Everybody is excited about the new 4G LTE networks that are available in an increasing number of areas, but how many of us have the technology to take advantage of them? While I can’t exactly answer that question I can tell you that corporation are banking heavily on the notion that consumers are going to buy the equipment.

Shoppers purchased almost seven million LTE smartphones in 2011, but analyst estimates for 2012 are at 67 million! At least that’s how many they say manufacturers plan to ship. How will they sell all of these phones? According to experts in the technology sector, the trend will make it difficult for manufacturers to keep up with the demand.

So we can expect everyone to be jumping on the bandwagon with 4G technology. There are already rumors that Apple will deliver 4G in the iPhone later this year, as you may already be aware the new iPad has the capability. Supposedly new offerings are also on the way from LG, Nokia, Motorola, Fujitsu, and Pantech, but Samsung and HTC will most likely be at the forefront of the 4G movement.

Now these devices aren’t going to be cheap, so service providers are going to have to do something to entice buyers, especially if they just upgraded their technology last year. Then there’s the cost of extra data from 4G. I don’t know exactly what this will look like, but it might be a stretch to ask customers to pay for more.

I’ll be watching this trend to see if these industry analysts are correct in their predictions. I don’t know if I believe the demand will be as great as they think. Sure, faster is better, but does it outweigh cheaper, especially in this economy? It could be good news though, if they build a whole bunch of these devices and nobody can foot the bill, there will be huge discounts offered; then we will all profit.