Nokia Siemens Networks today launched their downlink Dual Carrier EDGE software solution, ushering the first steps of EDGE Evolution into Nokia Siemens Networks’ GSM/EDGE radio portfolio.
Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), was introduced into GSM networks in 2003. EDGE Evolution continues in Release 7 of the 3GPP standard providing doubled performance to complement High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA).
Nokia’s EDGE solution doubles data speeds, up to 592 kbps for existing EDGE-capable GSM networks. EDGE, of course, is the GSM-based data network offered by some cellular companies (like AT&T), in lieu of more expensive (and faster) 3G-based HSPA data networking.
Nokia says their EDGE solution will be available as a software upgrade during Q3 2008. Nokia Siemens Networks already has something they call EGPRS 2, to further boost up- and downlink performance. Nokia says that results in downlink speeds of up to 1.2 Mbps and will double uplink speed to up to 473 kbps, thus quadrupling the capabilities of EDGE today. EDGE Evolution is based on the 3GPP release 7 standard.
“By 2015, we expect to live in a broadband-IP world with five billion people and therefore Nokia Siemens Networks is committed to protecting customer investments and continue to implement leading EDGE technology”, says Ari Lehtoranta, Head of Radio Access Business Unit, Nokia Siemens Networks.
Nokia Siemens Networks says their GSM/EDGE system is operational in 260 operator networks in 117 countries offering services to more than 1.5B subscribers and is no. 1 in EDGE with 125 public EDGE references.
Infonetics Research says data subscribers will hit 144M by 2011 with sales of mobile data cards, forecast to nearly quadruple between 2007 and 2011, when they will reach $2.9 billion.
According to Nokia, 2.6 billion people were ‘connected’ at the end of 2006, but only 400 million had a broadband connection. They expect that five billion people, fully 70 per cent of the world’s population, will be connected by 2015 – with billions connected by broadband.
