Canada and the U.S. account for 87% of the world’s LTE connections

Rogers and Bell successfully launched their LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks this year – now spread out across our fine land in various cities from Vancouver to Halifax, and all the way up to Yellowknife. Rogers claims that their coverage reaches 5.5 million Canadians, while Bell states LTE speeds can be experienced by 3.5 million Canadians. Out other carriers, such as TELUS, MTS, SaskTel, WIND and Videotron, are expected to roll out LTE in 2012.

A new report by trade association 4G Americas says that Canada and the United states are worldwide LTE leaders over other countries, with deployment by Bell, Rogers, AT&T, MetroPCS and Verizon. According to Q3 data the North American LTE connections hit 3.3 million connections, which totals an impressive 87% of worldwide LTE numbers (3.8 million).

Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas, said that “The early deployment of LTE in the United States and Canada has put the region in a leadership position worldwide. It is also one of the key reasons why securing additional spectrum is a requirement for continued mobile broadband progress in serving both consumer and business customers while increasing our much-needed economic development in North America. Without additional spectrum in the region, the leadership position will inevitably fall.”

Rogers launched their LTE network, first in Ottawa, on July 7th. Bell kicked off their LTE service on September 9th. Both companies have declined to comment on how many subscribers have signed up for LTE, so there’s no real way to dissect what percentage of the 3.3 million subscribers are Canadian. However, it’s great to see Canada part of this impressive stat.

Have you signed up for LTE?

Source: 4G Americas