LTE Advanced can aggregate up to five carriers (up to 100 MHz) to increase user data rates for all users and increase capacity for bursty applications such as web browsing. Aggregation, when combined with MIMO, can provide extremely high peak data rates, theoretically over 1 Gbps.

As a first step, the aggregation of two 10 MHz carriers was launched in In June 2013. Smartphones based on Qualcomm Technologies' Snapdragon 800 smartphone chipsets integrated with the third generation Gobi LTE solution, powered this launch. Two carrier aggregation enables peak data rates of 150 Mbps (Cat 4) and can double the network capacity for bursty applications.

Supported by a vast and ever-growing ecosystem, LTE technology is poised to extend its dominance into many new horizons beyond mobile broadband, be it new industries, new applications/services, or new, unexplored spectrum bands. LTE technology is versatile and robust enough to morph itself to suit the needs of these areas, while still maintaining its basic tenets of high efficiency and excellent user experience.

So, LTE Advanced is not mere collection of few 3GPP releases, but a well planned technology evolution that will continue to play a pivotal role in the future of wireless for many years to come. Early indicative examples of such upcoming transformations are LTE Direct, a new proximity based device-to-device technology, and LTE Broadcast enhancements, for efficient mass media distribution.