Mobile broadband field network performance with HSPA+

3GPP Release 7 introduced several new powerful features to the existing HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) functionality including higher order modulation (SIMO 64 QAM - Single Input Multiple Output, 64 Quadrature Amplitude Modulation) and MIMO 16QAM (Multiple Input Multiple Output). These additional features - commonly referred to as “HSPA+” - aim at improving user experience by increasing further the spectrum efficiency of HSPA+ and is progressively being deployed by many 3G operators [1] around the globe at present as 64QAM and MIMO capable devices become more widely available. The objective of this paper is to provide an insight into the potential of HSPA+ technology as a means to enhance user experience against prior HSPA mobile broadband capabilities such as “HSDPA 7.2 and HSDPA 10.8 (SIMO 16QAM). The performance benchmark is the outcome of recent field tests pioneered by Vodafone, in its Vodafone Spain network, and carried out over commercial product platforms. As expected from theoretical assessments MIMO is proving to be the most promising feature from the HSPA+ set of features with field performance in excess of expectations - in particular at cell edge.