The world heads towards 50 billion connected devices by 2020

It took Ericsson some 20 years to install one million radio base stations as announced in 2007, but it took only three years to deliver the next million. Ericsson has led the adoption of mobile broadband technology and has supplied the majority of HSPA networks operating at speeds of 14.4 Mbps or higher. In addition, Ericsson says it is the only supplier participating in all major 4G/LTE network builds currently underway. Ericsson's mobile network equipment connects  more than 1.5 billion people worldwide.

"Ericsson's milestone delivery is proof of the explosive growth of mobile broadband," said Ericsson's Vice President and Head of Radio Networks Ulf Ewaldsson. "The exponential growth in consumer adoption, data speeds and technology advancements continues to transform the way people communicate."

"Ericsson base stations have been deployed by the majority of Australian operators over the past three decades and have helped to drive the spectacular growth of mobile services in Australia," said Kursten Leins, Head of Strategy and Marketing, Ericsson Australia/NZ.

“The base stations have reflected the evolution of global network technologies, including AMPS, GSM, WCDMA, and HSPA, and in the future, LTE,” said Leins.

According to the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) and Informa Telecoms, as of July 2010 there were over 4.45 billion GSM WCDMA-HSPA subscribers globally, representing almost 90% of global mobile subscribers. Two billion of these subscribers are within the APAC region.