Digitimes Research estimates that the global LTE market doubled in size to 445 million users in 2014 and we further forecast that annual growth in the number of LTE users will remain above 70% between 2015-2016, with the overall market reaching 1.466 billion users by 2016, representing 70% of the total number of global mobile broadband (including 3G+4G) users. Driving that growth is the Asia-Pacific region, especially China, and the region will surpass North America to become the world's largest consumer LTE market in the first half of 2015.
Chart 2: Asia-Pacific region to become largest consumer LTE market in 1H15
Chart 3: TD-LTE-Advanced lagging FD-LTE by more than three years in development cycle
LTE networks accelerate data traffic but 4G profit models still not clear
Chart 5: Slow value-added LTE service development means lackluster revenue growth for operators
Chart 6: Lack of low-frequency spectrum resources could become developmental disadvantage for TD-LTE
Indoor coverage drives domestic networking and communications industry
Chart 8: China mobile handset subscriber data, 2009-2015 (m users)
Chart 9: China Mobile strategies to accelerate a 4G switch, 2014
China Mobile shifts global TD-LTE subscriber market focus to Asia Pacific
Speeding up increase of availability of TD-LTE end device models
Chart 11: TD-LTE subscribers and regional distribution, 2012-2016
Chart 13: MIIT issued permits for FD/TD-LTE duplex networks in two stages in 2014
China trying to boost 4G subscribership with low-cost 4G smartphones
Chart 14: TD-LTE end device models and device-type share, 3Q12-3Q14
Chart 15: Taiwan makers' LTE products, output value, 2011-2014
High growth of mobile data but revenues and profits fall short of expectations
Table 1: Operator level 4G LTE indoor network coverage solutions
Three Musketeers: MediaTek, Marvell, and Intel drawing their swords
LTE application services as product differentiating features
Chart 20: Competition between Qualcomm and MediaTek will escalate in 2015
Huawei seeks to have a bigger say in setting international standard in 2015
Trying to take on a leading role in international standard settings (2014-)
Chart 22: Worldwide LTE equipment vendor market share, 2011-2014
Chart 23: Huawei's three stages of strategic goals, 1H10-2H14
