Iphone to bring EDGE to Europe

A GREAT example of the tail wagging the dog will see the major European mobile operators upgrading their networks to an EDGE capability thanks to Apple.

The compelling reason is that Apple's Iphone only boasts support for EDGE not 3G. The INQ asked two major cellular infrastructure suppliers - Ericsson and Nokia Siemens - and both said converting existing networks to EDGE would be a doddle.

That's because provisioning EDGE requires only a simple software upgrade to existing base stations. Ericsson revealed that all of its base stations which shipped after 1995 were EDGE ready.

Ericsson added that some operators might choose to add a new transceiver card at the same time. However, the work is so straightforward that Ericsson's own managed network services division could easily carry out the work. Regardless of who had supplied the original gear.

Both suppliers confirmed that changes to other parts of the infrastructure - such as antennae - would be unnecessary. In terms of time, "A typical upgrade for a country-wide network would be measured in weeks," a Nokia Siemens spokesman said.

So why should the likes of O2 UK, France Telecom/Orange and T-Mobile Germany - all tipped to take the Iphone - bother to install EDGE?

Speed is the answer. Standard GSM offers a data connexion through GPRS which typically results in a throughput speed of around 40-50 Kbit/s. That's enough for background reception of emails - as the RIM Blackberry proved.

But what if you want to receive video or MP3 files? Well, EDGE is between three to five times faster at around 160 to 200 Kbit/s. Although its claimed top speed is 473 Kbit/s, a peak of about 296 Kbit/s is all you can expect.

Which is just about fast enough for standard/HTML web browsing. Of course, there's talk of EDGE Evolution which improves on existing EDGE technology to give a maximum 1 Mbit/s throughput.

Not all European countries have ignored EDGE. In Slovakia all three operators - O2, T-Mobile and Orange - offer it. TIM in Italy supports it too.

And in Ireland, O2 has just installed new infrastructure equipment from Ericsson and it comes ready with EDGE switched on.

The operators can paint the roll out of EDGE as helping subscribers who get poor 3G reception. An EDGE capability has long been a standard feature of Nokia handsets - it's just dormant in certain markets.

The INQ did ask Nokia Siemens and Ericsson outright if they'd landed any new contracts for an EDGE upgrade. Both couldn't comment. But curiously O2 UK had once been cited as an EDGE reference network by Nokia Networks.

Perhaps that was just on the Isle of Man with Manx Telecom? µ