With 2007 well and truly underway, there have already been a number of major announcements in the telecoms industry.

For example, last week Optus announced its plans to extend its 3G network infrastructure to 96 percent of the population, to be completed by 2010. The network will offer HSDPA services, which have a theoretical peak throughput of 14.4Mbps.

Typically, in Australia, if any carrier decides to expand its 3G network, it will need to lease lines from Telstra – typically Telstra X163 lines or radio/microwave links to backhaul to the base stations. However, an X163 line only has a capacity of 2Mbps.

While 2Mbps is ideal for voice transmission, it’s an inadequate size for data, or HSDPA to travel through. Think of it as getting into a brand new car and driving down a rural area. While the car has the capacity to drive at speeds of up to 300 km/hr, due to the primitiveness of the roads, you can only travel at a maximum speed of 100 km/hr.

I’d recommend that for any Australian operator planning to expand its 3G network, the best option is to use its own broadband infrastructure or access an alternative broadband network.

The trend worldwide for operators is to segregate the HSDPA and voice services and transport HSDPA over IP-based (broadband) networks. By using broadband networks, an operator can rely on its own high speed broadband infrastructure (such as ADSL2+) for HSDPA, rather than using expensive 2Mbps leased lines.

This option also has repercussions for ISPs, as there are a handful in Australia with an ADSL2+ infrastructure. For example, if an operator does not have good coverage in a particular region, it also has the third option of going through an ISP. By transporting HSDPA over its own broadband networks, a carrier can save on costs and increase throughput.

RAD Data Communications provides the devices to transport HSDPA over IP-based networks. As 3G services become more popular, there will be a notable increase in providing the connectivity in the service provider’s core network.

I’d welcome any comments you have on the above, and am happy to provide you with additional details.