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  • From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:47:17 -0600

I was waiting for just such an announcement. Here's a way to get to 4G 
performance levels without demanding as much spectrum. You keep using the 3G 
spectrum more efficiently. It might not get as much trade journal buzz, but it 
does seem like a more clever way to go.

Bert

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http://www.rethink-wireless.com/article.asp?article_id=2477&pg=1

3 Scandinavia plans "world's fastest 3G network"
By CAROLINE GABRIEL

Published: 20 January, 2010

The Baltic states continue to be the frontrunners in advanced wireless 
services. TeliaSonera claimed the laurels for the world's first commercial LTE 
launch, now 3 Scandinavia claims it will have "the world's fastest 3G network", 
with a migration to multicarrier HSPA+ (HSPA Evolution) over the coming 18 
months.

The operator is conventional in one sense, opting for local supplier Ericsson 
for its upgrade, which eventually promises peak download rates of 84Mbps, up 
from a peak of 21Mbps on the carrier's current HSPA systems. Of course peak 
rates are far from typical performance, but the roll-out does show 3 leaping 
ahead of its larger rivals in one of the most competitive mobile markets.

The firm has leapfrogged Australia's Telstra as the most advanced deployer of 
new HSPA+ standards, at least in terms of its publicity. In fact, it will only 
move to 42Mbps during this year, and then leap to 84Mbps in late 2010 or, more 
likely, 2011, when devices may be available. Telstra is currently rolling out 
42Mbps systems and plans to go to 84Mbps in the coming 12-18 months too.

Ericsson will provide the two-stage upgrade to HSPA Evolution and also a 900MHz 
HSPA RAN and IP-based optical and microwave backhaul. Roll-out will start 
during this quarter and the contract covers a national system in Denmark and 
four major Swedish cities. No financial details were disclosed.

The HSPA+ roadmap is moving rapidly as many carriers look to eke more 
performance out of their existing infrastructure and spectrum rather than 
moving too hastily to LTE, which requires new frequencies and a whole new 
build-out. In the Nordic region, where refarming and 4G auctions have been 
offered far in advance of most of the world, TeliaSonera is going live with LTE 
in cities in Sweden and Norway this year; while Net4Mobility, a joint venture 
between Telenor and Tele2, is working on LTE in Sweden too.

By contrast, 3 is sticking with HSPA for now, and taking advantage of the 
combination of multicarrier implementation and MIMO smart antennas, which is 
boosting the network's peak speeds so rapidly. HSPA+ can reach 28Mbps using 
MIMO only but the addition of multicarrier has got it to 42Mbps already. Huawei 
has demonstrated 56Mbps systems and Ericsson has now shown off 84Mbps, and says 
the technology can be stretched further over time, to beyond 100Mbps.

This begs the question of why carriers need LTE at all - the answer, of course, 
lies in the need for greater capacity, and the economics of an all-IP network. 
And the operators are not only concerned with capacity but 3G coverage, which 
remains inadequate in many parts of Europe a decade after licenses were awarded 
and national penetration targets set by regulators. 3 Scandinavia is planning 
to expand its 3G coverage by using refarmed 900MHz GSM spectrum, also in 
partnership with Ericsson.

Sweden and Finland were among the first countries to allow 2G bands to be 
adapted for 3G use, a trend that is set to spread across Europe, freeing up new 
capacity in low frequency bands that are particularly suited to cost effective 
rural coverage. Telia is rolling out 3G in 900MHz in Finland already, and 
Swedish operators gained this right back in March 2009, hard on the heels of 
the country's 2.6GHz auction.

Peder Ramel, CEO of 3 Scandinavia, commented on the three-year contract with 
Ericsson. He said in a statement: "We were the first to launch turbo 3G in the 
Nordic region and now we are signing up for the world's fastest 3G. Our 
Scandinavian customers are sophisticated users with high demands in terms of 
mobile broadband services."

3 Scandinavia is a 60:40 joint venture between Hutchison Whampoa and 
Sweden-based Investor AB.
 
 
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