Las Vegas, NV (AHN) - The number of people using HSPA mobile broadband has jumped 850 percent over the same time last year, the trade association representing GSM cell phone providers announced Monday. HSPA, or High Speed Packet Access, boasts mobile speeds of 1.8Mbps to 7.2Mbps.

The leap in usage means there are 32 million 3G connections - more than 10 times the 3 million registered in 2007, according to the GSM Association, a London-based group. Additionally, the number of HSPA devices has grown more than 265 percent while the number of mobile broadband networks is 166, the organization said.

However, with such fast growth may come growing pains. With more users comes increased network demand and potential slowdowns due to overcrowding. To compensate, network providers are investigating alternatives to traditional networks, including femtocell technology. Femtocells, now being tested in the U.S. and Europe, could relieve some of the new pressure by offloading expensive back-haul connections to home broadband networks.