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.