GSA confirms 7.2 Mbps as new baseline for HSPA

UK: Half of the HSPA networks in commercial service globally are capable of peak downlink data speeds of 7.2 Mbps or higher, according to research just published by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).

GSA’s newly released HSPA Operator Commitments Survey confirms 316 HSPA network commitments in 129 countries. A total of 274 operators have commercially launched HSPA mobile broadband services in 115 countries, with around half of them supporting a peak downlink data speed of 7.2 Mbps or higher.

WCDMA has over 73 percent market share of commercial 3G networks worldwide. Almost 95 percent of WCDMA operators have now launched HSPA.

A related survey by GSA confirms that 1,605 HSPA devices have been launched by 183 manufacturers. The number of products announced increased by over 121 percent year-on-year. The number of HSPA-enabled notebooks tripled year-on-year, with the number of phones and smartphones rising by more than 88 percent in the same period.

Excluding notebooks, a total of 595 HSPA products (over 46 percent) support peak downlink data speeds of 7.2 Mbps or more.

Alan Hadden, President, GSA said: “With 135 commercial HSPA networks supporting peak downlink data throughputs of at least 7.2 Mbps, and almost 600 user devices launched in the market which are capable of operating at 7.2 Mbps or higher, clearly a new baseline for mobile broadband service and capabilities has been established using HSPA.”

Evolved HSPA (HSPA+) is the next step on the roadmap for many operators, which increases data rates by using higher order modulation schemes and multiple antenna technology (MIMO). 3GPP Release 7 introduced 64 QAM modulation, increasing the downlink peak data bit rate by 50 percent to 21 Mbps.

In the uplink, 16 QAM doubles the peak data bit rate from 5.76 Mbps to 11.5 Mbps. Release 8 allows for combining 64 QAM with 2x2 MIMO for peak rates up to 42 Mbps downlink and 11.5 Mbps uplink (per 5 MHz carrier). Further evolution of HSPA will utilize combinations of multi-carrier and MIMO to reach peak rates of 84 Mbps downlink and 23 Mbps uplink. Almost 40 operators have committed to HSPA+ network deployments.

The world’s first HSPA+ network was launched in February 2009. According to GSA, the number of HSPA+ networks in commercial service has now reached double figures. 10 HSPA+ systems are commercially launched, which are using 64QAM modulation to deliver 21 Mbps peak data throughput on the downlink, for a typical user experience up to 8 Mbps, depending on device availability.

The world’s first HSPA+ system utilizing MIMO technology has also been launched, in Italy, boosting peak downlink data throughput up to 28 Mbps. The recent GSA HSPA devices survey confirmed that 8 HSPA+ user devices are already launched in the market.

Uplink data speeds are also increasing. 98 operators have committed to HSUPA, with 87 networks now commercially launched, and an increasing number of these networks support 5.8 Mbps peak data throughput. The number of HSUPA user devices announced by manufacturers has more than quadrupled over the past 12 months, and now stands at 305 products. More than a third (102 devices) support, or are upgradeable for 5.8 Mbps peak operation, compared to only 14 products in July 2008.

GSA earlier announced that 31 operators are committed to LTE network deployments, which will significantly further boost network throughputs, improve spectrum and operational efficiencies and performance, and reduce latency for the next step in the user experience. GSA anticipates that up to 12 LTE networks will be in commercial service by end 2010.

ST-Ericsson strengthens technological leadership, completes integration

SINGAPORE: ST-Ericsson, a leader in wireless semiconductors and mobile platforms, announced a new organization to further strengthen its technological leadership and integrate the operations further.

Alain Dutheil, President and CEO, said: “The new organization we are announcing today will allow us to timely and successfully execute on our new product strategy, based on the future convergence to one 3G roadmap, a continued commitment on 2G/EDGE and connectivity, as well as a strong focus on TD-SCDMA and on fast growing next generation access technologies such as LTE. Additionally, it will enable us to complete the integration of the different businesses we merged five months ago and provide our customers with a world-leading and even more compelling portfolio.”

