According to the latest Global Development of LTE Networks and Services Survey completed today by Hadden Telecoms Ltd, a total of 709 operators in 213 countries/territories have commercially launched 4G services delivered on LTE or LTE-Advanced networks. Operators are investing heavily in LTE and its evolution as the global de-facto platform for delivering mobile broadband services. A growing number are deploying and launching LTEAdvanced and LTE-Advanced Pro (4.5G) technologies in markets across the world.
Most LTE networks are deployed using spectrum in FDD configuration. However several operators are using the TDD spectrum arrangement and this number is growing with increasing adoption and capabilities of the carrier aggregation feature in LTE-Advanced systems.
Alan Hadden, Director, Hadden Telecoms Ltd., said: “We believe our latest survey is probably the industry’s most comprehensive and complete status report of current 4G network deployments, features and services launches. The continuing growth and investments underline the importance of LTE and its evolution alongside, and in support of, future 5G systems.”
709 operators in 213 countries have commercially launched 4G services on LTE or LTE-Advanced systems. 56 operators have launched 4G/LTE services in the past 12 months, representing 8.6% growth
1800 MHz is easily the most widely used band for 4G/LTE deployments and is in commercial service today by 371 LTE operators, i.e. 52.3% of all LTE operators
147 operators in 77 countries are using TDD spectrum either exclusively or within a converged FDD-TDD network build strategy
273 operators, i.e. almost 40% have commercially launched LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro/4.5G systems
175 LTE operators (1 in 4) have launched VoLTE voice calling. At least 17 operators have introduced EVS (Enhanced Voice Services) superwideband speech audio coding
91 LTE operators offer VoWiFi (voice calling using a WiFi network)
39 operators, broadcast and other organisations are engaged in LTE-Broadcast/eMBMS activities, and 4 have launched commercial services using the technology
The market for the Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) segment is developing quickly in all regions thanks especially to strong industry traction for globally standardised LTE-based solutions, Cat-M1 and NB-IoT. Current market status:
* 68 operators have commercially launched NB-IoT networks
* 26 operators have launched Cat-M1
* 18 operators (included in the above) have deployed both technologies
Source: https://www.totaltele.com/501594/4GLTE-services-commercially-launched-by-700-operators-worldwide