South Korean handset maker LG Electronics Inc. said Tuesday it aims to roll out long-term evolution smartphones in the Latin American market in the first quarter of 2013 as part of efforts to bolster its global LTE drive.

The company, which has released LTE smartphones in major markets such as Asia, Europe and the U.S., said it plans to release the LTE devices in Brazil, Chile and Mexico in the January-March period at the earliest.

The LTE smartphone line-up for the regional market has not yet been confirmed, a company official added.

LG said it has signed a deal with Chilean mobile carrier Claro to supply LTE modems, which users can connect to computers for faster data transaction.

The supply deal is seen as a move that will expand the nascent LTE market in the Latin American country since mobile carriers tend to first adopt LTE data networks ahead of bringing in LTE smartphones.

In a bid to rub off its smartphone laggard image, LG has been betting on the rapidly-growing LTE smartphone market by obtaining related patents and rolling out high-end gadgets.

Worldwide shipments of LTE smartphones are forecast to reach 67 million units this year, growing roughly 10-fold from the previous year, according to data by research firm Strategy Analytics. (Yonhap News)