LTE subscriptions around the world may exceed 40 million by the end of 2012 says ABI Research. This will represent a fourfold increase over the nine million global LTE subscriptions in 2011. The wide range of expected LTE smartphone launches in 2012 from major mobile manufacturers are the main reason behind the increase in LTE subscriptions.

Last month ABI had said that 87 million 4G devices are expected to be sold in 2012. With 294% year-on-year increase, 4G subscriptions are really going to take off in 2012. 

ABI further notes that currently, the North American region accounts for 60% of total LTE subscriptions, followed by the Asia-Pacific region at 37%. However, Asia-Pacific LTE subscriptions are expected to overtake North America by 2014, primarily driven by adoption in China, India, Japan, and South Korea. 

“South Korea and Japan are witnessing amazing LTE subscription growth due to the availability of high-quality content, enabling the countries to be the next largest LTE markets after the US,” says research associate Ying Kang Tan. 

The Asia-Pacific will also be the main growth engine for TD-LTE. Global TD-LTE subscription numbers will grow from one million subscriptions at the end of 2012 to 139 million subscriptions by 2017. China, India, and Japan are collectively forecasted to account for 92 million TD-LTE subscriptions.