Mobile broadband over the HSPA mode is gaining rapid traction. A new research from Wireless Intelligence states that there are 9 million new HSPA mobile broadband connections being added every month as compared to 5.5 million over a year ago.

Europe and Asia-Pac each are registering 3 million new connections every month. North America is witnessing additions of 1.3 million.

By the end of 2009, another 27 million new mobile broadband connections are estimated to be added. The demand is expected to come from Africa, Eastern Europe and the American market.

Globally there are 321 HSPA networks across 120 countries with 285 of these networks live. Presently there are more than 167.5 million subscribers for HSPA-based services.

“HSPA technology continues its phenomenal growth as thousands of operators, vendors, application and service providers back the technology, ensuring the presence of a vibrant and competitive ecosystem,” says Dan Warren, Director of Technology at the GSMA. “This expanding ecosystem also encompasses the next generation of GSM technologies, HSPA+ and LTE. These next generation network technologies will continue to deliver increased data speeds and enable mobile operators to constantly improve service experience by delivering the latest, feature rich multimedia applications to their customers.”