StarHub launches two-way high-speed HSPA service
ConvergenceAsia staff
02/08/2007

From 4 August, StarHub consumer and corporate customers will be able to experience high-speed access in Singapore of up to 7.2Mbps downlink and up to 1.9Mbps uplink with the use of HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) and HSUPA (High-Speed Uplink Packet Access) technologies respectively.

The 3.5G HSPA service will allow both the downloading and uploading of large files, such as email attachments in a considerably shorter time than on 2.5G or 3G platforms, helping mobile data users focus their time more on the content and less on the waiting, said Anil Nihalani, Vice President of StarHub's Mobile Services.

"We have architected our 3.5G network to be capable of the full HSDPA specification of 14.4Mbps downlink. While actual performance on the HSPA network will depend on many factors, including terminal capability and the applications used, the higher capability of our network provides us greater capacity, so more users can be supported at higher speeds compared to other offerings in Singapore," continued Nihalani.

Huawei Technologies was appointed in February this year to provide and upgrade StarHub's 3G mobile network to full two-way HSPA.

StarHub will also introduce a new pricing structure that is applicable to all its mobile data customers – whether they use HSPA, 3G or 2.5G GPRS.

Called MaxMobile, three plans will be available to mobile data users - MaxMobile Lite, MaxMobile Value and MaxMobile Unlimited:
- MaxMobile Lite is a 'pay as you use' plan at S$0.01/Kb with no minimum spend, but the maximum cost to the customer is $88 per month regardless of the amount of data usage.
- MaxMobile Value gives S$20 worth of data usage at S$5/month and thereafter at S$0.0032/Kb. The total monthly spend is capped at $88 regardless of data usage.
- MaxMobile Unlimited subscribers will pay a flat fee of S$68/month, with no cap on data usage.

In addition, StarHub post-paid mobile customers will be able to surf its Gee! and i-mode portals for free. When downloading content, customers pay a fixed price for items they choose to purchase such as ringtones, video and music clips, wallpaper, games, or information requests such as a cable TV programme guide, 4D and Toto results, or flight details.

The MaxMobile plans will replace all current Gee! data plans for StarHub's 2G and 3G data customers. By 4 August, all 3G customers will be ‘3.5G-ready’ and need to purchase a 3.5G-capable device to enjoy the benefits of StarHub's 3.5G HSPA services.

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