The number of LTE subscribers in North America reached 101 million, in the fourth quarter of 2013, or 50.5 percent of the global total of 200.1 million, Telecompaper reports, quoting Global mobile Suppliers Assoc (GSA) figures. The Asia-Pacific total was 77.8 million, for a 39-percent share of all subscriptions, while Europe reported 8.2 percent of the global total, compared to 5.7 percent in the first half.

The total number of all forms of mobile communication subscriptions increased 399 million to 6.78 billion by the end of 2013, for a 6.25-percent annual growth. WCDMA-HSPA networks added the most, gaining 279 million, to reach 1.47 billion. LTE had the next highest figure, at 125 million subscriptions for the year, and adding more than 40 million in the last quarter. GSA confirmed in its latest report that 274 operators had started LTE services in 101 countries, and forecast more than 350 LTE networks in service by the end of this year.