I have seen a lot of discussion here on EK and also on other Sri lankan Discussion boards about HSDPA, and how Bad it really is, But the thing is most of them Dont even know what HSDPA really is, Im not saying that Dialog and Mobitel are doing a Honest job advertising the Packages either, for example They advertise the E220 Modems theoritical maximum speed as the real speed of the packge (Dialog unlimited broadband 7.2Mbps) that is definitely wrong. But i think anyone who wish to get one of these packages should resarch about them first and then consider purchaisng it, that way you will know if HSDPA will work for you or not, I will give you some pointers and misunderstandings that surrounds HSDPA here.
1. what does HSDPA mean ? : It means High Speed Downlink Packet Access, That means HSDPA only effects the download speed, now i have seen lot of people are shouting that HSDPA Upload speeds are so slow and what not, they simply dont know the facts, Your HSDPA modem doesnt use HSDPA to Upload data, It either uses EDGE or GPRS to do the job its simple as that, because HSDPA is a protocol for high speed downloading. There is another Protocol in development called HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) only when that protocol is implemented on these networks should you be able to Upload at High speed.
2. How a HSDPA modem works : HSDPA modem is capable of using WCDMA, EDGE and GPRS to connect you to the world, it automatically selects the strongest signal to achive this, however you can limit it only to use WCDMA and this will eliminate the modem from connecting to slower networks. you have to understand that even the lowest WCDMA signal strengths can give you fairly high download speeds (Definitely more than the SLT ADSL 512Kbps) heres proof. and when @ full strength dont expect it to download @ 7.2Mbps either it limits depends on the how crowded is the access point and Signal to noise ratio. I have tested my connection @ excell world it downloads at 6Mbps now thats awesome.
Proof that HSDPA works @ acceptable speeds even with a very weak signal
Improving HSDPA signal strength
You can do several simple things to improve the signals, the most simple one is to use the Y shaped 1m USB cable that comes with the modem, connect both ends to two usb Ports and this will give the modem more amps, plus the outer sheild of the USB cable acts as a Antenna for the E220 modem, so a longer USB cable also increase the signal strength. (dont use cables longer than 5m tho).
On the expensive side you can purchase one of the high gain antennas from e-bay to significantly increase the signal strengths, but the USB cable thing really works very well in SL AFIK.
Who needs a HSDPA connection
1. Some one that cant get a SLT 2Mbps ADSL connection or cant afford it. (no ADSL 512 is just not enough even to consider as broadband these days)
2. some one that needs mobility while browsing, HSDPA is a must
3. some one who needs best download speed for the buck but doesnt really care about the upload speeds, theres nothing else out there that can match HSDPA in SL.
so there it is.
1. what does HSDPA mean ? : It means High Speed Downlink Packet Access, That means HSDPA only effects the download speed, now i have seen lot of people are shouting that HSDPA Upload speeds are so slow and what not, they simply dont know the facts, Your HSDPA modem doesnt use HSDPA to Upload data, It either uses EDGE or GPRS to do the job its simple as that, because HSDPA is a protocol for high speed downloading. There is another Protocol in development called HSUPA (High Speed Uplink Packet Access) only when that protocol is implemented on these networks should you be able to Upload at High speed.
2. How a HSDPA modem works : HSDPA modem is capable of using WCDMA, EDGE and GPRS to connect you to the world, it automatically selects the strongest signal to achive this, however you can limit it only to use WCDMA and this will eliminate the modem from connecting to slower networks. you have to understand that even the lowest WCDMA signal strengths can give you fairly high download speeds (Definitely more than the SLT ADSL 512Kbps) heres proof. and when @ full strength dont expect it to download @ 7.2Mbps either it limits depends on the how crowded is the access point and Signal to noise ratio. I have tested my connection @ excell world it downloads at 6Mbps now thats awesome.
Proof that HSDPA works @ acceptable speeds even with a very weak signal
Improving HSDPA signal strength
You can do several simple things to improve the signals, the most simple one is to use the Y shaped 1m USB cable that comes with the modem, connect both ends to two usb Ports and this will give the modem more amps, plus the outer sheild of the USB cable acts as a Antenna for the E220 modem, so a longer USB cable also increase the signal strength. (dont use cables longer than 5m tho).
On the expensive side you can purchase one of the high gain antennas from e-bay to significantly increase the signal strengths, but the USB cable thing really works very well in SL AFIK.
Who needs a HSDPA connection
1. Some one that cant get a SLT 2Mbps ADSL connection or cant afford it. (no ADSL 512 is just not enough even to consider as broadband these days)
2. some one that needs mobility while browsing, HSDPA is a must
3. some one who needs best download speed for the buck but doesnt really care about the upload speeds, theres nothing else out there that can match HSDPA in SL.
so there it is.
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