SAWRIDGEWORTH, U.K. -- New surveys published today by GSA - the Global mobile Suppliers Association, confirm an unprecedented number of product launches for users of GSM/EDGE and 3G/WCDMA networks.

The "EDGE Devices" survey identifies 307 GSM/EDGE-enabled devices launched by 46 suppliers. This compares with 113 in a survey one year earlier (when there were 21 suppliers) and represents growth of over 170%. The new total of 307 includes 60 devices supporting both EDGE and WCDMA, and 31 devices which support EDGE and HSDPA.

GSA confirmed earlier this month that there are 204 GSM/EDGE network deployments in 113 countries, of which 151 EDGE networks in 88 countries have launched commercial services. 67 operators are deploying combined EDGE-WCDMA networks, of which 40 have launched.

A related GSA survey "3G/WCDMA-HSDPA devices - Variety & Availability" also published today, confirms that 355 WCDMA-capable devices have been launched by 41 suppliers, compared to 166 (from 25 suppliers) in May 2005, and representing growth of 114%. The survey further confirms that a succession of recent product launch announcements has pushed up to 32 the number of devices which support HSDPA, the first evolution of WCDMA enabling the full mobile broadband experience.

WCDMA is the leading mobile 3G system globally. The majority of systems operate in the internationally IMT-2000 core band spectrum of 1920 - 1980 MHz paired with 2110 - 2170 MHz. A number of operators are deploying WCDMA in the 850 MHz band, and several more have expressed strong interest in this evolution. GSA confirms that the number of WCDMA user devices launched in the market for WCDMA at 850 MHz has risen to 12 (from 7 suppliers) with the majority of devices including mobile phones, also supporting HSDPA.

The huge range of devices for GSM/EDGE, WCDMA and HSDPA reported today covers all market segments and form factors including PC datacards, laptops with embedded GSM/3G modules, mobile phones, modules for M2M applications, USB modems, etc.. Some products make it possible for HSDPA operators to address wireless ADSL opportunities, for example using broadband wireless routers for providing wide area access to GSM/EDGE, WCDMA-HSDPA networks.

Last week GSA reported that there are 108 commercial WCDMA operators in 47 countries. The majority are enabling HSDPA in their networks as the new baseline for 3G globally. According to GSA research, 96 operators have committed to HSDPA in 48 countries, of which 23 networks are delivering commercial services in 18 countries in Asia, North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA)