Super-fast 4G mobile broadband technology is set to enjoy a record year in 2013, according to Strategy Analytics.

Research from the organisation claims shipments of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) smartphones will rise threefold to hit 275 million over the next 12 months, with Apple, LG and Samsung set to be among the companies to lead this growth spurt.

The US, UK, Japan, China and South Korea are expected to play a major part in driving this increase in uptake, while Everything Everywhere (EE) was among the companies named on the list of carriers that are "aggressively expanding" their LTE networks.

EE introduced the UK's first 4G mobile service at the end of October and is aiming to cover 98 per cent of the population by the end of 2014.

Neil Mawston, executive director of Strategy Analytics, said: "It is clear that 2013 will be the year of 4G.

"LTE has quickly become a high-growth, high-value market that no operator, service developer, component maker or device vendor can afford to ignore."

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