If you go to the Global mobile Suppliers Association website, you can get some very interesting information in the form of white papers and other content. In fact, you can get the picture above if you click here.  And that picture really does say a 1000 words.

First of all, and this no news, LTE has been the fastest growing mobile system ever.  It remains to be seen if 5G will supplant this when the time comes, but for now, it’s been the fastest growing ever.  In fact, LTE now connect 1 in 5 mobile subscribers.  And the GSA predicts there will be over 560 LTE networks launched by the end of 2016.

What does this all mean?  First of all, it means fast data.  And it means smartphones on these networks.  It also means LTE infrastructure growth will be slowing down because so many networks are deployed.  I’m sure by now we’ve all read about Ericsson profit warnings, etc. 

So between now and 5G network installation, where will telecom action / growth come from? First of all, VoLTE should be coming on these networks soon, if for no other reason than it allows older non-LTE networks to be decommissioned. VoLTE is somewhat there, but not to the extent of the LTE network deployment I wrote about above.  This should be good news for those supplying voice/video applications for these networks and for those providing mobile value-added services for these networks.