WHAT IS HSPA?
HSPA commonly referred to as 3.5G is a pair of mobile protocols, HSDPA and HSUPA (High-Speed-Downlink-Packet-Access and High-Speed-Uplink-Packet-Access).
Both were created to enhance and optimize the performance of current 3G telecommunications networks utilizing the WCDMA protocol (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access).
HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) commonly known as 3.5G or 3G+ was introduced in 2002 in Europe by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership project).
HSPA OVERVIEW
As mentioned above, HSPA is a pair of mobile protocols, HSDPA and HSUPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access and High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) created to enhance and optimize the performance of current 3G telecommunications networks using the WCDMA protocol (Wideband-Code-Division-Multiple-Access).
The HSPA upgrade doubles the 3G network data capacities, reduces latency, and has five times more speeds in downloads and twice more in uploads.
WHAT IS THE SPEED FOR HSPA?
HSPA has data downlink speeds of up to 14Mbit/s and data uplink of 5.76 Mbit/s (Megabits per second).
Due to improvements in speed and reduced latency, users enjoyed a reduction in the cost of data, and subscribers and usage increased.
The HSPA speeds reduced round trips for applications. It was a win-win for both the network and the users.
WHAT IS HSDPA
HSDPA means High-Speed Downlink Packet Access. It is one of the two protocols of HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) alongside HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access).
It is an improvement on 3G’s WCDMA (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access) protocols, introduced to remove slow connections, and latency and to improve downlink data transmission capacities.
To provide faster downlink speeds of up to 14Mbit/s (Megabits per second), HSDPA uses a special technique for modulation and coding by creating a new channel called HS-DSCH (High-Speed Downlink Shared Channel).
WHAT IS HS-DSCH?
HS-DSCH means High-Speed Downlink Shared Channels. It is a dedicated downlink channel used only for the distribution of downloads, data can only be sent from source to device and not from device to source.
HSPDA gives priority to high data demand applications such as video streaming, music, and such like it, other types of downloads are allowed too but the heavier ones take priority.
The dedicated downlink channel uses a multi-code transmission to provide the fastest downloads through effectively sharing radio signals amongst users.
Since HSDPA is a dedicated downlink channel, there was a need for a dedicated uplink channel- it is called HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access).
WHAT IS HSUPA?
HSUPA means High-Speed Uplink Packet Access. It is one of the two protocols in the family of HSPA (High-Speed Packet Access) alongside HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access).
HSUPA was introduced to enhance uplink capacities by improving performance and speed to 5.7kMbit/s (Megabits per seconds) for uplink data transmissions.
It uses multi-code transmission in combination with a dedicated uplink channel known as E-DCH (Enhanced Dedicated Channel) used mainly for uploads.
WHAT IS E-DCH?
E-DCH means Enhanced Dedicated Channel. This channel allows only uplink data transfers for optimized transmission once a request is made from a user’s device.
It then uses a packet scheduler to grant when, how and the number of devices to be allowed permission for uplink data transfers at any given time.
The HSUPA reduces latency and extends uplink capacity for high speed through dedicated channels.
It provides faster uplink data rate transmissions.
An opportunity explored for applications like VOIP (Voice over IP), and large data messages through emails, pictures, video uploads, etc. Platforms like Skype, YouTube, and other upload-driven apps thrived with these improvements.
FAST FACTS AND FEATURES OF HSPA
- HSPA is commonly referred to as 3.5G
- It was introduced in 2002 by 3GPP
- HSPA is the improved version of 3G WCDMA technology (Wideband-Code Division Multiple Access)
- It is a combination of two mobile protocols, HSDPA and HSUPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access and High-Speed Uplink Packet Access)
- Its maximum theoretical speed is 5.76Mbps uplink and 14.4Mbps downlink although practical speeds are around 200Kbps uplink and 500Kbps downlink
- It has reduced latency due to the improvement in speed and its expanded network capacities
- It uses multi-code transmissions to share Radio signals amongst multiple users
- It uses unique transmission channels specific to downlink and uplink respectively
- HSPA data speeds are up to five times more in downlink and twice as much in uplink compared to 3G
- HSPA upgrades are usually just software updates on the 3G WCDMA network due to its flexibility
- The symbol for HSPA is H
The combination of HSDPA and HSUPA makes 3.5G a faster network compared to 3G.
