According to a new report from Juniper Research, the number of LTE subscribers will exceed 100 million by 2014. These numbers will be buoyed by the embedding of broadband capabilities within consumer electronics devices such as MP3 players, netbooks and even digital cameras.
Of course, smartphone and laptop users will lead in mobile broadband use, but Juniper also points out that consumers may also be motivated to connect devices in the home by LTE.
Report author Howard Wilcox says that around 30 network operator committed to deploy LTE at some point in the future. Equipment vendors are also jumping on board, “attracted by the connectivity-based opportunities that the technology offers.” As an example, Wilcox points out Sony, which announced that network connectivity is one of 3 top priority actions.
However, there are still several open issues that need addressing before the market takes off. One of these is the issue of device convergence — what will a smartphone look like, and be capable of, in three years’ time?
Other findings from the report include:
- Whilst early LTE adopters will be enterprise subscribers, consumers will begin to take up LTE based services towards 2012/2013.
- There will be multiple millions of LTE subscribers as early as 2011.
- Embedded LTE chipsets will become the second most popular means of access behind SIM cards by 2014.
More information about Juniper’s report titled “LTE Mobile Broadband Strategies: Consumer & Enterprise Markets; Devices & Chipsets 2009-2014” is available from their website.