Cingular Wireless, the first mobile operator in the world to launch an extensive HSDPA service, is offering laptop users wireless access to the Internet initially at speeds averaging between 400 and 700 kilobits per second in 16 cities covering 35 million people. Manx Telecom, which is owned by O2, has launched Europe's first service on the Isle of Man.
"The commercial launches by Cingular and O2 show that HSDPA is a real and robust technology that allows people on the move to enjoy the kind of high speed Internet access and multimedia experience normally reserved for the deskbound," said Rob Conway, CEO of the GSM Association, which represents almost 680 mobile operators worldwide. "While many other broadband wireless technologies are still under development or only available in isolated silos, HSDPA is now set to proliferate rapidly across the globe."
Many leading GSM operators in Europe, the Americas and Asia have announced plans to launch HSDPA services in 2006 and global business travellers will soon be able to rely on the technology to quickly download large files or access corporate information systems. HSDPA handsets are scheduled to arrive next year, enabling mobile phone users to rapidly download video clips, music tracks, make video calls, play fast online games and enjoy other rich multimedia services.
"The Board of the GSMA has identified HSDPA as the main access technology for third-generation GSM (3GSM) networks, suggesting that other access technologies may play a complementary role," said GSM Association Chairman, Craig Ehrlich.
Compatible with the rest of the GSM family of technologies, HSDPA handsets and laptop cards will benefit from the GSM ecosystem's key strengths, such as global roaming, fast authentication and huge economies of scale. "HSDPA users don't have to worry about online registration, scratch cards, credit cards or any of the other cumbersome mechanisms often required to access wireless hotspots," added Ehrlich. "Instead, their SIM card allows them to jump online quickly and easily with one mobile account."
HSDPA is typically a software upgrade to a W-CDMA network - enabling operators to roll out this high-speed technology rapidly and cost effectively. It doubles network capacity, while making the transmission of everything from voice calls to video pictures more efficient, boosting download speeds as much as fivefold. More than 80 W-CDMA networks have been deployed worldwide in 37 countries. At the end of 2005, research firm Wireless Intelligence forecasts there will be more than 50 million W-CDMA subscribers. www.gsmworld.com
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