Ericsson reveals HSDPA market introduction

February 20, 2005

"We foresee a mass market with HSDPA implemented in 2006," said Mikael Bäck, vice president WCDMA radio networks at 3GSM World Congress in Cannes, France. "Already at the end of this year, we expect HSDPA to have been launched for commercial use."

"There is a strong need for increased speed following the trend toward Mobile Triple Play, enabled by mobile broadband," Bäck said. "This, combined with the simplicity of the software-based upgrade, means that we foresee a quick rollout of HSDPA."

Ericsson's WCDMA radio access solutions are already prepared for a smooth software upgrade to HSDPA.

Ericsson believes that the first terminals for HSDPA will be PC cards. This is natural since they are easy to implement, and they allow consumers the benefit of high-speed Internet connection from their laptops, independently of where they are.

"The networks will be upgraded second half of 2005. Initial HSDPA terminals, PC cards, supporting up to 3.6 Mbps, will be available at the same time," Bäck said. "In early 2006, HSDPA will most likely be introduced in smartphones as well as the second generation of PC cards. We are also confident that we will see HSDPA integrated in laptops in 2007."

This evolution will be driven by consumer demand for mobile broadband and mobile operators' need to extend their business offering. Mobile broadband is a must to fully utilize the benefit of a laptop.

"Sony Ericsson supports Ericsson's HSDPA plans and will make products available for trials this year, with commercial volumes during first half of 2006," said Jan Wäreby, Corporate Executive Vice President and Head of Sales & Marketing at Sony Ericsson.