DL - 4G Americas

downlink throughput of up to 21 Mbps, beginning its full network upgrade. As of November 2010, T-
Mobile’s network covered 75 metro areas on its way to covering 100 metro areas and 200 million
potential customers by the end of the year. HSPA+ was the fastest nationwide wireless network in the
U.S. as of the third quarter of 2010 T-Mobile announced plans to deploy dual-carrier HSPA+ with peak
theoretical downlink speeds of 42 Mbps in 2011.
Rogers Wireless in Canada introduced its mobile broadband network early, with coast-to-coast coverage
of HSPA with download capabilities up to 7.2 Mbps by July 2009 at which time it was in 25 markets
representing 75 percent of the Canadian population. Rogers was the sixth operator in the world and the
first in the Western Hemisphere to launch HSPA+ in Toronto in August 2009 and one month later covered
the five largest cities in the country. By mid-2010, Rogers covered 80 percent of the Canadian population
with HSPA+ at peak theoretical downlink speeds of 21 Mbps. In October 2010, Rogers announced a
comprehensive technical trial of LTE in Ottawa in high and low frequency bands. Rogers was the first to
trial in the recently auctioned AWS 1700 and 2100 MHz spectrum and will be working with Industry
Canada to expand trials if they secure a development license for the 700 MHz spectrum band. Telus and
Bell Canada deployed HSPA+ at peak theoretical downlink speeds up to 21 Mbps across their Canadian
markets in November 2009. Additionally Sask Tel launched HSPA+ in August 2010.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, there were 64 commercial HSPA networks in 27 countries as of
December 2010, with four new HSPA+ networks; two in Chile and one each in Bermuda and Mexico.
Since the Latin regulators have not availed operators much opportunity to acquire needed spectrum for
LTE, the opportunity presented for HSPA+ is particularly appealing to wireless operators in the region.
América Móvil conducted trials of HSPA+ in some key countries in the first half of 2010 with commercial
launches to take place mostly during 2011. Telefónica launched HSPA+ in Chile in 2010 and plans to
extend this to its other Latin America properties as well. Cable & Wireless/LIME plans to progress directly
to HSPA+ in less than two years time in markets where it has not already deployed HSPA.
Figure P.1. Global UMTS Subscriber Growth Forecast. 2
2 World Cellular Information Service Forecast, Informa Telecoms & Media, December 2010.
www.4gamericas.org February 2011 Page 7