According to Strategy Analytics, globally, the long term evolution (LTE) service connections are expected to grow from 238 million in 2013 to 2 billion in 2018. LTE networks will account for almost half of mobile service revenue globally by 2018 from 10 per cent in 2013.
Despite growing LTE connections, markets such as the US, Japan and South Korea will witness a decline in their share in global connections from 90 per cent at the beginning of 2013 to 76 per cent by year end. Western Europe, in particular, will generate higher 4G volume as LTE increasingly penetrates operators? smartphone portfolios in the region.
Worldwide mobile operators are increasingly looking to LTE for value creation in the market, with the LTE connections generating average revenue per user almost four times the global average. According to the research firm, the premium is more a result of the regional mix of LTE connections at present. Strategy Analytics forecasts just 1.5 per cent annual growth in wireless service revenue over the next five years. Therefore, in such a scenario, LTE is more about securing higher-value customers than accelerating market growth.
