Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: Ericsson, HSPA, MWC, Broadband | Themes: Smartphones
Is 7.2Mbps mobile broadband simply not cutting it these days?
If standard mobile broadband is just too slow for you, help may be around the corner. At this month's Mobile World Congress (MWC), Ericsson is set to demo its new 42 Mbps HSPA+ mobile broadband service. No, that's not a typo of 4.2 Mbps; that would be forty-two.
The service utilizes a new dual-band method of sending and receiving data. The mobile user can receive information on two different channels, effectively doubling download speeds. "With this demonstration, Ericsson shows its continued technology leadership," says Ericsson's Product Area Radio VP Ulf Ewaldsson. "High peak data rates, increased capacity and low network costs are important ingredients for successful mobile broadband services."
HSPA is currently being tested in Australia, where wireless carrier Telstra is operating a 21 Mbps service. During the demo at MWC in Barcelona, that speed will be doubled to 42 Mbps. The service uses base stations, and will also be available for consumers and business via a special router. Such a mobile broadband router would offer a viable alternative to traditional WiFi, although whoever uses the service would need the appropriate hardware on their end.
So when should we expect this kind of speed in the States? AT&T is slated to offer the 21 Mbps service sometime later this year. It may not be the drool-worthy 42 Mbps other countries will undoubtedly receive, but it will be almost three times faster than what is currently available in the American market. Ericsson's technology should compete nicely with the WiMax service being touted by Intel, which also offers upload and download speeds far beyond what current mobile broadband is capable of. WiMax, which can (theoretically) offer download speeds of up to 72 Mbits is currently available in Baltimore, Maryland and Portland, Oregon as well as several international markets.
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Remind me again why I'm paying AT&T $50 bucks a month for 6Mb/s DSL?
The 42Mb/s service will undoubtedly cost a fricken fortune per month, but if they had a 5Mb or 10Mb service that was comparable in price to what DSL or cable companies offer, I'd move away from wired connections altogether. I already don't have a home phone line anymore.
NOOOOOOO! My wife will make me buy her a new cell phone...
Not too shabby. But maybe this will drive down the monthly cost of data connections overall.
They know that even if they do drop this out to the market, in this economy, there wont be many buyers AT ALL. HOPEFULLY they have the right idea about this and are going to adjust pricing accordingly to make it a selling point to consumers, thus pushing the now-standard speed prices down more.
It'll happen eventually, but heres to hoping sooner than later.
Theoretical maximum speeds are not everything.
Nice that they're fast. However, how much will it take to roll out the system? How good are speeds throughout the coverage area? How much will it cost? What are the bandwidth caps? How many simultaneous users will this handle?
Too many questions to jump for joy.
So why do we need these kinds of speeds on our phones? I don't know of any bittorent clients for phones. How about we focus on making it so that i don't have to bring a charger with me everywhere just incase i decide to use mobile broadband features on my phone. I have a charger at home, in my car, and a usb charger i use at work and keep with me all the time. The phone i'm talking about is a HTC G1 btw. Had a Treo 700w before and it was slightly better on battery but still pretty bad.
So why do we need these kinds of speeds on our phones? I don't know of any bittorent clients for phones. How about we focus on making it so that i don't have to bring a charger with me everywhere just incase i decide to use mobile broadband features on my phone. I have a charger at home, in my car, and a usb charger i use at work and keep with me all the time. The phone i'm talking about is a HTC G1 btw. Had a Treo 700w before and it was slightly better on battery but still pretty bad.
I hear that. Fix my battery before worrying about making a device that can suck it down faster.
Hopefully soon, Telkomsel the bigest Indonesian Operator can utilize this technology or the real 4G with hundred MB per second.
Forty-Two!?
Oops, rest of message didn't post.
Seriously though. When this can cover the entire country, we can kiss satellite radio good-bye. Mobile streaming internet radio.
2$/mb is all I have to say..
Need to fix that limitation first.
In Sweden anyway.