Indian operator Tikona Digital Networks plans to buy $200M worth of LTE equipments from top vendors, reports the Economic Times. Operator has floated a request for proposals (RFP) from vendors for LTE network gear to deploy wireless broadband networks in the five circles it has license to operate.

Following yesterday's MetroPCS announcement of unlimited data, T-Mobile USA also unveiled a truly Unlimited Nationwide Data plan over it 4G HSPA+ Network. Available starting Sept.

MetroPCS  has unveiled a promotional 4G LTE service plan with unlimited talk, text and 4G LTE data for only $55 per month for a single line however it is only available for a limited time. Families can get this offer for $50 per month on the account’s second, third and fourth lines.

Global LTE deployments are continuing to rise and the technology is gaining ever more market recognition. However, LTE currently possesses a key limitation that the industry is actively looking to resolve – the issue of voice. As it stands, LTE networks can only support data and are incapable of handling voice calls.

Voice over LTE (VoLTE) service is commercially available now. U.S.

Research In Motion (RIM) has introduced the new 4G LTE BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with built-in support for cellular networks. Company is launching the LTE tablet in Canada first.

Sprint and Motorola Mobility have announced Motorola PHOTON Q™ 4G LTE, the next generation of last summer’s popular Motorola PHOTON™ 4G. The new device will boast a five-row, PC-like QWERTY keyboard, international capabilities and a generous 4.3-inch ColorBoost™ display, as well as the ability to operate on Sprint’s new lightning-fast 4G LTE network2.

The number of LTE user devices announced in the market has more than tripled over the past year and 67 manufacturers have so far announced 417 LTE-enabled user devices, confirmed GSA. The figures include 83 LTE smartphones and 31 tablets. 68 out of 417 devices can operate in the TDD mode.

TD-LTE has now wider acceptance across the globe and is expected to make significant part of LTE subscriber growth in coming years thanks to Asia-Pacific market, the main growth engine for TD-LTE. According to study of Ovum 25% of all LTE connections will include LTE TDD by 2016.

Earlier this month 3GPP held a 3GPP RAN Workshop on Release 12 and onwards to identify common requirements for future 3GPP radio access technologies. 3GPP Workshop was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, June 11-12, 2012 and had 246 participants.

The TD-LTE subscriber base in India will reach 67 million by the end of 2017, predicts Maravedis-Rethink. With overall stagnant 2011 broadband penetration at 13.35 million primarily DSL subscribers, the Indian market represents a significant growth opportunity for the broadband wireless sector, says the new report.

A recent LTE report from GSA confirms that commercial networks quadrupled in 12 months and so far 80 LTE operators have launched commercial services. In 2012, 33 networks has been launched till June 4. This figure includes 7 commercial LTE TDD systems which are launched in Brazil, India, Japan, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Sweden.

A new Traffic and Market Report from Ericsson says that 85 percent of the world's population will have internet coverage via 3G by 2017 and there will be close to nine billion mobile subscriptions, compared to six billion by the end of 2011. Report expects mobile data traffic to grow by 15 times between 2011 and 2017.

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.