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hspa posts

T-Mobile 7.2Mbps HSPA rolling out now?

by Ross Miller posted Nov 4th 2009 @ 11:27PM

Reports are coming in, by and large it seems via Android and Me, that T-Mobile's begun its rollout of its 7.2Mbps HSPA network for some extra speedy mobile browsing. We've done some testing in the listed cities, notably Chicago and New York, but so far are coming up with the usual, mundane speeds. It'd certainly make up for yesterday's snafu (almost), but at this point we're classifying as unconfirmed. Anyone else having better luck?

Read - 1MB mobile speed test
Read - Android and Me's report

Bell confirms HSPA launch on November 4

by Chris Ziegler posted Nov 2nd 2009 @ 4:01PM

One-half of the worst-kept secret in all of Canada over much of the last year -- the HSPA networks being prepped by Bell and Telus -- is finally launching in just two short days' time. Bell has announced that its shiny new 21Mbps airwaves will be available to the public at large starting November 4, along with a host of devices ready to take full advantage of it; perhaps most impressive, though, is that they'll be covering fully 93 percent of the country's population out of the gate, which should make the new network a viable option immediately for would-be switchers. Your move, Rogers.

[Thanks, Shawny]

Telus kicks off HSPA+ network with iPhone November 5th, HTC Hero, LG New Chocolate and more to follow

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 26th 2009 @ 9:10PM

Telus already announced that it'd be launching the iPhone in November, but it's just now gotten official with an actual date: November 5th -- which just so happens to also be the day that it lights up its brand new HSPA+ network. Unfortunately for anyone hoping that a little competition would spark a price war, Telus is matching Rogers' prices across the board, starting at $99.99 for the basic 8GB iPhone 3G, and moving up to $199.99 for the 16GB 3GS, and $299.99 for the 32GB 3GS (all on a three-year contract, of course). What's more, Telus has also taken the opportunity to offer the first official confirmation of some of the other devices that'll take advantage of its new network, including the HTC Hero, the previously rumored LG New Chocolate (a.k.a BL40), the Blackberry Bold 9700, and the Nokia E71 (plus a USB stick, for good measure). No prices or release dates for any of those just yet, unfortunately, but the Hero and New Chocolate are apparently Telus exclusives.

Motorola Sholes / Droid comes in US HSPA flavor, probably not US-bound

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 24th 2009 @ 7:19AM

We've been led to believe in the past that there'd be a GSM version of Motorola's mighty Sholes for markets outside the US, but this particular version that passed the FCC this week -- ID IHDP56KC5, if you must know -- has us particularly interested. Why? Well, it's packing WCDMA on the 850 and 1900MHz bands, which means it'd work on AT&T, Rogers, and HSPA newcomers Bell and Telus. We've been led to believe, though, that this particular device is destined for Latin America where 850 / 1900 is also used in favor of the 2100MHz spectrum more prevalent in Europe. That doesn't rule out Canada, but our instincts tell us that Verizon has every intention of locking up the Sholes as a US exclusive, which means AT&T is a likely no-go -- the carrier's been strangely silent on Android, anyhow, and we haven't heard a peep of recent intel suggesting they're prepping Google-powered gear in time for the holidays. Of course, enterprising individuals will probably figure out how to unlock and import this bad boy, so if you're an American and the thought of switching to Big Red for a Droid makes you physically ill, take heart that there might yet be hope.

[Via MobileCrunch]

Samsung and TeliaSonera bringing LTE to vikings in 2010

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 22nd 2009 @ 9:06AM

Scandinavian folks tend to be a pretty cheerful bunch during the summer, and now Swedes and Norwegians will have reason to smile through the cold dark winters as well, with Samsung announcing an agreement to provide TeliaSonera with "mobile broadband devices for commercial service next year." This agreement relates to Sammy's Kalmia 4G USB modem and adds to the Swedish operator's LTE push, which already counts Ericsson and Huawei among the contracted hardware providers. So that's 100Mbps mobile broadband, coming to a snow-covered nation near you within the next dozen months or so. All we would ask of our viking friends now is that they remember their world-conquering ways of the past and start spreading that goodness globally. Come on, it's our right! Full press release after the break.

