Mobile broadband - where the next generation leads us [Industry Perspectives]

One hundred fifty million users worldwide today benefit from mobile broadband services enabled by Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wideband code-division multiple access high-speed packet access (WCDMA-HSPA) systems to browse the Internet, send and receive emails using wireless HSPA-enabled notebooks or using USB dongles, download video and music to phones, and more. The number of HSPA subscriptions tripled in 2008, and new services and applications are proliferating. Mobile value added services and applications supporting the banking, gaming, and health categories are emerging segments of huge importance where growth is anticipated. Data traffic in mobile networks is rising exponentially in many cases and has overtaken voice in terms of total bits carried over radio networks. Revenues are falling thanks to competition, and the opening of new market segments and opportunities. Even in difficult economic times, demand for high-speed mobile Internet access is soaring.