GSA Confirms 800 Million GSM/WCDMA/HSDPA Subscribers in HSDPA-enabled NetworksTwo new surveys by GSA¡ªthe Global mobile Suppliers Association, confirm the accelerating pace of deployment of mobile broadband networks and services enabled by High Speed Packet Access (HSPA).
The latest “HSDPA Operator Commitments” survey confirms there are now 174 HSDPA network commitments in 79 countries/territories worldwide, of which 117 have launched commercial services in 58 countries. Almost three quarters of commercial 3G/WCDMA networks have now activated HSDPA for mobile broadband services.
There are over 800 million GSM/WCDMA/HSDPA subscribers in HSDPA-enabled networks, according to GSA estimates. WCDMA leads the way in 3G markets worldwide, adding over 5.3 million subscriptions per month, with HSDPA the major driver of growth.
Network data speeds are quickly evolving. About 65 HSDPA networks (compared to 37 just three months ago) are capable of downlink speeds of 3.6Mbps (peak) or greater, of which 50 are commercially launched, as the first phase of a planned evolution to 14.4Mbps (peak) for many operators by end 2007. Several networks are now upgrading to 7.2Mbps (peak), with the first systems already launched.
In the uplink direction, High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) services have launched in Asia and Europe. HSUPA increases uplink data throughput up to 1.45Mbps (peak) initially, later evolving to 5.8Mbps (peak). The survey confirms 23 HSUPA (uplink) network commitments, deployments and launches worldwide.
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