Vodafone tests 16Mbps mobile broadband

January 15, 2017

Vodafone Spain announced today that tests of new mobile broadband technology achieved peak data download rates of 16Mbps.

The high speeds were achieved during a field test of HSPA+ 64QAM technology.

The test was conducted in conjunction with technology providers Qualcomm and Ericsson.

Andy MacLeod, Vodafone’s Global Networks Director, said the success was a ‘key milestone’ in the development of HSPA+ technology.

Next up for testing is HSPA+ MIMO, with potential download speeds of up to 21Mbps.

Vodafone said that if both trials prove successful, then the technology will be rolled out on selected commercial networks.

HSPA+ is the next evolution in 3G HSPA technology, and improves performance using 64QAM advance modulation.

Even better performance can be achieved through using multiple antennae on base stations and data devices, known as Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO).

Current 3G technology on Vodafone’s networks offers maximum download speeds of 7.2Mbps.