Telcos may soon be offering wireless broadband at 19.2Mbit speeds using 3G technology.

R&D labs are scrambling to transform 3G mobile networks into last mile solutions rivaling the best wired broadband networks as telcos come to grips with lack of consumer interest in 3G mobile services and a likelihood of no payback on their multi-billion dollar investments in the spectrum.

One company, Arraycom, is already testing "next generation infrastructure" in Sydney, hoping to cash in on Australia's poor efforts in Broadband roll out, combined with keen interest in mobile services and early adoption of dial-up internet.

ArrayComm's Katie Juran told Whirlpool that the company had actually benefited from the 3G auction process: "The Australian government's decision to auction paired (suitable for voice) and unpaired (data only) spectrum separately was world-leading. This was the spectrum that ArrayComm bought to deploy i-BURST."

ArrayComm isn't the only company working on a mobile network that will offer speeds that rival our existing high speed services. A Bell Labs research team in Sydney is developing equipment that is "...receiving data in a third-generation (3G) mobile network at a blazing 19.2 Megabits per second (Mbps)." By comparison, today's fastest 3G networks, offer maximum speeds of roughly 2.5 Mbps.

Flarion, another 3G broadband developer, is also boasting higher speeds and access to existing internet services that 3G cannot offer, at a tenth the cost of 3G. SK Telecom in Korea is trialing it this month.

LINKS

• ArrayComm i-BURST Consortium partners: OzEmail and Vodafone
  
• Flarion Newsroom
  
• Lucent, Bell Labs