3.6 Mbps HSDPA available soon
Commercial 3.6 Mbps HSDPA services are already available on 103 HSDPA networks worldwide, which translate into 62% of all 3G/HSDPA networks.
35 of these networks support speeds of up to 7.2 Mbps. 51 operators have further committed to HSUPA – High Speed Uplink Packet Access – and 26 networks have commercially launched HSUPA services in 22 countries.
Unfortunately the lack of backhaul capacity in SA – currently supplied to both Vodacom and MTN by Telkom – has slowed the two mobile providers down.
Both mobile companies, which were of the first companies in the world to launch HSDPA, are however planning HSDPA offerings ‘soon’.
MTN already has a fully operational fiber network in the Rosebank and Sandton areas and is investing in further fixed line infrastructure to alleviate the problems it experiences with the current transmission network.
MTN has indicated that its current 3G network is fully 3.6 Mbps capable, and it is only waiting for adequate backhaul bandwidth before the service will officially be launched.
Vodacom is also laying fiber as part of its plans to serve its bandwidth needs and extend its current service offerings.
While Vodacom understandably did not want to reveal an exact launch date for 3.6 Mbps HSDPA, the company did say that consumers can expect it ‘soon’.
“Vodacom’s plans to offer a HSDPA 3.6 service to customers are on track and will be made available soon. The delay in offering HSDPA 3.6 and HSUPA as commercial services is primarily due to the availability of enough backhaul capacity required to offer high-speed data services,” Vodacom’s Dot Field said.
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