Orange has retained its position as the top mobile broadband provider in the UK, according to a survey by independent research company YouGov. Orange was ranked top for customer services and reliability, while customers also rated Orange’s mobile broadband service top in a further seven out of 15 categories, including ‘ease of use’ and ‘upload…
Novatel Wireless completes first dual-carrier HSPA+ data transmission
Novatel Wireless has announced that it has successfully completed another data transmission (see the post about 4G data here), this time over dual-carrier HSPA+, using Qualcomm’s MDM8220 chipset. For those of you not in the know with the network terms, Dual-carrier HSPA+ is a network innovation that will deliver more advanced data capabilities by (surprisingly…
Novatel Wireless Do First Successful 4G LTE Data Transmission
Novatel Wireless today announced that it has successfully completed the first data transmission call using Long Term Evolution (LTE) 4G technology. Fascinatingly, LTE provides data rates of up to 100Mbps on the uplink and 50 Mbps on the downlink by leveraging new, wider bandwidth spectrum. Many operators are already planning to overlay LTE on their…
Virgin Mobile Canada Launches HSPA Devices
Virgin Mobile, a relatively recent acquisition of Bell Mobility, has finally hooked into the new HSPA network that had been rolled out by its big brother, and is offering a range of high end devices to take advantage. As rumoured, various iPhones and the BlackBerry Bold 9700 are now a part of the Virgin Mobile…
Rogers Reassessing Smartphone Tethering
Anyone on Rogers who has been enjoying free tethering with a data plan 1 GB or over may be in for a rude shock come May 3rd. Apparently Rogers is “examining options that are in line with how customers use tethering on their devices”, so don’t be surprised if all of a sudden you’ll need…
Novatel Wireless Announces MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot Software Platform Readiness
Wow. That was a mouthful….! Novatel Wireless has announced that its MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspot software platform is ready for carrier type approvals on MiFi 2352 and MiFi 2372 products. The MiFi software platform is architected to support major 3G and 4G air interfaces, including EV-DO Rev.A, HSPA and WiMax, with new functions and capabilities…
Sierra Portable WiMAX Hotspot Coming to Sprint
Yet another goodie to potentially look forward to at CES next week is this portable Wi-Fi hotspot that shares a 4G WiMAX connection over 100 feet. If you’re worried about limited WiMAX coverage, the Sprint Overdrive is dual-mode EV-DO, so you can roll like a standard MiFi if you’re out of town. For those who…
Update: how was your Christmas for mobile data access?
At the beginning of December, I wrote a piece about the different perspectives on Christmas that people may have, based on whether they are retailers, network operators, or customers. My view on the customer side of things was that if you are getting a nice new smartphone (for example) in your stocking this year, then…
Ford SYNC to Include Wi-Fi Sharing
The Ford sync had a big presence at last year’s CES, touting all sorts of connectivity, but one especially impressive feature is yet to come: mobile internet. Apparently the next version of sync will include communications to USB-connected mobile broadband modems, which would basically turn the car into a Wi-Fi hotspot on wheels. Now, it…
Bell Mobility MiFi Now Available
As expected, Bell’s mobile Wi-Fi hotspot is now available for $99.95 on a three-year contract. The Novatel MiFi 2372 can hit speeds up to 7.2 Mbps thanks to Bell’s new HSPA network and share the connection between up to 5 devices, it’s just too bad it doesn’t support the 21 Mbps that HSPA+ is bringing…