The explosive growth of data-driven service has been the main driver for 3GPP evolutions in recent years.  5G is expected to provide considerably more flexibility for customization compared to earlier generations. New deployments are expected to serve huge amounts of mobile data traffic, thus requiring very efficient user plane path management.

India is known to have the second largest population in the world at 1.3 billion but it also has the second largest number of mobile subscriptions in the world.

LTE subscriptions now make one-third of global mobile subscriptions.  A recent GSA report puts the total subscriptions to 2.54 billion, 32.4% of all mobile subscriptions globally. It took 3 years to reach the half-billion mark for LTE subscriptions but in last 3 years, LTE has shown tremendous growth with ~2B subscription additions.  

With 5G, network functions virtualisation is making in-roads in Radio Access Networks as well as the Core Network. Telecom operators will have newer flexible deployment options with virtualised RAN offering additional ways to increase network capacity, coverage and user experience while reducing time to market for new services.

ITU & 3GPP driven 5G has huge potential in utilising Network Functions Virtualisation (NFV) to enhance radio access and core network elements. Many operators and equipment manufacturers have already invested heavily to reap the benefits of this technology.

Singapore has best 4G LTE experience with a 46.64Mbps average download speed among 77 nations according to a recent OpenSignal report. South Korea is not far behind with an average of 45.85Mbps speed. European countries Norway & Hungary too have LTE average speed greater than 40Mbps. By contrast, the US has very low average 13.98Mbps.

Last week, ITU-R Workshop on IMT-2020 terrestrial radio interfaces was held in Munich, Germany with main objective to outline the process of submission/reception of the Radio Interface Technology (RIT)/set of RIT (SRIT) proposals and acknowledgment of receipt.

Last week Apple announced a new generation of iPhones: iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X. The new iPhone features A11 Bionic chip, Retina HD displays and wireless charging, just to name a few.

5G New Radio (NR) development is part of continuous mobile broadband evolution process to meet the requirements of 5G as outlined by IMT-2020, similar to earlier evolution of 3G & 4G wireless networks.

In an Interview with LteWorld, Navin Vohra, Vice President, Wireless Sales, Asia Pacific, CommScope, explained CommScope's role and offerings in LTE technology domain. Here’s what he had to say on LTE technologies and trends in APAC:

TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Forecast Service new data reveals that global LTE subscribers are projected to grow 35% compounded annually over the next five years, from 516 million to 2.3 billion. To date, LTE adoption has been strongest in South Korea, where the 4G technology accounted for 63% of wireless subscribers in 2014.

LTE-Advanced technology features such as MIMO1 help to improve the radio performance of future mobile devices and enable end-users to access a truly mobile broadband experience with very fast data rates. The increasingly complex mobile devices are leading to a need for more extensive testing prior to market launch. 

Alcatel-Lucent has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean telecommunications provider, KT, under which the companies will collaborate to advance 5G development in South Korea with initial testing focusing on virtualized RAN to support next generation mobile architecture.

T-Mobile US has leased its spectrum to other carriers in an effort to expand its LTE network to benefit their customers.