High Speed Packet Access Speeds (HSPA)

Is HPSA+ 4G?  HSPA+ improves the end-user experience by increasing peak data rates up to 14 Mbit/s in the downlink and 5.8 Mbit/s in the uplink.  It also reduces latency and provides up to five times more system capacity in the downlink and up to twice as much system capacity in the uplink, reducing the production cost per bit compared to original WCDMA protocols. HSPA increases peak data rates and capacity in several ways:

• Shared-channel transmission, which results in efficient use of available code and power resources in WCDMA
• Better “always-on” experience without compromising battery life
• A shorter Transmission Time Interval (TTI), which reduces round-trip time and improves the tracking of fast channel variations
• Link adaptation, which maximizes channel usage and enables the base station to operate close to maximum cell power
• Fast scheduling, which prioritizes users with the most favorable channel conditions
• Fast retransmission and soft-combining, which further increase capacity
• 16QAM (Quadrature Amplitude Modulation), which yields higher bit-rates

More than 50 HSPA+ networks supporting 21 Mbps to 28 Mbps have already launched and operators are now preparing for multicarrier (a.k.a dual-carrier) launches in 2010 to support up to 42 Mbps. HSPA+ enhances the broadband experience while significantly increasing voice and data capacity. Its higher data rate and latency offer anywhere anytime access to rich multimedia services, push-to-media, interactive gaming, video and audio downloads, and more

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