ABI Research says 4G LTE subscriptions are increasing ahead of expectations, according to a new report. America’s Verizon Wireless activated half a million LTE-enabled devices in Q1 2011, while Japan’s NTT DoCoMo added 25,000 LTE subscriptions.
Fei Feng Seet, ABI Research analyst, said “We believe LTE adoption will take off more rapidly than expected, with more operators announcing network launches and existing players widening network coverage. And as mobile data speeds increase, the idea of replacing fixed lines with wireless connections becomes more popular among consumers.”
North America is forecast to reach 387 million mobile subscriptions by 2016, of which approaching 85 million are potentially LTE-enabled subscriptions.