Latin America. Nearly 250 million new LTE connections were added around the world in the second quarter of 2019, according to 5G Americas, the 5G and LTE wireless industry and voice association for the Americas, according to Ovum.
LTE subscriptions around the world are rapidly approaching five billion while operators continue to invest in LTE-Advanced and subsequent LTE evolutions. This reflects the roadmap of growing innovations and capabilities, as LTE is expected to continue to increase the number of subscribers through 2021 amid the deployment of new 5G networks.
Currently, there are 34 commercial 5G networks standardized by 3GPP globally, and it is anticipated that there will be 77 commercial 5G networks by the end of 2019, according to TeleGeography. The adoption of 5G has just begun. Ovum's projection predicts that there will be 156 million 5G connections in the world and 32 million in North America by the end of 2021.
Globally, LTE connections grew 27 percent year-on-year to the second quarter of 2019. LTE reached 4.7 billion connections worldwide as of June 2019, accounting for 53 percent of total global wireless connections.
Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas, stated, "We are making rapid progress with the excitement of 5G networks in 2019. However, operators in many regions of the world continue to build high-speed 4G LTE infrastructure to provide excellent mobile broadband service to their customers."
North America continues to lead the world in terms of LTE market share. LTE accounts for 88 percent of total mobile connections in North America as of June 2019, up from 82 percent in June 2018. The Oceania, East and Southeast Asia region has the second largest LTE market share at 73 percent, compared to 65 percent as of June 2018.
It is followed by Western Europe, with 55 percent (compared to the previous 48 percent), while Latin America and the Caribbean continues to experience strong growth in the number of LTE subscribers, standing at 47 percent in the same period (compared to 35 percent). Market share represents the percentage of mobile wireless connections employing LTE technology versus all other cellular mobile technologies.
"LTE continues to increase the number of new connections while networks are continually optimized with new technology," Pearson said. "Innovative technologies that underpin 5G performance will also enhance 4G LTE networks for the foreseeable future."
By 2023, Ovum's data estimates that global 5G connections will grow to 1.3 billion, accounting for 13 percent of the total mobile subscribers in the world.
Q2 2019 – North America – Leading LTE Adoption
In the United States and Canada, LTE connections reached 459 million in Q2 2019, accounting for 88 percent of the market share of total wireless connections. It also reflects the aggregate of 13 million connections from March to June this year and demonstrates the continued growth of LTE subscriptions of 14 percent year-on-year.
The number of LTE connections per capita in North America in the second quarter of 2019 shows a penetration rate of 125 percent (or 1.25 connections per person), compared to a penetration of 122 percent in the first quarter of 2019. The U.S. had only 130 percent LTE market penetration in June, up from 126 percent in March.
Kristin Paulin, Senior Analyst at Ovum, stated, "North America is one of the leading regions in 5G network deployments and, starting in 2020, we will see substantial momentum in the number of 5G subscriptions."
North American Networks as of September 13, 2019 (source TeleGeography):
LTE: 19
NB-IoT: 3
LTE-M: 4
5G: 4
Q2 2019 – Latin America and the Caribbean – strong LTE growth
Across Latin America and the Caribbean, LTE continued to add subscribers, having reached 324 million, reflecting nearly 19 million new connections in the quarter and a 32 percent increase in the twelve-month period. Across the region, LTE market penetration per capita reached 47 percent, up from 44 percent in the first quarter of 2019 and 35 percent in the second quarter of 2018.
By 2023, Ovum projects that LTE connections will grow to nearly 500 million in the region. At the same time, 5G technology is expected to reach 75 million connections.
According to José Otero, Vice President of Latin America and the Caribbean of 5G Americas "LTE growth continues to be strong in Latin America, with several countries exceeding an adoption rate of 60 or 70 percent. In the coming years, we see LTE expanding its coverage into less densely populated areas, as 5G begins to be adopted in urban centers and the enterprise segment."
Networks in Latin America and the Caribbean as of September 13, 2019 (source TeleGeography):
LTE: 126
NB-IoT: 2
LTE-M: 3
5G:1
Otero went on to say: "The good news for 5G is that several Latin American governments consider technology to play a central role in their digital transformation strategy and are therefore trying to introduce the necessary regulatory changes in terms of spectrum allocation and network deployment to accelerate deployment and adoption in their jurisdiction."
Q2 2019 – Worldwide
Globally, LTE connections increased by nearly one billion in one year, to reach 4.7 billion by Q2 2019, representing a 27 percent increase. Since Q1 2019, nearly 250 million new subscriber connections to LTE were added, representing an increase of 26 percent, and placing LTE's market share at 53 percent considering all wireless technologies used in the world.
Ovum projections indicate that, globally, LTE connections will approach 6 billion by the end of 2022, then shrink to 5.7 billion in 2023, which is still well above the 1.3 billion 5G subscriber count of the same year.
According to data from TeleGeography deployments, IoT deployments based on the LTE standard (NB-IoT and LTE-M) continue to increase. Global networks as of September 13, 2019 (source Telegeography):
LTE: 654
NB-IoT: 57
LTE-M: 24
5G: 34
5G projection at the end of 2019: 77
