The coverage of the world’s mobile
networks is constantly increasing
as more and more base stations are
being deployed. GSM/EDGE is the
technology that by far has the widest
reach and today covers more than
85 percent of the world’s population
(see figure 7). WCDMA/HSPA covered
around 35 percent of the population
by 2010 but is now accessible by over
40 percent of the world population.
Further build out of WCDMA/HSPA
coverage will be driven by the
availability of affordable smartphones,
the surge in mobile broadband
services and faster speeds, as well as
regulator requirements to connect the
unconnected. By 2016 it is estimated
that 80 percent of the world’s
population will be able to access
the internet using WCDMA/
HSPA networks.
The combined 2G and 3G population
coverage for CDMA is estimated to be
above 50 percent. CDMA coverage
is expected to grow slightly, and
most large CDMA operators have
announced a migration plan to LTE.
