US : Qualcomm has completed the world’s first data call using High-Speed Packet Access Plus (HSPA+) network technology.  The call achieved a data transfer rate of more than 20 Mbps in a 5 MHz channel.  HSPA+ will allow operators to double the data and triple the voice capacity of their networks compared to current HSPA deployments.  Today’s successful data throughput was achieved on Qualcomm’s MDM8200™ product, the industry’s first chipset solution for HSPA+. 

“Today’s call represents another milestone for Qualcomm in the evolution of the HSPA road map,” said Alex Katouzian, vice president of product management, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies.  “End users will enjoy quicker connections to the Internet with HSPA+ while network operators will appreciate the opportunity to offer more services to their subscribers.”

HSPA+, also known as HSPA Evolved, is designed to enhance the mobile broadband user experience and enable a wide range of services.  The technology delivers higher peak and average data rates, lower latency, better response times, longer battery life and an enhanced, always-on experience compared to the current generation of mobile networks.

The latest evolution of WCDMA technology, HSPA+ Release 7, will offer downlink data transfer rates of up to 28 Mbps and uplink rates of up to 11 Mbps.  Future HSPA+ releases are expected to support downlink peak rates of 42-84 Mbps and uplink peak rates of 23 Mbps by using a variety of advanced techniques, including multiple carriers for transferring data.  HSPA+ is backward compatible with prior generations of WCDMA and does not require new spectrum for deployment.  Operators can leverage their existing network and spectrum resources to offer next-generation wireless bandwidth and performance.

Qualcomm’s MDM8200 chipset is currently sampling to customers and supports deployments in existing frequency bands, as well as in the 900 MHz band and the 2.5 GHz IMT-2000 extension band.