T-Mobile boosts mobile uploads

T-Mobile will on Tuesday turn on its fast uplink mobile broadband service, claiming it is the first UK operator to do so on a nationwide basis.

High-speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), also known as 'super 3G', is already commonly rolled out across the UK, but its counterpart -- high-speed uplink packet access (HSUPA) -- has only recently been appearing, and on a limited basis. HSUPA will be crucial for those who want to upload content to the Web from their phones or laptops, rather than simply downloading it.

T-Mobile UK chief executive Jim Hyde said on Monday that the operator was addressing "the growing passion for sharing photos and videos on social-networking sites". T-Mobile has also upgraded its HSDPA speed to a theoretical maximum of 7.2Mbps, or up to 4.5Mbps in the real world. The HSUPA link promises uplink speeds of up to 1.4Mbps.