Three UK looking to roll out DC-HSPA ahead of 4G LTE

By Rich Edmonds
last updated

Three UK has announced plans to implement "4G" on their network, but instead of putting LTE on trial, for now the carrier is favouring DC-HSPA (the DC means dual-channel). In theory customers should be able to witness speeds up to 42Mbps, and with Three's "unlimited" data plans this will certainly excite smartphone owners.

Three currently operates a HSPA+ network that offers speeds of up to 21Mbps and is set to roll out DC-HSPA this coming summer. What's interesting to note is the timing of this announcement with the international Lumia 900 (supporting the "almost 4G" standard) being announced at MWC this week - coincidence?

Three still plans to introduce LTE through testing in the future so we'll happily take DC-HSPA for now.

Via: Slashgear; 4G image (opens in new tab) via Shutterstock

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

14 Comments
  • Three here I come, just in time for my upgrade too. Bye bye o2!
  • i knwo they say 4G , but HSPA is 3G!... :S... ah well glad for the UK :)
  • Whatever you want to call it, faster is faster and this should please their customers.
  • Call it what you want, in my area HSPA+ is a lot better than LTE (faster, better connections -- no matter what the philosophers say).
  • that’s not possible , unless you don’t have reception. lol
    beside unless your on a new Wp from 2012 you dont have LTE access any ways. PS:  sorry for using the correct term and frustrating you guys. Never said it wasn’t good! trying to make readers more informed with proper information.  
  • Will 3 rename themselves to 4?
  • lol!
  • Heh! Made me chuckle :)
  • Three is the best....
  • WTH? AT&T's speeds don't reach this far in the U.S., do they? The U.S. has one of the worst internet infrastructures ever. More money should go into it.
  • T-mobile's speeds are lightning fast.
  • @xboxomac: so what kind of speed do you really get on at&t. I havbe a max of 3.2mbs with hdspa on vodafone in the Netherlands on my hd2.
  • Nokia + 3= happy daze...
  • Pity its Three. As a Three customer for nearly 2 years I can confirm while you can near always browse the web its near impossible to make a phone call. My wife on Vodafone, my daughter on T-Mobile, the latter is near perfect with a connection anywhere , anytime. So far, since January more so than VF ... So stating DC-HSPA when you have such poor coverage is about marketing, not utility. The reason, I think 3 are at such a high frequency that the signal cannot get through walls. Sat in a pub on Thursday for 3 hours, near a window in the town 3 have their HQ with a x on my signal strength, ... no signal at all. its been a very frustrating two years.