Vipnet is the only Croatian operator providing a 3G network via a combination the EDGE and UMTS technology to more than 90 percent of the population and it already offers the Vodafone Mobile Connect data card UMTS+EDGE. All these Vipnet's achievements were based on the support offered over the past years by Ericsson's company in Croatia - Ericsson Nikola Tesla. Vipnet's entrance into the HSDPA world was also suppoted by Ericsson's technology. Starting from today Vipnet's customers will be able to easily upgrade their data card Vodafone Mobile Connect Card UMTS+EDGE to the HSDPA technology at no extra charges.
The HSDPA data card enabling mobile broadband Internet access marks a further milestone in the 3G network evolution of Vipnet, the innovative leader in the Croatian market.
Marie-Hélene Magenschab, CEO of Vipnet said: "By launching the HSDPA network we have confirmed once again that we always place the customer in the center of everything we do. With the speed four to seven times faster than UMTS and EDGE, customers can easily work, use their e-mail or surf the Internet wherever and whenever they want."
Gordana Kovačević, president of Ericsson Nikola Tesla comments:"We have cooperated closely with Vipnet since their entrance in the local market as the first private mobile operator in the country and we have built a strong partnersip with them in bringing the latest communications possibilities to the Croatian users. We are therefore very satisfied with the fact that together we were the first in Croatia to enable Vipnet's users to enjoy the advantages of HDSPA technology."
In addition to surfing and downloading files from the Internet, the HSDPA network enables a significantly more comfortable work with "real time" applications, such as access to e-mail via the MS Outlook application, use of Instant Messenger, access to shared maps ...
"The HSDPA technology is an upgrade of the package part of the UMTS network, i.e. what the EDGE technology represents for GPRS. So, HSDPA is using the same radio-frequency spectrum and channel width as UMTS, so that no special license is required for HSDPA. The advanced modulation of the radio signal makes it possible to transfer twice more data through the air than the existing UMTS modulation, and the HSDPA network is also "more intelligent" and faster in analyzing the signals and adjusting the network parameters", said Mladen Pejković, member of the Management Board and CTO of Vipnet.
"We are very glad that together with Vipnet we enabled the Croatian users to have access to HSDPA technology that enables mobile surfing at a speed of over 1.5 Mbit/s in download and up to 384 kbit/s in upload. Accordingly, for instance, one minute will be sufficient to download a 10 MB document from the Internet via the HSDPA network. What a treat for Vipnet's users", explains Alen Ludaš, KAM Vipnet in Ericsson Nikola Tesla.
The HSDPA technology will be the leading technology in the forthcoming couple of years and the estimates are that it will have approximately 40 million users in Europe in the course of 2006.
Communication Ericsson Nikola Tesla
