[LTE connections in North America rocketed to 22.3 million -- adding almost 19 million subscriptions in 12 months and representing 51 percent of all 43.7 million LTE connections worldwide at the end of the third quarter of 2012, reported 4G Americas.]

Bellevue, WA -- LTE connections in North America rocketed to 22.3 million -- adding almost 19 million subscriptions in 12 months and representing 51 percent of all 43.7 million LTE connections worldwide at the end of the third quarter of 2012, reported 4G Americas, according to data from Informa Telecoms & Media. Another "billion" milestone is expected by the end of 2012, with all 3GPP technologies, including GSM, HSPA and LTE, comprising a massive subscription base of 6 billion and more than 90 percent of the global cellular connections.

"The 2012 year in wireless is definitely all about LTE," stated Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas. "At the third quarter of last year, there were 4.5 million LTE connections and 36 LTE deployments worldwide. We expect about 130 commercial LTE networks by the end of this year, the ramping up of subscriptions and many new devices in the offering with the holiday season approaching."

Aggressive deployments of LTE networks continue on a global basis, with 128 commercial LTE networks in 58 countries to date, and subscriptions at the end of the third quarter 2012 at 43.7 million. While HSPA and HSPA+ will remain the leading mobile broadband technology for the next decade, LTE is clearly the growth phenomenon. Informa expects that LTE subscriptions will surpass 1 billion in the year 2018.

The following global statistics were reported at the end of the 3Q 2012:

6.4 billion total cellular connections

5.8 billion 3GPP subscriptions (90 percent market share)

1 billion HSPA-LTE mobile broadband subscriptions

478 commercial HSPA networks in 181 countries

242 HSPA+ networks in 119 countries

43.7 million LTE subscriptions

128 commercial LTE networks in 58 countries (December 5, 2012)

Following are key regional statistics for the 3GPP family of technologies at the end of 3Q 2012:

Western Hemisphere - All Americas

828 million 3GPP subscriptions; nearly 80 percent market share

220 million HSPA mobile broadband subscriptions; quarterly addition of 10 million subscribers

242 million HSPA-LTE subscriptions; annual addition (12 months) of 79 million subscriptions for 48 percent annual growth

North America - U.S. and Canada

180.7 million 3GPP subscriptions; 49 percent market share

139 million HSPA-LTE mobile broadband subscriptions; annual addition of 40 million connections

T-Mobile USA deployment of HSPA+ dual carrier at 42 Mbps (peak theoretical)

No. 1 in LTE subscriptions worldwide: 22.3 million LTE connections; quarterly addition of 6.9 million LTE connections

LTE connections are expected to surpass HSPA connections in 2016

19 commercial LTE networks launched to date, including Bell Mobility and Rogers Wireless in Canada and AT&T, MetroPCS, Sprint and Verizon with affiliates in the U.S.

200+ million LTE connections forecast by 2017 (Informa Telecoms & Media)

Latin America and Caribbean

647 million 3GPP subscriptions; 96 percent market share; annual addition of 64 million connections; quarterly addition of 15 million subscriptions

103 million HSPA connections; annual addition of 38.6 million subscriptions; quarterly addition of 7 million subscriptions

46 commercial HSPA+ networks in 26 countries to date

38 operators in 15 countries have committed to LTE deployment

8 commercial LTE networks launched to date; in Brazil (Sky Telecom), Colombia (UNE), Mexico (Telcel), Dominican Republic (Orange), Puerto Rico (AT&T, Claro, Open Mobile) and Uruguay (Antel)

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