SingTel (Singapore Telecommunications Ltd) has been treated to a live demonstration by Ericsson of three new HSPA ‘world's firsts' in Stockholm, Sweden.  The first used commercial network kit and a consumer device in prototype to showcase a 168Mbps downlink and 24Mbps uplink multi-carrier HSPA.  This holds the world record as fastest HSPA on commercial equipment.  Ericsson will also carry out the demonstration for the GSMA Mobile World Congress at a later date.

SingTel Networks President Tay Soo Meng said that his company had been behind much of the mobile data services growth through its introduction of multimedia applications, tablets and 4G mobiles, and that they expected continuing demand for higher bandwidths and speeds.  He added that SingTel have been collaborating with Ericsson to identify new opportunities in HSPA evolution and the timing and relevance of these in their 4G mobile networks.  SingTel in 2010 was one of the first companies to use 42Mbps live on their networks, he said, and the move towards 84Mbps and more is a natural progression for them. 

Also in its first ever demonstration was the HSPA dual-carrier 84Mbps over commercial networks.  The peak speed was reached by harnessing two 5MHz carriers to the consumer connection.

The third achievement in the Stockholm presentation was the 42Mbps single-carrier using commercial products end-to-end, with a consumer device included in the link.  42Mbps can be reached on one WCDMA 5MHz carrier that uses MIMO technology.  This is much more efficient use of the radio spectrum than the 42Mbps dual-carrier HSPA, implemented by Ericsson in 2009, and currently in use.