The total number of TD-LTE subscribers worldwide increased to 12.48 million at the end of the first quarter of 2014 and will increase to 70.4 million at the end of the year, according to Digitimes Research.
Saudi Arabia-based Mobily accounted for 28.2% of the 12.48 million subscribers, followed by Japan-based SoftBank Mobile with 27.5%, China-based China Mobile with 22.4% and Saudi Arabia-based STC with 10.8%, Digitimes Research indicated.
As of the end of the first quarter of 2014, 53% of TD-LTE networks around the world were TD-LTE/LTE-FDD dual-mode ones and many TD-LTE operators had transformed operations from WiMAX.
In addition to Qualcomm and HiSilicon Technologies, Marvell, MediaTek and Intel will launch multi-mode, including TD-LTE-supporting, 4G chip solutions in the second half of 2014.
The total number of TD-LTE subscribers will grow to 179.8 million at the end of 2015 and to 276.2 million at the end of 2016.
Content from this article was part of a complete Digitimes Research Chinese-language report that has not yet been translated into English. If you are interested in an English version of the report or wish to receive more information about the report, click here to contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Digitimes Research also provides quarterly tracking services for market sectors such as China Smartphone, China Smartphone AP, Taiwan ICT and Taiwan FPD. Click here for more information about Digitimes Research Tracking services.