The organization will be centered around three product groups, focused on the following areas:
- LTE and HSPA -Connected Devices, led by Magnus Hansson, Vice President
- 3G -Multimedia Platforms, led by Marc Cetto, Vice President
- 2G, EDGE, TD-SCDMA and Connectivity- led by Thierry Tingaud, Vice President
supported by an R&D shared services organization, led by Philippe Berger, Vice President.

Jörgen Lantto has been appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Strategy and Pascal Langlois Chief Sales and Marketing Officer.

The following positions of the management team reporting to President and CEO Alain Dutheil remain unchanged:
- Timothy Lucie-Smith, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
- Abhijit Bhattacharya, Vice President, Operations and Quality
- Jean-Louis Champseix, Vice President, Human Resources
- Claudia Levo, Vice President, Global Communications
- Lotta Westerlund, Vice President, Legal Affairs

The following management changes will also occur:
* Tommi Uhari will act as Senior Advisor to the CEO.
* Monica de Virgiliis has decided to leave the company to pursue other career opportunities. Until then, she will act as Senior Advisor to the CEO for the implementation of the new organization.
* Robert Puskaric, Deputy CEO & Executive Vice President, has decided to leave ST-Ericsson to take on another appointment at Ericsson. Mr. Puskaric has played a key role in the first stages of the creation of ST-Ericsson, leading the integration and organizing the Sales & Marketing activities.

GSA survey: 121pc rise in HSPA user devices

UK: The number of HSPA user devices launched in the market has risen 121 percent over the past 12 months, according to a new survey published today by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA).

The GSA HSPA Devices Survey confirms that 1,605 HSPA devices have now been announced by 183 manufacturers worldwide. The survey provides clear evidence of how the mobile broadband eco-system enabled by WCDMA-HSPA technology is both robust and flourishing.

GSA confirms that 881 new HSPA user devices were launched over the past year, which is equivalent to more than 70 new product announcements every month.

HSPA successfully addresses all market segments. There are now 662 HSPA mobile phones, including several recent smartphone launches. The number of mobile phone products has increased by more than 88 percent year on year. The number of HSPA-enabled notebook products, another key segment, more than tripled in the same period to 336 models.

Excluding notebooks, almost half of HSDPA devices are capable of supporting peak download data speeds of 7.2 Mbps peak or higher, including eight HSPA+ devices supporting up to 21 Mbps.

HSPA devices by market segment:
- 662 mobile phones, including smartphones
- 336 notebooks
- 230 USB modems
- 162 PC data cards and embedded modules
- 151 Wireless routers/gateways
- 27 Ultra Mobile PCs
- 21 Femtocells
- 10 Personal Media Players (PMPs)
- 6 cameras

The number of HSUPA-capable devices quadrupled over the past year to stand at 305 products today. More than a third of HSUPA devices support 5.8 Mbps peak uplink data speeds. Navigational capabilities (GPS, A-GPS) are incorporated in 345 products, an increase of 238% over the past year.

Commenting on this latest survey, Alan Hadden, President of GSA said: "HSPA is firmly driving mobile broadband growth globally, and millions of new customers are signing up every month. Network speeds have increased and are matched by a huge choice of compatible devices for users.

"It is particularly encouraging to see that the number of suppliers increased by 59 percent, from 115 companies a year ago to 183 suppliers participating in the market today. Many of these companies are evolving their product portfolios to support HSPA+ and emerging LTE mobile broadband networks as the mainstream evolution path for operators."

HSPA mobile broadband systems are deployed in all the main cellular bands. While the majority operate in 2100 MHz spectrum, there has been an explosion in device availability in the lower frequency bands, including 850 MHz as widely deployed in the Americas, Australia and parts of Asia, and at 900 MHz. These bands are particularly well suited for economic wide area coverage, and improve penetration into buildings.

