Dubai: LTE revenues in India, UAE and Saudi Arabia are set to reach $11.88 billion, $4.55 billion and $3.38 billion, respectively, in 2017, according to new analysis from consultancy firm Frost & Sullivan.

LTE, long-term evolution, marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals.

According Frost & Sullivan, LTE Outlook, with LTE technology offering lower operating costs for mobile data transfer, mobile operators worldwide are progressively committing themselves to LTE network deployments as a path for moving towards fourth generation (4G) services.

While LTE revenues in India are projected to grow at a phenomenal compound annual growth rate ( CAGR) of 220.5 per cent (2012-2017), revenues in the UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to grow at 75.6 and 45.3 per cent, respectively, over the period 2011-2017, it said.

"With increasing adoption of Smartphones and high demand for data intensive applications, the mobile operators today are burdened with immediate need to upgrade their network infrastructure to be able to offer high-speed data services to the consumers. The mobile operators are planning to move to 4G technologies to accommodate the surge in data traffic," it added.

"LTE is expected to bring forth a data deluge in India, UAE and Saudi Arabia and felicitate the adoption of data intensive applications," the report said.

"The focus of telecom value chain members in India, the UAE and Saudi Arabia needs to be on developing the overall ecosystem, which includes acc