Will start nationwide HSDPA roll out in 2006
3 today announced a” successful” trial of HSDPA on its network.
3 said that HSDPA is just the first of a number of technological advances that it plans within the 3G progression path.
The trial, which has been running for the last four months, has delivered speeds of up to 1.4Mpbs, over three times faster than current 3G speeds, the operator said.
The first voice and data downloads on HSDPA were performed over 3’s network in Maidenhead. The trial, conducted on Nokia and NEC infrastructure, will be extended to selected urban areas in May and 3 will implement HSDPA in its commercial network in the second half of 2006.
David Cooper, Chief Technical Officer 3 UK said, ”3 has led the development of 3G in the UK and with this successful trial we are leading the development of HSDPA. Our objective for 2006 and beyond is to continue to have the best 3G network in the UK, HSDPA is the next step.”