Within just five years there could be a full one billion people using mobile broadband worldwide according to a new study by Juniper Research. This new report adds that HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) will dominate mobile broadband deployments over the next five years, and globally nearly one in three mobile users will be using a mobile broadband headset, with most of the demand from North America and Western Europe, as well as the Far East including China.
“HSPA’s in-service status in 2007 makes it already the most advanced mobile broadband technology, with many further deployments due in the near and medium term,” said report author Howard Wilcox. “For the 3G service provider base, HSPA represents a software upgrade rather than a new network investment. HSPA will also benefit from technology ‘leap’ subscribers in the developing nations, and handset churn elsewhere, with users migrating to HSPA-based broadband as the norm.”
The study added that Mobile WiMAX will likely see single digital percent proportion of the global mobile broadband subscriber base by 2012, but could likely see substantial growth afterward.