A 3G mobile service using the 900MHz band could help network operators reduce costs, as the both the voice and data coverage and the signal penetration for in-building coverage is superior to that of the higher frequency variant of UMTS currently used in European markets. These findings were announced at the Mobile World Congress by Chinese infrastructure supplier Huawei and Qualcomm, US producer of chips for mobile phones and other devices. These two companies carried out field trials in the Extremadura region of Spain along with Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica.
The trial results confirmed that UMTS and HSDPA can co-exist with GSM at 900 MHz. Compared with the UTMS technology licensed for 2100MHz in Europe, the lower frequency 3G variant offers an increased cell radius and a better better in-building coverage, which would mean lower infrastructure costs. UMTS-900 would thus seem to be ideal for providers wishing to offer 3G services across large but relatively sparsely populated areas.
With the same modulation scheme the lower frequency reduces the effective data throughput, and the companies participating in the trials have not revealed what transmission rates they achieved during the tests. Also, the 900MHz spectrum has been reserved for GSM in Europe until further notice. UMTS-900 would seem to offer particular benefits for regions in which there is no existing mobile or fixed telephone network. The technology could be of interest in Africa, for example, where there are significant gaps in the availability of telephone services across large areas of the continent and where, in addition to UMTS, Wimax has also been put forward as a potential wireless access network platform.
The trial results confirmed that UMTS and HSDPA can co-exist with GSM at 900 MHz. Compared with the UTMS technology licensed for 2100MHz in Europe, the lower frequency 3G variant offers an increased cell radius and a better better in-building coverage, which would mean lower infrastructure costs. UMTS-900 would thus seem to be ideal for providers wishing to offer 3G services across large but relatively sparsely populated areas.
With the same modulation scheme the lower frequency reduces the effective data throughput, and the companies participating in the trials have not revealed what transmission rates they achieved during the tests. Also, the 900MHz spectrum has been reserved for GSM in Europe until further notice. UMTS-900 would seem to offer particular benefits for regions in which there is no existing mobile or fixed telephone network. The technology could be of interest in Africa, for example, where there are significant gaps in the availability of telephone services across large areas of the continent and where, in addition to UMTS, Wimax has also been put forward as a potential wireless access network platform.