American tech giant Apple has the biggest share of the total 14.8 million 4G-enabled devices active across all important frequencies in the country, says a study by Nokia Networks.
Among the top 15 4G models, Apple devices — iPhone and iPad — occupy the top two slots.
iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 devices, which support 4G services in the 1,800 Mhz band, are top models with 10.46 per cent and 8.9 per cent shares respectively.
In India, Airtel is provides 4G service in 1,800 Mhz band frequency, while other companies are yet to roll out their services.
At present, telecom companies hold spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz band, 850 Mhz band, and 2,300 Mhz band, which can be used for 4G services. As per the study, Nokia Networks sees potential for providing using 2,100 Mhz band for 4G services, which is at present being used for 3G services. “LTE (4G) device penetration is still low at 1.61 per cent. The 1,800 Mhz enabled LTE devices segment leads with 1.45 per cent (13.3 million), followed by 2,100-Mhz enabled devices at 1.2 per cent,” the report said.
iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 models have the highest share of 18.12 per cent and 15.42 per cent respectively, among connected devices that can support 4G services 850 Mhz band, says the study.
Though Apple leads the segment of active 4G devices, the study also found that six out of top 10 devices in 1,800 Mhz are priced below ₹8,000.