UQ brings superfast downloads

UQ Communications's high-speed wireless WiMax Internet service rolls out in Japan this month, boasting download speeds of up to 40Mbps - five times faster than regular cellular downloads, reports Mainichi Daily News.

The service, available in Tokyo, the Keihanshin area (Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe) and Nagoya, costs a flat fee of 4 480 yen (R373) a month, with a WiMax network card costing between 12 800 (R1 065) and 13 800 (R1 150) yen.

Internet service providers and resellers are also considering providing their own services using UQ's high-speed network.

European space transportation provider Arianespace launched its largest satellite ever last week on behalf of TerreStar Networks - a Virginia-based company that intends to inaugurate a hybrid satellite/cellular service in the US and Canada later this year, states NewsFactor Network.

TerreStar Networks has already developed a Windows Mobile smartphone with qwerty keyboard and touch-screen capabilities for its new hybrid service.

The handset will automatically switch from AT&T's terrestrial cellular network to a satellite link at any location within the 50 US states where AT&T's local coverage is unavailable.

Hyundai's plans to introduce its mobile phones to the UK market have been scrapped, according to Pocket-Lint.

Oxfordshire-based Hyundai Mobile UK was due to enter the competitive UK market in the first half of 2009, following an announcement in January, but the collapse of its distribution partner, Advantage Cellular, has severely hindered the launch.

Although an alternative partner was said to be being considering, the company is now understood to have "ditched" the mobile plans "for the foreseeable future".