Survey finds enterprises prefer HSPA over Wi-Fi

A survey commissioned by the GSM Association (GSMA) across the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific found that high-speed packet access (HSPA) mobile broadband technology is growing in popularity among global IT decision makers. The survey of 1,000 IT managers/directors and chief information officers showed that many global organizations already rely on HSPA for mobile broadband connectivity compared to those that use Wi-Fi. Of the organizations surveyed, 36 percent currently deploy HSPA as their principle means of employee mobile broadband access.

With worldwide enterprise mobile technology budgets expected to almost double over the next 12 months, supporting employee mobility and driving employee productivity are among the top priorities for senior IT staff. HSPA mobile broadband looks set to benefit strongly from this with 24 percent of global enterprises expecting the technology to become the industry standard over the next five years.

The survey shows that on average, 12.3 percent of global workforces (per business) have access to mobile broadband. This figure is set to increase by 25 percent over the next 12 months, introducing millions of new users, as organizations look to harness the enhanced flexibility, faster connections and productivity gains driven by mobile broadband connectivity.

"The findings provide an extremely encouraging global outlook for HSPA mobile broadband technology penetration within enterprises," said Michael O'Hara, chief marketing officer at the GSMA. "The results clearly demonstrate that enterprises are keen to innovate and have recognized the freedom and flexibility that HSPA mobile broadband delivers."

A vast majority of enterprises surveyed revealed that of the equipment they provide to employees currently, more than 70 percent provide laptops, VPN access and various other remote access technologies. Because mobility has become one of the most important technological considerations, the provision of desktops is on the decline. This is further proved by the fact that 59 percent of global organizations have provided wireless Internet to its employees.

While the outlook for enterprise mobile broadband technology globally looks extremely positive, the survey also revealed that only the more senior positions (60 percent of company directors, 62 percent managers) and company sales representatives (39 percent) are provided with mobile broadband devices.

"Global enterprises clearly understand the importance of mobility and the additional freedom and flexibility that HSPA mobile broadband offers," O'Hara added. "As the global HSPA ecosystem continues to grow at unprecedented levels, enhanced economies of scale will make HSPA even more accessible, both from a price and coverage perspective. This will lead to the technology becoming more widely deployed within enterprises, to employees at a variety of different levels."