Summer 2006

A new form of mobile phone-based data transmission described as "3G broadband" has hit the UK, with Vodafone claiming the lead in rolling out the technology. And the company claims that in a survey, most users preferred it to Wi-Fi.

The system is based on HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology, which elsewhere has been informally dubbed "3.5G". Other mobile network operators such as O2, Orange and T-Mobile are also known to be developing HSDPA service (T-Mobile's is understood to be planned for this summer), but Vodafone says it is ahead of the game.

Initially its service is being rolled out in Greater London (the area bounded by the M25), plus Glasgow, Sheffield, Greater Manchester and Tyneside. Availability over the whole area of Vodafone's 3G coverage is planned by summer 2007.

Download speeds of around 1.4Mbps are claimed for the service, along with upload speeds of up to 384 Kbps. These compare with original 3G transfer speeds of around 128 Kbps, which have been stretched by some suppliers up to 348 Kbps.

 

Vodafone says its service also offers up to three times the capacity of 3G, which allows more users in the same location to benefit simultaneously.

The company has also announced the availability of a 3G broadband-compatible 3G/UMTS router, which can use either fixed Ethernet or Wi-Fi wireless network to allow 3G-linked phones to connect with printers and peripherals. This is not however the same as the bundled 3G/Wi-Fi service packages already developed by some other service providers.

Vodafone's prices start at £25 per month for 250 Mb of data. Data cards cost £99 on its Data 250 price plan and £49 on the Data Unlimited price plan.

Two models in Dell's Latitude laptop computer range, the D620 and D820, are already being offered with Vodafone 3G and 3G broadband capability built in. They include a Vodafone mobile phone SIM card already installed, along with Dell's Connection Manager software. Lenovo, which makes the former IBM ThinkPad range of laptops, is also offering built-in Vodafone 3G broadband connectivity on selected ThinkPad T60 and X60 models.

• Vodfone claims that after a trial of its 3G broadband service, 73 per cent of users said they would prefer to use 3G broadband to Wi-Fi, and 85 per cent said they would prefer it to hotel-provided broadband.