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.

130 EDGE network launches in 2008 pushes total to 443 globally: GSA

UK: The latest survey of GSM/EDGE network deployments by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) highlights the continuing globalization of GSM/EDGE.

The new EDGE Fact Sheet published by GSA confirms that 443 EDGE networks are now commercially launched in 181 countries, compared to 313 commercial networks in 147 countries reported by GSA one year ago.

Operators in all regions have made significant investments to enhance the capacity and coverage of existing networks, often extending EDGE capabilities to their full GSM coverage area. The commercial availability of EDGE-enabled services was expanded to an additional 34 countries/territories in the past year, and to an additional 68 countries/territories in the past 2 years.

This latest GSA survey identified 478 EDGE network operator commitments in 189 countries (compared to 363 commitments in 165 countries a year ago). The number of operators committing to EDGE network deployments has increased 66 percent over two years. EDGE became commercially available on almost twice the number of networks over the same period (there were 223 commercial EDGE networks in May 2007)

GSM/EDGE, a software enhancement to GPRS networks, is a mature global technology which is supported by a well developed ecosystem. There are a huge range and many thousands of EDGE-capable user devices in the market today, extending to all but the lowest cost segments.

Mobile broadband WCDMA-HSPA user devices usually also combine with quad band GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900) capabilities. Over 83 percent of WCDMA-HSPA user devices, including USB modems, modules for PCs, Mobile Internet Devices, PC card modems, phones, routers, etc. also support EDGE, with new products arriving every month.

The first commercial EDGE network was launched in June 2003. GSA estimates that around 80 percent of GPRS operators have since committed to the EDGE enhancement, delivering significant data traffic and revenue growth.

A major driver for EDGE deployments is the capability provided to network operators to offer high speed Internet access to their customers. Around two-thirds of HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) network operators have also deployed EDGE for service continuity and the best user experience of mobile broadband services.

EDGE network capabilities are evolving as part of completed 3GPP Release 7 specifications. EDGE Evolution promises to deliver benefits including higher peak downlink and uplink speeds, and reduced latency for an improved user experience.