With the limitations of GSM restricting what European service providers can offer customers, they are trying to see if their latest technologies can be modified to work on dated networks. In effect, trying to teach an old dog new tricks with the help of American companies.

O2, Qualcomm, Manx Telecom, and Lucent Technologies have setup a field trial on the Isle of Man last July 26. They plan to test if UMTS and HSDPA technologies, designed for the 2100 Mhz radio spectrum, will run on 900 Mhz. The lower frequency is dominant on European mobile networks. The experiment is founded on business sense; the parties involved hope to provide better service with existing equipment:

UMTS 900 may help solve the 3G coverage issues in Europe, since providing full coverage at 2100 MHz is very expensive," said Dave Williams, group CTO for O2. "Working with Lucent, we hope to demonstrate how UMTS 900 can complement deployments at 2100 MHz, improve coverage, lower capital expenses and improve the customer's experience.

Hopefully though, the success of this test will not lessen the incentive for European companies to upgrade their networks. They need to stay in the 3G race, as Japan is already testing 4G technologies.

Source: Wireless IQ