Seems like it's all go on the mobile broadband front. The GSMA announced last month that in the year to the end of March, HSPA subs grew tenfold worldwide and now number more than 32 million. Over the same period, said the lobby group, the number of networks enabled with the technology jumped by 44 per cent to 166 in 73 countries. Not to be outdone in the celebratory announcement stakes, the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (the GMSA, not to be confused with the GSMA, or indeed the Popular People's Front of Judea) offered up its own findings. The number of HSDPA devices on the market is on an annual growth curve of around 150 per cent, apparently, with 637 models now available. The number of suppliers grew from 62 to 110 over the past year. There are signs too that mobile broadband is being sensibly positioned by some carriers which want to provide access rather than content. The Informer visited a round table on the topic recently, chaired by 3UK's CEO Kevin Russell. "Mobile broadband is exciting," he said. "This is where the industry will go, and we will go faster. We're not focused right now on content. You have to simplify your business, that's why we're focusing on mobile broadband."
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