Holiday Gift Guide »

GSA: 7 out of 8 WCDMA operators have launched HSDPA

Categories: Research
By: , IntoMobile
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008 at 10:09 AM

People want faster data transfer speeds on their phones and it’s not a big surprise that carriers around the world are updating their 3G networks with HSDPA support. According to GSA’s (Global mobile Suppliers Association) recently published 3G/WCDMA-HSDPA Fact Sheet, 211 WCDMA operators have launched commercial services in 91 countries, of which 185 operators (87.6%) have also launched HSDPA.

GSA logoHSDPA mobile broadband services are now commercially available in 80 countries, with 103 commercial HSDPA operators being located in Europe, 36 in APAC, 24 in the Middle East and Africa region, and 22 in the Americas.

An evolution is also taking place in uplink data speeds with HSUPA services being launched by 34 operators in 26 countries and 24 additional deployments on-going.

WCDMA-HSPA key facts according to GSA:

  • 211 commercial WCDMA operators in 91 countries
  • WCDMA technology in use by over 72% of 293 commercial 3G operators
  • Over 179 million WCDMA subscribers (Q4 2007); 6.9 million monthly growth in H2 2007
  • 80 million WCDMA subscriptions added in 2007 i.e. over 81% growth
  • 220 HSDPA operator commitments in 92 countries; 185 operators launched
  • 185 of 211 commercial WCDMA operators launched HSDPA – 87.6% = 7 out of 8
  • 80 HSDPA operators commercially launched during 2007; annual growth of 80%
  • Over 62% of commercial HSDPA operators support 3.6 Mbps peak or higher
  • Over 20% of commercial HSDPA operators support 7.2 Mbps peak or higher
  • 34 HSUPA operators commercially launched in 26 countries
  • Over 1.1 billion GSM & WCDMA-HSDPA subscribers in HSDPA-enabled networks
  • Over 800 WCDMA terminal devices launched in the market (October 2007)
  • 403 HSDPA devices launched in the market by 80 suppliers (October 2007)

[Via: Mobile Europe]

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.