Telstra, Australia's largest mobile carrier, has just announced that its planned eHSPA (enhanced HSPA) network is on track for commercial deployment before the end of 2008. The new network, based on Telstra's already established Next G network, is said to bring data transfer speeds of up to 21Mbps in downlink, this representing a first in the world. Of course, the actual download speeds will probably be lower, depending on the handsets users have, on the local conditions of the network and so on.

Functional as of October 6, 2009, the Next G network currently covers 99% of Australia's population. The eHSPA technology (also known as HSPA+) will further improve the mobile broadband user experience, opening new ways for the launch of various applications and services. The eHSPA network will rely on an Ericsson solution, using Qualcomm's MDM8200 product.

"This is truly game-changing," stated Mike Wright, executive director at Telstra Wireless. "Telstra has a proven history of investment in Australia's nation-wide, HSPA-enabled Next G network and this is our latest, very important step toward realizing this technology. Practically speaking, our tests have shown that when combined with our planned rollout of Ethernet backhaul, this network will deliver truly high-speed connectivity on the move."

Alex Katouzian, vice president of product management at Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, added, "All the pieces are coming together to create a powerful eHSPA network that will help people connect to the things they care about on the Internet, whether it's for work or play. In addition to higher peak rates, people will enjoy shorter response times and a better overall experience when using their mobile devices on the eHSPA network."

"The demonstration is significant proof of the maturity of HSPA Evolution technology. Ericsson is the market leader in introducing the latest HSPA network solutions in operator networks that give customers the best possible mobile broadband experience," Ulf Ewaldsson, vice president and head of Product Area Radio at Ericsson, also said.