Nortel and Option achieve 3.6Mbps HSDPA test

The race is on to increase the rate of wireless transmission and companies around the world are playing the high stakes game. Well, we have a new leader. Two actually. Nortel and Option teamed up for a test that reached new rates. While testing at Nortel Research facilities in France using commercial HSDPA equipment from Nortel and an Option 3.6 HSDPA card, the companies were able to demonstrate downlink speeds of 3.6Mbps. That’s faster than a lot of current broadband connections.

They didn’t just achieve the results in a laboratory setting. They also did real-world tests, with laptops placed in moving vehicles. That performance on the go is necessary if mobile wireless broadband is to be successful for TV, HD video or MP3 downloads that aren’t painfully slow.

The two companies have been at the forefront of HSDPA development. Option first tested HSDPA in March of this year. Nortel achieved the first HSDPA call in January and have continued to innovate since then.