MANILA, Philippines - Leading wireless service provider Smart Communications recently expanded its mobile broadband portfolio as it unveiled two more products designed to run on its nationwide HSPA network.
HSPA, or high-speed packet access, is the next step in the evolution of the GSM technology, after GPRS, EDGE and 3G. HSPA offers download speeds of up to 5.8 Mbps – or a full-length, three megabyte mp3 song downloaded in about half a second.
The Smart Bro-powered “Share It” is a wireless router which can connect to Smart’s HSPA network. A plug-and-play device, the broadband gadget receives HSPA signal from the Smart network and uses WiFi to connect up to five computers in a common area, such as a home, to the Internet.
Another device recently launched by Smart is the country’s first netbook with built-in broadband connectivity. Smart Bro HSPA modems now come embedded in the Asus Eee PC 904 GO, offering a complete, ready-to-run Internet appliance straight out of the box.
These moves reinforce Smart’s advances in HSPA, which offers fast, broadband experience delivered wirelessly to laptops, desktops, mobile phones, modems, routers and other mobile devices.
“From the day we opened for business 15 years ago, Smart has stayed in step with global standards. Upgrading our network to HSPA raises mobile broadband to the next level and makes it accessible to more Filipinos,” according to Orlando Vea, Smart’s chief wireless advisor and also one of its founders.
Operators all over the world have been evolving their 3G networks to the HSPA standard. Worldwide, 239 operators now offer HSPA services in 105 countries, such as AT&T in the United States , Vodafone in the United Kingdom, Telstra in Australia , KTF in South Korea and Maxis in Malaysia.
The popularity of HSPA among operators and consumers is expected to give rise to significant economies of scale, encouraging the production and driving down prices of HSPA handsets and other devices in the medium to longterm.