Huawei shows off a triple mode modem

OVER IN Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress, telecoms systems provider Huawei has announced a new triple mode 3G modem.

The firm said that the Huawei E398 is the first modem of its kind that supports all three major network standards, LTE, UMTS, and GSM.

The modem, Huawei explained, will let users of high speed wireless services hop between their connections, letting them choose whichever one is fastest at the time. The modem is based on Qualcomm chips, and that firm was happy to speak up in support of it.

"Qualcomm is pleased to be working with Huawei to bring new products based on our industry-leading multi-mode 3G/LTE chipset to market," said Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Europe. "We are committed to the seamless commercialisation of next-generation technologies around the world." It's not often you hear people talking about 'seamless commercialisation', except perhaps when discussing televised sports and Florida.

Pitched at operators that want to start offering high speed services without being tied down to one specification, the E398 will initially go on sale in Sweden before becoming available elsewhere.

"The E398 is designed to address increasing requirements for operators to introduce commercial LTE services with flexible evolution roadmaps. With the E398, the end-users don't have to wait for the completion of the LTE network before they can enjoy 10 times higher speeds, as well as a continuous surfing experience", added James Chen, managing director of the Huawei Nordic office. µ