Vodacom and MTN are racing to roll-out networks that support broadband at connection rates of 7.2Mbps.
According to Dot Field, chief communications officer at Vodacom, the company is planning an HSDPA 7.2 network. "The roll-out process is, however, dependent on the backhaul availability."
MTN says it has already gone live with 7.2 at various sites in Cape Town. The company plans to upgrade several HSDPA sites to 7.2Mbps; however, it will only go live when there is enough capacity to support the high speeds, it says.
Both companies recently announced the availability of HSDPA at a connection rate of 3.6Mbps, free to customers for a promotional period.
According to a report by MyADSL, testing on MTN's 3.6 network showed peak speeds of around 3.4Mbps and a sustained throughput of 2.4Mbps.
Vodacom has reported similar rates. "Users on HSDPA 3.6 have been reporting speeds between 2.2Mpbs and 2.8Mbps," says Field.
She notes that the upgrade to HSDPA 3.6 allows for connection speeds between the user terminal and the base station to reach 3.6Mbps, inherent to the technology. "However, throughput speeds are affected by the availability of local and international backhaul, which will influence the throughput speed."
The provider has set up a testing application for customers to determine exactly what speeds they are reaching. Vodacom clients can also check to see whether the local base station supports HSDPA 3.6 by going to the coverage maps on the Vodacom Web site.
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