Telstra first to test HSPA+ at 42Mbps

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 17 December 2009 06:24

Business IT - Technology

Telstra says it has become the first operator in the world to test the HSPA+ dual carrier 42Mbps mobile broadband technology outside of vendor laboratories.

Telstra says it has staged a successful demonstration in Ericsson's offices in Sweden and has been testing the technology in its own test network in Parramatta," Mike Wright, Telstra's director of wireless, told iTWire, "It is our intention to be the first with a commercial service. We are certainly the first to test it outside vendor labs in our own environment."

Telstra was also first with a 21Mbps HSPA+ network, in February 2009 and rollout by other telcos has been very rapid. According to the Global GSM Suppliers Association, "There are 37 HSPA+ systems in commercial service today in 24 countries. 34 HSPA+ networks [enable 21Mbps peak downlink], with a typical user experience up to 8Mbps, depending on device availability." According to the GSA, future developments of HSPA will take maximum downlink bandwidths to 84Mbps, and beyond.

Telstra has not yet given any definitive date for the launch of commercial services, but Wright said: "We will make announcements in the new year about commercial device availability. We are now at the point where the software upgrade is coming to completion and that enables us to test the new [42Mbps] devices early next year." (The GSA had been expecting launch of commercial service before the end of 2009).

He added: "This [HSPA+ dual carrier] needs a totally new software in the network. We have to reload all the software and make sure everything that worked before works properly. We have had people [from network supplier Ericsson]here since September working on this."

Service launch will be tied in to the availability of commercial user modems able to support the technology. Wright said that Telstra was continuing the partnership with chipmaker Qualcomm and wireless modem manufacturer, Sierra Wireless that enabled Sierra Wireless to deliver devices for the 21Mbps HSPA+ service.

Details of the rollout schedule will be announced closer to launch time but Wright said, "The rollout will be similar to the rollout of 21Mbps today - we offer that over all major capitals and regional centres and progressively we are expanding that footprint. We will take a similar approach but we wil talk about that closer to the time."