China's LTE market likely to become global No. 1 this year

The size of the long-term evolution market in China is expected to become the world's largest in 2014 by overtaking that of the United States, a report showed Tuesday.

"We predict China will overtake the U.S. as the number one LTE market in terms of LTE smartphone sales in the second half of 2014," Neil Shah was quoted in the report by Hong Kong-based industry tracker Counterpoint.

China, which introduced the LTE service in December 2013, moved into the world's No. 2 position in LTE smartphone sales as of the second quarter.

"Within three quarters or so, China has raced to become the second-largest market globally in terms of LTE smartphone volume," the report said. "China accounted for more than a third of global smartphone volume (in the second quarter)."

The global sales of smartphones came to a record 300 million units in the April-June period, with the devices taking up 70 percent of the combined sales of handsets over the cited period, also setting an all-time high.

While 94 percent of handsets sold in China in the second quarter were smartphones, those in the U.S. came to 88 percent, Counterpoint's report also showed.

"There are now more than 250 LTE models being sold in China with average selling prices already hitting close to 1,000 yuan ($162.4), which should help China Mobile allocate fewer subsidies to keep the LTE momentum going and easily achieve its target of 50-million subscribers this year," Shah added.

In the second quarter, Coolpad took up 18 percent of China's LTE market, followed by Samsung Electronics Co. with 17 percent and Apple Inc. with 16 percent. Lenovo Group held 11 percent and Huawei garnered 8 percent. (Yonhap)