A country that was recently the butt of jokes due to its ongoing reliance on CDMA networks now finds itself a global leader in next-generation cellular technology. According to a new report from Pyramid Research, the United States will account for the largest share of 4G LTE subscriptions in the world this year. Twenty-six carriers around the globe have launched LTE networks thus far according to the GSA, but just three will account for 47% of all LTE connections in 2011: Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS and AT&T. Read on for more.

Pyramid analyst Emily Smith estimates that U.S. carriers will be responsible for 7 million of the 14.9 million LTE subscriptions expected around the world this year. The analyst sees U.S. sales of devices with embedded LTE radios topping 5.4 million units in 2011 to represent 71% of global LTE device sales, and she attributes much of LTE’s success here to Verizon’s rapid deployment. Smith also says the strong demand in the U.S. for mobile broadband will allow Verizon Wireless to recoup its LTE investments more quickly than other carriers around the world.

Smith uses NTT Docomo as a basis for comparison, noting that both carriers launched their LTE networks in December 2010. “Although Verizon’s LTE network will cover 60% of the population by year end, because the operator is pulling in so much revenue, capex only represented 14.7% of revenue over the past four quarters,” Smith wrote on Pyramid’s blog. “By comparison, NTT Docomo will cover a mere 20% of the Japanese population with LTE by March 2012, even though capex represented a larger 15.8% of revenue in the year ending March 2011.”

Comparison of leading operators in the US, Japan, and South Korea

Source: Pyramid Research

Verizon Wireless first launched 4G LTE service in 38 cities on December 5th, 2010. The carrier announced this past Monday that it will offer LTE coverage in a total of 178 U.S. cities by November 17th of this year.

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For the first time, the number of wireless devices connecting to cellular networks in the United States and its territories over the past six months has surpassed the country’s total population. A semi-annual survey conducted by the CTIA found that wireless subscriber connections now total 327.6 million while the population of the U.S. and its territories is now 315.5 million people. This means the wireless penetration rate in the U.S. in now 103.9% according to the CTIA, marking the first time that wireless penetration has surpassed 100% in the U.S. The CTIA also noted that wireless data connections increased 111% compared to its previous semi-annual survey, and wireless service revenue in the U.S. totaled $164.6 billion during the 12-month period ending June 2011, up 6% from the same period in 2010. The association’s full press release follows below.

CTIA-The Wireless Association® Semi-Annual Survey Reveals Historical Wireless Trend

U.S. Wireless Subscriber Connections Surpassed U.S. Population for First Time

Wireless Network Data Traffic Increased 111 percent and Highlights Industry Need for More Spectrum

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — For the first time in history, the semi-annual survey conducted by CTIA-The Wireless Association® shows the number of wireless subscriber connections (327.6 million) has surpassed the population (315.5 million) in the United States and its territories (Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands), which means the wireless penetration rate in the U.S. is 103.9 percent. The survey, released today at CTIA ENTERPRISE & APPLICATIONS™ 2011, tracks U.S. wireless trends including subscribership, usage, revenue and investment from January 2011to June 2011. The survey also showed a 111 percent increase in wireless data traffic. The tremendous increase in data usage, wireless subscriber connections and other metrics from the survey underscore the industry’s need to purchase more spectrum from the federal government to meet the significant demands by consumers and businesses so Americans continue to lead the world with the best wireless products and services.

The January 2011-June 2011 wireless survey results are:

• Wireless subscriber connections: 327.6 million; mid-year 2010: 300.5 million (9 percent increase).
• Wireless network data traffic: 341.2 billion megabytes; mid-year 2010: 161.5 billion megabytes (111 percent increase).
• Average local monthly wireless bill (includes voice and data service): $47.23; mid-year 2010:$47.47 (less than 1 percent decrease).
• Number of active smartphones and wireless-enabled PDAs: 95.8 million; mid-year 2010: 61.2 million (57 percent increase).
• Number of active data-capable devices: 278.3 million; mid-year 2010: 264.5 million (5 percent increase).
• Wireless-enabled tablets, laptops and modems: 15.2 million; mid-year 2010: 12.9 million (17 percent increase).
• Minutes of Use (MOU): 1.148 trillion; mid-year 2010: 1.138 trillion (1 percent increase).
• SMS sent and received: 1.138 trillion; mid-year 2010: 982.9 billion (16 percent increase).
• MMS sent and received: 28.2 billion; mid-year 2010: 32.1 billion.

In order to try to meet the demand for wireless devices and services by consumers and businesses, CTIA’s provider members continued their investments in their networks and infrastructure to improve their customers’ coverage and speeds. From June 2010-June 2011, the annual capital investment increased by 28 percent to $27.5 billion. Since 2001, wireless companies have reported a cumulative total investment of $223 billion. These figures do not include the billions our carrier members paid to the U.S. government for spectrum.

