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Huawei promises 56Mbps HSPA+ next year
Published: 22 September, 2009
Tags >> Huawei Technologies | HSDPA
Huawei has been working hard to overcome its image of being cheap but lo-tech, and is seen in the vanguard of all the major new wireless technologies this year. To add to its LTE trials, where it is giving Ericsson a run for its money, and its growing WiMAX base, it is now promising to be the first vendor to deliver a commercial 56Mbps HSPA+ system, next year.
The Chinese giant will use a combination of multicarrier and MIMO smart antenna systems to boost the download speeds of single-carrier HSPA+, which reaches up to 28Mbps using MIMO only. Ericsson recently showed off 42Mbps systems and says that the technology can be stretched to around 100Mbps over time - especially appealing to carriers that have extensive HSPA footprints and spectrum but are unlikely to acquire LTE frequencies any time soon.
Huawei demonstrated its system, a software upgrade from basic HSPA+ running on its 38xx base stations, in Beijing last week, at the P&T/Wireless and Networks Comm China show. "Advances in mobile broadband, particularly record breaking data speeds and capacity of HSPA networks, have had a profound impact on the telecom industry and demonstrate the enormous potential of UMTS/HSPA," said Wan Biao, president of wireless at Huawei, in a statement.
The vendor said it had deployed 10 commercial HSPA+ networks including one at 28Mbps. Its strongest base in this technology is Asia-Pacific, with customers including Japan's eMobile and Hong Kong's PCCW, and of course Huawei will have a sharp eye on the upgrade plans of China Unicom. It is also working on the TDD version of HSPA+ for China Mobile, though ZTE has so far, publicly at least, been in the forefront of these trials.
