HSDPA stands for High Speed Downlink Packet Access. I knew and tested this technology over one year ago. Actually it was more concentrated for data than voice, so the physic should be in the form of PCMCIA, not the mobile phone. Some notebook offer built-in HSDPA wireless system as addition to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. But ugh yeah, who cares? Some people need faster connection, with PCMCIA or mobile phone? They won’t matter. And now, Samsung is ready with its HSDPA phone.

So what is HSDPA?
HSDPA is a packet based data service with WCDMA technology. Its downlink capability reaches 8-10 Mbps (20 Mps in the future with MIMO capable system). Some implementations include the Adaptive Modulation and Coding (AMC), Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO), Hybrid Automatic Request (HARQ), Fast Cell Search, and Advanced Receiver Design.

Actually, HSDPA is the next technology for GSM standard. As we know, currently, UMTS is available in some countries with capability up to 384 Kbps. HSDPA in the real world may offer at least 400-800 Kbps, 1.2 Kbps typical and up to 1.8 Mbps maximum in the mobile phone. However on the book, the peak could reach over 10 Mbps.

Simply to say, HSDPA is similiar to EDGE, an enchancement for standar GSM/GPRS network. Off course the operator needs to modify the BTS to support this technology. According to the theory, upgrading to HSDPA will increase the spectral efficiency up to 2.5-3.5 than traditional UMTS network.

Picture above is the GlobeTrotter FUSION+ HSDPA. It supports various standard (WLAN/HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM). So you are always connected in any network around the world.

Future problem
In some country, speed of the network is not the problem. The problem is on the Internet bandwidth. I’m currently using CDMA 2000 1x network. Typically, I got 10-20 KB/s (don’t laugh, it’s quite fast in my country). But on some condition, the Internet could be so slow (less beyond the 2000 1x standard), especially when accessing abroad server (local server should be ok). So, it’s a matter about your Internet bandwidth. Just consider if a lot of people are using that fast HSDPA. How big is the bandwidth that you should provide? Fast network with slow Internet bandwidth is simply useless. As if you’re thinking of upgrading your 100 Mbps router to 1 Gbps to expect faster Cable connetion. Simply useless. Your fastest speed depends on your slowest link.