LTE-Advanced deployments have reached the mainstream adoption phase, according to the latest GSA figures.
LTE-Advanced now accounts for 147 of the 521 commercial LTE networks that have been launched worldwide, while LTE-Advanced Pro is used in a further 9, according to the GSA's latest Evolution to LTE report.
The TD-LTE standard has seen 78 commercial deployments in 46 countries, and 82 operators have now commercially launched VoLTE in 43 countries, the report shows. A total of 146 operators in 68 countries are investing in VoLTE deployments, studies or trials.
Meanwhile LTE deployments are continuing at a rapid pace, with 74 mobile operators having launched the technology since the beginning of 2016. The newest markets for LTE mobile broadand include Bermuda, Gibraltar, Jamaica, Liberia, Myanmar, Samoa, and Sudan.
The GSA has now raised its forecast to predict that there will be 560 LTE networks in commercial operation worldwide by the end of the year.
The 1800-MHz band continues to be the most widely used in commercial LTE networks. It is in use by over 47% of LTE deployments in 110 countries.
LTE's device ecosystem is also continuing to expand, with the GSA calculating that there were 5,614 announced LTE user devices by late June.