4G Americas reports that "the U.S. and Canada added 58 million HSPA and LTE mobile broadband connections annually at the first quarter, which translates to mobile broadband now comprising 49 percent of all mobile connections in the region, according to research by Informa Telecoms & Media. Worldwide, LTE racked up an annual growth rate higher than 400 percent at the end of March 2013, ending the quarter with more than 90 million connections, and that number grew by May to more than 100 million connections." Read More
Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas commented, “Innovations in technology and service providers’ commitment to upgrading their networks to LTE has moved the U.S. and Canada to the current mobile broadband leadership position. However, the leadership of LTE in North America is fragile, as more spectrum allocations by governments are needed soon to alleviate the impending spectrum crunch.”
“The Americas is at an exciting technology transition point right now,” stated Kristin Paulin, Senior Research Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. “LTE subscriptions surpassed 49 million for the region in the first quarter of 2013, and the region has already toppled over the 50 million milestone in May. Meanwhile, GSM subscription growth peaked in the fourth quarter 2012 in Latin America, and subscription growth is now driven by HSPA and to a lesser extent by LTE.”
