3GPP mobile broadband technology (UMTS-HSPA) saw 81% growth throughout the Americas for the year ending March 2010, according to the 3G Americas wireless industry trade association and subscription data from Informa Telecoms & Media. Propelled by an increase in 3G network deployments, upgrades to HSPA networks, mobile broadband subscriptions, netbooks, and smart phones, operators are reporting significant growth in revenue from data services.

Total 3GPP subscriptions (GSM-HSPA) in the Western Hemisphere reached 621.7 million as of March 2010 and captured a 74% share of the market. In the first quarter alone, 22.1 million were reported in the Western Hemisphere. And in the year ending March 2010, there were 33.4 million new UMTS-HSPA 3GPP mobile broadband connections for a total of nearly 75 million 3G subscribers, representing 81% growth in the region on 64 commercial UMTS-HSPA networks.

Latin America and the Caribbean continued to see a dramatic increase in market share for 3GPP technologies, rising to 92% by the end of the first quarter of 2010. This was supported by 20 million new 3GPP technology connections, including 5 million UMTS-HSPA connections. In the year ending March 2010, 3GPP technologies added 68.6 million new connections, including 12.6 million UMTS-HSPA subscriptions. Total 3GPP subscriptions (GSM-HSPA) now equal 486 million, including 19 million UMTS-HSPA subscriptions. The region represents 10% of worldwide subscriptions.

Operators in Latin America have shifted their focus from voice-centric (2G) to data-centric (3G) services by addressing data value-added services and higher-value users. Today, there are 56 UMTS-HSPA networks commercially deployed in 24 countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Data services were Telefonica’s key growth driver for the first quarter of 2010, with positive growth rates of 43.6% year-on-year. Data service revenues accounted for 20.6% of total mobile revenues in the first quarter for a 5.3% year-on-year increase. The company’s mobile broadband client base increased by 2.5 times in the year ending March 2010 to reach almost 5 million in the first quarter of 2010.

America Movil has deployed 3G HSPA in all 17 countries where it operates in Latin America and the Caribbean, keeping its focus on higher-value users through advanced value-added services. Data revenues continued to grow rapidly and have averaged 21.3 percent of services revenues in the region. In Mexico, in the first quarter of 2010, America Movil reported a 24.1% increase in equipment revenues and a 7.9% increase in service revenues on the back of data revenues that rose 28.7%.

In the United States and Canada, 3GPP technologies added a net 2 million new subscribers in 2010, with 5 million new mobile broadband (UMTS-HSPA) connections. Today, there are eight commercially deployed UMTS-HSPA networks in the U.S. and Canada. According to industry analyst Chetan Sharma, the average industry percentage contribution of data to overall ARPU in the U.S., where all four national wireless service providers rank among the top 10 global mobile data operators, crossed the 30% mark in the first quarter of 2010 and is likely to surpass 35% by the end of the year.

With recent deployments of HSPA and the rollout of HSPA+, T-Mobile USA experienced the highest percentage of growth among its peers in mobile data service revenues for the quarter. In its 2010 first quarter earnings statement, T-Mobile reported that 5.2 million customers were using 3G-capable converged devices on its network. That’s an increase of 33% from 3.9 million customers as of the fourth quarter of 2009 and a significant increase from 1.5 million customers as of the first quarter of 2009.

AT&T experienced 29.8% growth in wireless data revenues in the first quarter of 2010, up $947 million, versus the year-earlier quarter to $4.1 billion. The company had a 3.3 million net increase in 3G postpaid integrated wireless devices on the network to reach 26.8 million, which is more than double the company’s year-earlier total. 

As of the first quarter of 2010, there were 4.3 billion 3GPP connections worldwide, with 3GPP mobile broadband subscriptions nearing the half-billion point at 493 million UMTS-HSPA connections. This number continues to grow, representing 11.4% of all subscriptions. Also worldwide, 346 commercial networks in 148 countries offer UMTS-HSPA. As the 3GPP roadmap evolves to Long-Term Evolution (LTE), nearly 100 operators anticipate deployments of 3GPP LTE technology. TeliaSonera already has launched the first networks in Sweden and Finland, with an additional 60 anticipated LTE operator announcements worldwide.

3G Americas

Informa Telecoms & Media