According to a new ABI Research report 2011 will be the year of LTE, as both Verizon Wireless in the United States and NTT DoCoMo in Japan are expected to begin wide-scale roll-outs by the end of 2010. 

"132 networks have reported trials or plans to launch LTE commercially, 32 more than the end of 2009. Verizon has also hinted at the availability of LTE-based handsets by May 2011," says Bhavya Khanna, a ABI Research analyst.

 Khanna further adds, don’t expect WiMAX to bow out just yet. Despite setbacks including Russia’s Yota switching to LTE, 188 WiMAX networks are now in trial or commercial operation worldwide. 

With India’s recently concluded broadband spectrum auction WiMAX set to grow in 2011 as well.  

 The threat that WiMAX will face will come from TD-LTE, an alternative technology championed by China and Qualcomm that can operate on the same bandwidth as existing WiMAX networks. If this technology proves successful, it could see several WiMAX operators migrate to the LTE standard.

 While this battle plays out, incumbent operators cannot afford to ignore their legacy 3G networks. Technology upgrades such as HSPA+ for WCDMA networks are also proving popular, helping incumbents cope with demands for increasing speeds and bandwidth efficiency. As of March 2010, over 41 network operators had trials or commercial launches of HSPA+ networks, including T-Mobile in the United States and Vodafone in Turkey. 

 ABI Research’s “Wireless Spectrum, Services and Technology Deployment Market Data” provides a comprehensive source of information of all wireless network providers; their operating spectra, access technologies and key network vendors globally. Also included in the database is a summary of the major network supplier contracts awarded, by geography and network.