4G LTE Phone Shipments Could Hit 67 Million This Year

In 2011, global shipments of 4G LTE phones topped out at 6.8 million units. By the end of 2012, they will be nearly 10 times that number.

This according to research outfit Strategy Analytics, which predicts LTE phone shipments will spike to 67 million this year.

Now, a nearly tenfold increase over the course of a year might seem like a stretch, but with big carriers in the U.S., Japan and South Korea aggressively expanding their LTE networks, and handset manufacturers beginning to pump out devices to take advantage of them — HTC, Samsung and, soon, Apple — Strategy Analytics believes there will be a huge upswell in adoption.

Said Neil Mawston, the firm’s executive director, “[2012 will be a ] breakout year for 4G LTE technology.”