At the end of 2009, the GSM family of technologies realized:
91 percent share of market in Latin America for GSM-HSPA 

60 HSPA mobile broadband networks across Americas in 52 countries
602 million subscriptions in Western Hemisphere at year-end 2009, up 15 percent from year-end 2008*
UMTS-HSPA was the fastest-growing major mobile broadband technology in the Western Hemisphere with subscriptions up 136 percent to 64 million
BELLEVUE, Wash. -
 
GSM technology and its evolution to HSPA continues to be the overwhelming mobile wireless technology leader of mobile broadband deployments and adoption with 602 million subscriptions across the Western Hemisphere, 3G Americas announced today. With the addition of more than 77.5 million new GSM-HSPA connections and an annual growth of 15 percent in 2009, GSM has widened the margin of leadership in market share from other technologies in its position as the No.1 technology in the region.
 
Of particular note, mobile connections in Latin America surpassed half a billion in the last quarter of 2009. The GSM-HSPA technology family comprised 91 percent market share in Latin America with more than 464 million connections reported at year-end 2009. In 2009, the number of GSM-HSPA subscriptions in Latin America increased by nearly 64 million, of which 9.4 million were 3G connections. GSM technologies have seen rapid growth in Brazil with 28 million new connections in 2009.
 
"Mobility serves more than half a billion users in Latin America where the average wireless penetration already exceeds 86 percent," said Erasmo Rojas, Director of Latin America and the Caribbean for 3G Americas. "Citizens of the region are now connecting to the broadband Internet world with 3G HSPA high-speed mobile data networks. By the end of 2009, the adoption of these mobile broadband wireless services increased rapidly in Latin America with an annual growth that surpassed 200 percent, nearly 14 million HSPA subscriptions and commercial networks by 52 operators in 24 countries. HSPA wireless operators in the region are realizing increasing data revenues while serving society's needs for better connectivity and Internet broadband access anywhere and at anytime."
 
In North America, GSM-HSPA technology continues to add more subscriptions than any other wireless technology with 13.6 million new subscriptions added in 2009 and 8 million in the fourth quarter alone.
"GSM-HSPA operators in the U.S. had a great fourth quarter, adding more subscriptions than in the previous three quarters combined," said Mike Roberts, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. "Across North and Latin America, GSM to HSPA accounted for 73 percent of mobile subscriptions at the end of 2009, up from 70 percent at the end of 2008."
 
UMTS-HSPA grew substantially in the Western Hemisphere with subscriptions up 136 percent to total more than 64 million at the end of 2009. Operators continue to deploy HSPA, the world's most popular mobile broadband technology, with 60 commercial networks in 54 countries throughout the region.
 
Globally, GSM-HSPA technologies reached 4.17 billion subscriptions or 89 percent market share. Today, there are more than 450 million 3G UMTS-HSPA subscriptions representing 10 percent of the GSM family technology market on 345 commercial networks in 139 countries worldwide.
 
HSPA will remain the leading mobile broadband technology well into the future. Informa forecasts that there will be 1 billion HSPA subscriptions worldwide by mid-2012 and 2 billion by 2015.
For more information and to view a variety of statistical charts on the GSM family of technologies, visit www.3gamericas.org.
 
*All subscription data in release from Informa Telecoms & Media
 
 
About 3G Americas: Unifying the Americas through Wireless Technology 
 
3G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization's mission is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of the GSM family of technologies including LTE throughout the Americas. 3G Americas has contributed to the successful commercial rollout of GSM across the Americas and its place as the No. 1 technology in the region, as well as the global adoption of EDGE. The organization aims to develop the expansive wireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSM and its evolution to LTE. 3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., with an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas. More information is available at www.3gamericas.org.
 
 
About Informa Telecoms & Media

Informa Telecoms & Media (ITM; www.informatm.com) conducts primary and secondary research on the latest trends impacting the mobile communications, fixed communications and TV sectors, on a global basis. ITM's market intelligence services - World Cellular Information Service (WCIS), World Broadband Information Service (WBIS) and the Intelligence Centre - give clients access to market forecasts and key performance indicators (KPIs), as well as detailed analysis and exploration of trends.  These comprehensive and reliable data sources combined with access to a team of dedicated analysts provide clients with essential business tools to assist in their strategic and tactical decision making processes. ITM also organizes over 100 annual events bringing together the industry's leading decision makers.