A new report from strategy analytics predicts a rapid increase in the number of operators offering LTE Advanced (LTE-A) services thanks to carrier aggregation.

As devices become more complex and as spectrum refarming allows more operators to adopt carrier aggregation, analysts said LTE-A services will become more readily available.

“Shipments of CA-enabled devices has grown rapidly in 2015 with the adoption of the technology in China and with rollouts of LTE-A by more operators around the world,” said Strategy Analytics Director of RF and Wireless Components Christopher Taylor. “At the same time, new chipsets supporting carrier aggregation have started to reach the market, and this should lead to lower prices and wider adoption of the technology.”

According to the report, 77 LTE-A equipped device models shipped with carrier aggregation capabilities last year and that number is expected to grow in the future.