Qualcomm is anticipating the wider commercial deployment of dual-carrier HSPA+ and multi-mode 3G/LTE mobile networks in the second half of next year and it has started sampling chipsets that are aimed to better support the transition from existing CDMA-based mobile infrastructure to next generation mobile technologies.
The chip firm confirmed that a number of network operators, infrastructure vendors and mobile device manufacturers are working with it for commercial launches of these new types of high speed data mobiles to begin during the second half of 2010.
Among multiple network operators evaluating the new technologies are Japan’s EMOBILE and Telstra Wireless. Qualcomm is also working with multiple infrastructure vendors, such as Huawei Technologies and Nokia Siemens Networks, to perform interoperability tests for dual-carrier HSPA+ and LTE.
Among the device manufacturers currently evaluating the chipsets are Huawei, LG Electronics, Novatel Wireless, Sierra Wireless and ZTE.
See: Huawei doubles HSPA+ data rate to 56Mbit/s next year
“We are pleased to be working with so many industry leaders to bring these advanced technologies to market,” said Alex Katouzian, vice president of product management, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies. “We remain committed to CDMA and OFDMA WAN modem leadership and the seamless and cost-effective commercialization of next-generation technologies around the world.”
According to Tommi Uitto, head of Wireless Access product management at Nokia Siemens Networks. “Flexible solutions that offer a seamless migration path to next-generation network technologies are critical for our industry to move fast and encourage a quick uptake of new services.”
The MDM8220 dual-carrier HSPA+ chipset is based on the 3GPP Release 8 standard and provides peak downlink data rates of up to 42Mbit/s and 11Mbit/s on the uplink. Its dual-carrier technology effectively doubles networks’ bandwidth from 5MHz to 10MHz by aggregating two HSPA carriers in parallel.
“HSPA’s faster data speeds and added capacity offers an attractive upgrade path for our growing network,” said Eric Gan, representative director, president and COO at Japan EMOBILE.
It is believed that technology delays have a challenge for the widespread adoption of LTE, with interoperability being a concern.
The MDM9200 and the MDM9600 chipsets will allow UMTS and CDMA2000 operators to upgrade to future LTE services while preserving backward compatibility to their existing 3G networks.
MDM9200 supports UMTS, HSPA+ and LTE, while the MDM9600 supports CDMA2000 1X, EV-DO Rev. B, SV-DO, SV-LTE, 
UMTS, HSPA+ and LTE. All of the new chipsets support FDD LTE and TDD LTE modes and different carrier bandwidths, and are capable of using orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) and multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology to support peak data rates of up to 100Mbit/s on the downlink and 50Mbit/s on the uplink.