Europe's 3G networks almost ready for broadband challenge
Published: 5 February, 2009
¬Wireless technologies will be expected to play a major role in expanding broadband access to underserved areas across Europe, and there is mounting evidence that the cellcos' networks are almost ready for the task.
The UK's Digital Britain proposals, published last week, and a European Union stimulus plan for universal broadband, both place heavy stress on using 3G+ and/or WiMAX to bring high speed internet links to the whole population. France is expected to be a frontrunner too, and already has multiple projects in place to cover rural areas such as the Pyrenees using mobile broadband. Now French regulator Arcep has has published a report that shows that mobile network speeds in the country have doubled in just one year.
Most of the tests were carried out in the 12 largest cities, but Orange said they indicate the readiness of HSPA to deliver true broadband, even in rural regions. Average speeds to a PC card or USB dongle were 1.5 times higher than in similar tests a year earlier, reaching 450Kbps, while peak speeds were doubled at 4Mbps. On the uplink, the respective rates were 400Kbps and 740Kbps. The bitrates are comparable to those offered for entry level ADSL services in France.
Vodafone is in the vanguard of introducing the fastest available 3G technology, HSPA+, in its key European territories. It has carried out advanced trials in the UK and Italy, and has now shown off a test network in Portugal, using HSPA+ 64QAM technology. In theory this can reach 21.6Mbps on the download, although in real life, Vodafone and partner Ericsson achieved peaks of 16Mbps. Vodafone Portugal is expecting to launch commercial HSPA+ later this year, once data devices are readily available. The next phase will be to add MIMO smart antenna support to HSPA+, boosting theoretical speeds to 28.8Mbps, though this requires hardware as well as software updates to base station and device.
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