With more than 300 networks across 127 countries now supporting HSPA, the number of mobile broadband connections will pass the 150 million mark by the end of the summer, according to the GSM Association. Moreover, this figure is expected to reach 200 million connections by early next year and as many as one billion connections by 2013. This includes HSPA, HSPA+ and forthcoming LTE connections via dongles, external data cards, internal laptop modems, and connections built into smart phones and mobile handsets.
According to Wireless Intelligence, the following regions are driving global HSPA connection growth:
- AsiaPac accounts for almost 50 million live HSPA connections today and will have over 56 million by this September
- EMEA HSPA connections will pass the 50 million mark any day and will have reached almost 60 million by the end of September this year
- The US currently has almost 32 million HSPA connections with the number expected to rise to nearly 37 million by this September
- The Americas will have just over four million connections by the end of September
"The tremendous success of HSPA demonstrates the enormous ongoing demand for truly mobile broadband access, said Dan Warren, Director of Technology, GSMA. "HSPA's leading position is not just important to the mobile industry -- by using a single technology for mobile broadband services globally, we avoid the fragmentation that limits its potential to improve the quality of people's lives."http://www.gsmworld.com
http://hspa.gsmworld.com
