LIVE FROM CTIA 13, LAS VEGAS: Steve Largent, president of US mobile trade association and event organiser CTIA, used his traditional opening keynote slot at this year’s event to talk up the country’s recent mobile growth.

Largent noted that US operators invested more than $30 billion in capex last year – “an all-time high for one year”. That’s almost 25 per cent of global wireless capex, he noted, a statistic he described as “pretty remarkable given that the US only has about 5 percent of [total global] subscribers”.

Largent pointed to US leadership in LTE deployment as further evidence of how the country’s mobile industry has turned itself around after trailing other markets in earlier 3G rollouts.

Meanwhile Largent was one of many keynote speakers this morning to call on regulators and governments to help secure more wireless spectrum: “We’re pushing hard for spectrum in Washington, it’s the most pivotal piece in creating value. We support Obama’s national broadband plan… More spectrum will benefit health, agriculture, energy, logistics, small businesses. It will help educate young people. It will provide more sustainable energy. It’s really time to think big when it comes to what wireless can do for our future. Making more spectrum available as soon as possible is the best way to do that.”