As commercial LTE being rolled out across the globe and LTE expected to gain momentum through rest of year, ABI Research has predicted that by the end of the year there

As commercial LTE being rolled out across the globe and LTE expected to gain momentum through rest of year, ABI Research has predicted that by the end of the year there will be some 16 million subscribers using LTE mobile devices.

Verizon Wireless already has added 500,000subscribers for its 4G LTE network in Q1 2010. It included 260K activations for its first LTE phone, the HTC Thunderbolt, in just two weeks in April on debut. Number’s are expected to grow many folds in coming month and rest of world is expected to follow similar suit as more LTE handsets become available.

A key success factor for LTE will be LTE smartphones. “The shift to 4G differs from the shift to 3G because of smartphones’ capabilities,” says research director Phil Solis. “In the US, people are actively looking for 4G as a handset feature, spurred by heavy marketing of 4G smartphones. Sprint’s success with WiMAX smartphones is an indicator of the scale Verizon Wireless and AT&T can achieve with LTE smartphones this year.”

In March 2011, the Global mobile Suppliers Association reported there were 100 LTE-ready devices. Only 13% were smartphones and media tablets, but these devices will see higher volumes. In 2014, more than 205 million LTE mobile devices will ship, 72% of which will be handsets.

ABI Research’s report 4G Subscriber, Device, and Networks Market Data contains regional and selected country-level segmentation for the 4G market.