[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Search ] [ Feedback ]

Your advert here!!!


Previous Mobile Insights
Industry Comment
        Search
What is xxx? (FAQs)
About Data Tags
About Mobile TV
About Push-to-Talk
Press Release archive
Free downloads
Our RSS/News Feed

About Dollargate
Free  weekly headlines

Editor/Publisher: Tony Dennis

 Tone's Blog

Technical Editors:
Geoff Dennis

Jayker Shah
All enquiries:  Tel: +44 (0)7050 336647
Associated sites:






Last modified:
  16 Mar 2008
© DollarGate Publishing

eXTReMe Tracker

What is HSDPA/HSUPA?

HSDPA [High Speed Downlink Packet Access] falls under the general category of  3.5G technologies since it offers higher data speeds over W-CDMA based networks. As the name implies, it provides for faster downloading of data to a terminal device such as a handset or PDAs. As such it provides an asynchronous connexion. Since the acronym is virtually meaningless, O2 re-christened HSDPA as Super-fast 3G. It is to 3G what GPRS is to 2G.

In essence HSDPA is also W-CDMA's answer to CDMA2000's EVDO.  The real fun starts when you try to establish just how fast it can really go. Initially (with Manx Telecom) users would experience a peak download rate of 1.3 Mbit/s but the uplink ran at a mere 128 Kbit/s.  Lucent was claiming a highest throughput of  1.8 Mbit/s initially but it was also plotting to raise the uplink speed t o 384 Kbit/s. By Q3 2006, Lucent expects to have raised the download speed to around 3.6 Mbit/s – rising to 7.3 Mbit/s by Q1 2008 and 10.2 Mbit/s by Q4 2004-Q4 2009. The highest anyone is predicting for HSDPA is up to 14.4 Mbit/s.

HSDPA's  counterpart is the HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) standard . In terms of raw data throughput, the actual top speed for the HSUPA  uplink is up to 5.8Mblit/s. While HSDPA is meant for downloading content,  HSUPA is designed to improve person-to person-communication. In practice the peak network data rate capability is shared amongst multiple users at any one time and so individual user data speeds will be lower.