HSDPA, HSUPA, HSPA+, UMTS900, 7.2 Mbps (megabits per second) or 21.1 Mbps?
Consumers in the market for mobile broadband connectivity are bombarded with many terms and specifications that can be difficult to make sense of without some technical background.
Users familiar with mobile broadband would know that you never get the speeds a particular modem or device is rated for, but such specifications do provide an indication of the technology the device is built on.
Given that most users are unlikely to see sustained speeds over 7.2 Mbps, is it worth paying the extra money for a 21.1 Mbps modem?
MTN SA’s Chief Technology Officer, Kanagaratnam Lambotharan, explained that users will notice higher speeds on higher category modems due to base station vendor scheduling algorithms, especially when traffic on the network is quieter.
Kanagaratnam added that subscribers will also definitely experience better speeds over the two year term of their contracts as MTN rolls out more fibre to sites and more 21.1 Mbps coverage and capacity.
However, for now 7.2 Mbps can be viewed as sufficient, Kanagaratnam said. “But in a few years higher speed devices should be considered,” he added.
According to Kanagaratnam, modems will be multimode while supporting LTE (Long Term Evolution) and HSPA+ in a year’s time. However, users will notice a performance boost when cell capacity grows and network densities improve, he said. “Networks are upgrading to 21.1Mbps or 42Mbps to improve the cell capacity.”
Questioned on the same topic, Vodacom‘s Jannie van Zyl offered advice in line with Kanagaratnam’s comments. Van Zyl said that around half of the modems in use on Vodacom’s network are rated for speeds of 3.6 Mbps and lower. “If I had a 3.6 Mbps or slower modem I would definitely upgrade. 14.4 and higher, you’re probably okay” van Zyl said.
He added that it is always best to have the newest modem as technology is always improving. With the newer devices you’ll get better speeds, better signal strength, better likelihood of firmware updates from the manufacturer and features like MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) and antenna diversity.
Simple advice
According to Van Zyl, they’ve observed that modems will run at 30-40% of their maximum speed in a typical user environment due to radio and other conditions. With this in mind, van Zyl offered the following advice for users wondering whether they should get a new 3G modem:
If you’re getting more than 50% of the rated speed of the device and sustained speeds under 3 Mbps then you could benefit from a modem upgrade.
While the modem may very well be a bottleneck in the above scenario, van Zyl said that the only way to be sure is to test it, as other factors such as lower capacity backhaul links may also cause bottlenecks.
“Try and borrow a modem to test or ask on MyBroadband for feedback from others in your area” he advised.
