Sierra Wireless Introduces AirCard 850 for 3G UMTS and HSDPA networks

Sierra Wireless, O2, and Manx Telecom are introducing the AirCard 850 3G wireless wide area network card on Manx Telecom's newly unveiled HSDPA network on the Isle of Man. This is Europe's first commercial deployment of fully functional HSDPA network cards and network-wide HSDPA technology.

The AirCard 850 and commercial HSDPA network service is now available to Manx Telecom customers. When purchased with the Manx Telecom Pronto Connect Data tariff, these cards will cost GBP 49+VAT.

Out of the box, the AirCard 850 is fully functional on HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, and GPRS networks. The AirCard 850 utilizes the 2100 MHz UMTS frequency band and offers average data rates of 500 to 800 kbps, with bursts to 1.3 Mbps on Manx's HSDPA network.

The new card enables international roaming on HSDPA and UMTS networks across Europe, and on all four EDGE and GPRS frequency bands (850, 900, 1800, and 1900 MHz) used worldwide. The AirCard 850 wireless WAN card is a Type II PC Card with a slim, unextended design.

According to Manx Telecom, customers will initially experience peak data speeds of up to 1.3 Mbps with theoretical speeds on the network of up to 14.4 Mbps available in the future.