May 2009 GSM/3G Market Update from GSA now available

A new GSM/3G Market Update has been published by GSA, the Global mobile Suppliers Association (www.gsacom.com), containing latest industry facts, information, analysis and trends regarding GSM/EDGE, WCDMA-HSPA, UMTS900 and UMTS850, HSPA+, LTE, mobile broadband regulatory and spectrum developments, re-farming of current allocations, Digital Dividend spectrum for mobile services, and mobile subscriptions growth.
GSA surveys and primary research are referenced extensively. The GSA May 2009 GSM/3G Market Update is available to download now at www.gsacom.com/gsm_3g/market_update.php4

Key Facts from the May 2009 GSM/3G Market Update:

Network commitments, deployments, launches

3G/WCDMA: 284 operators launched in 120 countries
WCDMA has more than 72.8% market share of 390 commercially launched 3G networks
94% of commercial WCDMA operators have launched HSPA
306 HSPA network commitments in 126 countries
267 3G/HSDPA operators launched in 114 countries
125 HSDPA networks launched in Europe including in all 27 Member States of the European Union
196 HSDPA networks have launched 3.6 Mbps (peak) downlink service or higher = over 73% of commercial HSDPA operators, thus establishing the baseline for mobile broadband services
105 commercial HSDPA networks, i.e. over 39%, support 7.2 Mbps (peak) or higher
72 HSUPA networks launched in 42 countries, plus another 14 network commitments/deployments
10 commercial UMTS900 (i.e. WCDMA-HSPA operating at 900 MHz) networks launched, in Europe, APAC and Latin America
4 HSPA+ networks have launched commercial service (21 Mbps downlink peak)
At least 25 additional HSPA+ operator commitments worldwide
31 LTE network operator commitments worldwide
Up to 12 LTE networks are expected to enter commercial service by end 2010
441 GSM/EDGE network commitments in 184 countries; 413 networks launched in 177 countries
Over 80% of commercial GPRS operators globally have committed to EDGE
172 of 267 commercially launched HSDPA operators (over 64%) also launched EDGE

User Devices

1,470 HSDPA devices launched by 171 suppliers
944 devices support 3.6 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
514 devices support 7.2 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
260 HSUPA devices launched (compared to 75 in July 2008) (excl. notebooks)
1,068 HSPA devices (over 93%) operate in 2100 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
512 HSPA devices (over 44%) operate in 850 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
365 tri-band HSPA devices 850/1900/2100 MHz (excl. notebooks)
130 HSPA devices operate in 900 MHz band (UMTS900) (excl. notebooks)
212 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate 802.11 WiFi
248 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate GPS/positioning functionality
Over 83% of HSDPA devices also support GSM/EDGE

Subscriptions

3.72 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
GSM/WCDMA has 89.4% worldwide market share
Over 329 million WCDMA subs including HSPA worldwide (Q1 09)
WCDMA now has 8% share of global mobile subscriptions
103.8 million HSPA subscriptions (Q4 08) included in the WCDMA subs total
WCDMA has over 72.3% market share of global 3G subscriptions
APAC has almost 1.6 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
The BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India, and China together account for over 1.25 billion GSM Subscriptions (Q1 09)
China and India have a combined total of 907.3 million GSM subs (Q1 09)
India is estimated to have passed 300 million GSM subs during May 2009
Western Europe has 576 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
The Western Hemisphere exceeds 554 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
MEA has 541 million GSM subscribers (Q1 09)
GSA estimates that there are approaching 2 billion GSM, WCDMA and HSPA subscriptions in commercial HSPA-enabled networks worldwide

The GSA May 2009 GSM/3G Market Update is available at www.gsacom.com/gsm_3g/market_update.php4
Related maps and charts are also available at www.gsacom.com/news/statistics.php4

NOTES

1.GSA surveys and primary research are referenced extensively.
2.Mobile subscriptions data was provided by Informa Telecoms & Media and is presented here with GSA analysis