EDGE Evolution will speed up existing networks
With everyone all "EV-DO" this and "HSUPA" that these days, there doesn't seem to be a lot of love for our old friend EDGE anymore (the wireless data protocol, not the U2 guitarist). Well Ericsson has just announced plans to upgrade the long-in-the-tooth spec to a zippy 1Mbps by 2009, citing EDGE Evolution as a feasible stopgap solution that will squeeze a few more years (and a few more dollars) out of those legacy networks. Basically a software upgrade to existing hardware, Evolution allows the network to operate more efficiently and consequently deliver two to three times the bandwidth of plain jane EDGE. It's not clear, however, if current handsets can be modified to take advantage of the higher speeds, so while it would be great to wake up one day with a supercharged phone, we're not holding our breath.
Filed under: Cellphones
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mr Yuk @ Mar 15th 2007 9:32AM
Nice graphic - I still use my old T39 occasionally - it's just so damn small and has great battery life.
mike @ Mar 15th 2007 10:04AM
Agree Mr Yuk- have the T39 also... ! Mike From http://www.thumb-drives.com/
Ian @ Mar 15th 2007 9:39AM
This would be great if it worked with old handsets. I would
Robert Wicks @ Mar 15th 2007 10:44AM
Hopefully, WM5, Symbian, and other "smart" platforms will be upgradeable.
ruttiger @ Mar 15th 2007 10:50AM
Basically a software upgrade? I don't think so. The jump from GMSK modulation to 8PSK was a huge stress on the processor (both for the de/modulation itself and handling the increased amounts of data) so a jump from 8PSK to 32QAM will be no walk in the park.
The networks may be able to do this without swapping out base staion hardware, unlikley though, but mobiles themselves will need more beef in the processor and memory hardware. Oh, and then there's the power consumption.
mroach @ Mar 15th 2007 11:34AM
Hrm, so by expanding the EDGE acronym, you'd end up with Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution Evolution. Might want to re-think that, Ericsson.
Dr Buzz0 @ Mar 15th 2007 11:52AM
If they can pull this off it would be great. Especially for Cingular... er.. I mean AT&T. They already have most of the USA covered by EDGE, but their high speed coverage lags behind verizon and sprint in terms of geographic area. It could definitely make a BIG difference if the the whole area covered by EDGE could be upgraded to 1mbps, even if it only worked with new handsets
Raghu @ Mar 15th 2007 12:30PM
I still use my T28W once in a while which is a couple of years older than the T39 :) Love its size and form factor. With a little smaller antenna and a faster processor it would be my perfect phone. I use the phone only as an emergency modem.
ben @ Mar 15th 2007 6:36PM
I wonder if this might be why the iPhone is going to use EDGE and not something else........
Sam @ Mar 15th 2007 6:36PM
2009? This would be useful today, but I would hope that by 2009 they have rolled out HSDPA (or HSUPA) across the rest of their network. By then it will only be useful if old handsets can be upgraded (iPhone 1.0). I love my HSDPA and have no reason to go backwards.
NarfPointZort @ Mar 15th 2007 6:44PM
Evan, I'm not sure why you said "HSUPA"... No one talks about HSUPA; there aren't any phones or networks that even provide that yet. We're all about HSDPA. Was that a typo or are you just really out of the loop?