In the breakout year for 4G technology, LTE phones shipments said to reach 67 million units, study says

With LTE networks being set up worldwide, it is only a matter of time until the surge of 4G LTE-capable devices hit the global market. Research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics said in a new report that 2012 will be a straight up “breakout year” for 4G technology, with companies like Apple, Samsung, Nokia and HTC leading growth spurt. Information released by the research company shows that global LTE phone shipments will grow tenfold this year to reach 67 million units up from 6.8 million in 2011.

Given that huge curve of increase, the company also states that countries that will be driving LTE growth this year will be U.S, Japan, and South Korea with multiple operators such as Verizon, NTT Docomo and SK Telecom “aggressively expanding” their LTE infrastructure and in the process, spending billions. The firm also mentioned that like all ideas at their infancy stage, there will be various challenges to overcome such as expensive data plans, LTE usability issues, shortened battery life on devices and an increase in weight.