Ericsson, Dell to build HSPA modems into notebooks

Swedish telecom company Ericsson is collaborating with Dell, in a bid to put HSPA modems into the latter's notebooks, the companies have announced. HSPA is one of the most widely-used forms of 3G cellular broadband, and typically supports download speeds of up to 3.6 or 7.2Mbps; in the United States, AT&T runs a national 3.6Mbps network, and T-Mobile is expected to offer a rival service of some sort later this year. In buying a notebook with HSPA built in, users can connect to the Internet without using Wi-Fi or an add-on external modem.

Notebooks with the Ericsson technology will begin shipping later this quarter, and will use a tri-band HSPA receiver, which may in theory allow it to connect to T-Mobile's relatively unoccupied 1,700MHz AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) band. Modules should also be equipped with GPS receivers, enabling use of navigation and positioning software.