Broadband Speeds

Vodafone upgrades mobile broadband to 14.4Mbps (in theory)

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:15:23 -0400

Making great play that consumers will now be able to access mobile broadband speeds of 14.4Mbps using its latest upgraded network, Vodafone has ‘forgotten' to declare that the true maximum throughput is only 10.8Mbps, and that subscribers can expect to see typical speeds of anything between 1Mbps and 4Mbps.

While this new, higher speed network is only available in certain UK cities, and then only in parts of London, Birmingham and Liverpool, Vodafone maintains it is pushing to install the upgrade across its UK-wide network. The company also believes that more than 80 per cent of data cards, dongles and 3G handsets should be able to take advantage of the higher download speeds.

But this continuing game of claiming data rates that are impossible to achieve (which has been ongoing since the days of GPRS) is something that Vodafone has been caught advertising in the past. The company initially advertised its mobile broadband network as "up to 7.2Mbps", but was subsequently forced to admit that actual speeds were "somewhere between 1Mbps and 5Mbps"--roughly the same as the speeds it is boasting for the new, improved network.

However, the company has defended its position by stating that network upgrades will improve performance. "Typical speeds will vary during peak periods," said a Vodafone spokesman.

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PC Pro

UK customers short changed on mobile download

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:30:24 -0400

Mobile broadband users in the UK are not getting anything like the download data speeds being promoted by ISPs.

A survey by broadband monitoring company Epitiro reports that mobile broadband customers received, on average, just 24 per cent of advertised download speeds, equal to just under 1Mbit/s, compared to the 3.6Mbit/s claimed by most UK ISPs. Mobile web browsing was 34 per cent slower than through equivalent ADSL fixed line connections. Part of the problem appears to be capacity limitation as the survey found that average download speeds almost doubled when tests were carried out in the early hours of the morning.

The Digital Britain report, due out shortly, will recommend that the whole of the UK be served with minimum broadband speeds of 2Mbit/s. The problems of delivering fixed line ADSL to remote areas will require the deployment of mobile broadband. The findings of the Epitiro survey would seem to suggest that mobile broadband will struggle to deliver the data download speeds recommended by Digital Britain.

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ITPro, Silicon.com and 3g.co.uk

Telefónica conducts 'real world' LTE trials

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:43:07 -0400

Having conducted LTE tests in its Madrid demo centre, Telefónica has now hooked the technology into a 2G/3G operational network for the first time to prove its maturity. The company justified this move by wanting to understand what the technical requirements might be for the commercial deployment of LTE.

According to engineers involved with the exercise, the initial tests included VoIP calls and video calls using a mini LTE installation supplied by Ericsson, with the company claiming it had recorded speeds for videoconferencing and data downloads of more than 140Mbps.

While it would appear these tests were successful, Telefónica has confirmed that, by this summer, it will start rolling out its HSPA + technology offering peak download speeds of 21Mbps. It also revealed its 3G network now covers approximately 90 per cent of the Spanish population, while its HSDPA and HSUPA coverage will expand to 85 per cent and 50 per cent respectively by the end of the year.

However, a new study into LTE by Juniper Research did raise a question for operators. According to Juniper, while LTE should offer broadband speeds of up to 100Mbps or more--at least five times faster than the best mobile broadband now, and around 20 times faster than most people experience via fixed DSL--"the challenge for mobile operators is to make profits yet keep prices attractive enough for subscribers to sign up. It's all about the business case."

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Telegeography, VNUnet and Broadband Expert

3 pledges 14.4Mbps in major UK cities by 2010

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 11:07:49 -0500

In an effort to gain subscriber attention, 3UK has outlined plans to provide customers in London and other major metropolitan areas access to mobile broadband speeds up to 14.4Mbps by Q3/2010. As an interim, the company has hinted speeds of up to 7.2Mbps could become available to 98 per cent of the UK population by mid-next year.

The company, which has gambled its reputation on its 3G capabilities, claims it has already completed a rollout to give more than 95 per cent of the UK's population access to 3.6Mbps using HSDPA. However, the company was unable to confirm when customers living in more rural areas would have access to these speeds.

It would appear the push to provide higher speeds in more areas is part of the company's strategy to broaden the use of 3G services helped by lower-cost handsets. "We need handsets at a price point that enable us to open that market up", said Kevin Russell, CEO of 3 UK. This was illustrated by the company's announcement of the new INQ handset last week that is tailored for use with the social networking site Facebook and Windows live, etc.

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Register Hardware

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