LTE users forecast to grow by 187.7% CAGR over 5 yrs - study

The worldwide LTE subscriber base is forecast to experience a 187.7 percent CAGR between 2010-2015, according to Portio Research. While WiMAX has enjoyed a first mover advantage and a clear head-start, the nature of LTE as natural progression for MNOs operating on GSM/UMTS networks and its ability to lower the cost of delivering data services are expected to drive a surge in LTE network deployments in the coming years. This growth will see the worldwide LTE subscriber base pass 200 million by the end of 2015, six years after the technology's launch in late 2009, whereas the worldwide 3G subscriber base reached only 100 million in the first six years after its launch, writes Portio. Migrating to LTE is not just the preserve of the developed and saturated markets in North America and Western Europe, with MNOs in developing markets also proactively doing the same; though understandably LTE's scale and use will markedly vary between markets.