There are now 39 dual carrier HSPA+ (DC-HSPA+) networks in commercial operation, an increase of 70% compared to the figure reported three months earlier, according to the latest figures from the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA). At least another 26 DC-HSPA+ networks are in deployment or planned.
DC-HSPA+ systems combine 64QAM modulation and double the bandwidth by using dual carriers (2 x 5 MHz = 10 MHz). This capability was introduced by 3GPP in the Release 8 specifications, and enables a theoretical peak downlink data throughput capability of 42 Mbps. For the uplink, using 16 QAM instead of QPSK modulation makes it possible to double the peak rate to 11.5 Mbps. DC-HSPA+ further extends the uplink performance up to 23 Mbps peak.
GSA also noted that there are now 410 commercial HSPA operators, confirming that every WCDMA operator worldwide has implemented and commercially launched HSPA on their networks.
Since its first commercial launch in February 2009, HSPA+ (HSPA Evolved) has become a mainstream technology. A total of 193 operators have committed to HSPA+ network deployments in 83 countries. 136 HSPA+ systems have been commercially launched in 69 countries, meaning that 1 in 3 HSPA operators have now deployed HSPA+ on their networks.
HSPA and HSPA+ deployments status – global:
- 446 HSPA operator commitments in 170 countries
- 410 commercial HSPA operators in 162 countries
- Includes 136 commercial HSPA Evolution (HSPA+) networks launched in 69 countries
- 33% of HSPA operators have commercially launched HSPA+
- 89 commercial HSPA+ networks support a peak downlink data speed of 21 Mbps
- 8 commercial HSPA+ networks support a peak downlink data speed of 28 Mbps
- 39 commercial networks support DC-HSPA+ for a peak downlink data speed of 42 Mbps
- Uplink speeds also increasing: 40% of HSPA operators have launched HSUPA
- At least 92 HSUPA networks (over 55%) support 5.8 Mbps peak uplink data speed; another 9 networks support 11.5 Mbps peak.
GSA has raised its market outlook and forecasts there will be at least 170 commercial HSPA+ systems in operation by end of 2011 (from 136 today). http://www.gsacom.com
