U.S. carriers are expected to make fantastic strides in delivering more comprehensive LTE coverage and capacity in 2014.
New projections from Strategy Analytics shared with MMW this week call for the U.S. to lead the world in 4G LTE this year.
“T-Mobile’s acquisition and swap of spectrum with Verizon Wireless will further the carriers’ respective aims of greater LTE coverage and capacity in 2014, intensifying network-based competition and stimulating market growth,” a report summary from Strategy Analytics reads.
The latest forecasts predict LTE will account for 50 percent of all wireless connections in the U.S. by year’s end. That percentage is on pace to approach 80% within four years.
Within 12 months, 4G LTE connections will account for one in three of the forecast 528 million LTE connections anticipated by the end of 2014.
“The spectrum trade is a great deal for both T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless,” observes Phil Kendall, Director Wireless Operator Strategies. “The 700MHz spectrum, covering 50 percent of the US population, will be crucial for T-Mobile as it looks to catch up with its larger rivals on 4G LTE coverage. And Verizon Wireless’s priorities are all about capacity: with two-thirds of traffic on its LTE network, additional AWS and PCS spectrum will form an important part of its network build-out plans.”
