HSUPA brings fast mobile uplinks

Cellular links capable of uploading data at up to 2Mbits/sec came a step closer this week with a demonstration of a High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUP) link.

So-called 3.5g HSDPA services, rated at 1.8Mbits/sec and more, have been available for some time but the top speed is available only for downlinks.

At the 3GSM show in Barcelona this week, Canadian firm Sierra Wireless has been demonstrating a working prototype HSUPA card, the Aircard 880, which supports high data rates in the other direction.

The demonstration was in conjunction with Spanish operator Telefonica , which now owns Britain's O2 network. Sierra director of marketing Greg Speakman said he expected HSUPA access to be available by the end of 2007 but he could not say if it would happen in the UK.

Users rarely get the full rated speed on HSDPA, and this will also be the case with uplinks. Speakman said he would expect real-world speeds of 400-600Kbits/sec.

But even this speed, roughly that of first generation wired ADSL broadband, will be welcomed by anyone who needs to send high-volume data – photographers, for instance, or policemen sending accident reports.

HSUPA could also improve the quality of mobile video calls, which is limited by the uplink speed.

The Aircard 880 is designed to go into laptops but Speakman said he expected the technology to be implemented in smart phones.

Speakman agreed that the use of high-speed data links in any direction is unlikely to go mainstream they get cheaper. "They are still a requirement primarily of businesses," he said. "But when videoconferencing becomes commonplace in the wired world, it will quickly cross over to mobiles.

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