Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 27 May, 2015 – The organisers of LTE World Summit (23-25 June) have today announced the shortlist for this year’s LTE Awards. The LTE World Summit serves as a setting for the awards, which have helped accelerate innovations across the LTE ecosystem, particularly as the industry looks towards 5G and the IoT. This year’s awards include more categories than ever before, with the introduction of Biggest Contribution to 5G Development and Most Innovative LTE Application/Service, both new for 2015. For the full shortlist, please go to: http://lteawards.com/2015-shortlist/. According to the organiser, this year also saw the largest number of entries since the inception of the Awards, with over 150 categories entering their products and services for consideration.

2015 has already witnessed explosive growth - the first quarter of this year saw the launch of 360 LTE deployments across 124 countries, compared to 96 LTE networks launched in 2014. Strong growth continues in LTE-Advanced and VoLTE technologies, initially bringing HD voice services to LTE customers. Since March 2014, the number of LTE device manufacturers has grown by 93% to 297 companies, underlining the status of LTE as a mainstream mobile communications technology. (Source: GSA - Global mobile Suppliers Association)

On a global scale, Europe looks as if it is trailing behind the advanced economies of Asia and the USA in LTE deployment. In particular, South Korea has been very successful in its LTE deployment and is now the world’s most connected country, achieving 100% LTE coverage in just two years. Looking ahead, the industry is firmly focussed in the deployment of 5G which will support the connected devices era and will be the key to the delivery of the Internet of Things.

The LTE Awards provide recognition for those who have this year developed and delivered world class solutions and products which have advanced the industry as a whole, and moved developments forward. Taking place at the De Duif in Amsterdam on 24 June, the awards ceremony will bring together the experts responsible for driving LTE developments over the past 12 months. Considered a mark of industry excellence, the awards are judged by a panel of senior analysts from around the globe, including Alan Hadden, VP, Research, Global mobile Suppliers Association; Stéphane Teral, Principal Analyst, Infonetics; Dimitris Mavrakis, Principal Analyst, Ovum; Mark Newman, Chief Research Officer, Ovum; and Ken Rehbehn, Principal Analyst, Yankee Group Research.

Dimitris Mavrakis, Principal Analyst, Ovum, said: “I was very surprised to see the high number, and overall high quality, for this year’s LTE Awards submissions. The entries are multi-faceted and reflect many different parts of the value chain. The shortlist represents the finest technological innovations that took place in the past year and arguably reflect the evolution of LTE networks as we look forward to 5G developments.”

Alan Hadden, VP, Research, Global mobile Suppliers Association, added: “This year’s shortlist is a testament to the technological innovations that have taken place in the past year. The entries reflect how LTE/LTE-Advanced continues to evolve and accelerate, particularly as we consider its role and importance on the journey to 5G."

For further information about the awards, please visit http://lteawards.com/. LTE World Summit will take place at the RAI, Amsterdam, on 23-25 June 2015. To plan your visit, to view the full event programme, or to register for the event, then please visit http://ws.lteconference.com/. Alternatively, keep up to date with the event on Twitter by following @LTEWorldSeries. For media information please contact Dana Hare at [email protected] or Sian Borrill at [email protected], or call +44 1636 812152.