According to a recent Wireless Intelligence study, mobile operator CSL is on track to be the first operator in Hong Kong to provide LTE. But CSL is doing something different — they’ve built the first dual-mode LTE and DC-HSPA+ network.
DC (Dual Cell) HSPA+, a standard under 3GPP Release 8, doubles the downlink speeds of HSPA by combining two 5-MHz carriers to create a 10-MHz channel, which means peak downlink speeds of 42 Mbps on its 21-Mbps HSPA+ network.
TelecomAsia reports that CSL – owned by Australia’s Telstra – has completed its network upgrade to next-generation dual-cell (DC) HSPA+/LTE and is now “fully functional”. It is now waiting for compatible devices. Telstra is Australia’s largest provider of fixed and mobile services.
In collaboration with network vendor ZTE, CSL has deployed full DC-HSPA+ coverage in the 2100MHz band across the territory, and 2600MHz LTE in select heavy-traffic districts. CSL is also deploying equipment to offer LTE using 1800MHz spectrum.
DC HSPA+ doubles the downlink speeds of HSPA by combining two 5-MHz carriers. The object of deploying both LTE and DC-HSPA+ at the same time, says CSL CTO Christian Daigneault, is to offer a fallback option for LTE that doesn’t result in a noticeable drop in connection quality.
Wireless Intelligence forecasts that CSL will be Hong Kong’s largest LTE operator over the next five years, commanding a dominant LTE market share of around 40 percent by 2015. CSL first launched 21Mb/s HSPA+ in March 2009, but the new network has been built from scratch by ZTE. CSL ripped out all of the legacy Nokia Siemens Network gear, replacing it with an all-IP 3G platform provided by ZTE.
The UAE launched DC-HSPA+ technology earlier this year with mobile broadband speeds of up to 42.2 Mbps. Mobile operator Du upgraded its network to next-generation DC-HSPA+ technology making the UAE the sixth nation globally to launch such a mobile broadband speed.
In related news, ZTE today launched the world’s first WiMAX/TD-LTE dual-mode Remote Radio Unit (RRU) at 4G World 2010. As a leader in LTE TDD, ZTE was the first vendor to offer a smooth evolution from TD-SCDMA to TD-LTE with the ZXTR R8928 TD-SCDMA/LTE dual-mode Remote Radio Unit announced earlier this year. Their new R9110 is the latest addition to ZTE’s WiMAX/TD-LTE dual-mode base station offerings. Supporting 2.3G/2.5GHz and 3.5GHz spectrum band, the R9110 has a unique 4T8R design and advanced antenna technologies such as multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) and beamforming (BF).
Huawei’s latest HSPA+ solution using Qualcomm’s Mobile Data Modem MDM8220 chipsets. In October 2009, Huawei announced plans to provide 28Mb/s HSPA+ commercial service in Singapore, and Huawei successfully demonstrated a 56Mb/s HSPA+ commercial solution in Beijing.
Canadian mobile network operator Telus is planning to deploy HSPA+ Dual Cell across the country, increasing data speeds to 42 Mbps. TELUS is the only North American carrier to announce deployment.
Devices supporting the new HSPA+ Dual Cell technology are expected to hit stores in the first quarter of 2011.
T-Mobile USA continues the expansion of its HSPA+ network saying it now offers the service in 16 new markets on its way to covering 100 major markets and 200 million potential customers covered by the end of the year.
The carrier’s HSPA+ network currently supports peak download speeds up to 14.4 megabits per second, with the carrier having announced plans to further those speeds up to 21 Mbps once sufficient backhaul capabilities are in place.
T-Mobile USA isn’t planning to move to LTE for at least two years. The 21-Mbit/s HSPA+ upgrade is the fastest that the wireless technology can be cranked with software — rather than hardware — updates.
“We’ll get a fourth-generation wireless network either by buying spectrum or re-farming existing spectrum, or potentially leasing spectrum together with others,” CEO Rene Obermann said at a press conference on Aug. 5. “I don’t think we’ll trail others in the next two years.”
AT&T is also talking up their HSPA+ service. But AT&T’s backhaul upgrade is not as complete as T-Mobile’s. In addition, current iPhone 4 users will not be able to take advantage of HSPA+, since Apple does not yet support it. Apple isn’t believed to have an HSPA+ iPhone this year and may depend on having a sufficiently low-power Infineon chipset before it can make an attempt.
