A new study by ABI Research forecasts that there will be more than 32 million subscribers using Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks by 2013. Three major mobile communications operators, China Mobile, Vodafone, and Verizon Wireless, have already announced plans to adopt LTE technology. According to the report, "Long Term Evolution (LTE)," Asia-Pacific countries will account for the largest regional share, with about 12 million Asia-Pacific LTE network subscribers in 2013. The remainder is expected to be mostly spread between Western Europe and North America.
The study charts the LTE timeline, operators' strategies, and migration plans. It discusses IPR, backhaul, and security, includes forecasts for subscribers, base stations and femtocells, and lists planned LTE trials and deployments. The study is part of the company's Mobile Networks Research Service, which also includes other Research Reports, Research Briefs, Market Data, an Online Database, ABI Vendor Matrices, ABI Insights, and analyst inquiry support. The LTE growth will benefit test equipment manufacturers first, then suppliers of network infrastructure equipment and, finally, wireless device manufacturers.