GSA update claims HSDPA networks in commercial service in 71 countries

Telecomworldwire, Nov 22, 2007

TELECOMWORLDWIRE-22 November 2007-GSA update claims HSDPA networks in commercial service in 71 countries(C)1994-2007 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com

The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has announced in its GSM/3G Network Update that 154 High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) networks have entered commercial service in 71 countries, compared to 79 networks in 45 countries in a similar GSA survey a year ago.

The GSA said 61 HSDPA networks have entered commercial service so far this year, providing mobile broadband access to a further 20 countries. It confirmed another 41 HSDPA networks are in various stages of deployment, taking the total HSDPA commitments to 195 networks in 85 countries.

According to the GSA, 81% of commercial WCDMA networks have launched HSDPA, with 86 HSDPA networks having launched mobile broadband service delivering 3.6Mb/s (peak) or higher, in 47 countries. Some 29 HSDPA networks have introduced 7.2Mb/s (peak) service in 19 countries, with 45 network operators committed to HSUPA and 24 HSUPA networks launched in 20 countries.

Some 403 HSDPA devices have been announced, including 203 phones/consumer devices, 39 wireless routers, 61 laptops/notebooks and 100 devices for PC/laptop/notebook HSDPA connectivity. Nearly 150 devices support at least 3.6Mb/s, while 63 support, or can be upgraded to, 7.2Mb/s capability.

The GSA update also advised that there are 2.686bn GSM subscriptions globally (for quarter three, 2007), including EDGE, WCDMA-HSPA; with 1.67m daily average GSM subscriptions growth in the same quarter.

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