LONDON – As global HSPA connections topped the 200 million mark, the GSMA announced that mobile operators around the world will invest up to $72 billion in mobile broadband technologies this year.
Asia Pacific will see the greatest investment in mobile broadband with predicted capital expenditure of up to $34 billion. North America follows with up to $19 billion, with Europe expected to invest up to $14 billion.
Mobile broadband is set to account for 52% of all operator investment in mobile infrastructure globally. Of all the regions, North America is expected to spend the greatest percentage – 80% – of its total mobile CAPEX investment on mobile broadband.
"The forecasted investment in Mobile Broadband technologies reflects the importance the mobile industry places on enabling consumers to access any type of content on the move – whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want," said Michael O’Hara, CMO at the GSMA, in the announcement. "HSPA and HSPA+ have become the dominant global Mobile Broadband technologies and are set to benefit from a significant proportion of this CAPEX investment, resulting in faster and more reliable Mobile Broadband services being available to more subscribers around the world by the end of this year."
The GSM Association is a global trade group representing nearly 800 mobile operators and more than 200 handset makers, software companies, equipment providers, Internet companies, and media and entertainment organizations in 219 countries.
