Ericsson claims to have developed a solution that triples uplink capacity in HSPA networks, allowing operators with a large number of users to offer high uplink data speeds. The news comes hot on the heels of an announcement from Nokia-Siemens Networks, which has claimed it has developed a new solution to double throughput and data speeds for users at the edge of a small cell.

Using Ericsson’s receiver technology, Ericsson Interference Suppression, along with 4-antenna radio base stations, the Swedish vendor performed a demonstration last month. It showed that over-the-air uplink throughput for simultaneously active devices in a cell was increased from around 4Mbps to more than 12Mbps.

Interference Suppression is a base station receiver technology for WCDMA/HSPA that improves uplink speeds by increasing the network capacity. This is done by using software algorithms in the base station that reduce the negative effects of uplink interference that is today the bottleneck in many HSPA networks.

Ericsson said the gains were further enhanced by the use of base stations configured with four antennas per cell. This combination delivers a leap in end user experience and uplink capacity.

“We have proven that Ericsson’s unique Interference Suppression is a giant leap forward and it will be the new reference for WCDMA uplink performance for years to come,” said Nils Viklund, Director WCDMA RAN at Ericsson. “This can even be further enhanced by combining it with multi-receive antenna technologies. Because these technologies work with existing devices, operators that implement them will instantly benefit from the attractive gain.”

Earlier this week, NSN announced that it was launching a solution aimed at doubling mobile broadband speeds for consumers at the edge of a base station cell, by allowing devices to connect with a second base station that serves a neighbouring cell. Both Ericsson’s and NSN’s technologies will be on show next week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.