According to ABI Research, the number of voice over long term evolution (VoLTE) subscriptions is expected to increase from 59.6 million in 2014 and to over 1.2 billion in 2019.
Further, LTE subscriptions are estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 36.6 per cent between 2014 and 2019, to reach more than 2 billion. About 56 per cent of LTE subscriptions are likely to be using VoLTE services by the end of 2019. In fact, at the end of 2013, LTE subscriptions stood at more than 230.9 million, comprising 3.3 per cent of the global subscriber base.
ABI Research points out that for VoLTE to be a success, the technology needs to be adopted not only by operators but by handset vendors as well. Interestingly, as per the media reports, going forward, Apple is expected to incorporate VoLTE into iPhone 6 paving the way for other device manufacturers to adopt VoLTE on a wide scale.
According to the research firm, worldwide LTE-enabled handsets shipments stood at 335.4 million units in 2013 witnessing a growth of 222 per cent. In 2014, LTE-enabled tablets are expected to ship 12.8 million units annually along with 10.6 million USB dongles. In addition, LTE networks are expected to cover about 64 per cent of the world?s population by 2019.
