Telekom Austria Group today announced that its mobile subsidiary, mobilkom austria, is claimed to be the first operator in Europe to launch HSPA+ high-speed mobile 3G technology, in cooperation with Ericsson. HSPA+ boosts network capacity and enables peak data rates of up to 21 Mbps, allowing a greater number of customers to enjoy higher mobile broadband speeds especially in congested areas. And, as of today, the Huawei HSPA+ modem E270+ is available at the A1 online shop for EUR 49.
This new mobile technology increases mobilkom austria's network capacity. In a first step, HSPA+ will be rolled-out in Vienna's 10th district, with further hotspots following throughout the country by the second quarter of 2009. Transmission speeds of up to 28.8 Mbps will be reached in the course of the year, Ericsson is the main supplier for mobilkom austria's network up-grade to HSPA+ and is also responsible for system integration services.
Hannes Ametsreiter, Telekom Austria Group's CEO-designate who takes the helm on April 1, commented: "Our 4.5 million subscribers can rely on the best, fastest and safest network of the country. With the launch of HSPA+ we are demonstrating our innovation leadership in the European market, offering our customers higher Internet browsing speeds and significantly improving their mobile broadband experience."
Roland Nordgren, Head of Ericsson Central Europe and President of Ericsson Austria, said: "This launch marks an important milestone for mobile broadband in Austria. We are proud to provide mobilkom austria with the latest mobile broadband technology and support its position as a leader in innovation."
Alan Hadden, President of the GSA (Global Mobile Supplier Association) added: "I have been following mobilkom austria for several years. This company really understands how to shape the market with new technologies. Due to the fact that Austria has the highest mobile broadband penetration in Europe, it is quite logical that the Austrian market leader is the first European operator to introduce HSPA+, since they have to plan the future capacity of their network".
Austria has always played a pioneering role internationally in mobile broadband. Every third household in Austria has at least one mobile broadband user and every fifth household has the intention to buy a mobile broadband service. Within mobilkom austria's mobile broadband network, subscriber numbers have tripled in the past few years. Between 2006 and 2008, the customer base grew from 120,000 to 400,000, with the share of business customers also showing strong growth rates and mobile broadband becoming more and more popular among both the young and elderly people.
"The high quality and speed of our network along, the attractive prices of our product bundles and the constant improvement of customer usability and convenience as well as of bandwidth-capacity are the main reasons behind this massive increase in mobile broadband subscribers and usage intensity," added Ametsreiter.
mobilkom austria's mobile broadband network coverage currently amounts to 99% of the Austrian population. In order to meet rising demand for higher bandwidths, the company is pursuing a two-pronged approach: expanding network capacity on the one hand, while introducing new technologies in congested areas with high transmission volumes on the other. In the course of the year, the company is planning to cover 90% of the Austrian population with the UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA network and to introduce the HSUPA 5.7 technology, in addition to HSPA+, in highly congested areas as of April 2009. This new technology provides upload speeds of up to 5.7 Mbps and supports a wide range of currently existing hardware. The necessary software upgrade for several mobile broadband devices will be available free-of-charge at www.A1.net in April 2009.