After handling various UMTS projects in the IMT-2000 core band and given Inwilution's global experience with deploying mobile networks we believe there is a very good business opportunity in UMTS900.

UMT900 (like UMTS850) provides a much better coverage/Node B and is therefore a more cost-effective solution to provide 3G services in rural areas. From a spectrum perspective this is possible in many countries since the GSM 900 spectrum is often heavily used in the urban centers while in the less densely populated areas releasing 5 MHz for one UMTS900 carrier is often possible. The use of HSPA (HSDPA and HSUPA) in the 900 MHz GSM band to offer broadband Internet service is a major breakthrough to provide Internet services to many rural areas which could not ne reached cost-effectively before.

Of course the availability of UMTS900 mobile phones is still somewhat of an issue but we anticipate this to be a temporary issue which will be resolved soon with more and more operators committing to deploy WCDMA/HSDPA in the 900 MHz band. 

If you require any support to explore the feasibility of UMTS900 and 3G/HSDPA  in your country please do not hesitate to contact us at mobile@inwilution.com