Vodafone hits 16Mb/sec in mobile broadband trials

 

Gallery

By Barry Collins

Posted on 16 Jan 2009 at 07:40

Vodafone is preparing to launch mobile broadband connections with an actual speed of 16Mb/sec, following trials of the new HSPA+ standard.

HSPA+ offers a headline speed of 21Mb/sec, but Vodafone claims to have recorded actual speeds of 16Mb/sec in field trials of the technology.

The company predicts that HSPA+ will deliver a typical download speed of around 13Mb/sec in good reception areas, falling to a less impressive average of 4Mb/sec in "typical cell locations".

Nevertheless, it represents a marked improvement on today's HSDPA connections, which offer a headline speed of 7.2Mb/sec on the Vodafone network, but only achieve an average speed of around 2Mb/sec in our real-world tests.

HSPA+ achieves its higher download speeds by using the same kind of Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology found on 802.11 Wi-Fi equipment. Both base stations and modems use multiple attenae to improve the chances of an uninterrupted signal reaching the user.

HSPA+ also uses a more advanced modulation technique, called 64QAM. The higher speed service will require users to upgrade their existing modem hardware.

Vodafone is continuing to test and validate hardware with its modem manufacturers, but says it "plans to make this technology available in selected commercial networks".

Could you save hundreds of pounds by switching to mobile broadband? Find out in this month's PC Pro, on sale now