According to the GSA's report, there are now a total of 25 commercial HSPA+ networks in 19 countries. In addition, 28 operators in a further 14 countries have committed to the technology by trials or ongoing deployments.
HSPA+ is steadily taking off as a mobile broadband solution, ever since Telstra launched the first such network in Australia in February. At the same time, its technical depth is being extended in terms of access speeds higher than the current standard of 21 Mbps of peak downlink.
As regards the speed, the realised user experience still falls short from the ideal, with 8 Mbps being rather typical of the service which most subscribers receive. This is set to improve on the back of better device availability, as the suppliers respond to the increasing demand.
The Global Mobile Suppliers’ Association (GSA)—a representative group for the GSM/UMTS supplier industry—has published an information paper on the status of HSPA+ deployments confirmed up to date.
At the moment, there are 25 commercially launched networks in 19 countries, as listed in the table below. Of the launched networks, 24 support the peak downlink date rate of 21 Mbps and one—TIM's network in Italy—the maximum of 28 Mbps. In addition, 28 operators in a further 14 countries are either testing or deploying HSPA+, and of these at least 14 networks are expected to be launched during 2009. In addition, the GSA notes that Deutsche Telekom has said that its European mobile units—of which the Polish one, PTC, was the first to commence HSPA+ services earlier this month—are interested in the technology, with plans to trial it during this year and deploy it later on a case-by-case basis, according to local market conditions.
Increasing Deployments Driving Device Availability: HSPA+ has taken off at a notable pace in the course of 2009, ever since Australia's Telstra made the world's first commercial network launch in February. Besides proliferating in the form of further roll-outs, HSPA+ is also gaining depth in terms of delivered access speeds, with several carriers currently working on upgrades to 28 Mbps and, for example, Telstra planning to enhance its infrastructure with a peak downlink of 42 Mbps already by the end of this year. As regards uplink speeds, the current maximum by HSPA+/HSUPA is 5.8 Mbps. In the meantime, the deployment commitments are pulling new compatible devices in to the market, as the equipment vendors respond to the increasing operator demand. According to the GSA, there were eight HSPA+ devices available as of 15 July, and we expect the number to increase fairly rapidly over the coming months. The new modems and HSPA+-equipped computers, by turn, will also further add to the demand side of the technology's development, as they enable higher realised data rates for mobile broadband users. Currently, the actual user experience is normally still far from the technically available 21/28 Mbps, with access at 8 Mbps being rather typical, but as the technical features of the devices evolve the offered services become more capable of living up to their own scope.
