The world experienced plenty with the contributions of 4G throughout the years. A closer look at the growth and spread with authentic numbers and stats can lend an eye-opening apprehension of the transformation. And this blog tracks the gradual unfurling of 4G technology so far.
However, before going any further, the prior discussion about the first launch is the ritual. The Scandanavian Company Telia Sonera successfully launched the 4G technology in Oslo and Stockholm. And in 2014, the operator spread it across 10 countries.
A Slow Start
With the initial launch of the 4G technology in late 2009, the subscriber take-up, as well as the usage, remained low. In the year 2009, the first year of operation, Telia’s LTE network accounted only for 2% of its overall mobile data traffic in its home market.
Moreover, the 4G technology usage multiplied and accelerated high when Telia set out to introduce the first 4G-enabled iPhone model in the year 2013. Then, the LTE networks, in 2014, accounted for almost half of its Swedish mobile data traffic.
Furthermore, the growth soared up so high that by 2018, the figure morphed into 92%.
The Spread of 4G Technology
The initial years of the 4G technology witnessed subdued take-up. However, as discussed earlier, the usage and popularity increased gradually. In fact, it multiplied vehemently.
Furthermore, by the end of 2010, there existed only 120,000 users. Even though this boomed up to 8.8 million after a time of 12 months, LTE still accounted for less than 0.2% of all mobile subscribers throughout the world during that period.
4G Technology Take-Up Quickens
2014 saw a major rise in the usage of 4G. And this was coupled by the first LTE launch in India in 2012 along with China the following year.
Now, by the end of the year 2015, 4G networks accounted for approximately 15% of all cellular subscriptions. Also, this figure has escalated to 53% gradually by 2019.
Eleven Years of LTE
A graphical representation of the launches per year and the subscribers exhibits a gradual unfurling of the 4G technology in the market.
In the year 2009, the number of subscribers along with the launch was extremely low. Now, the figures morphed into standard numbers gradually. Till the year 2016, the cumulative total of 4G technology subscribers remained lower than the launches per year.
In addition, the year 2017 saw the boom of subscriber rise defeating the number of launches. Now, the launch per year would gradually tone down thanks to its spread in the prior years.
Furthermore, the Forecast report from Telegeography anticipates 4G to stand at the apex with approximately 5.1 billion users and 60% of the net wireless market by 2022 when the subscriber count collapses and the popularity and usage of 5G technology spreads in popularity.
China Drives Growth
In terms of subscriber volume, China stands tall as the largest 4G market in the world.
In addition, at the end of 2019, the country possessed 1.3 billion LTE users. After that comes India holding 580 million users of the network. The United States secures the 3rd position possessing around 316 million. Right after the States come the nations namely Brazil, Indonesia, Japan and Russia. All of the four nations have users ranging from 100 million to 150 million in figures.
Moreover, the year 2016 exhibited impressive subscriber growth in China. In the early times of the year, LTE had passed 2G and 3G as the most popular technology in terms of user numbers.
Furthermore, by the end of 2019 in the country, 4G accounted for more than four-fifths of all mobile subscriptions. However, China still claimed roughly 60% of the entire market.
This discussion of the 4G technology may seem like quick and comprehensive development. But, there are countries which don’t enjoy the benefits of LTE services. Users, there are barred from using a 3G and 2G network connection.