Continue reading Samsung and TeliaSonera bringing LTE to vikings in 2010

iPhone headed to Telus and Bell's fancy new HSPA networks next month?

by Paul Miller posted Oct 5th 2009 @ 10:07PM

Rogers is losing its iPhone exclusivity in Canada next month, if a new report by The Globe and Mail is to be believed. Telus and Bell -- traditionally CDMA-bound -- have been prepping GSM networks of their own in a joint effort, and it sounds like they'll be getting this off on the right foot with the iPhone 3GS as a launch device. Nothing's official just yet, but those in the know expect an announcement tomorrow or Wednesday. Rogers isn't the best-loved carrier in Canada, and a bit of choice never hurt anybody, so this seems like pretty good news all-round for our friendly northern neighbors

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Rogers' Rocket Hub disguises 3G data and voice as mild-mannered home modem

by Ross Miller posted Oct 3rd 2009 @ 7:10AM

Good news for Canadians who can't seem to get a decent internet plan for home. Rogers has unveiled a 3G station for residential use dubbed the Rocket Hub, and with it a number of jet propulsion-related puns that we'll be taking painstaking measures to avoid. It boasts 7.2Mbps HSPA, WiFi and ethernet out, and voice calls over UMTS. Makes sense since it's riding an Ericsson W3x core. Upfront cost of hardware hasn't been disclosed yet, but plans start at $35 Canadian. Launch date (okay, we couldn't resist) is sometime later this month.

Sierra Wireless adds 2-in-1 HSPA+ AirCards to a lineup already fraught with action and danger

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Oct 1st 2009 @ 3:03PM

Sierra Wireless has just announced five new AirCard data cards and USB modems, including devices supporting HSPA+ frequencies. The AirCard 503, AirCard USB 308, and AirCard USB 309 all support peak download speeds of 21Mbps, with the former being a 2-in-1 PC card / ExpressCard device and the latter two being basically the same USB modem (except the first one supports 850MHz, 1900MHz, and 2100MHz frequencies, while AirCard USB 309 limits you to 900MHz and 2100MHz bands). If the raw excitement and glamor of HSPA+ speeds are more than you (or your budget) can handle, the company is also introducing a couple plain ol' HSPA cards with respectable peak downloads of 7.2Mbps and peak uploads of 5.76Mbps. The AirCard USB 301 supports 850MHz and 2100 MHz bands, while the AirCard USB 302 does its thing in the 900MHz and 2100MHz range. Scheduled to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of this year for prices to be announced. PR after the break.

Continue reading Sierra Wireless adds 2-in-1 HSPA+ AirCards to a lineup already fraught with action and danger

Huawei set to launch 56Mbps HSPA+ service in 2010

by Donald Melanson posted Sep 21st 2009 @ 1:14PM

Remember last week? When 21Mbps HSPA+ was something to stand up and cheer about, and you were even happy to settle for HSPA 7.2 if you could? Well, it's time trade in those good feelings for some jealousy and bitterness once again, buckaroo, 'cause Hauwei has now announced that it's set to more than double HSPA+ speeds to a jaw-dropping 56Mbps. That impressive feat has reportedly already been demonstrated by the company in Beijing, and Huawei will apparently begin a full rollout sometime next year. What's more, Huawei says that its carrier partners will be able to upgrade to the increased bandwidth via a simple software upgrade, which should both lower the cost and speed up the rollout -- just not around here.

T-Mobile starts 21Mbps HSPA+ rollout in Philadelphia, nationwide in 2010

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 18th 2009 @ 3:34PM

T-Mobile USA's really kicking things into high gear, coming from behind (way behind, actually) on its 3G launch to become the first to bring 21Mbps HSPA+ here -- and possibly the only one to do it, considering that its closest GSM rival is leapfrogging from 7.2Mbps HSPA to LTE. Speaking at 4G World in Chicago, T-Mobile's Neville Ray has gone on record saying that its 3G footprint will be blanketed by HSPA+ next year and is actually already up and running in parts of Philadelphia; amusingly, he was apparently a little weirded out by AT&T's earlier comments at the show that it'd have 90 percent of its 3G coverage upgraded to 7.2Mbps by the end of 2011, suggesting that was slow (we'd agree, but then again, considering how far behind T-Mobile still lags in raw 3G coverage, we're not sure they've got room to talk just yet). If we had to guess, this huge push for mega-fast data has to do with investor discontent on the Deutsche Telekom side of things, so you can bet there are some crossed fingers out in Bellevue as this stuff lights up; now, just give us the world-class phone selection to match and we'll be good to go.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Rogers expands 21Mbps footprint to more towns, HSPA+ Rocket modem available this month

