The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has released a set of update reports confirming the rapid development of mobile broadband and its evolution. The path to mobile broadband began with 3G/WCDMA, which is now commercially available on 357 networks in 148 countries. Its first evolution, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), boosts capacity and user data speeds, and reduces latency to improve the user experience. This upgrade has now been implemented by approaching 99 per cent of all WCDMA operators. GSA confirms that HSPA has now been commercially launched on 353 networks in 147 countries and, when this figure is added to other networks currently in deployment or planned, it takes the number of operators committed to HSPA network investments to 401 in 154 countries.

Network speeds are rapidly evolving. The majority of networks, currently 58 per cent, support a peak data rate of 7.2Mbit/s or higher on the downlink. Almost 1 in 5 networks have deployed HSPA Evolution (HSPA+) technology. Sixty-three HSPA+ networks are launched in 35 countries:

* 53 commercial HSPA+ networks support a peak downlink data speed of 21Mbit/s
* 7 commercial HSPA+ networks support a peak downlink data speed of 28Mbit/s
* 3 commercial HSPA+ networks support a peak downlink data speed of 42Mbit/s

GSA anticipates that 95-100 HSPA+ systems will be commercially launched by end 2010. Several operators have confirmed plans for further network evolution steps to support 42Mbit/s and 84Mbit/s peak on the downlink.

Uplink speeds are also increasing. The GSA reports confirm more than one third of HSPA operators have commercially introduced HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access). A total of 118 operators have launched HSUPA in 60 countries, with a further 8 networks currently deploying the technology in an additional 4 markets. Forty-one HSUPA systems support a peak uplink data rate of 5.8Mbit/s, and 2 networks have confirmed the capability to support 11.5Mbit/s peak.

While HSPA+ is the current trend, LTE is the main direction for the industry. GSA recently confirmed that 110 operators in 48 countries are investing in LTE, comprising 80 firm network deployment commitments and 30 additional pre-commitments technology trials and study programs. GSA anticipates that up to 22 LTE networks will be in service by end 2010, and at least 45 are expected to be in service by end 2012.
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