T-Mobile deploys HSUPA data service

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T-Mobile has today followed in the footsteps of Vodafone by upgrading its mobile data service to support Hyper-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA).

The German-owned mobile operator has become the second company to offer HSUPA data services in the UK, claiming that it is the first mobile broadband provider to deploy HSUPA nationwide.

T-Mobile's HSUPA service should allow users to upload files at speeds of up to 1.4Mb/sec, a five-fold increase over its existing HSDPA service.

The company has also upped its downstream speed to 4.5Mb/sec, initially only within the M25 but rolling out to major cities in the second half of 2008. There is also scope for delivering up to 7.2Mb/sec using the same technology.

The company has added a mobile broadband checker to its web site, which will allow users to verify coverage for a specific postcode.

The increase in upstream and downstream rates have arrived at the same time as steep cuts in the company's data roaming charges, introduced in an effort to head-off EU charging caps.

There will be an 80 per cent reduction in data roaming charges in EU member countries, bringing the cost down to £1.50 per MB inc VAT.

T-Mobile UK chief executive Jim Hyde said of the changes: “Today, 25 per cent of new contract customers are signing up and we expect to quadruple our user base in 2008.”

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