Broadband penetration is increasing all over the world, and mobile broadband is\nfueling growth. In some markets, it has doubled growth. In others, mobile broadband now accounts for 75 percent of new subscriptions. Mobile broadband provides an attractive alternative for users who are unable to get a fixed broadband connection and are otherwise only able to access the Internet via a slow dial-up connection.
HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) has already been rolled out on six continents and more than 80 countries, giving it a huge lead over alternative technoloies. There are literally hundreds of HSPA devices (smartphones, notebook PCs, wireless routers, etc.) available from many suppliers on the market. From today’s speeds, HSPA will evolve to support speeds of up to 42 Mbps on the downlink. Notebook computers with built-in support for HSPA will also become increasingly common.