Worldwide LTE Mobile Phone 2011-2014 Forecast

This IDC study analyzes the market for Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile phones for 2011–2014. With LTE networks moving from trial to commercial launch, LTE mobile phones will no doubt be following soon after. IDC believes that by the end of 2011, the mobile phone vendors will ship a total of 5.5 million LTE mobile phones worldwide. From there, LTE mobile phone shipments will reach a total of 129.1 million units in 2014, the final year of our forecast. This results in a CAGR of 811.9% for 2010–2014.

"In 2010, carriers in Asia/Pacific, EMEA, and North America launched their own respective LTE networks. While dongles and data cards have been the first devices running on these networks, it won't be long until we see LTE mobile phones arrive on the market," says Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. "Already, we've seen offerings from some of the major handset vendors, and we fully expect to see more to come. In addition, as more LTE networks reach commercial launch, LTE mobile phones will increase by double and even triple digits. While the trajectory of LTE mobile phones is certain, what remains to be seen are the new services and applications that can harness the power of LTE into new revenue streams."