over-year; 22 million added in one quarter as of September 2015

Global LTE and LTE-Advanced

LTE continues its meteoric rise worldwide, ending 3Q 2015 with 908 million connections, an increase of approximately 152 million in one quarter alone. The Oceania, Eastern and Southeastern region is home to the largest number of LTE connections with 53 percent of the world's total LTE connections; North America follows with 24 percent and Western Europe with 13 percent.

"Globally, LTE subscriptions are approaching the one billion milestone," stated Kristin Paulin, Senior Analyst at Ovum. "In 3Q 2015 we reached 908 million, up from 757 million in 2Q 2015, making it on pace to top one billion by the end of the year. In North America, LTE already accounts for half of all mobile subscriptions, which is global-leading."

• 435 commercial LTE networks
• 104 LTE-Advanced commercial networks in 51 countries
• Over 500 total commitments for LTE deployment by wireless operators to date
• 908 million LTE connections as of September 2015, up from 394 million at the end 3Q 2014; increase of 130 percent
• LTE connections are forecast to reach 3.6 billion by 2020

4G Americas maintains a current list of LTE Deployments in the Americas and LTE-Advanced Global Deployments on its website. For more information and to view a variety of statistical charts on the 3GPP family of technologies, visit www.4gamericas.org. All subscriber and forecast data is attributed to Ovum.

About 4G Americas: Unifying the Americas Through Mobile Broadband Technology

4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to advocate for and foster the advancement and full capabilities of the LTE mobile broadband technology and its evolution beyond to 5G, throughout the ecosystem's networks, services, applications and wirelessly connected devices in the Americas. 4G Americas, the voice of 5G for the Americas, is invested in leading 5G development for the Americas and maintaining the current global innovation lead in North America with LTE technology. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org. Follow our news on Twitter at @4GAmericas and Facebook at www.facebook.com/4gamericas.

4G Americas' Board of Governors members include: Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, Cisco, CommScope, Entel, Ericsson, HPE, Intel, Mitel, Nokia, Qualcomm, Sprint, T-Mobile US, Inc. and Telefónica.