BARCELONA – Tests of its next-generation voice and data network will wrap up early, as in next month, Rogers Wireless said today, so that it can do a commercial launch this fall.
At the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Rogers said its High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) will make Rogers the fastest mobile wireless data network in Canada. It will also be among the first wireless carriers in the world to deploy this latest generation of GSM technology, the dominant world-wide standard for mobile wireless communications.
About 80% of the world’s wireless operators use GSM while the rest, such as Bell Mobility and Telus, use EVDO technology, which is currently the fastest wireless technology in Canada.
"HSDPA provides the fastest data transmission rates of any 3G technology," says Mark Henderson, president of Ericsson Canada, the company Rogers has hired to help it build out the new network. "Downlink data speeds on HSDPA are expected to be between 8 to 10 times faster than the current 2.5G technology and it will make this network the fastest in the market, able to offer a user experience that can be comparable even with broadband wireline services."
The Rogers network will be the only service in Canada to use UMTS/HSPDA technology, delivering wireless speeds of up to 1.5 to 2 times faster than the current EVDO claims around the world.
"We made a strategic decision several years ago to join the global GSM community and benefit from its worldwide economies of scale. Already GSM/HSDPA constitutes 80% of the worldwide wireless subscribers, and growing. This enables us to offer the widest variety of handsets and most advanced data services of any mobile wireless technology," said Bob Berner, executive vice-president and chief technology officer, Rogers Communications.
Ericsson will be the exclusive systems integrator and equipment supplier for the national deployment of the HSDPA voice and data network.
