A new survey published today by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) is said to confirm that 53 operators in 33 countries have committed to deploying HSPA Evolution (HSPA+) systems.
According to the GSA, HSPA+ brings features to WCDMA/HSPA networks and terminals that offer HSPA+ clear benefits including higher data speeds and capacities, improved operation times, longer terminal battery life, faster response times (lower latency), and extended network coverage area. HSPA+ is realized by a software upgrade to current HSPA network infrastructures.
The GSA survey confirms that 25 HSPA+ commercial systems are in commercial service in 19 countries. 24 HSPA+ networks are capable of a peak downlink data speed of 21 Mbps, using 64QAM modulation. One network supports a peak downlink data speed of 28 Mbps, which is made possible with the use of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology. Several more HSPA+ network deployments are on-going.
System performance improvements and efficiencies introduced with HSPA+ mean a greater number of customers benefiting from mobile broadband access, who will typically experience 5 – 8 Mbps and enjoy a better mobile broadband experience.
Alan Hadden, President of GSA said: "WCDMA/HSPA is the fastest growing mobile technology ever and the undisputed system of choice for mobile broadband. Several operators have now launched or are deploying HSPA+ and most others are considering it. We anticipate there will be around 40 commercial HSPA+ systems launched by year end, possibly even more, and the trend continuing in 2010."
HSPA+ systems are now commercially launched in Australia, Austria, HSPA+ Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Sweden, Turkey, and the USA.
A second related survey by GSA – The GSA HSPA Operator Commitments survey – updates the global status of HSPA network deployments and launches worldwide, and is also published today. It confirms that the number of operators committing to HSPA deployments, and the number of commercial networks now in service, have both increased by more than 33% year on year. Also, the majority of HSPA networks today support a peak downlink speed of 7.2 Mbps or higher. 92 networks i.e. around one third, have commercially launched HSUPA for high speed data uplink performance.
Key findings of the report include:
329 HSPA network commitments in 135 countries/territories
– Americas: 27 countries
– APAC: 27 countries
– Europe: 52 countries
– Middle East/Africa: 29 countries
283 commercial HSPA operators in 119 countries/territories.
– Americas and the Caribbean: Argentina, Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela
– APAC: Australia, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Guam, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, S. Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand
– Europe: Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Cyprus (Northern), Czech R, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak R, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
– MEA: Angola, Bahrain, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Lesotho, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Reunion, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Tanzania, UAE, Uganda
144 commercial HSPA networks (over 50%) support 7.2 Mbps peak or higher downlink speed
102 operators have committed to HSUPA; 92 HSUPA operators commercially launched in 46 countries
25 HSPA+ networks are in commercial service
219 out of 329 HSPA network operator commitments (over 66%) have also committed to EDGE