This is a practical High-Speed Download Packet Access (HSDPA) measurement procedures note. The objective of this note is
to present measurement tips and procedures which will help a field-based network technician or RF engineer conduct Node B
measurements on HSDPA overlay networks.
Upgrading/Deploying HSDPA
The growth of data in communications, and services such as Internet access and large file downloads of audio, video and
gaming applications, is prompting a migration away from circuit-switched traffic and toward packet-switched traffic. With
this migration underway, end-users are requiring higher data rates and improved Quality of Service (QoS). Operators are
demanding greater system capacity.
HSDPA – a cellular network overlay, supported by the UMTS (universal mobile telecommunications system) standard –
offers a way to address the need to handle today’s ever increasing data rates by effectively upgrading the WCDMA network.
HSDPA can also be deployed with WCDMA where WCDMA supports packet-data applications and HSDPA supports data
applications. As a 3.5-G mobile telephony protocol, HSDPA improves end-user experience by increasing peak data rates to
14.4 Mbps in the downlink, reducing delay and increasing system capacity by 200 to 300%.