Europe Finland : Sonera has upgraded the data transmission services of its 3G network to turbo speed by HSPA technology. The upgrade concerns the whole 3G network which covers 60 per cent of the population. The upgraded network provides customers with access speeds that are many times faster than those of the regular 3G network.

“The demand for high-speed data transmission services is constantly on the increase. Now that the whole network has been upgraded, most people in Finland have access to mobile broadband and can use the services it enables,” says Director Pasi Mehtonen of TeliaSonera Mobility Services Finland. High-speed data transmission in the mobile network is especially useful for corporate users and all customers who want to use Internet and email services independently of time and place.

The upgrade gives customers a faster access to services, and Internet pages, e-mail and large files, for example, are quicker to download. Sonera’s recent trend survey shows that high-speed data transmission is in demand. Finnish companies centre major efforts on mobile working: eight out of ten respondents intend to work outside the office in future at least as much as before, and 40% of the companies intend to increase their investments in new communications technology and services.

Consumers also want to use email on the mobile phone increasingly often. “HSPA technology redefines wireless connections, providing the customers with up to 6-times higher access speeds than before. Phones and laptops enabling high-speed data transmission thus become genuine power packages of mobile communications," says Pasi Mehtonen. The Sonera Data Power package providing high-speed access can be ordered as a supplementary service of the subscription’s data transmission service. For a 1 Mbit service, the extra charge is €7.90 a month, and for a 2 Mbit service, €19.90 a month.