Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator, is upgrading its HSDPA network in the UK. From 3 September, customers can buy a 7.2Mbps data connection card, including a tri-band USB modem and two Express data cards, but they need to sign an 18-month service contract, which costs from £49.
Vodafone is the world's largest mobile operator in terms of turnover, with revenues of $61.7 billion in fiscal 2007. When the upgrade is complete, typical download rates in London and major airports will reach 1.7 to 5.5Mbps; The upload rate is 1.44Mbps, which introduces HSUPA technology.
Vodafone UK deployed HSDPA a year ago, at which time it supported download rates of 1.8Mbps, with usage in London generally not exceeding 1.4Mbps and upload rates of 384Kbps. Vodafone's mobile charges are much lower than a year ago, when customers paid £99 for a data card and £95 a month for unlimited data.