The telecommunications industry is evolving rapidly as service providers, and network operators move to Long-Term Evolution (LTE) platforms as the next standard. Shifting voice and data services to high-speed wireless communication networks is transforming telecom services and offerings. Here, then, is a sampling of the voice and data over the LTE industry — these are the VoLTE statistics that matter.
What is VoLTE?
LTE is an existing high-speed network offering that many telecommunications providers offer utilizing IMS technology to deliver voice or data service as digital packets over the Internet. Taking the reach and reliability of conventional voice services, LTE adds enhanced messaging, video and other rich communication services.
"Revenues for LTE will soar as high as $997 billion by 2020, with a projected CAGR of 58.2% from 2013-2020." — Allied Market Research
"It is estimated there are around 1 billion LTE subscriptions worldwide." — Budde
The demand for LTE solutions worldwide is driven by global communities seeking an expanded wireless footprint and greater access to the expanded capabilities of VoLTE technologies. The growth outlined speaks to expanding telecom marketing opportunities globally.
The GSMA estimates that "507 operators have launched LTE in 169 countries to reach 51% of the population. Voice and Video LTE has been launched by 78 operators in 42 countries."
In a report released earlier in July 2016, the GSA, on the other hand, reports 521 LTE networks commercially launched in 170 countries.
"In June 2016 there were 5,614 verified LTE user devices, including frequency and operator variants, from 455 suppliers." — GSA
"The Asia Pacific region (APAC) overtook North America in 2014 to become the region with the largest number of LTE subscriptions." — Budde
"The highest LTE penetration is in South Korea, reaching 97% in 2015." — Allied Market Research
"The smartphone is the largest and fastest-growing LTE device category, followed by routers and tablets." — Budde
"1/3 of T-Mobile’s US voice calls are transmitted using VoLTE technology." — Budde
"VoLTE increases handset battery life by 40% (compared with VoIP)." — Budde
"Singapore has the fastest average mobile network speeds in the world, averaging 24 Mbps." — OpenSignal
"Saudi Arabian networks are the slowest for 4G LTE, with speeds below 5Mbps." — OpenSignal
There is a great deal of buzz around 5G technology, but it isn’t expected to arrive until 2020. In the meantime, LTE is here and has enormous potential for wireless connectivity.
Sources
Allied Market Research. (2014, April). World LTE Market - Opportunities and Forecasts, 2012-2020. https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/long-term-evolution-LTE-market
Budde. P. & Wansink, K. (2015, September 14). BuddeComm Intelligence Report - Spotlight on LTE and VoLTE - Trends and Stats. https://www.budde.com.au/Research/BuddeComm-Intelligence-Report-Spotlight-on-LTE-and-VoLTE-Trends-and-Stats
Dano, M. (2015, November 11). T-Mobile: 1/3 of all calls are now VoLTE. https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/t-mobile-1-3-all-calls-are-now-volte
GSA. (2016, July 28). GSA Evolution to LTE report: 521 LTE networks commercially launched in 170 countries. https://gsacom.com/
GSMA. (2016, July 31). Delivering an All-IP World. https://www.gsma.com/network2020/resources/all-ip-statistics/
Gibbs, C. (2016, August 22). Verizon still the top LTE network in the U.S., RootMetrics says. https://www.fiercewireless.com/wireless/verizon-still-top-lte-network-u-s-rootmetrics-says
OpenSignal. (2015). State of LTE. https://opensignal.com/assets/pdf/reports/2015_05_opensignal-state-of-lte-report.pdf