Is the battle won for the hearts and minds of 4G mobile operators?
The wireless technology known as long-term evolution (LTE) will dominate the 4G mobile market by 2014, according to new IHS iSuppli research.
LTE is predicted to have more than nine times as many subscribers as its main rival Wimax in the 4G market by 2014.
Wimax has enjoyed a two- to three-year head start in next-generation network deployments.
But with LTE subscriber numbers rising during the next two years, by 2012 it is predicted to surpass those of Wimax, the current leading 4G air standard.
In 2014, LTE subscribers will reach 303.1 million, compared to 33.4 million for Wimax, as shown in the attached figure.
“However, with LTE supported by most of the leading wireless operators worldwide, it will rise to surpass Wimax in 2012 and then dominate worldwide during the following years,” said Francis Sideco, principal analyst for wireless research at IHS.
LTE subscribers worldwide are expected to top 14.9 million in 2011, up from 6.8 million last year.
But while that total is smaller than Wimax numbers, it reflects a huge leap from just 702,000 users in 2010 and virtually zero in 2009.
An estimated 10 LTE operators worldwide have launched to date, and more than 30 new operators will start LTE services this year, IHS forecasts.
For Wimax, the majority of operators can be found in Europe, followed by the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa and then the Americas.
Learn more about the various developments affecting the wireless communications space in two of Sideco’s reports: CES 2011: Tablets, LTE and Super Phones; and- 2010, The Year 4G Was Born.
For Mobile World Congress 2011 news, see our MWC Zone.