What does HSDPA deliver?
HSDPA is a software-based enhancement on Rel 99 of the UMTS standard that boosts the air interface capacity of W-CDMA networks by 2 times and delivers a 4-5 fold increase in downlink data speeds. It shortens round-trip time between network and terminals and reduces variance in downlink transmission delay. The combination of faster data rates – typically of the order of 1 Mbps and with theoretical peak rates of up to 14.4Mbps – along with the increased spectral efficiency should result in a lower cost per data bit transmitted. Alternative access technologies cannot offer the benefits integral to the 3GSM family and may, at best, be considered by operators as complementary to the 3GSM network.
