3G/4G Industry News EMT Mobile Internet: 10,000 Times Faster in 10 Years | EMT Mobile Internet: 10,000 Times Faster in 10 Years |
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www.emt.ee Estonia’s EMT, part of TeliaSonera, has boosted its mobile broadband speeds from 53 Kbps to theoretical data transmission speeds of up to 100 Mbps in ten years thanks to a test LTE network launched last week. Sweden’s Ericsson provides LTE network equipment for the trials, while end-user modem devices are supplied by Samsung. EMT currently offers HSPA+ services, enabling peak download speeds of up to 21 Mbps. Its HSPA+ network covers 75 Estonian cities and towns. EMT was the first in Estonia to launch GPRS data transmission service on March 1st, 2001. GPRS raised the speed of mobile internet from 9kbps to 53kbps. "On February 25th, 2010 EMT opened a 4G test network which enables data transmission speeds up to 100Mbps and this means that data transmission speed has grown 10,000 times in 10 years", said Tõnu Grünberg, Director of Development and Technology at EMT. "This is a remarkable leap. In 2001, no one could have predicted such a drastic growth in speed and number of users. Currently, the most sold item at EMT representations is not a mobile phone, but a data transmission model. This fact clearly shows the success if mobile internet." In October 2005, EMT launched 3.5G service. The speed of 3.5G has reached 21Mbps in EMT network. This is up to three times faster than in other Estonian mobile networks. EMT has the largest 3.5G network in Estonia – EMT 3.5G covers 75 largest cities and towns and also smaller settlements. For example, in the county of Pärnu, EMT 3.5G covers the city of Pärnu and its surrounding areas and also towns and surrounding areas of Audru, Häädemeeste, Kilingi-Nõmme, Raeküla, Sauga, Pärnu-Jaagupi, Sindi and Vändra. "Mobile internet has become a ’real’ internet. Mobile internet has grown from temporary alternative to one of the main internet connection types in homes or offices", noted Grünberg. "Everyday internet usage requires packages which provide higher capacities. In order to meet the growing needs, EMT has added a 9GB internet package to its range of services." EMT was the first in Estonia to launch EDGE data transmission service on July 28th, 2004. EDGE (2.5G) is an extension on top of GSM which enables speeds up to four times faster than GPRS. By the end of 2007, EDGE was available throughout EMT network. |
