According to new data from GSMA Intelligence, 4G-LTE networks will cover more than a third of the global population by year-end, up from 27 per cent at the end of 2014.

The report also revealed that China is set to become the world’s largest 4G market, on track to overtake the US and reach 300 million connections by the end of the year.

Although Europe currently has the most individual 4G operators (108), almost half (47 per cent) of the world’s 4G connections are based in Asia Pacific, concentrated in markets such as South Korea, Japan and China.

At the end of 2014, China Mobile had 90 million 4G connections, establishing it as the world’s largest 4G operator.

As for global 4G connections, GSMA Intelligence forecasts that they will grow at more than 30 per cent a year (CAGR) from 2014 to 2020.

The first commercial 4G networks were launched in December 2009 and by the end of January 2015, the number of live 4G operators globally stood at 352.

The number of 4G connections is also growing rapidly, more than doubling from 200 million at the end of 2013 to almost half a billion (490 million) at the end of last year.

GSMA Intelligence expects strong 4G momentum to continue between now and 2020. By the end of 2015, global 4G connections are forecast to reach 875 million, accounting for 12 per cent of total connections. By 2020, 4G is expected to account for more than 30 per cent of global connections and 4G networks are expected to cover 63 per cent of the global population.

According to Hyunmi Yang, chief strategy officer at the GSMA, “There is a tipping point we typically see when 4G grows to account for more than 20 per cent of a market that drives adoption of new services. This threshold has already been reached in some markets, and is forecast to happen by 2017-18 on a global basis, which will have a huge transformational impact.”