AbstractIn this paper, performance analysis of a High Speed Packet Access network in the presence of machine‐to‐machine (M2M) and online gaming traffic is described. The evaluation was performed in a live network, using a number of mobile phones to generate additional traffic load. One Node B, with different configurations, was used throughout the experiments. The main areas of impact are identified, and similar underlying mechanisms are later recognised through deployment of a commercial large‐scale M2M application. The paper describes the key findings of the analysis of five test cases from the network performance aspect. It further associates perceived network behaviour with the end‐user experience in terms of the average delays. At the end, a comparison with the observed impacts of a live M2M application is given, and the main issues highlighted, together with a discussion on possible solutions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.