First 3G HSDPA in the Netherlands
T-Mobile is the first operator to launch HSDPA in the Netherlands and with this meets the requirements of the 3G-license with mobile Internet at ADSL speed.
Since April 18, customers of T-Mobile Netherlands as the first in the country have been able to use mobile broadband on T-Mobile’s new 3G network based on HSDPA. This makes T-Mobile the first Dutch mobile provider to market the fast HSDPA technology, which can reach download speeds of up to 1.8 Mbit/s. That means that HSDPA is up to 5 times faster than UMTS and can be compared to the broadband speed of ADSL, which people are used to at home. To be able to use HSDPA there is a HSDPA-enabled data card available for laptops, the so called web’n’walk Card. T-Mobile expects to supply the first mobile devices that support fast HSDPA in autumn. Of course, UMTS devices also work on the HSDPA network, though not at HSDPA speeds.
Pim van der Feltz, Marketing Director T-Mobile Netherlands, is very proud that T-Mobile is the first to offer the super-fast connection to customers: “It has constantly been T-Mobile’s ambition to provide true mobile broadband on the road for laptop users. Experience dictates that when people are used to a certain speed at home or in the office, they want the same anywhere else. We foresee a quick acceptation for HSDPA, not only with business users. Combined with a national network of HotSpots, T-Mobile now offers a good network of mobile broadband in the Netherlands. All the mobile operators paid a lot of money a few years back for a 3G-license. We are the first to offer a network with a speed that matches the targets of the license.”
web’n’walk Card
With the T-Mobile web’n’walk Card customers have mobile broadband Internet at their disposal. This provides them with simple access to their company network at the speed they are used to at home or the office. The user connects to the Internet quickly with the web’n’walk Card. This is possible both via HSDPA and T-Mobile HotSpot, the company’s WiFi service. The user can have unlimited access to mobile Internet via GPRS, UMTS, HSDPA and Wi-Fi in the Netherlands for a monthly flat-fee. The user can access mobile broadband Internet with the promotional offer of 50 Euro a month.
T-Mobile HSDPA
In August 2005, T-Mobile was the first Dutch provider to demonstrate the possibilities of HSDPA during a gathering with business customers in Rotterdam. HSDPA showed to be comparable in speed to ADSL. At the end of October, T-Mobile was the first Dutch operator to establish a HSDPA connection in a live network environment. A live data connection was made with an external streaming server. In November 2005, T-Mobile started an external HSDPA trial with some businesses in the area of Plaspoelpolder in The Hague/Rijswijk. Over 40 participants received the web’n’walk Card. The trial has provided valuable information about the quality and services. Some aspects of the new service have also been evaluated, aspects such as speed, stability, user friendliness and billing.
One of the participants of the HSDPA trial is Bert Kok, Manager Product Development ANP: “At ANP we can’t imagine working without mobile Internet. All day we download many large files. Our photographers place their pictures directly via the Internet and editors use mobile broadband Internet on the road to post texts and multimedial content. I use it to be able to follow internal ANP processes, like the production. HSDPA is a perfect godsend for ANP.”
With the launch of the HSDPA network on April 18, 2006, T-Mobile is the first mobile provider in the Netherlands to offer mobile Internet at ADSL speed.
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Tags: 3G, HSDPA, T-Mobile, UMTS