For example, there are now 155 user devices (compared to 20 by mid-2008), which operate in the 900 MHz band, spectrum widely used for GSM and which is now being re-farmed in several countries for 3G/mobile broadband by permitting deployment of UMTS900 (i.e., HSPA in the 900 MHz band) networks.

Excluding notebooks, 414 tri-band HSPA devices i.e. 850/1900/2100 MHz support global mobile broadband roaming.

GSM/3G market update May 2009: GSA

UK: Key kacts from May 2009 GSM/3G market update, provided by theGlobal mobile Suppliers Association (GSA)!

Network commitments, deployments, launches
· 3G/WCDMA: 284 operators launched in 120 countries
· WCDMA has more than 72.8 percent market share of 390 commercially launched 3G networks
· 94 percent of commercial WCDMA operators have launched HSPA
· 306 HSPA network commitments in 126 countries
· 267 3G/HSDPA operators launched in 114 countries
· 125 HSDPA networks launched in Europe including in all 27 Member States of the European Union
· 196 HSDPA networks have launched 3.6 Mbps (peak) downlink service or higher = over 73 percent of commercial HSDPA operators, thus establishing the baseline for mobile broadband services
· 105 commercial HSDPA networks, i.e. over 39 percent, support 7.2 Mbps (peak) or higher
· 72 HSUPA networks launched in 42 countries, plus another 14 network commitments/deployments
· 10 commercial UMTS900 (i.e. WCDMA-HSPA operating at 900 MHz) networks launched, in Europe, APAC and Latin America
· 4 HSPA+ networks have launched commercial service (21 Mbps downlink peak)
· At least 25 additional HSPA+ operator commitments worldwide
· 31 LTE network operator commitments worldwide
· Up to 12 LTE networks are expected to enter commercial service by end 2010
· 441 GSM/EDGE network commitments in 184 countries; 413 networks launched in 177 countries
· Over 80 percent of commercial GPRS operators globally have committed to EDGE
· 172 of 267 commercially launched HSDPA operators (over 64 percent) also launched EDGE

User devices
· 1,470 HSDPA devices launched by 171 suppliers
· 944 devices support 3.6 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
· 514 devices support 7.2 Mbps peak or higher (excluding notebooks)
· 260 HSUPA devices launched (compared to 75 in July 2008) (excl. notebooks)
· 1,068 HSPA devices (over 93 percent) operate in 2100 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
· 512 HSPA devices (over 44 percent) operate in 850 MHz band (excl. notebooks)
· 365 tri-band HSPA devices 850/1900/2100 MHz (excl. notebooks)
· 130 HSPA devices operate in 900 MHz band (UMTS900) (excl. notebooks)
· 212 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate 802.11 WiFi
· 248 HSPA phones (including smartphones) incorporate GPS/positioning functionality
· Over 83 percent of HSDPA devices also support GSM/EDGE

Subscriptions
· 3.72 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· GSM/WCDMA has 89.4 percent worldwide market share
· Over 329 million WCDMA subs including HSPA worldwide (Q1 09)
· WCDMA now has 8% share of global mobile subscriptions
· 103.8 million HSPA subscriptions (Q4 08) included in the WCDMA subs total
· WCDMA has over 72.3 percent market share of global 3G subscriptions
· APAC has almost 1.6 billion GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· The BRIC countries –- Brazil, Russia, India, and China together account for over 1.25 billion GSM Subscriptions (Q1 09)
· China and India have a combined total of 907.3 million GSM subs (Q1 09)
· India is estimated to have passed 300 million GSM subs during May 2009
· Western Europe has 576 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· The Western Hemisphere exceeds 554 million GSM, WCDMA-HSPA subscriptions (Q1 09)
· MEA has 541 million GSM subscribers (Q1 09)
· GSA estimates that there are approaching 2 billion GSM, WCDMA and HSPA subscriptions in commercial HSPA-enabled networks worldwide.

