As technology improves, users are spoilt with choices of internet connectivity. From the old days of using POTS for your ADSL dedicated line to Cable broadband shared bandwidth, we have wireless broadband solutions from various ISPs throughout the world.

For those who have been following the technology. There are currently two competing standards, one is based on mobile operator HSPA network and the other is Wimax.

Firstly, HSPA or formerly HSDPA, is an integration of HSDPA(downlink) and HSUPA (uplink) giving a boost in the upload speeds. Telecom operators definitely hope that this kind help them churn out enough data traffic as it is an extra revenue for them.

Currently, in Singapore, the 3 telcos all provide HSPA wireless network. When you subscribe to it, you will be provided with a Huawei USB modem or a Router (M1). Depending on your plan and subscription rate, the HSPA networks from all 3 operators is able to attain a maximum of 7.2mbps downlink and 1.9mbps uplink.

Vodaphone K3715 HSPA USB modem given to subscribers for signing up a 2 yrs plan

The telcos have so far claim that they have completed their upgrade and is able to support up to 11mbps for the downlink and 5.76mbps for the uplink in 2009 as end terminal equipment are not readily available yet and available country wide.

HSPA is good for some traditional telcos that weren't into internet services as it gives them an additional revenue by bundling voice services at a cheaper rate. Secondly, most of these speed upgrades are via software. Thus, the investment isn't from scratch, that translates to more savings for the operators and hopefully the customers.

Wimax is another standard that is widely discussed. In this case, implementation would have to be from scratch as operators have to install new base stations. Although Wimax gives a better throughput as compared to the "shared" HSPA network (depending on number of subscribers per base station), it suffers from costly implementations and expensive equipment costs. Telcos definitely prefer HSPA as it is easier for them to implement.

Wimax modem provided (loan) by Qmax, 802.16d by Navini Networks

So far, in Singapore, there is only one provider for consumer, the other is for commercial networks only. The operator that provides this network is known as Qmax, a subsidiary of Qala. So far, the coverage is still within the East, City and West regions of Singapore. Those living in the north, north east or central would not be able to take advantage of this cheap speedy connection to the net. Currently, it still runs on a pre wimax 802.16d standard.

We managed to get hold of the two equipments both running at M1 Broadband's 2mbps/512kbps (dn/up) and Qmax's at 2mbps/1mbps (dn/up).

In the next page, we will take a look at speeds attained by the advertised speeds on a Sunday night 11pm where internet traffic comes to a slow down on cable solutions.

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