These are the first demonstrations anywhere of HSDPA phase 2 implemented in a live WCDMA system based on commercial products. Ericsson Product Marketing Manager Robert Jansen says the demonstrations have reached even higher speeds than those Ericsson advertised. "Our press release stated that we could show 9Mbps, but we have actually been able to show up to 11Mbps here in Cannes," he said.
Ericsson WCDMA with HSDPA will become commercially available during the second half of 2005. It will then be phased in to the market in line with terminal availability. Journalists and analysts questioned at Cannes are convinced that now is the right time for HSDPA. Keith O'Brien, a researcher at Informa Telecoms and Media, says: "It is the most interesting technology I've seen here so far. Evolution to HSDPA will be very important and it's obviously the future of mobile phones."
Ericsson has been able to show clear leadership in HSDPA by linking its demonstrations to a clear winning proposition for the operator. Andrei Dulski, Ericsson Marketing Manager for Mobile Broadband, says Ericsson is able to make a compelling argument for HSDPA. "I think customers appreciate that we're not just talking about enabling technology, but also showing how they can use this technology actually to create new revenue-generating mobile broadband services," he says.
While Ericsson will continue to work towards even higher HSDPA speeds, it is also concentrating on achieving increased uplink rates. In the first phase of this HSUPA development, Ericsson will achieve maximum speeds of 1.8Mbps, while in the second phase speeds will be increased to 5.8Mbps.
