Mobilkom Austria Claims First European Launch of HSPA+ Mobile Broadband

Telekom Austria has announced that its mobile unit, mobilkom austria, has become the first operator in Europe to launch HSPA+ services—offering a potential mobile data download speeds of 21Mbps. Powered by HSPA Evolution, Ericsson's high-speed broadband-access technology, the operator will roll out the network in parts of Vienna, with further hotspots following throughout the country during 2009.

HSPA+ boosts network capacity and enables peak data rates of up to 21Mbps, with mobilkom austria hoping to reach transmission speeds of up to 28.8Mbps later in the year. The technology will allow a greater number of customers to enjoy higher mobile broadband speeds, especially in congested urban areas. Mobilkom austria is offering its first HSDA+ modem, the Huawei E270+, on its A1 online shop for EUR 49 (US$67).

Outlook and Implications

• The First to Go Commercial in Europe: The first operator to launch a commercial version of the HSPA+ standard was Australia's Telstra, which enabled 21Mbps mobile broadband using Ericsson's Evolution technology (see Australia: 17 February 2009: Telstra Launches 21Mbps Mobile Broadband Services). In Europe, Hutchison's 3 Scandinavia has achieved up-to-21Mbps speeds on its HSPA network, but has yet to deploy full HSPA+ (see Sweden: 8 December 2008: Ericsson Brings 21-Mbps Mobile Broadband to 3 Scandinavia). Vipnet, Telekom Austria's Croatian mobile subsidiary, has successfully tested HSPA+ and will upgrade its 3G network to support the technology in major cities by "early Spring" this year (see Croatia: 9 February 2009: Vipnet to Offer HSPA+ in Croatia), while Vodafone has trialled the technology in Spain, and Telecom Italia and Telefonica's German O2 unit are planning network launches this year (see Spain: 16 January 2009: Vodafone Pilots 16-Mbps HSPA+ Mobile Broadband in Spain; Italy: 24 December 2008: Telecom Italia to Offer 28Mbps Mobile Broadband in 2009; Germany: 18 February 2009: Telefónica O2 Germany Gears Up for HSPA+, Acquires 80 Stores from Freenet). Elsewhere, in January 2009, Singapore operator Starhub commenced the upgrade of its mobile broadband network to HSPA+, while U.A.E. operator Etisalat has successfully conducted trials of HSPA+ and is on track to launch services by the second half of 2009 (see United Arab Emirates: 30 March 2009: Etisalat Conducts HSPA+ Broadband Trials in U.A.E.). With the sale of the Huawei modem, Telekom Austria has managed to achieve the first commercial version of the service outside Asia, giving the operator significant esteem.

• Austria Leads the Market in Mobile Broadband: Hannes Ametsreiter, Telekom Austria Group’s new CEO, who will take the helm on 1 April following the announcement this week of the departure of Boris Nemsic (see Austria: 6 March 2009: Telekom Austria Names Fixed-Line Boss Ametsreiter as New CEO), stated: "Our 4.5 million subscribers can rely on the best, fastest and safest network of the country. With the launch of HSPA+ we are demonstrating our innovation leadership in the European market, offering our customers higher Internet browsing speeds and significantly improving their mobile broadband experience." Austria has the highest mobile broadband penetration in Europe, with every third household in having at least one mobile broadband user and every fifth household expressing the intention to buy a mobile broadband service. Mobilkom austria's mobile broadband network coverage currently amounts to 99% of the Austrian population. With Austria leading the European market in mobile broadband, it seems appropriate that the country should be first with an HSPA+ network—but several other European operators are not far behind in taking the plunge.

• A Boost for the Struggling Incumbent: Mobilkom austria has tripled its mobile broadband subscribers in the past few years, with its customer base growing from 120,000 to 400,000 between 2006 and 2008. The operator now plans to cover 90% of the Austrian population with the UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA network, and to introduce the HSUPA 5.7 technology, in addition to HSPA+, in highly congested areas as of next month. Telekom Austria CEO-in-waiting Ametsreiter stated: "The high quality and speed of our network along, the attractive prices of our product bundles and the constant improvement of customer usability and convenience as well as of bandwidth-capacity are the main reasons behind this massive increase in mobile broadband subscribers and usage intensity." The incumbent operator has recently seen losses in its fixed-line market were offset by growth in its mobile businesses, where it saw subscriber base growth of 15.2% to 17.8 million customers globally, with a strong showing from its new Belarus operator, Velcom. The company has also recently been hit by huge charges relating to efforts to reduce its workforce and the sell-off of emerging European assets. Telekom Austria now faces further uncertainty, with rumours of a sell-off of the government stake in the incumbent (see Austria: 6 February 2009: Telekom Austria Could Be Fully Privatised This Year—Report), but the huge growth expected in its mobile broadband market could well be the light at the end of the tunnel.