GSA Confirms HSPA Networks Triple in Under 3 Years; 302 in Commercial Service

November 24, 2009: There are now 302 HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) mobile broadband networks in commercial service, according to new research by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). It means that the number of HSPA networks in service has tripled in less than 3 years, making it the fastest adoption of any mobile broadband system.

HSPA is now commercially available in 128 countries and territories. Emerging growth markets featured highly in recent HSPA service launches, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia.

Alan Hadden, President of GSA, stated: “The milestone of 300 commercial HSPA networks is hugely significant, and was achieved in only 4 years. The HSPA eco-system is very robust with more than 1750 user devices launched in the market by 190 suppliers. Network operators across the world are reporting significant traffic and revenue growth with HSPA-enabled data and Internet services, and are confidently investing to further enhance performance and capacity.”

HSPA is the first evolution of WCDMA systems. According to GSA there are 314 commercial WCDMA systems in 131 countries, which means that over 96% of WCDMA operators have launched HSPA on their networks.

With the number of HSPA subscribers worldwide closing in on 200 million by year end, operators are investing in enhanced network capacity, efficiencies, and system capabilities including higher data speeds for mobile broadband services. Sixty-two operators have committed to HSPA Evolution (HSPA+), including 36 HSPA networks now commercially launched in 23 countries. Thirty-three HSPA+ networks support a peak downlink speed of 21 Mbps, and 3 networks have deployed MIMO and support 28 Mbps.

In July 2009, GSA revealed that more than 50% of commercial HSPA networks support a peak downlink data speed of 7.2 Mbps or higher, with almost 600 hundred compatible user devices in the market. GSA recently released the results of its unique survey of industry opinion on the expectation for the next baseline for mobile broadband. The survey results showed that most people believe that the next baseline for mobile broadband peak downlink data speed will be 21 Mbps HSPA+, and that this new baseline would be achieved during 2010.

Industry support for the next evolutionary step – LTE – is also firmly established as the key global trend, with 45 LTE network commitments secured, with several more expected to be announced soon following trials activities in all regions, and actions to secure appropriate spectrum to support LTE introduction. GSA expects 16 LTE networks will be in commercial service within the next year.

GSA surveys, reports and related references (via links from the GSA home page www.gsacom.com):

Evolution of Network Speeds – HSPA, HSPA+, EDGE Evolution, LTE (November 24, 2009)
GSA HSPA Operators survey: 351 HSPA network commitments, 302 HSPA networks launched (November 23, 2009)
62 HSPA+ network commitments worldwide: updated GSA report on HSPA+ deployments, launches, devices (November 23, 2009)
314 commercial 3G WCDMA operators operating in 131 countries (November 23, 2009)
Mobile Broadband – The Next Baseline (November 19, 2009)
Evolution to LTE (November 13, 2009)
Mobile Broadband Growth – Reports from Operators Worldwide (November 2009)

NOTES

1. HSPA is now commercially available in 128 countries and territories:

Americas: Argentina, Aruba, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela
APAC: Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, S. Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam
Europe: Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Cyprus (Northern), Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak R, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
MEA: Angola, Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Reunion, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, UAE, Uganda, Zimbabwe

Maps, charts, statistics are available at www.gsacom.com/news/statistics.php4

2. GSA represents leading GSM/3G/WCDMA-HSPA and LTE suppliers worldwide, covering close to 100% of mobile market share. Industry professionals and organizations globally use www.gsacom.com as a single information resource, targeted to the industry, for authoritative facts, market intelligence, objective analysis and information.

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