U Mobile’s HSPA+ download test spotted in the wild

A little over a month after U Mobile started opening registration of interest (ROI) for it’s HSPA+ network, we are now seeing a few seeding units of its 42Mbps HSPA+ broadband modem being tested in the wild.

No price plans or device pricing has been revealed just yet but we are now getting an indication of what kind of speeds you can expect to see on this new HSPA+ network — possibly Malaysia’s first. This picture taken by a tester, shows a download speed of 2,180KB/s or about 17Mpbs.

17Mbps is certainly fast when you compare it with the current average speeds that you can get on a 3G network. But if you compare it with a similarly new network with very little load like Yes 4G and the fact that U Mobile is claiming download speed of up to 42Mbps, then 17Mbps might not look so spectacular but it is still very good for a wireless connection.

If you look closely at the picture, you’ll note that the download manager estimates that it takes a little over 30 minutes to download a 60MB portion of the total 512MB file. If you do the math you’ll know that a 60MB file will take much less than 30 minutes to download if you’re getting a constant 17Mbps stream. So that could mean the indicated 17Mbps is the peak speed that the tester was able to get during this particular download.

Though, we’d like to point out U Mobile does clearly state in its ROI page FAQ that users should expect an average download speeds of 3Mbps – 10Mbps and average upload speeds of 0.5Mbps to 1.5Mbps. So if that is that case then 17Mbps is well about the average speed claimed by U Mobile.

8. What are the expected download and upload speed with a 42Mbps HSPA+ USB modem?
Within 42Mbps HSPA+ coverage area, the average download speed is between 3 to 10Mbps, and the average upload speed is between 0.5 to 1.5Mbps.

Connection speed may vary due to congestion, distance from the base station, local conditions, internet conditions, server speeds, location, network performance, mobile phone/modems and application used.

Whatever it is, this is exciting stuff. Users have a selection of wireless technologies to choose from, there’s WiMAX and now HSPA+ and soon LTE. Choice is indeed good for everyone.

Oh and one last thing, currently U Mobile’s HSPA+ network coverage is very limited covering Berjaya Times Square right now and is currently being rolled out in Subang Jaya and Sunway

Sources are saying that an early 2011 launch is very possible at this stage and we can’t wait.

Thanks anonymous tipster for the tip!

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