Date: 05/06/2011

Infonetics: Number of LTE subscribers to top 290 million by 2015

Market research firm Infonetics Research has released excerpts from its first quarter 2011 (1Q11) 2G/3G/4G (LTE and WiMAX) Infrastructure and Subscribers report.

2G, 3G, 4G mobile infrastructure market highlights shared by Infonetics:
While the overall mobile infrastructure market is down sequentially, investment continues, particularly 2G/3G network modernization in Western Europe, CDMA upgrades in North America, and 2G/EDGE capacity upgrades in Asia
Infonetics forecasts service providers will spend a cumulative $245 billion worldwide on mobile infrastructure during the 5 years from 2011 to 2015
In the 2G/3G market, the only segment posting both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year gains in 1Q11 is packet core infrastructure, up 0.7% and 41%, respectively, reflecting ongoing 3G expansion activity tied to 2G modernization
In 1Q11, LTE (Long Term Evolution) equipment caught up to WiMAX equipment, each now about a half billion dollar market globally
In 1Q11, Ericsson maintains its lead in the LTE infrastructure market, just ahead of Alcatel-Lucent; Nokia Siemens Networks is third
Samsung remains the top-selling WiMAX vendor by a large margin, followed by Huawei, Alvarion, and Motorola
The number of LTE subscribers is forecast by Infonetics to top 290 million by 2015

"The first quarter of 2011 developed as we anticipated, with the global 2G/3G/4G infrastructure market declining 13.8% sequentially on the heels of a very strong fourth quarter; the market is up 14.4% year-over-year (from the first quarter of 2010), setting the foundation for the new investment cycle that we expect to last through 2014," predicts Stéphane Téral, Infonetics Research's principal analyst for mobile infrastructure.

Richard Webb, directing analyst for WiMAX at Infonetics Research and co-author of the report, adds: "WiMAX equipment is one of the few segments of the mobile infrastructure market to see sequential revenue growth this quarter (albeit small), and also is up 49% year-on-year, driven by expansion of existing networks and by the emerging utility and smart grid segment, which is proving fruitful for WiMAX vendors."