Long Term Evolution, the 4G technology that big mobile operators like AT&T and Verizon Wireless are adopting, is rapidly growing.
Yet the technology is only expected to constitute a small percentage of the overall cellular subscriptions in the coming years.
Pyramid Research forecasts that LTE will have 592 million subscriptions in 2016. However, that figure just represents 7.3 percent of all cellular subscriptions at that time, according to the projections of the Cambridge, Mass.-based research firm.
"The initial focus of all operators is mobile broadband access for PCs," Pyramid Research said. "These subscriptions represent around 80 percent of all mobile data traffic, even though they account for fewer than 4 percent of mobile subscriptions."
To date, 35 mobile operators have introduced commercial LTE networks, Pyramid Research noted, and 197 LTE devices have become available with Samsung boasting the largest portfolio of LTE tablets and smartphones.
