Want to find out more about what’s coming next for our network? You’re in the right place. Here we’ll explain some of the new technologies that are on the horizon for Three.
HSPA+
HSPA+ (High Speed Packet Access Plus) is the next generation in 3G technology. This new advancement allows our existing 3G network to deliver faster speeds and a more reliable performance, offering a far better and more consistent internet experience. To benefit from the speed of HSPA+, you need an HSPA+ enabled dongle, like our Standard or Premium dongles, MiFi or HSPA+ equipped phone, such as the
Samsung Galaxy S II.
And now for the numbers: HSPA+ gives you speeds up to 40% faster than you'd get with any of our previous dongles. The E367, or Premium Dongle, was the first Mobile Broadband dongle from Three to feature HSPA+, and it will offer even faster performance as we continue to upgrade our network.
As manufacturers continue to develop more and more HSPA+ devices there will be more options for Three customers who want to benefit from this extra speed and reliability on their phones, MiFi and tablets.
In terms of where Three is at with HSPA+, we're currently rolling out this technology across the UK, and by the end of this year our ambition is that 80% of the network will be done.
4G (Fourth Generation)
We currently operate on a 3G HSPA network, and have already started moving towards HSPA+. Some people are already calling this technology '4G', but we believe a true 4th Generation network is a way off yet and offers significantly higher speeds.
We're planning even more improvements to our network over the next few years with a full rollout of HSPA+, including moving from the 21.1Mbps standard to the 42.2Mbps stand, before new spectrum will allow us to implement LTE and eventually LTE-Advanced. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution, and this is what we mean when we talk about a true 4G experience. With LTE you get an even more efficient system for transferring data, and that will lead to significantly faster download and upload speeds for both our mobile broadband and mobile internet customers.
We'll be trialing LTE on our network over the coming months, and we'll keep you updated with our progress.
By investing in the long-term development of our network, we'll continue to provide our UK customers with a fast, reliable and affordable mobile internet service well into the future.
Our network plans for the next two years.
We've got some long term targets that we're working towards in order to keep improving our network. So Three's customers have plenty to look forward to.
We're planning to:
- Trial an even faster 3G HSPA+ network technology - with speeds up to 42.2Mbps
- Add an additional 3,000 sites (masts) to our network, taking us to 16,000 sites in total.
- Reach 98.5% outdoor coverage in the UK.
And while we can do all of this without more spectrum, with some additional bandwidth we'll be able to do even more - which is great news for smartphone and Mobile Broadband customers.