LTE to reach 100mn subscriptions faster than any previous mobile standard

CAMBRIDGE, USA: The number of Long Term Evolution (LTE) subscriptions worldwide will grow at a CAGR of 404 percent from 2010 to 2014, a pace faster than any previous mobile standard, including 3G, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

LTE's Five-Year Global Forecast: Poised to Grow Faster than 3G identifies the main technical and business drivers, as well as the challenges for the LTE platform, and analyzes its market opportunity in comparison with earlier mobile technologies in their first few years of commercialization.

The 19-page report provides Pyramid Research's five-year outlook on LTE adoption, highlighting the largest LTE markets, and comparing adoption rates in emerging and developed markets. It also examines the LTE-related products, demos, and announcements of six of the largest vendors worldwide, including an analysis of how they compare with one another in terms of time to market and customer wins.

For the first time, most of the major players, operators, and vendors alike, are behind the same mobile standard, notes Daniel Locke, analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report. "By using LTE's more efficient and cost-effective flat IP architecture, mobile operators can transfer the savings to end users in the form of lower prices for access, faster data rates, and higher traffic allowances for a wider adoption of mobile data services," he says.

"To date, 27 mobile operators worldwide have publicly committed to deploying LTE, with 12 of them expected to roll out commercial services in 2010 and the remainder during 2011 and 2012," he adds.

Pyramid expects LTE to grow more rapidly than preceding mobile standards in terms of subscriptions. "While it took nearly six years for UMTS/HSPA to reach 100 million subscriptions, Pyramid predicts that LTE will take just over four years to reach the same milestone," explains Locke. "The number of LTE subscriptions worldwide will grow at a CAGR of 404 percent from 2010 to 2014 and reach 136 million by year-end 2014," he says.

"The majority of LTE subscriptions in the early stage will come in developed markets, where most of the first LTE deployments will occur -- with the US and Japan leading," Locke says. "However, LTE will grow 30 percent faster in emerging markets than developed ones; subscriptions in emerging markets will account for 43 percent of the LTE total in 2014, up from 5 percent in 2010," he adds. Fueled by vendor support of TDD-mode, growth in emerging markets will be driven largely by China with 36.1 million subscriptions in 2014.

Download an excerpt of this report here!

LTE's Five-Year Global Forecast: Poised to Grow Faster than 3G is priced at $595 and can be purchased online here: or by contacting Jeff Claudino via email at claudino@pyr.com or telephone at +1-619-229-9940.

ARPUs up for most CDMA2000 carriers; UMB needs push

This blog is a part two of my conversation with CDMA Development Group's (CDG) Executive Director, Perry LaForge.

With China Telecom now pushing CDMA in China, CDG views this initiative, as a tremendous opportunity for CDMA in China. It has been working closely with China Telecom, a CDG member, as the carrier transitions China Unicom's CDMA assets.

LaForge says: "Having China's largest wireline operator focused on expanding CDMA2000 services and bundling them within their telecommunications portfolio will only increase their opportunities for success. We also look forward to seeing China Telecom introduce into China a large variety of new mobile broadband services enabled by Rev. A."

Let us now look at global operators and how they have attempted to crack the ARPU (average revenue per user) challenge.

According to LarForge, looking at recently-announced Q2 numbers, ARPUs are up across the board for most leading CDMA2000 operators and a lot of what is driving that is wireless data ARPU.

* In the US, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel have announced increased wireless data ARPUs in Q2 2008. Verizon's total data ARPU is up to $12.58, representing 24.41 percent of their total ARPU and a CAGR of 31.3 percent. The ARPU generated by Sprint's CDMA2000 subscribers has increased by 21 percent year-over-year to $14, representing 21.43 percent of their total ARPU.

* In Japan, KDDI continues to see wireless data ARPUs exceeding $20. LG Telecom increased its ARPU by 18 percent since launching Rev. A.

* In Europe and Russia, CDMA450 operators are seeing ARPUs well above $50. For example, Telefonica 02's non-SMS data ARPU now accounts for 43 percent of its total ARPU in the Czech Republic.

