A greater number of new wireless devices incorporated LTE than any other connectivity technology during 2017, the Global Certification Forum (GCF) said.

Of the 521 new devices assessed by the body in 2017, 85 per cent were compatible with LTE, up from 76 per cent in 2016. This compared with 83 per cent which were compatible with 3G technology in 2017, down from 85 per cent in 2016, and 81 per cent using GSM, a 3 per cent year-on-year decline. Two thirds of new devices supported all three technologies.

GCF certifies new wireless devices for interoperability and connectivity, including smartphones, IoT devices and wireless modules used to connect other technology.

In its annual Mobile Device Trends report for 2017, GCF said it certified devices from 57 different manufacturers during the year and also noted growth in the number supporting carrier aggregation (CA). GCF said almost half of LTE-compatible devices had CA ability compared to 7 per cent in 2016. It added the number of possible band combinations for CA was “growing exponentially”.

The GCF report highlighted VoLTE as another common addition to LTE, with 59 per cent of devices supporting the advanced voice technology.