Ericsson said it plans to include 3-Carrier HSDPA (3C-HSDPA) functionality in a forthcoming software release, after conducting the world's first demonstration of the technology on a commercial network in Turkey.
The infrastructure vendor said it achieved a data rate of 63 Mbps in the downlink during the test, which it conducted on mobile operator Turkcell's 3G network using a smartphone equipped with a Qualcomm Technologies processor with an integrated Qualcomm modem. A 2-Carrier uplink test achieved a data rate of 11.5 Mbps, Ericsson added.
Ericsson conducted the test in the 2.1 GHz band on Turkcell's commercial WCDMA network, with three 5 MHz carriers employed for the downlink and two 5 MHz carriers for the uplink. The company explained that 3C-HSDPA is designed to increase the downlink rates for end-users by up to 50 per cent throughout the cell regardless of network load.
Ziya Erdem, Ericsson Turkey general manager, said the technology "will enable Turkcell customers to access their desired mobile applications with even greater ease, and carry end user experience to new heights."
Turkcell currently operates a dual-carrier HSDPA network that Ericsson states delivers downlink rates of up to 43.2 Mbps, and up to 5.76 Mbps in the uplink.
Bulent Elonu, chief network technology officer at the operator, said it has been eyeing 3C-HSDPA "for a long time," and that the demonstration will allow the company "to introduce another groundbreaking innovation" to its customers.
Ericsson said the 3C-HSDPA and Enhanced Uplink Multi-Carrier technologies can be used to improve consumers' mobile broadband experience, adding that it expects to commercialise the technologies in the second half of 2014.
The infrastructure company claimed another first in early July, when it revealed it achieved throughput of 5 Gbps using pre-standard 5G technology, while on Monday, Ericsson detailed plans to work with South Korea's largest mobile operator, SK Telecom, to develop core technologies for the next generation technology.
For more:
- see Ericsson's demo announcement
- see the company's 5G announcement
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