Vodafone cranks up 3G data rates for autumn
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IF you're in Central London or an airport Vodafone will be pushing its HSDPA network to a possible 7.2Mb/sec download speed and introducing HSUPA to increase uploading to a possible 1.44Mb/sec, during the autumn as it tries to boost corporate data usage.â¦
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Vodafone is aiming for the iPod generation with its third-generation cell phones, putting music and video downloading at the heart of its sales push.
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Vodafone has sharply increased its capacity in the United States after its joint venture in America, Verizon Wireless, struck a $3bn (Â£1.
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Wireless speeds of 300 Mbps downstream. That&#39;s the goal of &quot;Super 3G&quot; experiments that Japanese telecommunications giant NTT DoCoMo will begin this month.
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Mobile phone giant Vodafone says it is planning to launch a high-speed broadband Internet service for its millions of customers in Britain.
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British mobile phone company Vodafone   Plc is set to announce it will sell own-brand low-cost 3G   handsets from October, a source close to the company said on   Wednesday.
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(InfoWorld) - The U.K. is considering letting mobile phone operators run 3G (third-generation) services on frequencies reserved for 2G services, a change that could mean better 3G coverage and lower costs for the public, the government's telecommunications regulator said Thursday. The move by the Office of Communications (Ofcom) follows the expected relaxation of a longstanding European Union (E.U.) restriction on how certain frequencies could be used. A consultation period started on Thursday and runs through Nov. 29. Other European countries are undertaking similar moves to liberalize their 2G spectrums, according to a spokesman for the GSM Association (GSMA), a trade group for mobile phone operators. A 1987 E.U. directive restricted use of the 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrums second-generation services based on the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard, which at the time was intended to foster growth of mobile communications across Europe by ensuring a large market for common hardware. The European Commission has proposed allowing 3G in those spectrum ranges: It says the original directive is now stalling growth of 3G services. The proposal should become policy by the end of the year once it is approved by the European Parliament and the E.U. Council of Ministers, according to the Commission. Operators across Europe have been running 3G services in the 2100MHz frequency band for several years. But opening up the 900MHz spectrum is key, as the lower frequencies allow better penetration of buildings, Ofcom said. The signals also carry further, so in rural areas fewer mobile phone masts are necessary: Ofcom estimates that high-quality mobile broadband Internet services could be provided with 10,000 fewer sites per operator. In turn, consumers should see lower costs for 3G services, the Commission has said. Finland and France are already trialing 3G services in the 900MHz band, the GSMA spokesman said. Market analyst Ovum estimates 300 million people will have 3G connections in Western Europe by 2012 if 3G is deployed at 900MHz and 2100MHz. That's compared to only 235 million connections if 3G is restricted to only 2100MHz. About 50 million have access to 3G today. Operators will likely want to continue using the 2100MHz band, as it has a higher traffic capacity than the 900MHz band, and so is better for urban areas where there are more users. In the U.K., Vodafone Group and O2 (UK)Â use the 900 MHz spectrum but only for 2G services. Ofcom is suggesting letting the other operators, Three, run by Hutchison 3G UK; T-Mobile International; and Orange, to have access to that band. The spectrum would be auctioned, with Ofcom awarding licenses as soon as 2009 and services starting by 2010, the regulator said. Ofcom is also looking at removing some technology-specific restrictions from the 1800MHz and 2100MHz bands, which could happen next year.
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London-based Vodafone has finally rolled out its mass-market third-generation (or 3G) mobile telephone services after a four-year wait, billions of pounds spent on licences and numerous delays.