In 2008, HSPA evolved to HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access).
WHAT IS EVOLVED HSPA?
Evolved High-Speed Packet Access has many aliases such as 3.75G, HSPAP, HSPA+, HSPA Evolution, and HSPA (Plus). It was introduced in 2008 by 3GPP as an improvement on High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA).
Evolved HSPA is an add-on wireless broadband standard upgrade on the current 3G networks using antenna array technologies like Beamforming and MIMO (Multiple Input- Multiple Output) while providing backward compatibility on existing HSPA.
It provides data rates of 42.2- 56 Mbits/s downlink and 22 Mbits/s uplinks (Megabits per second) thereby increasing data transmission speed.
EVOLVED HSPA OVERVIEW
Evolved HSPA or 3.75G is technically a wireless broadband standard of telecommunication, it is the second phase of HSPA.
WHAT IS MIMO?
MIMO means Multiple Input- Multiple Output. It uses multiple antennas in sending and receiving data to achieve increased data capacity and speed. This method of transmission is referred to as MIMO (Multiple Input-Multiple Output).
WHAT IS BEAMFORMING?
Beamforming is a radio frequency transmission technique that channels wireless signals to a particular receiver or device thereby increasing speed through the most efficient delivery path instead of having the signal spread to all directions.
Evolved HSPA TECHNOLOGY
Evolved HSPA technology uses a combination of MIMO (Multiple Input- Multiple Output), Higher modulation of 64- QAM, and Dual Carrier HSDPA (DC-HSDPA, or Dual-Cell HSDPA).
It allows more bits per symbol by focusing several cell towers antennas and channels to simultaneously transmit data to a single user or receiver, allowing increased download capacity based on demand.
WHAT IS THE SPEED FOR EVOLVED HSPA?
Evolved HSPA achieved higher speeds due to the upgrade in standards.
Theoretical speeds are around 24 – 56 Mbits/s downlink and 22 – 168 Mbits/s (Megabits per second). These speeds are theoretical but not reached in practical terms, there is solace from several other improvements that came with the evolved HSPA standard.
DOES EVOLVED HSPA HAVE BACKWARD COMPATIBILITY?
Evolved HSPA gives room for backward compatibility with existing HSPA and 3G networks whenever required.
Since its introduction in 2008, Evolved HSPA has been widely deployed across many countries including Nigeria.
Although Evolved HSPA is not 4G-LTE, it provided a pathway for Telecommunication operators to migrate towards early 4G LTE speeds without having to deploy new radios.
WHAT IS THE FASTEST 3G-BASED STANDARD?
Evolved HSPA is the fastest 3G-based standard in the UMTS family (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System).
It is commonly classified as 4G technology due to its features and high speed. It is, however, important to note that because Evolved HSPA is based on 3G standards and technology, it is not to be confused with 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution).
4G uses the air interface technology of orthogonal frequency division, modulation, and multiple access.
The symbol for Evolved HSPA H+. It sometimes appears when the 4G network is not available.
FAST FACTS OF EVOLVED HSPA
- Evolved High-Speed Packet Access is also known as 3.75G, HSPAP (Plus), HSPA+ and HSPA Evolution
- It was introduced by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) in 2008 as an improvement on HSPA
- It uses MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output), Beamforming, and higher modulation technologies by using more multiple antennas for sending and receiving data and channeling cell signals through the beam to a particular user to achieve increased download capacity
- It drastically increased the speed theoretically to 22Mbps uplink and 168Mbps downlink
- HSPA+ is the fastest 3G-based standard in the UMTS family
- Its symbol is H+
In 2008, shortly after the launch of 3G technology, the Radio sector of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU-R) defined and released new standards.
These standards included faster connections and transmission speeds, quality, and security that led to the invention of 4G.