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HSDPA Roadmap

A lot has been said in the press recently around Vodacom plans to launch HSPDA on their 3G network. Some commentators have said that the commercial launch is weeks away (as early as mid January) while others are talking about mid 2006.

There is talk that the service will first be launched in Gauteng before being rolled out across the country. A shortage of data cards could be a stumbling block to wide-spread rollout.

Is Vodacom in a position to provide us with a roadmap on their HSPDA deployment - which areas will come on stream and when as well as info on hardware, HSPDA bundles/packages etc?

From the research I have done if Vodacom does launch a commercial service in the next few weeks it will be one of about 5 networks in the World to go live with HSPDA - correct?

3G as a broadband solution cannot really compare to DSL - but HSPDA on the other hand is a different animal and could see huge take up assuming pricing falls.
 
vodacom3g said:
Well, it's been announced, rather we're now waiting for the cards.

I'll see what I can find out on the latest dates.
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That would be great! By the way are the data rates also being reduced?
 
3GisDaMan said:
What do you mean it has been announced?

Have I been asleep for THAT long???
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You know how "announcements" work. It's typically a press release that 'announces' that something is happening, in this case the launch of HSDPA.

What I don't have is an exact date when you can get your paws on a HSDPA card. Last time I checked there were 14 in the country, all being used for testing.
 
Ahh, and do we know yet what will happen to us pour sods who got a 3G account last Jan?

Or will we sit with it until next year?
 
You mean in terms of upgrading?

It works exactly the same as upgrading a mobile.

When you buy a phone or data card on contract, the cost of the hardware is calculated into the contract period. At the end of the contract you now own the phone and can get a new phone on a new contract. If you want to upgrade your phone before the contract ends, you can do an early upgrade and pay in some amount.

Might be an idea to call your SP and see if they have such a plan in place for the HSDPA data cards.
 
I'm in Cape Town, so will prolly get coverage last :(

@V3G ... any ideas on what packages will be available (not cost as such, just spec), like 3GONE, 3G500 etc etc ?

Would be interested to know if I'd be burnning up the Gig or Gigs :D
 
well, just that, at 1MB, 1GB won't last very long, not to mention, the R500/pm that 1GB costs ... I might even be too scared to turn it on (just in case I burn away my GIG :( )
 
cyberbob said:
any ideas on what packages will be available (not cost as such, just spec), like 3GONE, 3G500 etc etc ? Would be interested to know if I'd be burnning up the Gig or Gigs :D
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AFAIK the cost is going to be same as it is now, regardless of bearer (GPRS, EDGE, 3G or HSDPA) - not like our friends at Telkom that charge different prices for the amount of bandwith they provide, even though it's on the same two copper cables...

Although with higher download speeds, 1GB is not going to be enough - who wants to send/receive e-mails only on a high speed connection?

The price of data will have to come down further if the benefits of HSDPA are to be realised.
 
V3G any info for us on the other questions in my opening thread?

Much appreciated.
 
that was basically what I was getting at, if I've got a connection that is around 2.5x faster that my current 3G ... chances are, I'm going to "download" more, but at the current price, I would be too scared to, just imagine how quickly you could "bankrupt" yourself? :eek:
 
jpd said:
Is Vodacom in a position to provide us with a roadmap on their HSPDA deployment - which areas will come on stream and when as well as info on hardware, HSPDA bundles/packages etc?
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The roll-out will logically happen in the more dense areas first, similar to the initial 3G rollout. I suspect the limiting factor will be the speed that Telkom can provide the higher speed backhaul. Everything else is already in place.
From the research I have done if Vodacom does launch a commercial service in the next few weeks it will be one of about 5 networks in the World to go live with HSPDA - correct?
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Yes, it's very new technology for everyone. I expect we'll see similar early-adopter hiccups we saw with 3G this time last year.
3G as a broadband solution cannot really compare to DSL - but HSPDA on the other hand is a different animal and could see huge take up assuming pricing falls.
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As often discussed here, mobile broadband should not really be compared to copper services but in SA it is the case, mostly because the mobile and nomadic services are approaching the fixed line costs, probably the only place in the world where this is the case.

A mobile solutions comes with a huge amount of additional requirements that must be satisfied and which is not expected from a fixed broadband solution, including CS voice, SMS, security and handovers.
 
vodacom3g said:
A mobile solutions comes with a huge amount of additional requirements that must be satisfied and which is not expected from a fixed broadband solution, including CS voice, SMS, security and handovers.
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I take it that means the prices won't be coming down? :(
 
cyberbob said:
I take it that means the prices won't be coming down? :(
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I was actually referring to the fact that mobile prices are close to the copper prices while being a much more complex technology and that this leads to comparative analysis.

I've not seen any indication where prices are going but both the CEO and COO indicated prices will come down, but we've had no dates or numbers yet.
 
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