UK-based research firm Juniper Research says that although it expects there will be a rapid uptake of long-term evolution (LTE) high-speed mobile broadband technology over the next five years, this uptake to be limited to a small number of large cities and only in certain countries.

Juniper predicts there will be 428m LTE users by 2016 but this will represent only 6% of the global subscriber population.

The company released a report entitled “4G LTE Opportunities” that found an increasing number of network operators are planning network roll-outs and are committing to the technology, often in the hopes of being the first to market with LTE and being able to take a lead in it as a result.

The report predicts the total number of LTE base stations worldwide will reach almost 1m in the next two years. Business users will drive the initial uptake, but Juniper expects consumers to begin adopting the technology in earnest in 2013, and to overtake enterprise use by 2015.

One of the challenges facing LTE uptake is the limited number of LTE devices available. The report suggests LTE smartphones and tablets will dominate the LTE device market, accounting for 50% of the total LTE subscriber base by 2016.

LTE smartphones are expected to achieve the most notable early market traction in the enterprise market, with consumers following suit as devices and network costs become more affordable. — Staff reporter, TechCentral