GLOBAL WIRELESS BANDWIDTH usage has increased ten-fold since 2008 thanks to mobile applications, data, voice, and streaming and broadcast video, and there are no signs of it stopping.
According to new research from In-Stat, this obsession to connect anywhere, any time, on any device, viewing any type of digital content is about to have a very real and sudden impact on the wireless world. In the report 2Q11 2G/3G/4G Contracts, Deployments, and Subscriptions Database, it forecasts that LTE subscriptions will experience a 3,400% explosion of growth between 2011 and 2015.
“Although there are regional variations in the adoption of cellular services, due in part to current available technology, LTE will clearly be the 4G service of choice moving forward,” said analyst Chris Kissel, in the report’s release. “3G will remain the predominant service subscription, also with robust growth, but over the next five years, things will trend toward LTE as 4G service availability is ramped up.”
The In-Stat report also predicts:
– North American FDD-LTE subscriptions are set to increase roughly 2,100% from 2011 to 2015. In 2015, the ratio of North American FDD-LTE subscribers to TDD-LTE subscribers will be almost 14 to 1;
– 3G subscriptions remain dominant with WCDMA technology capturing 26% of 3G subscriptions. CDMA Rev B will be the smallest segment of the 3G technologies based on subscriptions;
-2G service subscriptions will peak in 2012 and then begin a slow decline during the remainder of the forecast period; and
– More than half of all new deployments are LTE.
