LTE market to grow fourfold in 2012

The global market for long-term evolution (LTE) mobile phones is expected to surge fourfold to around 32 million units in 2012, fueled by strong consumer demand, an industry report said yesterday.

The report by Strategy Analytics (SA), a global research and consulting firm, predicted market size will expand an average 103.5 percent annually until 2016, as mobile phone users seek devices with better data-processing capabilities.

The expansion is also expected to increase the market share of fourth-generation (4G) LTE technology handsets from 0.5 percent of all mobile phones sold worldwide this year to 15.6 percent in 2016.

For this year, SA predicted that sales of LTE handsets will reach 8 million, up from just 100,000 last year

It added that 4G LTE will likely succeed mobile phone technologies that are currently in wide use, such as the global standard for mobile communications, code division multiple access and wideband code division multiple access.

The Europe, Asia and U.S.-based market researcher said that sales of LTE phones in Korea could grow an average 77.8 percent annually up to 2016. For this year, sales could reach 70,000 units, but this should rise to 3 million next year and 13.3 million in 2016.

Market watchers said that the expansion of the LTE market will also benefit Korean companies such as LG Electronics, which controls key technologies.

Korea is expected to be a forerunner in creating the infrastructure needed for LTE, along with the United States and Japan.

SA’s latest report, meanwhile, said that the global market for all mobile phones will reach 1.6 billion in 2012 and 1.8 billion units in 2016.

There will be a drop off in sales growth in the coming years as most mobile phone users have already upgraded to 3G devices, it added.

Yonhap