“CTIA’s semi-annual survey proves that Americans love wireless and continue to rely on the most cutting-edge and innovative devices and services in the world. Clearly, we’re using wireless more every day, and the consensus of experts is that demand will continue to skyrocket by more than 50 times within the next five years. These are the reasons why our members need more spectrum,” said Steve Largent, President and CEO of CTIA. “By making underutilized or unused spectrum available for auction, carriers will continue to invest billions of dollars in their infrastructure, generate hundreds of billions of dollars in benefit to our economy and create up to a half a million new jobs while ensuring the U.S. maintains its position as the world’s wireless leader.”

Wireless annual service revenue was $164.6 billion in the 12 months ending June 2011, up 6 percent from the same period in 2010.

To see a summary of the report or to purchase the full report from the CTIA Research eStore, please visit: http://www.ctia.org/advocacy/research/index.cfm/AID/10316.

A recent study conducted by payment solution provider Mobio Identity Systems suggests that North Americans are eager to see mobile payments become a reality. At the same time, however, security is a top concern for the majority of potential users. Mobio recently surveyed 1,085 people across North America and found that the overwhelming majority — 94% — would use mobile payments if they knew the system was secure. Mobio’s study also found that 73% of respondents said security was their main concern regarding mobile payments, while 12.4% said simplicity and 8.5% said speed. As such, it’s safe to say companies looking to bring mobile payments to the mainstream market must focus a tremendous amount of effort on security. As luck would have it, this study just so happens to come from a firm that specializes in mobile payment security solutions. Will wonders never cease?

[Via NFC World]

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Nielson has released the findings of a study which claims that in June of 2010 almost 33% of all U.S. internet time was spent on either social networking or gaming. The study writes: “Despite the almost unlimited nature of what you can do on the web, 40 percent of U.S. online time is spent on just three activities – social networking, playing games and emailing leaving a whole lot of other sectors fighting for a declining share of the online pie.” According to the study Americans spend 22.7% of their time on social networks, 10.2% of their time playing online games, and 8.3% of their time emailing. Watching videos and listening to music (online mind you) came in at 3.9%. When segmenting out mobile, the top three activities were email, portals, and social networking/blogs respectively. Do your online habits fit the findings of this study?

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If you are anxiously awaiting the release of Windows Phone 7, Microsoft’s COO Kevin Turner has some good news for you. In a presentation regarding WP7, Turner let go the closest thing to a U.S. release date we’ve heard thus far, November. Turner said, “in the October timeframe and the November timeframe, October likely across Europe and November likely across the U.S. we’re back in this game.” Prior to this discovery, the closest go-live date given by Microsoft was a three month window they were referring to as “the holiday season.” November, with its thirty days, is certainly more welcomed and specific. We’re due to see handsets from Dell, HTC, Samsung, LG, and ASUS on or shortly after launch, so we say… bring on WP7!

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Well, he didn’t actually walk all the way across America, but in his time lapse movie he does. Check out this great stop motion movie created by Peter Cote. There’s over 2,700 individual shots all taken on a Canon 5D Mark II and a 24-70 f/2.8 lens then edited down into a time lapse creation. Apparently there’s a little corporate influence behind the video, because Peter and his company pitched the concept to Levis Jeans, and they sponsored the production. Take a look at the video after the jump along with a behind the scenes one if you’re interested!

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Following a six-month upward trend for Yahoo’s US search market share, Bartz’s baby hit a brick wall in February according to comScore, sliding slightly from 21 percent in January to 20.6 percent. It’s a very small decline of course, but you can be sure Yahooligans would have liked to see a continued upward trend as Microsoft shows a renewed interest in search talks. At the same time, Yahoo’s share still sits above the crucial 20 percent mark which is no small feat considering the dominant opposition. Slight slip aside, Yahoo is unquestionably making good progress as comScore reports an astounding 12 percent year to year growth in Q4. Other notables from the February US report: MSN dropped to 8.2 percent from 8.5 percent in January, Ask rose to 4.1 percent from 3.7 percent in January, AOL stayed flat at 3.9 percent and Google snuck up to 63.3 percent from 63 percent in January.

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Not forgetting about those ever-important arrogant American consumers, HTC has crafted a U.S.-specific version of their HTC S740 Windows Mobile Standard device. Supporting 850MHz/1900MHz HSDPA bands (sorry, T-Mo users), they’re taking the independent distribution route and going with places like Dell.com, CDW, Best Buy, and others, to sell the handset. All we’ve got on a release date is Q1 of this year, and while we weren’t given a price, you can most likely expect this to sell at the higher-end of the spectrum as it’s not carrier-subsidized. Anywhere from $450-$550 would be our guess.

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Google employees might be getting lumps of coal in their Christmas stockings this year but we have a feeling our pals over at Nintendo will likely be getting regularly scheduled bonuses. We all know that Wii sales have been consistently and ridiculously strong but this past week has been nothing short of astounding here in the US for Nintendo. In the week ending December 20th, VG Chartz estimates Wii sales in the US alone at over one million units. Yes, that’s a one with six zeros after it. The holiday season is shaping up to be quite a coup for Nintendo and Wii sales won’t be slowing down any time soon. Add to that the tremendous success of the DS and you’ve got yourself a hell of a year-end.

[Via Newlaunches]

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