by Chris Ziegler posted Sep 17th 2009 @ 3:50PM

Residents of some of Canada's biggest cities are now sitting on near-LTE speeds thanks to Rogers' continued rollout of 21Mbps HSPA+, a technology it proudly boasts is "replacing 3.5G" and stands a fighting chance of offering real-life double-digit speeds. That's pretty amazing when you consider that a lot of people are still using 768kbps or 1.5Mbps DSL lines in their homes -- ten years ago, we doubt anyone would've predicted that practical wireless speeds would be running neck-and-neck with some of the fastest wireline broadband ISPs have to offer -- but we're certainly not complaining. In addition to Toronto, service is now available in Calgary, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Montreal, with a new modem cutely named HSPA+ Rocket coming to take advantage of those speeds on the 28th of the month. Interested parties can preorder now, though: $199.99 or $74.99 on a two-year data contract.

[Via Howard Chui]

AT&T slinging HSPA 7.2 to six cities this year, adding backhaul capacity too

by Darren Murph posted Sep 9th 2009 @ 8:44AM

If there's one thing AT&T's network could use, it's more network. Particularly in major cities (we're looking at you and your dastardly street parking situation, San Francisco), AT&T's 3G network is perpetually overwhelmed, oftentimes forcing users to switch to EDGE just to tweet about how awful the coverage is. Thankfully, the operator is making good on its earlier promise to roll out HSPA 7.2Mbps to select cities, with Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami now destined to get lit this year. Potentially more interesting, however, is the deployment of "additional backhaul capacity to cell sites," which will also support LTE when the time comes. All told, around 2,000 new cell sites should be added before the year's end, and at least a half dozen 7.2Mbps-capable smartphones should be in AT&T's portfolio by the same deadline. Feel free to express your joy in comments below -- that is, if you can get comments to load on your existing 3G connection.

Samsung boasts of first commercial LTE modem for cellphones

by Darren Murph posted Sep 2nd 2009 @ 2:29AM

We can't say that we're absolutely certain that Samsung's not fibbing a little with its latest claim, particularly since NXP rolled out a multi-mode LTE / HSPA / etc. cellular modem way back in June of last year. Whatever the case, we're just stoked to see yet another big player drinking the LTE Kool-Aid, with Sammy developing what it calls the "first LTE modem that complies with the latest standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)." The modem, which is being labeled the Kalmia for now, supports download rates of up to 100Mbps and upload speeds around 50Mbps within the 20MHz frequency band. In other words, if your future handset is equipped with this chipset, you could theoretically stream four HD movies with no buffering. Now, if only Samsung would announce a new mobile to go along with this, we'd really have reason to carouse.

GSMA backpedals, changes Telus' HSPA launch window to October

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 27th 2009 @ 5:22PM

We can imagine the phone call now:

"GSM Association, how can I help you?"
"Yo, this is Telus... where'd you hear September for our HSPA launch? What are you smoking?"
"But we..."
"Yeah, 'but you' nothing. October, broham... you heard it here first. Telus out." (click)

[Thanks, Alex]

GSMA spills beans on September launch for Telus' HSPA network

by Chris Ziegler posted Aug 26th 2009 @ 8:01PM

There was really never any question that Telus' shiny new HSPA network was launching this fall, but the carrier's generally been tightlipped on specifics; fortunately, standards bodies and industry associations have a funny tendency to unintentionally help fill in some of those blanks, and this time around it's the GSM Association doing the honors. The GSMA is now reporting that HSPA (well, HSDPA, anyway) will be live next month, and customers apparently can expect to be treated to the opportunity to buy some world-class devices like the Hero and BL40 to celebrate the launch. It's hard to tell what Rogers is really thinking through the poker face -- but if you look closely, we think you can see a few beads of sweat forming.

[Via MobileSyrup and HowardForums]