As the clock counts down to the commercial launch of the first LTE network, the pace of LTE trials commissioned by operators worldwide has reached a fever pitch.
"LTE trials are going on everywhere - dozens and dozens of them," Dell'Oro analyst Scott Seigler said.
Last month alone saw top-tier operators such as SingTel, Telecom Italia, Telefonica and China Mobile commission LTE trials.
Globally, 42 operators have committed to launching LTE in 21 countries, with the first 15 to be launched in 2010, Infonetics analyst Sthane Tal said,leaving lots of legwork to be done by year's end.
Each of the five major wireless vendors - Huawei, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent, NSN and ZTE - are involved in LTE trials, Seigler said.
SingTel last month announced plans to conduct LTE trials Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore in collaboration with its subsidiaries Optus, Telkomsel and Globe Telecom. Ericsson has already been selected for the home leg of the trial, and Alcatel-Lucent in the Philippines.
Telecom Italia launched pre-commercial trials of an LTE network in Turin, installing 14 base stations in collaboration with Huawei.