Mobile broadband connections have crossed the 150 million mark worldwide, according to industry reports.

Allot Communications, a leader in internet protocol services optimisation, said that worldwide mobile data bandwidth usage had increased significantly by 30 per cent during the second quarter of 2009.

Asia leads the growth with 36 per cent; Europe posted 28 per cent growth and the Americas 25 per cent.

The Allot report showed that subscribers, particularly heavy data users, do not distinguish between their fixed and mobile networks, and seem to expect the same service from the internet, irrespective of their access method. By extension, today's mobile operators face the same challenges as their wireline counterparts, but with more technological limitations. All of these problems are exacerbated by the network infrastructure where the cells can serve as natural bandwidth bottlenecks, often greatly contributing to network congestion and delay.

The report said that hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) browsing is the most popular application globally and usage increased by 21 per cent in the second quarter. HTTP streaming is the fastest-growing application with a usage increase of 58 per cent; this includes streaming websites such as YouTube and Hulu.

HTTP downloads, which experienced 34 per cent growth, are now almost as popular as peer-to-peer (P2P), and in Europe, Middle East and Africa (Emea) have even overtaken P2P in popularity. P2P accounts for 42 per cent of bandwidth utilisation in the busiest cells on the network, but only 21 per cent in the average cell.

"This report enables operators to map out subscriber behaviour in all its complexities," said Rami Hadar, President and CEO of Allot Communications. "It highlights how subscribers are really using their mobile data services and provides an invaluable overview of the industry and the changes that are taking place as it matures."

In another report, the GSM Association said high speed packet access (HSPA) has firmly established itself as the world's dominant mobile broadband technology and the fastest adopted mobile technology of all time.

According to the report, Asia-Pacific accounts for almost 50 million live HSPA connections today and will have more than 56 million by this September. HSPA connections in Emea will pass the 50 million mark any day and will have reached almost 60 million by the end of September this year.

GSMA said the US currently had almost 32 million HSPA connections with the number expected to rise to nearly 37 million by the end of third quarter. The Americas will have just over four million connections by the end of September.

"The tremendous success of HSPA demonstrates the enormous ongoing demand for a truly mobile broadband access," said Dan Warren, Director of Technology, GSMA.

"HSPA's leading position is not just important to the mobile industry – by using a single technology for mobile broadband services globally, we avoid the fragmentation that limits its potential to improve the quality of people's lives." The phenomenal growth of HSPA is set to continue, with 200 million connections expected by the first quarter of 2010.

The consumer electronics, automotive, energy and utility industries are beginning to understand the possibilities of embedding mobile broadband into their products; while governments around the world are making the right spectrum available to support mobile broadband services today and into the future.

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