Ericsson announces mobile broadband 'world record'

Technology company Ericsson is set to break its own previous broadband world record with the use of new high-speed packet access (HSPA) infrastructure.

The firm has announced that it will offer peak downlink data rates of 56Mbps as a result of combining HSPA with multiple-input and multiple-output (Mimo) technology.

By the end of this year, Ericsson has promised commercial deployment of speeds up to 42Mbps, while the technology should be ready for roll-out in 2010.

Ulf Ewaldsson, vice president and head of product area radio at Ericsson, commented that the firm's HSPA evolution is allowing for higher data rates, lower network costs and enhanced network capacity.

"This record-breaking demonstration combining Mimo and multi-carrier technology shows the strong potential of further HSPA enhancements," he added.

Commercial HSPA networks can currently run with speeds of up to 21Mbps, with Ericsson predicting that by mid-2009 this figure should increase to 28Mbps.

Back in February, Vodafone trialled a 3G HSPA mobilebroadband network with the potential to deliver speeds of up to 20Mbps.