HSDPA will boost 3G evolution, says Huawei Technologies

In today's highly competitive market, wireless operators have no choice but to improve customer experiences and HSDPA technology is a cost-efficient and simple upgrade to UMTS/3G networks (similar to how GSM networks can be upgraded to GPRS/EDGE). HSDPA improves network performance enabling mobile operators to penetrate the broadband market and lower total costs of operation. Currently, there are 65 are commercial HSDPA network active in 39 countries.

'More than 50 per cent of the HSDPA deployments have been made on existing networks,' said Wang Jiading, vice president, Huawei Technologies Middle East and North Africa Operations. 'With HSPDA, subscribers can enjoy rich and diverse communication services such as high-speed downloading, mobile TV, music TV, e-mail and games.'

'3G/WCDMA/HSDPA is clearly the preferred mass market technology as it scores highly on revenue generation capability, cost efficiency and technical performance. Currently, the service layer is mainly built around voice services but with the increase in data services, this focus will shift towards integrated services and customer experience,' Jiading adds.

Huawei, with its large mobile customer base worldwide, and vision of the market from the transmission (wireless and optical) and infrastructure (GSM/UMTS/WiFi) points of view, offers products and solutions that can respond to these market changes. Its aim is to enable mobile operators to successfully deploy UMTS in an optimised and cost-effective way by offering a product portfolio that offers the best-fit solution at the right time.

Huawei established the first full-performance HSDPA commercial network in the world in December 2005 for Portuguese mobile operator, Optimus.

'The Middle East and North Africa region is becoming a dynamic and competitive market. Telecom operators are increasingly adopting HSDPA technologies - we have seen companies like Mobily, Etisalat and Wataniya roll out HSDPA solutions along with UMTS to optimise the cost of delivering diversified broadband services,'

said Jiading.