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T-Mobile launches world's first Flash-OFDM service
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The Slovak Republic is the first in the world to offer commercial broadband wireless service based on Flash-OFDM technology.
By John Blau, Düsseldorf, Germany | Thursday, 20 October, 2005

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/news/17DA1E2B3DAD445BCC25709F000A4AD8


Slovakia is home to what Flarion Technologies is calling the world's first commercial launch of a new broadband wireless technology designed to compete with wi-fi and 3G (third-generation) networks.

The network, based on Flarion Technologies' Flash-OFDM (fast low-latency access with seamless handoff - Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) technology, went live earlier this week, according to the manufacturer which recently agreed to be acquired by Qualcomm. Service is available in selected areas of Bratislava and in 19 other cities around the country.

The operator of the network is T-Mobile Slovensko, the Slovakian subsidiary of Germany's T-Mobile International.

Flash-OFDM is a proprietary cellular broadband technology that network operators can deploy either for notebook computers of mobile users or serve as a fixed wireless access system, bridging the "last mile" to connect computers in homes and small offices. Key features include an all-IP architecture and fast speeds.

The technology, for instance, is capable of letting users traveling at 250 kilometers per hour to download data at speeds up to 1.5Mbit/s or upload at speeds up to 500kbit/s.

By comparison, although 3G technology is capable of a theoretical speed up to 2Mbit/s in a stationary position under ideal conditions, most mobile phone operators are currently offering download speeds of around 384kbit/s and upload speeds of 128kbit/s. Those operators that upgrade their 3G networks with new HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology initially expect to offer throughput rates of between 400kbit/s and 600kbit/s, with a peak rate of 14.4Mbit/s. Telecom New Zealand runs a different 3G technology, EV-DO, which delivers end-user speeds of up to 1Mbit/s. Telecom is considering deploying a revision of the software which should allow users much higher speeds as well.

Initially, customers of T-Mobile Slovensko will be offered mobile data speeds up to 1Mbit/s for downloading data and 256kbit/s for uploading. Siemens built the network.

Last year, Siemens struck a deal with Flarion to integrate Flash-OFDM into its new broadband wireless access systems, and collaborated with T-Mobile in the Continent's first trial of Flash-OFDM technology in The Hague, Netherlands.

Telstra Australia uses Flarion technology in some of its wireless operations, however TelstraClear has chosen Alvarion as a technology partner in the wireless space.