Since launching EV-DO, Skylink's profits from high-speed broadband data services in Russia have increased from 7 percent to 35 percent. In Norway, Rev. A is helping Nordisk Mobiltelefon get a 100 percent return on their investment in less than two years with only 100,000 subscribers.

* In Latin America, Centennial's ARPU from its Rev. A network in Puerto Rico is one of the highest in this market reaching $65 in a marketplace where the average for its competitors is somewhere in the $50s.

Data revenue is a key driver in delivering Centennial's competitive edge, currently accounting for approximately $7.50 per user on a monthly basis, and growing.

* In Africa, Starcomm's Rev. A subscribers in Nigeria generate in excess of $80 ARPU, which is more than three times higher than $24.25, which is the combined revenue they generate from voice and data from its average subscribers.

Clearly, technologies such as EV-DO Rev. A and HSPA are helping operators realize the expectations of 3G, which includes increased ARPUs from wireless data. CDMA2000 has cracked the ARPU challenge, for now, and is meeting the industry's expectations for 3G.

Finally, what's the status with UMB (ultra mobile broadband). Are the operators ready to embrace this technology?

As of now, no operators have made a commitment to UMB, yet.

LaForge says that LTE has garnered the most outspoken support when it comes to OFDMA-based mobile broadband technologies. The CDG is committed to assisting all of its members as they seek to complement their 3G CDMA assets through interoperability with LTE, Mobile WiMAX or UMB.

India announces 3G spectrum, MNP guidelines

Finally, the wait's over! The Indian government today announced the guidelines for 3G (third-generation mobile communications) spectrum as well as mobile number portability (MNP).

First, all players -- Indian and global -- have been invited to bid for 3G spectrum, making it a truly level-playing field. The condition for a foreign player or telecom operator is that it should have some experience in running 3G telecom services.

Those interested to know more about the guidelines for auction and allottment of spectrum for 3G telecom services, can download the documents from DoT's site.

Apparently, the 3G guidelines allow 10 players in the Indian 3G space, including both Indian and foreign players.

Spectrum in the 2.1GHz band would be available for the 3G telecom services through bidding/auction. Spectrum shall be auctioned in blocks of 2x5MHz in the 2.1GHz band. As per the DoT guidelines, the number of blocks to be auctioned may vary from five to 10, subject to the availability in different telecom service areas. Should there be non-availability, the number of blocks may be less than five in a telecom service area.

The MNP allows mobile phone users/subscribers to change their operators, while retaining their mobile phone numbers.

As per the DoT guidelines, a customer can approach a 'recipient operator' to port his or her number. The 'donor operator' cannot re-use that customer's ported number till such time the ported number is in use. The donor operator can only have the ported number once it has been surrendered by the ported customer.

Well, both of these announcements are going to add to India's brilliant telecom success story.

As for the foreign players coming into the country, quite a few are already present. It would be great to see the likes of NTT DoCoMo, SK Telecom, China Telecom, China Mobile, Telefonica, etc., enter the 3G space in India. As for 3G technology itself, TD-SCDMA, HSPA, etc., should be considered as well.

Oh yes, there's some good news for those itching to use the Apple iPhone 3G. Once, the 3G networks are in place, there's nothing that can stop this from happening.

On the MNP front, a good majority of Indian subscribers are on prepaid. So, there may be quite a few changeovers happening! It could well prove to be a nightmare for the operators, but then, that's the fun of having a level-playing field and the challenge of playing in the booming Indian telecom market.

Postscrpt: A reader, Abhshek, left a very interesting and relevant comment regarding 3G services that users could be charged heftily. I quite agree with him! The 3G operators would need to price their services right. It should be win-win for both operators and users.

To start off, service charges could possibly be on the higher side, as the 3G licenses won't come cheap, and operators would also look at the revenue angle. However, over time, service charges are quite likely to come down, if the pattern of the Indian telecom history is repeated. Many thanks for your comment, Abhishek.