HSPA+ and LTE: Fastest Speeds for Mobile Broadband Today


BELLEVUE, WA--(Marketwire - March 18, 2011) - HSPA+ and LTE are providing mobile broadband users with the world's fastest speeds, reports 4G Americas, a wireless industry trade association representing the 3GPP family of technologies. The mobile customer experience is completely broadband, truly enhanced and continues to grow in the number and variety of devices commercially available. With a customer base approaching 5 billion, the 3GPP family of technologies is by far the leading global standard for mobile connectivity. The largest growth percentages are being seen in the movement to HSPA+ and LTE for mobile broadband connectivity.

"Fast, faster and fastest seem to be the words used to describe the mobile broadband experience needed today and the technologies that are delivering the highest data throughput speeds include HSPA+ and LTE," said Chris Pearson, President of 4G Americas.

Today, HSPA+ and LTE mobile broadband are delivering the best mobile broadband experience for customers.

Key Facts:

  • 389 HSPA networks worldwide; 4G Americas expects the majority of all to upgrade to HSPA+
  • 128 HSPA+ network in 65 countries including
    • 95 HSPA+ networks offering peak rates of 21 Mbps
    • 11 HSPA+ networks offering peak rates of 28 Mbps
    • 22 HSPA+ networks offering peak rates of 42 Mbps
  • 19 commercial LTE networks worldwide in 14 countries
    • 79 network trials for LTE
    • 173 planned / in deployment LTE networks
    • 52 potential LTE networks
  • 2010 marked the milestone of the start of a new computing and communications era. For the first time in the U.S., the smartphones shipments exceeded the traditional computer segments (that consists of desktops, notebooks and netbooks). In 2011, the smartphone segment along with the connected devices (tablets and eReaders) will not only exceed the computer segment in unit shipment but more importantly in the overall revenues as well. (Chetan Sharma)
  • More than half of U.S. handset shipments will be smartphones by 2012. (In-Stat)
  • In the U.S., mobile wireless data consumption more than doubled in 2010. Most recently-released smart phones are averaging at least 1 gigabyte of data usage every month. Average data consumption overall hit 350 megabytes per month. U.S. data revenues for the year increased 23 percent, but mobile data traffic grew 132 percent. (Chetan Sharma)
  • Global mobile data traffic grew 2.6-fold in 2010, nearly tripling for the third year in a row. (Cisco) 

HSPA is the leading mobile broadband technology worldwide and offers operators the flexibility to meet the increasingly advanced wireless needs of their customers. HSPA+ has been demonstrated at peak theoretical rates up to 168 Mbps by several leading manufacturers and will be commercially deployed at 84 Mbps in 2011 by Telstra in Australia. HSPA+ provides a strategic performance roadmap advantage for incumbent GSM-HSPA operators providing OFDMA-equivalent performance in 5X5 spectrum allocations with only incremental investment. Informa Telecoms & Media forecasts 3.3 billion UMTS-HSPA subscriptions and 320 million LTE subscriptions by year-end 2015.

"It's great to see the entire wireless industry around the world rallying behind HSPA technology," said Neville Ray, CTO for T-Mobile USA and Chairperson of the 4G Americas' Board of Governors. "These investments will fuel the ever strengthening global ecosystem and enable T-Mobile to continue delivery of leading 4G HSPA+ devices in the U.S. marketplace."

LTE will be the leading next-generation OFDMA technology standard and has already been launched in the U.S. by two CDMA operators that did not have the simple option to upgrade from HSPA to HSPA+. 3GPP has standardized LTE for peak theoretical downlink speeds of up to 326 Mbps (in 20 MHz with 4X4 MIMO). The potential of LTE deployed in large swaths of spectrum is showcased in Sweden. In September 2010, Signals Research Group completed its second exhaustive drive test of TeliaSonera's LTE network in Sweden. Although all testing occurred in vehicular or pedestrian mode, it observed average user data rates of nearly 40 Mbps and a peak data rate of 102 Mbps, the theoretical peak data rate of the USB dongle, on more than one occasion. In addition to having fast network speeds, LTE has the highest spectral efficiency of any mobile broadband technology. LTE-Advanced was approval by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as an IMT-Advanced technology.

"The combination of HSPA+ and LTE technology will give wireless customers a faster, more consistent mobile broadband experience," said Kris Rinne, Senior Vice President of Architecture and Planning, AT&T. "AT&T is the only U.S. company committed to delivering 4G using both HSPA+ and LTE technologies."

For more information on the 3GPP evolution to 4G, visit the 4G Americas website to download free white papers:

4G Mobile Broadband Evolution: 3GPP Release 10 and Beyond - HSPA+, SAE/LTE and LTE-Advanced

Transition to 4G: 3GPP Broadband Evolution to IMT-Advanced

About 4G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Mobile Broadband Technology
4G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas. 4G Americas contributes to the successful commercial rollout of 3GPP mobile broadband technologies across the Americas and their place as the No. 1 technology family in the region. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 4G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas. More information is available at www.4gamericas.org.

4G Americas' Board of Governors members include: Alcatel-Lucent, América Móvil, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, CommScope, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Huawei, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Openwave, Powerwave, Qualcomm, Research In Motion (RIM), Rogers, Shaw Communications, T-Mobile USA and Telefónica.

Contact Information:

Contact:
Vicki Livingston
4G Americas
+1 262 242 3458