From Monday September 3rd, Vodafone’s UK customers will be able to purchase USB modems offering download speeds of up to 7.2Mbit/s, as the carrier switches on its HSPA network.

The network will be available first in central London, and Vodafone is rolling the technology out nationwide during the Autumn.

Telecoms.com experienced some problems with its Vodafone 3G service this week, meanwhile, and was unable to make or receive calls. The problem was remedied by switching the handset to 2G-only operation.

A Vodafone customer service representative told telecoms.com that the carrier had been experiencing problems with its 3G network in London for ten days, and that these problems had been worsening during that period. An official spokesperson, however, said there had been no internal reports of network problems.