T-Mobile to unveil high-speed 3G UMTS in Germany
February 2, 2006
As of CeBIT 2006, T-Mobile Germany will offer transmission rates of up to 1.8 Mbit/s and uplink speeds of 384 Kbit/s in large parts of the UMTS network. This is already in line with the transmission speeds of DSL connections in the fixed network. Thanks to innovative HSDPA technology, it is just as easy, fast and efficient to access the Internet and intranet, download all sorts of files and retrieve as well as edit emails and large attachments as it is on the PC at work.
High-speed UMTS based on HSDPA is an important building block in T-Mobile's strategy to provide customers with the fastest possible mobile transmission technology wherever they are. Selected T-Mobile business customers, among them Deutsche Bahn AG, have already been testing the T-Mobile high-speed UMTS network at several locations since the beginning of October. These companies are already benefiting for example from the fast mobile transmission of emails with large-volume attachments. The following applies to all other T-Mobile customers: High-speed UMTS will also be available from summer 2006 in areas where T-Mobile Germany already offers UMTS coverage. During the initial expansion phase, the technology will increase the maximum bandwidth for data transmission via UMTS from a maximum of 384 Kbit/s at present to up to 1.8 Mbit/s. In addition, HSDPA will reduce the time it takes for data packets to be sent between the mobile phone device and server (latency). This makes it much easier to use dialog-oriented applications like Microsoft Outlook. T-Mobile will gradually increase the transmission speed of high-speed UMTS to 7.2 Mbit/s during further development phases. 3.6 Mbit/s should be possible by the end of the year. As part of its integrated broadband network strategy, T-Mobile will offer its customers a solution from CeBIT onwards that will enable them to switch seamlessly from W-LAN to GPRS, UMTS or high-speed UMTS without interrupting the existing online connection.
T-Mobile was already the first mobile phone operator to put a HSDPA test network into operation in Germany in 2005 and launched the first HSDPA-capable terminal on the market with the Mobile DSL Card 1800. The software update needed to use the card in the high-speed UMTS network can be loaded onto the datacard and laptop prior to the commercial launch. Users can already use the card in the existing T-Mobile UMTS network as well as in the GPRS networks belonging to T-Mobile and its roaming partners. T-Mobile recommends the Mobile DSL Card 1800 as a quadband device for sending and receiving mobile data in parts of the USA as well.
The DSL Card 1800 is also part of an introductory offer that sees Fujitsu Siemens and T-Mobile strengthening their cooperation. High-speed mobile working is possible in just a few steps with the combination offer. The offer includes a cutting-edge Fujitsu Siemens notebook (AMILO pro series) as well as the datacard and mobile phone contract at an extremely affordable price. In addition to the Mobile DSL Card 1800, T-Mobile offers another HSPDA-capable datacard from March, the Mobile DSL Card 1800 W-LAN. Unlike the DSL Card 1800, W-LAN technology is already built into it. Business customers can therefore also integrate laptops that are not W-LAN-capable into local radio networks. Laptops equipped with such a card can then also be used for lightning-fast and user-friendly data transfer while on the move at the many thousands of public HotSpot locations operated by T-Mobile and T-Com. As with the model already available, the Mobile DSL Card 1800 W-LAN is a quadband card.
Aside from expanding the high-speed UMTS network, T-Mobile is also pressing ahead with the development of HSDPA-capable hardware. Fujitsu Siemens and T-Mobile are expected to launch the first notebooks with built-in HSDPA, UMTS and W-LAN technology in the second quarter of 2006. They do away with the need for an external card for mobile data communication and are based on the LIFEBOOK series of business computers from Fujitsu Siemens. These innovative devices provide users with automatic access to the fastest T-Mobile network platform available wherever they are. The preloaded Communication Center software for example automatically selects data transmission via HSDPA in UMTS areas and W-LAN technology at Hotspots. This mobile solution from a single source therefore makes access to emails, corporate applications and the Internet while on the move not only extremely fast, but also user-friendly and straightforward.
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