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May 10, 2013

TCL Global Releases First Quarter 2013 Findings for Global LTE Offerings

TCL Global has released its first quarter edition of its Global Long Term Evolution (LTE) Pricing Tariff Tracker service for 2013. The service has tracked over 100 Mobile Network Operators (MNO) providing LTE services across the globe and has found some interesting trends.

Besides coming across more detailed pricing structures for LTE services, TCL Global found the average price for LTE hovers over $53 a month. Additionally, the service found that the average inclusive allowance for LTE is 11.6 GB a month, and the most common download speed across the globe is 100 Mbps.

The report also notes that select MNOs in Germany, Portugal, India and the Philippines are introducing time-limited promotions, including unlimited data for pre-pay LTE until the end of June in the Philippines. 

As Performant Networks notes, the expansion of LTE across the globe has made the medium far more competitive in markets thirsty for more data. That competition has driven MNOs to push their LTE offerings at a rapid pace. 

To squelch that thirst, Verizon has expanded its LTE services to five new markets in California, Iowa, Kentucky and Ohio, reaching a potential 287 million customers, according to RCRWireless. Similarly, South Korea Telecom estimates its growing LTE network will serve over 15 million customers by the end of 2013. That trend echoes LTE's remarkable growth, going from 4 million to over 22 million in a year. 

But one carrier is slowly building out its LTE network. T-mobile has opted instead to use its HPSA+ network while it builds out its LTE offerings, which launched in March. As Gizmodo notes, this slow adoption allows T-Mobile to keep its speedy HSPA+ network running as a backup for when customers drop off from their proper LTE coverage. The result is a slight dip in speed, instead of a massive drop off. 




Edited by Alisen Downey


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