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(InfoWorld) - Vodafone has begun offering new fees and features to stir demand for mobile Internet services as competition hits the company's profits from voice services. Two of the group's largest subsidiaries, Germany's Vodafone D2 GmbH and Vodafone Ltd. in the U.K., announced new mobile data offerings on Wednesday with subsidiaries in several other markets planning customized packages of their own, according to Vodafone Group spokesman Mark Street. "Pricing for these new mobile Internet services will be on a market by market basis, and it will be up to each market to decide on features," Street said. "But what I can say is that as a group, we're looking at prices that are predictable and transparent and services that offer value for their money." The move comes as Vodafone, which has been facing tough competition from low-cost mobile phone operators, seeks new revenue streams to offset falling prices from its traditional cash-cow voice service. It has also been prompted by mobile Internet services, such as T-Mobile International AG's Web n' Walk, designed for quick, easy, and competitively priced mobile phone surfing. As of July 15, Vodafone customers in Germany can subscribe to the new mobile Internet service, called "Handy 2.0," available for a flat monthly fee of â¬9.95 ($13.44) . The service uses the open-source Opera mobile phone browser, which formats content for easy viewing on small displays, according to Vodafone D2 spokeswoman Bettina Donges. "Handy 2.0 will be like a PC experience," Donges said. "You'll be able to surf all around the Net with your mobile phone, the pages will be compiled fast, and they'll be easy to read." The new flat-rate Internet offering, however, doesn't apply to VoIPÂ applications, according to Donges. Vodafone will not support mobile VoIP service until it can guarantee quality service, Street said. In addition, Vodafone has struck Internet partnerships with eBay, Google, YouTube, and MySpace.com to provide services specially tailored for mobile phones. Customers access the Internet service through the Vodafone Live mobile portal. The portal service is included in the various bundled minute packages available from the German operator. Initially, several handsets, including the Nokia N73 and N95, the Motorola V3 and V980, and the Samsung Zv60 and D900i, will support the Handy 2.0 service, but other phones will be added over time. In the U.K., Vodafone is launching a similar service that takes Web pages designed for PCs and makes them easy to read on handsets. The Vodafone Mobile Internet offerings also includes partnerships with eBay, Google, YouTube, and MySpace as well as Yahoo. Analysts see a couple of advantages to the partnerships. By collaborating with these brands, Vodafone not only gives customers a better experience of using their Internet services on their phones but will also benefit from advertising revenue opportunities, according to John Delaney, principal analyst at Ovum Ltd. One slight difference between the German and U.K. offering is the price: U.K. customers who sign up for a data pack pay Â£7.50 ($14.90 ) per month for 120MB of data, which is equivalent to four hours of viewing YouTube or up to 160 mobile Internet pages every day for a month. Other customers are charged per kilobyte, up to a Â£1 per day for 500KB, with no additional charge unless the day's usage exceeds 15MB.
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The mobile operator explained it will be the first in Europe to offer HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) and IMS (Internet Protocol Multimedia Services) with download speeds of 3.6Mbps when it launches the service in the Isle of Man next summer.
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Based on a CDMA EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) 3G network, Verizon&#39;s BroadbandAccess promisses speeds of 300-500kbps. The company announced BroadbandAccess will be available in 13 major metropolitan markets
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British giant Vodafone said it aimed to become the second biggest operator in Japan through an aggressive push in third-generation (3G) service which is taking off in the country.
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Vodafone has flicked the switch for the start of its &#39;Vodafone live! With 3G&#39; service. Its portal of mobile services has had a 3G makeover for UMTS-based (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) video
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(InfoWorld) - Mobile operators need to rethink how they price their 3G data plans to better compete with fixed-line broadband services, according to the top executive at Singaporean operator MobileOneÂ (M1). "Operators need to move forward," said Neil Montefiore, M1's chief executive officer, in a phone interview ahead of the Telecom World exhibition and conference organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Hong Kong. Last week, M1 announced plans to offer a faster 3G data service based on HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access), an upgrade to WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) networks that increases download speeds from 384KbpsÂ to 3.6Mbps. That service will be available in Singapore starting Wednesday. Rather than increasing its prices with the introduction of the faster service, M1 decided to offer users of the existing service a discount. It dramatically cut the price of its 3G data plan that offers unlimited access, from S$68 (US$44) per month to S$22 per month,. In addition, M1 introduced two HSDPA data plans with unlimited access -- one offering a maximum of 1.8Mbps and another offering 3.6Mbps -- for S$38 and S$68, respectively. Mobile data services based on 3G technology are generally expensive to use, partly because operators charge for data using a per-byte or per-minute pricing model similar to voice. As a result, 3G data services primarily serve business customers who can afford the premium charges, rather than the average mobile user. "We've got to look to the future," Montefiore said. "We've got to be competitive with current fixed broadband prices." Prior to the price cut, M1 sold about 500 3G data cards each month to users who wanted mobile data access. What impact the new pricing levels will have is not yet clear, but Montefiore does not expect to see a dramatic surge in adoption. These mobile user numbers could rise, as most Singaporean broadband users are still locked into 24-month service plans for their existing broadband connections, Montefiore said. "Over time, it will be an attractive way to get online," he said, adding that M1 will offer a more detailed forecast in January when the company announces its financial results. Telecom World runs through Friday, Dec. 8.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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It's crunch time for Europe's mobile telephone giants. After spending billions of euros on third-generation licences, they now hope to persuade millions of customers to make the switch to the new 3G services with high-speed Internet access and video and music downloads.
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By VAUGHAN, Gareth  Telecom's $300 million new mobile phone network should enable it to compete strongly with rival Vodafone for a slice of the estimated $200m annual cellphone roaming market.
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Vodafone, the world&#39;s largest mobile phone operator, today finally launched its third generation (3G) services as it seeks to recoup Â£16.