A latest report published by the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) confirms that 111 manufacturers have announced 1,064 LTE-enabled user devices, including frequency and carrier variants.
647 new LTE user devices have been announced since July 2012 with the number of manufacturers increasing by 66% in this period. Smartphones continue as the largest LTE device category with over 4 times as many products compared to the situation in July 2012. LTE connected tablets and personal hotspots are also fast growing segments.
The GSA report examined devices that operate on the FDD and/or TDD modes of the LTE system and their main characteristics including form factor and operating frequencies, and also identified the 3G fallback technologies that are incorporated within each devices for use when subscribers move outside LTE coverage (i.e. access to HSPA, HSPA+, DC-HSPA+, EV-DO, or TD-SCDMA systems).
730 LTE devices can operate on HSPA networks, including 343 products that are designed to operate on 42 Mbps DC-HSPA+ s ystems. 243 LTE devices can operate on EV-DO systems.
Most of the 1,064 LTE devices operate in the FDD mode. Support for the LTE TDD mode (sometimes referred to as TD-LTE) is also very significant. The number of LTE TDD terminals has more than tripled over the past year. 222 devices can operate using the LTE TDD mode, supporting the growing number of operators who are using unpaired spectrum. LTE TDD devices are available in all form factors including smartphones, dongles, routers, personal hotspots, embedded modules, and mobile tablets. Bands 38 (2.6 GHz) and 40 (2.3 GHz) have the largest choice of terminals. Terminals are also available in growing numbers for use on bands 39, 41, 42, and 43.
The report confirms that the most popular FDD bands are:
- 2600 MHz band 7 = 362 devices
- 1800 MHz band 3 = 322 devices
- 800 MHz band 20 = 265 devices
- 700 MHz bands 12, 17 = 265 devices
- 2100 MHz band 1 = 247 devices
- 700 MHz band 13 = 231 devic es
- AWS band 4 = 229 devices
- 850 MHz band 5 = 142 devices
- 900 MHz band 8 = 128 devices
- 1900 MHz band 2 = 104 devices
Alan Hadden, President of the GSA said “The choice of multiband devices is continuously improving, enabling improved economies of scale and opportunities for international roaming for LTE-enabled services. More device manufacturers are entering the market.”
In view of the rapid pace of market developments GSA released an Interim Evolution to LTE report confirming that 202 LTE networks are commercially launched in 77 countries, including a list of operators and their respective service launch dates. 10 operators commercially launched LTE service in the past 8 weeks.
[Download PDF]– GSA Interim Evolution to LTE report(August 25)
