HSPA+

[Asdic_Ping]

I know O2 have rolled out HSPA+ in major cities but my handset (Blackberry 9810) doesn't seem to get an H+ signal even though the device is compatible with this service. My daughter has just got a Blackberry Z10 and that picks up an H+ signal in my area. The best I can get is 3G. Because the Z10 takes a micro sim she got a new sim card with the phone so I'm wondering if I need a new sim card to be able to get HSPA+. My sim card was issued in November 2010. Your views would be most appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Can you try your daughter's sim card in your phone in an area you know she gets H+?

If her sim is smaller you'll need a sim adapter. 

[Asdic_Ping]

I could try that but as you say I would need to get an adapter as the Z10 takes a micro sim.

[Anonymous]

The O2 stores should have them. Or at least blank microsims in an adapter. Let us know how it goes if you try it.

[Asdic_Ping]

I thought I'd provide an update on this. After doing some further research on the web, it would seem that if you are using an unbranded handset (i.e. not sold by a network operator) you will still get HSPA+ if it is available and your handset supports it, but it might not be displayed on the screen with the symbol H+. This is because of the software that is installed on the handset by the operators. In north America some operators choose to display H+ on the 9810 where others choose to display 4G (even though it's only a 3G enhancement) where HSPA+ is available. My handset is unbranded from the car phone warehouse hence no H+ symbol. Of course the only true way to test if I'm getting HSPA+ is to do a speed test. By the way my daughters Z10 is O2 branded so she gets the H+ symbol.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for letting us know - I never realised that.

Do you know how to perform a speedtest?

[Asdic_Ping]

I have an app on my 9810 that measures download and upload speeds. However, I understand that all Blackberry data goes through their servers which could have a detrimental effect on download speeds. I suppose the question is, in theory how fast is HSPA+?

[perksie]

The short answer:

21Mbps.

The long answer:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolved_HSPA

[Asdic_Ping]

Thanks, the short answer is fine! When I get a moment I'll do a clear line of sight test with my nearest O2 mast and do the speed test. Are most O2 masts now HSPA+ capable? I know that the nearest mast to my home can deliver 3G900/2100 but don't know if it's HSPA+ enabled.

[perksie]

No idea how many are converted yet as they don't give much of that info out, but the least you should get is 14.4MBps on a 3G900 mast up to 21Mbps but with further dual carrier systems this can go up to as much as 42Mbps (DC-HSDPA)

Realistically a 14.4 mast should give you 3-4Mbps on a test, and a 21Mbps around 6-8Mbps.

You can check which masts are where here:

http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-Speed_Downlink_Packet_Access

[Asdic_Ping]

Another update. I did a download test and I'm getting in central London 869.5 kbps during the day. This seems faster than 3G UMTS which is theoretically capable of 384 kbps, but well short of HSPA+ capabilities. As mentioned previously, on Blackberry 7 and before, all data gets compressed going through BIS so perhaps this is where the slowdown occurs.