Bangkok--3 Jan--Farh Agency The emergence of 3G more than three years ago sparked a revolution in the wireless broadband business. From UMTS/WCDMA to HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), 3G technologies are providing a state-of-the-art experience via mobile broadband services with unsurpassed technical performance. Looking back to the early days of 3G, subscribers realize that while their experience was good in terms of connection and network performance, the Internet access they had was rather slow, compared it with what is available nowadays. Over time, subscribers have been able to experience enhanced benefits — faster Web page load times, improved Internet video transmissions, the ability to transfer larger e-mail attachments and much more. Now, as the industry evolves to HSPA, data transmission rates averaging around 1 Mbps (while stationary) are bringing greater benefits to a wide range of uses including personal and enterprise applications. Even with poor signal strength during mobility, users are still able to enjoy various applications such as video services without interference. In markets with advanced HSPA deployment, users have reported peak data rates of almost 3 Mbps under good signal conditions. Apart from communication speeds, hand-off is also noticeably better, with speeds in the range of 100ms to 200ms, quick enough for most Internet applications as well as enterprise use. Enterprise users can update and download information in corporate databases in real-time, without having to deal with disconnections and delayed synchronization. The increasing availability of HSPA devices — from handsets and aircards to built-in modems within laptops — is enabling users to experience a wide spectrum of wireless applications. The limits are boundless as users can now easily access instant messaging, video streaming, VoIP or even file sharing services, all through a wireless connection.. From a user perspective, Gabriel Brown, chief analyst at Unstrung, attributes the success of HSPA to several areas. One of the major drivers is network speed. With speeds of up to 1 Mbps while stationary, the technology is comparable to fixed Internet access and has therefore attracted many users. Furthermore, the wide variety of HSPA devices and, more importantly, the increasing depth of device price points are making it easier for users to find the right device to match their lifestyle. According to Brown, his favorite applications are streaming Internet radio, file sharing and mobile VoIP over the HSPA network. Brown comments that he is hoping for better in-building coverage to extend beyond the metro area. He is also looking forward to testing newer laptops with integrated HSPA cards embedded. HSPA is now market-ready, introducing users to a boundless new world of benefits in wireless broadband.