LTE1800 is now the most widely used band for LTE worldwide, according to the GSA. The industry body said that LTE in 1800 MHz spectrum is sdeployed on over 37% of the 113 commercial LTE networks which had entered service by November 2, 2012.
A total of 42 operators have commercially launched LTE1800 either as a single band system, or as part of a multi-band deployment. The second most popular band in which LTE systems are deployed is 2.6 GHz, followed by 700 MHz.
Commercial LTE1800 services are available in 29 countries and in most cases has been refarmed from its original use as a 2G/GSM band.
There is also widespread device support for the band, according to the GSA. A survey of the LTE devices ecosystem which was completed by GSA on November 12, 2012 found that 560 LTE user devices had been announced, of which 130 products (almost 1 in 4) support the 1800 MHz band (LTE1800).
Alan Hadden, President of the GSA said, “A robust ecosystem is established to support 1800 MHz as the prime band for LTE deployments worldwide, and will greatly assist international roaming for mobile broadband services.”
A GSA press release said that momentum has actually caused some operators to adjust deployment strategies, including shifting to 1800 MHz, in order to speed the introduction of LTE services in their markets.
Embracing the 1800MHz opportunity: Driving mobile forward with LTE in the 1800MHz band (report)