LTE has arrived. According to new research from Strategy Analytics, global LTE smartphone shipments will grow threefold to reach 275 million units in 2013. Companies leading the growth spurt will include Apple, Samsung, LG and others. 

Neil Shah, Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, said the report forecasts global LTE smartphone shipments to triple from 90.9 million units in 2012. 

Major countries driving LTE growth next year will include the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China and South Korea.

“Key vendors leading the push into LTE smartphones will include Apple, Samsung, LG, Nokia, HTC, Motorola, Blackberry, Huawei, ZTE and Pantech,” Shah said. “Popular LTE smartphone models will include Apple’s iPhone 5 and Samsung’s Galaxy S3.” 

Linda Sui, analyst at Strategy Analytics added that the LTE smartphone market has become highly valuable and will eventually attract new entrants seeking a slice of the 4G pie, such as Amazon or Mozilla. 

“However, we caution possible new entrants like Amazon will not find it easy to break into the fiercely competitive LTE smartphone market and they will need breakthrough products that are strongly differentiated in areas such as design, price or services,” Sui said.