Number Of Global 4G Users Reaches Half A Billion

There are now close to half a billion 4G subscriptions around the world as the number of connections grew by 140 percent during 2014, according to the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).

The actual figure is 497 million subscriptions, up from 290 million at the end of 2013, as LTE growth outpaced that of 3G by 21 percent during the second half of last year.

LTE subscriptions up

Asia-Pacific still has the most 4G connections of any region and increased its share from 40 percent to 47 percent during the last six months of 2014. North America’s share fell from 42.4 percent to 33 percent during the same period, while Europe increased its proportion from 14.3 percent to 16 percent.

“LTE subscriptions grew by 115 million in Q4, over 36 percent higher than 3G/WCDMA-HSPA connections,” said Alan Hadden, vice president of research at the GSA. “GSM subscriptions fell by 78.5 million in the same period. We are confident that LTE growth will continue to lead all other mobile systems.”

GSA predicts there will be at least 450 commercially available LTE networks by the end of the year, up from 364, and says LTE-Advanced will be a major trend in many countries, including the UK. Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is also expected to gain traction during 2015, with EE, Three and Vodafone among those with plans to offer calls over 4G.

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