GSM mobile wireless technology continues to outperform most of thecommunications technologies ever invented. Bycomparison, there are only 850 million personal computers worldwide,forecast to reach 2 billion in the year 2015 (Forrester, June 2007). Threebillion GSM/HSPA subscriptions is nearly triple the number of peopleaccessing the Internet around the world, 1.1 billion. Fixed landlinephones number just over this, at 1.3 billion globally. The closesttechnology in terms of number of electronic devices is the number oftelevision sets. But even that number falls a full billion short of the 3billion GSM/HSPA milestone, with an estimated 2 billion television sets inuse today (Source: Communities Dominate Brands blog, Tomi Ahonen, January2007).

Chris Pearson, President of 3G Americas, commented, "The rapid uptake ofGSM mobile wireless technology is unprecedented. Three billionsubscriptions -- nearly half of the world's population -- is a milestonethat is unmatched in terms of volume and affect on people's lives. The GSMfamily of technology's expansive scope is a central reason we will continueto thrive as the market leader for mobile broadband with HSPA, and in thefuture, LTE."

More than 700 GSM networks worldwide in 220 countries provide by far thelargest global coverage of any wireless technology. These services are notlimited to voice, as 291 EDGEdeployments across 141 countries deliver wireless data services today.High speed wireless data is further enhanced by 213commercial UMTS networks in service in 89 countries delivering 3Gservices, adding over 50 networks in the past year alone. It is expectedthat nearly all UMTS operators will deploy HSDPA and its upgrade to HSUPA,continuing the GSM evolutionary path and improving the customer experiencewith more content rich, interactive and streaming services. There arealready 187 commercial HSDPA networks worldwide in 80 countries, including39 with HSUPA enhanced uplink capabilities. (3G Americas refers to these 39networks with combined HSDPA and HSUPA service as HSPA networks.)

The 3GPP roadmap for GSM evolution follows a smooth andbackwards-compatible migration path from GSM and GPRS to EDGE, UMTS/HSPA,and eventually, LTE. 3G UMTS/HSPA subscriptions are estimated to number205 million today, representing the majority of total global 3Gsubscriptions. With LTE expected to be deployed commercially in 2010 andbeyond, leading GSM and CDMA operators worldwide have already announced LTEas theirnext-generation technology choice, including recent announcements by AT&Tand Verizon to deploy LTE in the United States.

GSM Family of Technologies Growth in the Americas

GSM is the only technology deployed in every country in the Americas, andcontinues to gain in both number of subscriptions and share of market. TheGSM family added over 110 million subscriptions in the Western Hemispherein the year 2007. Today, total regional subscriptions number an estimated420 million.

From March 2007 to March 2008, GSM added over 100 million subscriptions inLatin America and the Caribbean for a total of more than 332 millionsubscriptions and a wireless market share of 83%, according to estimates byInforma Telecoms and Media. As of April 2008, there are 19 commercialHSDPA networks launched in 11 countries of this region. New launches ofHSDPA occur almost on a weekly basis, and operators such as Telcel continueexpansion with current commercial HSDPA deployments in 16 cities in Mexico.

In North America, operators continue upgrading and expanding their HSDPAnetworks. Rogers in Canada announced today their commercial launch of HSPAat 7.2 Mbps in several cities, making them the first operator in theWestern Hemisphere to announce this upgrade. AT&T's HSDPA coverage isbeing extended from more than 270 major markets today to 350 leading citiesby the end of the year, and the network is undergoing upgrades to HSPA aswell. AT&T today reports average customer speeds of 600-1400 Kbps forHSDPA mobile broadband service, and this continues to increase with networkimprovements.

About Informa Telecoms & Media

Informa Telecoms & Media provides business intelligence and strategicservices to the global telecoms and media markets. All of our products andservices -- from news, trend analysis and forecasting to industry data,face-to-face events and training -- are driven by our deep understanding ofthe markets we serve and by our goal to help our clients make betterbusiness decisions. www.informatm.com

About 3G Americas, LLC

3G Americas is an industry trade organization composed oftelecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organization'smission is to promote and facilitate the seamless deployment throughout theAmericas of the GSM family of technologies, including LTE. 3G Americas hascontributed to the successful commercial rollout of GSM across the Americasand its place as the number one technology in the region, as well as theglobal adoption of EDGE. The organization aims to develop the expansivewireless ecosystem of networks, devices, and applications enabled by GSMand its evolution to LTE. 3G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, WAwith an office for Latin America and the Caribbean in Dallas, Texas. Moreinformation is available at www.3gamericas.org.