Sierra Wireless today introduced two HSUPA cellular modems - the AirCard® 880U and AirCard 881U USB modems. Commercial shipments are expected to begin in September.
The new AirCard HSUPA USB modems will offer tri-band connectivity and faster upload speeds. They feature simple-to-use USB interface, handy for customers sharing a single wireless account between computers or using their wireless service with a desktop. To further enhance their flexibility, the AirCard 880U and 881U also offer support for both Microsoft Windows (Vista, XP, and 2000) and Mac OS X users.
High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) is the next step up for HSPA, with up-link speeds up to 5.76 Mbit/s. Downlink speeds are also improved, with a theoretical maximum download speed of 7.2 Mbps. Sierra Wireless says their AirCard 880U and 881U USB modems will transmit data from portable devices at speeds more than five times faster than on current HSDPA networks, up to a theoretical maximum speed of 2 megabits per second (Mbps).
HSUPA networks are not yet available. However, the AirCard 880U and 881U USB modems are fully compatible with slower HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, and GSM network technologies. The AirCard 880U is optimized for Europe and Asia, while the AirCard 881U is optimized for North America. Price was not announced.
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