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300 HSPA Mobile Broadband Networks Worldwide
Americas Leading World in Mobile Broadband Milestones -- 458 Million UMTS-HSPA Mobile Broadband Connections Worldwide Expected by Year End 2009
| Source: 3G Americas
BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire - November 19, 2009) - "In the short period of two years since HSDPA
was first launched on a wide scale basis in the U.S., the number of
commercial HSPA mobile broadband networks now stands at 300 in 128
countries worldwide," stated Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas, a
wireless industry trade association representing the GSM family of
technologies including LTE that tracks 3G
commercial networks of Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service
(UMTS) and High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) worldwide.
According to forecasts by Informa Telecoms & Media, there will be 458
million UMTS-HSPA mobile broadband connections worldwide by the end of
2009. This number is expected to exceed 1 billion by 2013.
HSPA is one of the fastest mobile broadband technologies in the world
today. An enhancement to UMTS, HSPA offers a successful combination of
spectral efficiency and high-speed data throughput, thus, enabling true
mass market mobile broadband. In current deployments, HSPA users regularly
experience throughput rates well in excess of 1 Mbps, on both uplinks and
downlinks, with up to 4 Mbps downlink speed commonly being measured in some
networks around the world. HSPA provides operators with a rich evolution to
meet the increasingly advanced wireless needs of customers. There is a
tremendous ecosystem in place for the HSPA technology including more than
1,658 commercial devices launched from 156 manufacturers.
The Americas region plays a significant role in the growth of HSPA mobile
broadband. As an early adopter of HSPA technology, AT&T had a 21 percent
share of the global HSPA customer base with more than 28.6 million HSPA
subscriptions, according to the GSMA, as of mid-year 2009. Rogers Wireless
in Canada and T-Mobile USA were among the first 20 operators in the world
to launch HSPA+ offering mobile broadband speeds up to peak theoretical
downlink throughput rates of 21 Mbps. Today, there are 35 commercial HSPA+ networks worldwide and
3G Americas expects the majority of HSPA network operators to upgrade their
networks to HSPA+.
"Latin America has been a key growth engine for mobile broadband since
HSDPA was first launched at the end of 2006," stated Erasmo Rojas, Director
of Latin America and the Caribbean for 3G Americas. "By the end of this
year, HSPA is expected to reach 11.4 million subscribers, adding 4.5
million subscriptions between June and December 2009 alone to reach this
forecasted number. Latin America is one of the fastest growing regions in
the world in adopting mobile broadband technology."
There are 50
commercial HSPA networks in 23 countries within the Latin America and
Caribbean region; it is expected that Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile
broadband trials in Argentina, Brazil and Chile will commence in 2010.
Throughout the Americas, wireless technology continues its rapid
advancement toward enhanced mobile broadband networks such as HSPA+ and
LTE. Currently, more than 100
operators worldwide have announced intentions and expectations to
deploy LTE networks. LTE is the next evolution of mobile broadband
technology that utilizes OFDM-based technology and a flat-IP core network
allowing for an enhanced Internet experience on mobile devices.
Forecasts by Informa Telecoms & Media indicate that there will be 3.2
billion mobile broadband connections by year-end 2014. At that time,
UMTS-HSPA and LTE combined will comprise 84 percent share of market with
2.8 billion subscriptions, compared to 528 million EV-DO connections and 89
million WiMAX connections. HSPA will total 1.76 billion of the 2.8 billion
subscriptions.
Quick data facts as of November 2009:
-- 4 billion GSM-HSPA subscriptions
-- More than 700 GSM networks
-- UMTS-HSPA represents 84 percent of the global mobile broadband market
-- HSPA is available in 128 countries worldwide
-- More than 1,658 HSPA devices launched (GSMA)
-- 35 commercial HSPA+ networks in 23 countries worldwide
offering 21 Mbps to 28 Mbps peak theoretical downlink speeds
-- By year-end 2014, the 3GPP mobile broadband technologies (UMTS-HSPA-LTE)
are forecast to represent 2.8 billion subscriptions and 84 percent share of
market
Additional information can be found on the
statistics page of 3G Americas' website. Most data was provided by
independent research company Informa Telecoms & Media.
About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology
3G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of
telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's
mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment of the
GSM family of technologies including LTE throughout the Americas. 3G
Americas has contributed to the successful commercial rollout of GSM across
the Americas and its place as the number one technology in the region, as
well as the global adoption of EDGE. The organization aims to develop the
expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled
by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue,
Washington, with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas,
Texas. More information is available at www.3gamericas.org.
3G Americas' Board of Governors members include Alcatel-Lucent, América
Móvil, AT&T, Andrew Solutions, Cable & Wireless, Ericsson, Gemalto, Huawei,
HP, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, Openwave, Research in Motion
(RIM), Rogers, T-Mobile USA and Telefónica.