4G connections to hit 1 Billion by 2017

By 2017, is it expected that 4G will account for one billion mobile connections worldwide, which will be up from 127 million at the end of 2013.

Currently 20% of the world’s population have access to 4G networks, and this is forecasted to increase to nearly half of the world’s population by 2017. It is anticipated that there will be 500 4G networks across 128 countries by 2017, which is double the number that are currently live today, as consumers migrate from 3G networks; which will be at a faster pace than the 2G to 3G migration.

In North America, 4G is already accessible to nine out of ten consumers, however in Europe it is only accessible to around half of consumers and in Asia it is one in ten consumers. The United States alone accounts for nearly 50% of 4G connections. However, South Korea is the most advanced, with half of all mobile phones running on 4G networks, where as in Japan and the United states only 20% of mobile phones use 4G. Currently the United States, Japan and South Korea account for 80% of all 4G connections worldwide.

Here in the UK, 4G has come relatively late compared to other developed countries, with 4G only currently available to 60% of the population. EE was the first mobile network operator to roll out 4G, which is now available across 131 towns and cities. EE is expecting to make 4G available to 98% of the UK population before the end of 2014.

Mobile technology is constantly developing and is already the fasted growing industry in history, and it is showing no sign of slowing down!