Apple takes lion's share in 4G handset market in India

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 1800 Mhz band, are top models with 10.46 percent and 8.9 percent shares respectively, as per the study.

In India, Airtel is providing 4G service in 1800 Mhz band frequency while other companies are yet to roll out their services. At present, telecom companies hold spectrum in 1800 Mhz band, 850 Mhz band, 2300 Mhz band that can be used for 4G services in India. As per the study, Nokia Networks sees potential for providing using 2100 Mhz band for 4G services which is at present being used for 3G services.

"LTE (4G) device penetration is still low at 1.61 percent. 1800 Mhz enabled LTE devices leads with 1.45 percent (13.3 million) followed by 2100 Mhz enabled devices at 1.2 percent," the report said. Airtel has highest number of circles with 3G spectrum.

The study shows that the number of 4G enabled devices in 2100 Mhz or 3G band connected to network is more compared to number of devices available for 4G service in 2300 Mhz band -- the band opted by Reliance Jio Infocomm to foray into the telecom business. iPhone 5S, iPhone 6 models have highest share of 18.12 percent and 15.42 percent respectively among connected devices that can support 4G services 850 Mhz band, says the study. Reliance Communications and RJIL are planning to jointly roll out 4G services using 850 Mhz band spectrum.