A report from NPD In-Stat forecasts that Samsung is set to take the lead for the number of LTE macro base stations deployed by the end of 2011 in the Asia Pacific region. The report states that Samsung will dominate in the region with a projected 10,000 base stations, representing one-fourth of all LTE macro base station deployments in Asia Pacific.

Samsung is demonstrating that it is able to take the lead against the more established players, and could potentially use Asia Pac as a springboard for further expansion.

However, Samsung’s base stations are mainly concentrated in South Korea with only a few operators such as LG Uplus, KT and SK Telecom. It also a highly competitive market with seven players vying for market share, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Huawei, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks, Samsung and ZTE. According to the report, by 2015, it is Huawei that will lead the chart for the largest number of base stations in the region.

“It is important to note that the market is far from static,” said Chris Kissel, analyst for NPD In-Stat. “Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei and ZTE will make strong gains in the region.” He also believes that Ericsson, which currently dominates the US LTE scene, will also have 10 per cent market share in Asia Pacific.

The report also states that between 2009 and 2015 the Asia Pacific region will have accounted for over $5bn in revenues from LTE packet backhaul equipment investment.