The replacement demand for LTE-enabled smartphones in Europe has been delayed as telecom carriers have slowed down their investments in 4G infrastructure, according to industry sources.
As of the end of the second quarter of 2012, the number of subscribers for LTE services reached 27 million globally, of which 47% were located in the US, 27% in Korea and 13% in Japan, but only 6% were in Europe, according to data compiled by Wireless Intelligence.
Although a total of 90 LTE commercial networks have been inaugurated in 45 countries, most telecom carriers are operating their LTE networks on a trial basis, the sources noted.
In France, Orange has just begun to set up its LTE networks in Marseille, and its LTE networks are unlikely to cover the whole country until 2015, the sources indicated. Meanwhile, Bouygues Telecom will start trial operations of its LTE networks in Lyon soon with commercial services to be available in early 2013, add the sources.
In the UK, Ofcom has just announced that it will hold an auction for the release of mobile spectrum for next-generation 4G networks by the end of 2012. This means that it will takes about 2-3 years for the number of LTE subscribersto begin to increase substantially in the UK, commented the sources.