TMCnet News
Rogers, Ericsson Begin Trials of HSDPA, IMS NetworkBy ROBERT LIU
TMCnet Wireless and Technology Columnist
Ericsson, one of the world’s leading telecom equipment vendors supporting the Universal Mobile Telephone System - High Speed Downlink Packet Access (UMTS-HSDPA) standard, announced on Thursday that Rogers Communications of Canada will start test trials of 3G/HSDPA wireless services and converged IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) applications.
“This trial represents a first step in creating a unique opportunity to offer customers complete freedom to use, view, and access the information that matters most to them, when they want and wherever they are,” said Ted Rogers, CEO, Rogers Communications. The trials will allow Rogers to assess the capabilities of the two key 3G technologies that will hopefully vault Canada’s largest wireless services provider to a new plateau of packet-switched broadband technologies capable of delivering voice, data and video – the crowned jewel of so-called “Triple Play” offerings. But while cellular operators race to get next-generation systems out the door before mobile WiMAX technology beats them to the punch, they must also fend off an onslaught of competitors.
HSDPA represents next-generation packet-switched technology for Rogers' existing national GSM-GPRS-EDGE network, which the company claims already reaches 93 percent of the Canadian population. The upgrade, which promises peak down-link speeds of 14 megabits per second, is expected to launch commercially in 2006.
However, in North America, Sprint Nextel and Verizon already offer slightly lower but generally comparable download speeds via EV-DO service. And Cingular, which has been quietly conducting its own HSDPA-based trials, has previously stated that it intends to roll out high-speed service in 15 to 20 markets by the end of the year.
“Customer trials are one thing but offering service is another,” said Ritch Blasi, Director Media Relations at Cingular. “We’re way passed the trial stage.”
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Robert Liu is Executive Editor at TMCnet. Previously, he was Executive Editor at Jupitermedia and has also written for CNN, A&E, Dow Jones and Bloomberg. For more articles, please visit Robert Liu's columnist page.
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