Apparently not content to let Nokia Siemens have the
upgraded mobile broadband spotlight to itself today, Ericsson has now announced that it's set to demonstrate what it's touting as the "world-first end-to-end HSPA Evolution technology" at CTIA next week. That, the company says, should allow for speeds up to an impressive 42 Mbps, a feat made apparently possible by a combination of higher order modulation technology (64QAM) and 2x2 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna technology. As for the actual demonstration, Ericsson is only going so far as to say that it'll be conducted with an unspecified "handheld form-factor device" that's based on the Ericsson Mobile Platforms access technology. Other details are unsurprisingly pretty light at the moment, but we're betting Ericsson will have plenty more to say about it when they actually light things up at CTIA.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
evengrift @ Mar 27th 2008 6:22PM
WTF? 64QAM? Does that include an astrological alignment from sister cleo to make it work? Or are they using so much spectrum the error rate is no longer a problem? Either way how is this a solution? FM beats AM, or is no one paying attention at Ericsson?
Pratik @ Mar 27th 2008 9:50PM
At least bother to read up about a technology (3GPP HSDPA Evolution) before releasing snide comments.
Ericsson isn't the only company eagerly waiting to release HSDPA Evolution - so is the whole 3GPP bandwagon and every vendor from Tokyo to San Francisco, including Qualcomm, that plays the CDMA group against the GSM group but makes money from both.
So unless you think you're right and every one one of these companies is wrong because you HAVE done some research, chill out.
evengrift @ Mar 27th 2008 10:02PM
Pratik,
Get ready to get schooled.
This is NOT about LTE, or GSM or CDMA, it's about Ericcson's fool move pushing QAM.
Are you actually arguing that just because it's big business they know better? Whatever is popular is correct? Do some math, learn some physics, QAM vs. OFDM, OFDM wins and that's why it IS part of the 3GPP roadmap.
NONE of these companies are pushing QAM for the future, except for now Ericcson.
STOP making fool assumptions about what "every one of these companies" is doing.
Pratik @ Mar 27th 2008 10:59PM
All you need is a better path loss to the serving antenna and a 64QAM user device is no different to a 16 QAM device further away from the serving antenna. I actually work in the industry and have a PhD in WCDMA radio resource scheduling too. I didn't see the need to mention it earlier, but I actually have done my schooling.
yoyodude64 @ Mar 27th 2008 11:37PM
Pratic + evengrift = nerd battle!!!!
haha. but seriously. in the end its not always about blazing fast speed. feasibility and price is also a factor in adoption. No i have no idea what differentiates QAM from GMS or CDMA but i know that if they are the only company pushing it, there is no competition to push prices down, and there is no reason to bring it to the market to the first place if only one manufacturer is gonna support it.
and if QAM is more common than i understand it to be...let me know.
evengrift @ Mar 28th 2008 12:36AM
Is that actually a defense for 64QAM? Doesn't sound like one, sounds more like an argument FOR FM.
Pratik @ Mar 28th 2008 1:04AM
Simply put, this piece of news is of interest to those cellular network operators in the world who currently operate WCDMA networks or those who are thinking of installing one, not those who are interested in other technologies.
evengrift, there's an engadget article from yesterday announcing EDGE Evolution from Nokia Siemens Networks : http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/03/27/nokia-siemens-rolling-out-edge-evolution-for-double-the-speed-in/
You won't find me on that post denouncing the technology because the rest of the world has moved on. I'm sure the incremental improvement being offered will be of value to some operators.
Coming back to this story, higher order modulation like 64QAM, when combined with 2x2 MIMO, helps reduce the gap between the spectral efficiency of HSDPA and LTE systems. It is an incremental improvement which is of significant importance to those network operators who do not yet want to invest the financial resources required to roll out a new LTE network right now, or those who simply cannot afford to swap out their WCDMA network for LTE for many years to come.
If you see this announcement from Ericsson in the right light, it actually makes a lot of sense.