LG today reported that it has sold more than 10 million LTE smartphones worldwide, a result of the company's aggressive push into 4G markets.

"Aggressive pushing forward with 4G LTE technology allows LG satisfy the needs of consumers and is a huge factor in our growing success in global LTE smartphone sales," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of the LG Mobile Communications Company. "Having established ourselves as a major industry player, we will continue to expand our footprint in the global LTE market with a wider range of differentiated, high quality LTE smartphones."

LG has expanded its presence in this segment as a result of its early entry into the LTE market and its research and development efforts in LTE. Last year, LG launched LTE smartphones in significant markets such as the United States, Japan, Germany and South Korea. In recent weeks, the company began a global rollout of its LG Optimus G in an additional 50 countries.

According to Strategic Analytics, global shipments of LTE smartphones are expected to drastically increase to 275 million units this year. owever, LG continues to lose ground in the LTE market, according to the research firm. In the third quarter of 2012, LG's market share fell to 9 percent from 15 percent in the previous quarter. Samsung remained the market leader even though its share fell from 51 percent to 40 percent. Apple brought in 26.7 percent for second place.

LG is aiming to double its LTE smartphone penetration this year, expanding its presence in both established and emerging markets with a variety of devices.

For this year, LG is targeting the spectrum of LTE customers, with its high-end G series aimed at early adopters, the F series at users transitioning from 3G to 4G LTE networks, the lower-end L series and the Vu tablets.